Pro bike: Alessandro Petacchi's S-Works Tarmac
Hyper-aggressive position for the sprint lead-out
This article originally appeared on BikeRadar
Italian Alessandro Petacchi was once an Alpha sprinter in his own right, winning no less than 48 Grand Tour stages from 2000 to 2010. After bowing out of this role at the end of 2012, he joined Omega Pharma-Quick Step for 2014 as a lead-out man for Mark Cavendish. Even among a field of flexible, aero-minded pros, Petacchi's bike stands out for its extreme set-up.
Standing 6ft / 1.84m, the lanky Italian has his bikes set up almost like track machines, with a huge amount of saddle-to-handlebar drop (14cm) and reach (62.5cm), plus very narrow 40cm handlebars and a 140mm stem.
As with the rest of his teammates, he can choose any Zipp wheels he likes, often preferring to go with the 303 tubulars.
Interestingly, despite having the Venge aero bike as an option, Petacchi prefers the Tarmac.
We weighed the bike pictured here at 7.25kg / 15.98lb, in no danger of violating the UCI minimum weight rule. As befits a former sprinter, Petacchi is more concerned with just getting over the mountains than winning atop them. His SRAM WiFli Mid Cage derailleur is ready to handle a cassette with as low a gear as 32t. The bike shown here has an 11-28 cassette.
Click through the photo gallery for a closer look, and read the particulars of his component selection below.
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Petacchi leads his Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammates on stage 3 of the 2014 Tour de France
The new Specialized S-Works Tarmac features a svelte seatpost collar design
Complete bike specifications
Frameset: Specialized S-Works Tarmac
Stem: Zipp SL Sprinter, 140mm
Handlebars: Zipp SLC2, 40cm
Brakes: SRAM Red 22
Shift/brake levers: SRAM Red 22
Front derailleur: SRAM Red 22
Rear derailleur: SRAM Red 22 WiFli Mid Cage
Cassette: SRAM X-Glide 1190, 11-28t
Chain: SRAM Red 22
Crankset: S-Works cranks with SRAM 53/39t aero rings
Power meter: Quarq
Pedals: Look Keo
Wheels: Zipp 303 tubulars
Tyres: Specialized AllRound tubulars
Saddle: S-Works Romin
Seatpost: Zipp Service Course SL, 20mm
Weight: 7.25kg / 15.98lb
Critical measurements
Rider's height: 1.84m / 6ft
Reach, saddle tip to bar: 62.5cm
Drop, saddle top to handlebar top: 14cm
Saddle height: 79cm
Stem length: 140mm
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