The sticker on the leftside chainstay says "Tuned by Fant." Well this is Glenn Fant, Levi's personal mechanic. Photo: Nick Legan
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SOLVANG, Calif. (VN) — Time trial days are never easy, for anyone. For competitors they’re all about emptying yourself out on course. For staff they are logistically complicated and time consuming. Mechanics spend copious amounts of time working on TT bikes. Strange frame shapes and internal cable routing complicate matters. Even more attention is required when it comes to keeping positions UCI compliant.
“What’s the difference between road and TT bikes?” goes the old joke. “One of them is raced for five hours and you work on it for 30 minutes. The other is raced for 30 minutes and work on it for five hours.”
You can guess which is which.
Here’s a gallery of shots taken of the prep work and pre-race set-ups.
Mavic’s CC80 super deep carbon wheel is not on the manufacturers website and don’t expect to see it soon. These had a sticker that said “Look-see sample. Not for sale.” Photo: Nick Legan
The sticker on the leftside chainstay says “Tuned by Fant.” Well this is Glenn Fant, Levi’s personal mechanic. Photo: Nick Legan
Taylor Phinney had special wheels for his special bike. It’s good to be the king. Photo: Nick Legan
Taylor Phinney broke his first custom stars ‘n stripes BMC TT01 when he crashed at the Tour of Romandie. Mechanics rushed to get him a replacement in time for ATOC. His dad, Davis, had the tape measure out checking his seat height before the race. Photo: Nick Legan
Kenda-5 Hour Energy had Simkins Design Group’s Egg Brake on their TT rigs. The red definitely gets your attention, but then you start to look and see that they are quite slim. Photo: Nick Legan
Kenda-5-Hour Energy had its LAS time trial helmets on display. Photo: Nick Legan
Jelly Belly had its Focus time trial bikes ready to go. Young cycling fans (those under 10 years of age) always seem to gravitate towards this team. Photo: Nick Legan
Team NetApp didn’t have room to bring time trial bikes for everyone. A couple riders would have to make do with clip-ons aero bars. Photo: Nick Legan
Last minute changes are part of the game. Filip Tisma tapes an SRM Powercontrol display to one of his rider’s bars. Photo: Nick Legan
Emma Pooley finished fifth on the day after having troubles with her front wheel selection in the blustery conditions. Vaughters was on hand to see how it went. Photo: Nick Legan
Other than Team Sky, Team Bissel has the only Pinarello Graals in the U.S. at the moment. Photo: Nick Legan
UHC’s Brad White was keyed up for the day’s TT. His Bell aero helmet was polished and ready too. Photo: Nick Legan
To avoid race day drama, mechanics check and double-check positions for UCI compliance. Photo: Nick Legan
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