Stories by Matt Pacocha

• Posted: Sun, Jul 27th
  How Garmin-Chipotle keeps its riders fresh for the Tour
  Anyone can attest it’s hard to sleep when you’re hot. It's a fact that Garmin-Chipotle physiologist Allen Lim knows well. It’s why, among other things, regulating his riders’ temperatures on and off the bike is key to keeping them as fresh and fast as possible. This ...
• Posted: Fri, Jul 25th
  Six inducted into Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
  The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame sits just off main street in Crested Butte, Colorado. It’s tucked into the back corner of the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum and packed with a broad cross-section of mountain biking history.
• Posted: Fri, Jul 25th
  How Carlos Sastre's Cervélo P3C is tuned to help him win Saturday's time trial and the Tour..
  On the eve of this race’s final test, the 53-kilometer time trial from Cérilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond, CSC-Saxo Bank’s Carlos Sastre leads Frank Schleck by 1:24, with another 9 seconds to Bernard Kohl and — perhaps most ominously — 1:34 to Cadel Evans, who sits ...
• Posted: Sat, Jul 19th
  Wilier delivers new bikes in time for Tour
  Last year the bikes Lampre riders showed up to the Tour with were well used, all looked battle worn with chipped paint and rusted bolts from the harsh weather and frequent washing by the mechanics.
• Posted: Wed, Jul 16th
  Saunier’s Secret - Mavic’s Pro-only prototype R-SYS wheelset
  If Mavic sold the pro-only version of the R-SYS, which popped up at this year’s Tour, it would have been a winner from the beginning.
• Posted: Mon, Jul 14th
  Tour Tech - More than Extreme
  The paint job on Erik Zabel’s Colnago was originally used 25 years ago, but even that classic look can not hide the new form beneath it. Zabel debuted Colnago’s new EPS (Extreme Power Special) frame at this year’s and is the only rider using in the peloton.
• Posted: Fri, Jul 11th
  Tour Tech - The leading edge
  Belgian-based frame builder Ridley has completed two new models in time for this year’s Tour de France with the goal of putting Silence-Lotto's top rider on the top step of the podium in Paris on July 27. Anyone can hope, of course, but Ridley has the technological chops ...
• Posted: Wed, Jul 9th
  Tour de France tech: Cancellara's tricked out bike
  CSC is not a Shimano-sponsored team. Instead, it buys the Shimano components it uses. You might be surprised that a team like CSC pays for its drivetrain components, but there are multiple reasons why it pays. The primary reason is because of other sponsor obligations, namely to ...
• Posted: Tue, Jul 8th
  Gerolsteiner test-drives Shimano's electronic time-trial shifters
  Shimano’s electric time-trial shifters made their racing debut on Tuesday during the stage-4 individual time trial in Cholet. Ever since the “E-Dura-Ace” group showed up three years ago there was speculation that it might become a powerful time-trial tool. The system ...
• Posted: Tue, Jul 8th
  Tour Tech - The new Volt
  You’ve already seen the new Bell Volt helmet, even if you didn’t recognize it as new. Thor Hushovd put the Volt in the spotlight of victory at the end of Sunday’s stage two. The new model will slot in as the top road and cross-country race helmet from Bell.
• Posted: Sun, Jul 6th
  Tour de France leader Alejandro Valverde's custom Pinarello Prince
  When Caisse D’Epargne superstar Alejandro Valverde stormed past Columbia’s Kim Kircken in the last 200 meters of the opening stage of the 2008 Tour de France he did it on a brand new bike. The winning bike wasn’t new in the sense of a new design — it is the same bike as ...
• Posted: Sun, Jul 6th
  How do Tour de France teams deal with rainy stages?
  The first four stages of this year’s Tour take place on the windy, often rain-soaked roads of [nid:79435]northwestern France. The riders don’t truly escape it until the first time trial in Cholet. Because of the conditions, many teams, or individual riders, take special ...