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TT bikes of the 2006 Giro: Rik Verbrugghe's Wilier & José Ivan Gutierrez's Pinarello, May 6, 2006

With the riders now rolling off the start ramp in Seraing, Anthony Tan looks at two more machines set up for success against the clock.

Rik Verbrugghe's Cofidis Wilier

Rik Verbrugghe's hoping this bike
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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Rik wants another trick

Now here's a man worthy placing a bob or two on today. Winner of the Giro prologue in 2001, and a winner of the prologue in the Tour de Romandie (2002) and last year's Eneco Tour of Benelux, 31 year-old Belgian Rik Verbrugghe is a man made for the short chrono.

Yesterday, his Wilier bike was receiving some last-minute adjustments from the team's head mechanic. Unlike Bert Roesems' bike we previewed yesterday, however, Verbrugghe opts for the flat rather than sloping time trial bars even though he's reasonably tall and flexible himself, and to bump his elbows a little higher, a centimetre-tall plastic wedge has been inserted below the elbow pads.

A massive 55-tooth FSA chainring coupled with 180mm cranks will be whirring him along today's parcours, and with a chain-slip protector in place, drivetrain transmission *should* be trouble-free.

Verbrugghe opts for flat
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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Gel padding
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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A big big dog!
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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A chain-slip protector
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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José Ivan Gutierrez's Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears Pinarello

From whatever angle you see it,
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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If looks could kill...

Maybe not one to win so short a time trial, Illes Balears' José Ivan Gutierrez is a very accomplished time triallist nonetheless. This fact is realised by his three national time trial titles and the bike we see before us, which was a one-off for the Spaniard from Pinarello.

"Solamente per Gutierrez?" we ask the team's mechanic, who confirms with a simple nod.

If we were to compare this bike with something, one could say its head-tube cluster bears a strong resemblance to BMC's TT01 time machine, while the rear triangle is not unlike Cervélo's P3 time trial bike, particularly the indented seat tube.

The 27 year-old's position on the TT machine is about as low as you can go before your mouth begins to make contact with the front wheel (and at 50k an hour, that would not be good for you!). As well as sloping bars, Gutierrez has an adjustable Deda stem turned right down; only a handful of riders in the world could adopt such an extreme position.

Looking down the cockpit.
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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The head-tube cluster
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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The seat tube
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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Pinarello pioneered the big bottom bracket trend
Photo ©: Anthony Tan
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Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Anthony Tan/Cyclingnews