Gallery: Inside the Bontrager development team’s Boulder service course

Tucked behind a shopping center near the middle of Boulder, Colorado, hides the Bontrager Pro Cycling service course. On a recent trip to the facility, Eric Fostvedt, was preparing for the team's upcoming training camp in Solvang, California, stood at his workbench over a gaggle of team wheels, flipping through music on his iPad. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt's workroom is attached to a larger storage room that Bontrager Pro Cycling rents from the Boulder Trek Store. Rows of brand new Trek Madone 7 Series bikes hang along with last year's Trek Speed Concepts. Missing were the team's new Domanes and Speed Concepts, which were to arrive at the training camp in Solvang. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Each rider will have a race-ready Madone and Speed Concept that will live on the team's trailer all season. Domanes will be on the trailer for certain events, but Fostvedt said that some riders have already requested that a Domane be their go-to race bikes for most events. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Last season's Trek Speed Concepts will be shipped to riders' homes for training. Fostvedt joked about riders reusing equipment, saying, "it is still a development program. We don't want to spoil them too much." Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Unless you're looking at an Eddy Merckx production bike, you won't find a bike with this name on it anywhere else. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Last season when we caught up with Joe Dombrowski's Madone 7, Fostvedt was attaching race numbers in the seatpost clamp. He said that was a bit flimsy and not very clean. This season, Trek made the frames with a rivet to attach an aftermarket number holder. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

All of the bikes will be fitted with these K-Edge steel number holders. Last season, several pro squads could be found with prototype aluminum and steel versions. K-Edge decided the steel held up much better to 90 mph caravan driving than the aluminum version. In April, the number holders will be for sale at K-Edged's website for $16. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt keeps track of 50-plus frames the old fashioned way, "analog." Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt has a finely tuned system for preparing wheels, installing tires, then cassettes, and finally skewers. His Abbey Bike Works Crombie cassette tool keeps things moving quickly. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Bontrager supplies the team with Aeolus 3, 5, 7, and disc wheels. Some of the wheels are reused from the 2012 season, but many are new for 2013. Wheels not used from the year before are either sent back to Bontrager or sold to other Trek development squads. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Most of the Bontrager-badged disc wheels from last year are being reused, as they are seldom used, so see little abuse. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Unglued Bontrager Race XXX Lite tubulars stretch on brand new Bontrager Aeolus 7 wheels. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt orders his 250g cans of Vittoria Mastik One in bulk. With such a high quantity of tires that need gluing and not always having a professionally ventilated workshop, Fostvedt wears a respirator mask to help himself from going cross-eyed. Also, notice what look like clear ketchup bottles on the top shelf; Fostvedt fills these with glue and squirts the glue onto the rim to save time and keep things clean. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

There's a special shelf just for Fostvedt's iPad and his Jawbone Jambox speaker. The stickers warn anyone against trying to change the music without prior consent. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Odds are, this Gel Cork tape won't even last the first half of the season. Fostvedt keeps a few spare bar-end plugs in a sawed-off water bottle. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Plenty of carbon Race XXX Lite stems and aluminum Race Lite handlebars were scattered around. For some riders, Fostvedt has to run different cockpit setups on their Domanes and Madones. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Along with a frame from last season and some old forks, a few baseball mitts could be spotted. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

There are always plenty of cables and housing as there is always a bike needing a fresh replacement. A mechanic's job is never done. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt said he was looking forward to wearing these Race XXX Lite podium shoes in the team car as his, "jump shoes," mumbling, "what red-blooded American male doesn't want a pair of ruby slippers?" Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt fills a Park Tool BX-2 Blue Box Tool Case with everything he needs for a day at the office. He takes his kit with him everywhere. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

That file won't be seeing any lawyer tabs this year, but it will get plenty of use cleaning up brake pads. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt keeps plenty of Speedplay Zero pedals and cleats neatly sorted on reserve. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt uses this Stanley case on the road. The left side has spare Speedplay pedals and parts. The right side holds headset spacers, bearings, and other headset pieces. Each side can fold out independently of the other to make parts easily accessed. Fostvedt said, "if I have to move one box to get to another, I feel like I've wasted too much time." Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

The first team bike to see daylight was Jasper Stuyven's Madone, but first it needed some bar tape. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

The big debate of the day was whether red or white finishing tape would look better on the Madones. Fostvedt made the executive decision on red to bring out the other red accents. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Fostvedt muttered something about the UCI while he was putting on this front wheel. I would estimate that it took him about 10 seconds longer to install this wheel than it would have a year ago. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Like all bikes in the pro peloton, Stuyven's bike bares the UCI-approved sticker and has lawyer tabs, much to many mechanics' disdain. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

If last week's Bontrager Hullabaloo in Waterloo was any measure, Stuyven could be piloting this Madone 7 to some sprint victories this season. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Like every great mechanic, Fostvedt is a stickler for the details, and that bit of masking tape had to go. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Stuyven uses a long and low cockpit. He chooses a 120mm Race XXX Lite stem and slams it to the headset's dust cap. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Many of the Bontrager riders, Stuyven included, choose one of the larger road saddles that Bontrager offers, the Bontrager Team Issue. Some riders opt for the slightly smaller profile of the Paradigm RXXXL. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

"Axel's Axes" have become a calling card for the Bontrager development team. These decals are actually clearcoated over, but throughout the season, team director Axel Merckx will award riders with an axe sticker for wins, days in a leader's jersey, or just a great day on the bike. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Only the Bontrager team bikes will get the Bontrager graphic treatment. What are the odds that Keith Bontrager ever thought he'd have his name on a professional road team when he was building steel mountain bikes in the 1980s? Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Ready for a new year. Fostvedt could not stop raving about the fantastic support the team receives from all of its sponsors. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com