A look at the US elite national road champion's bike
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Eric Marcotte (SmartStop Pro Cycling) pulled out the win of his career at the 2014 US national road championship(Image credit: James Huang)
The BB386EVO bottom bracket provides lots of room for the huge down tube(Image credit: James Huang)
K-Edge provided a custom laser etched and anodized aluminum mount for the Garmin computer(Image credit: James Huang)
Blue housing lends a nice visual touch(Image credit: James Huang)
A SRAM Red 22 Quarq power meter records Marcotte's output(Image credit: James Huang)
Marcotte puts the power down through a pair of Mavic Zxellium SLR pedals(Image credit: James Huang)
The SRAM Red 22 rear derailleur is paired to a SRAM PG-1170 cassette and KMC X11SL chain(Image credit: James Huang)
Carbon fiber Dave-O bottle cages from Arundel(Image credit: James Huang)
TRP's R970 brake calipers aren't seen very often but they solid and lightweight(Image credit: James Huang)
Marcotte's bike was fitted with a 55mm-deep front wheel and an 80mm-deep rear wheel(Image credit: James Huang)
Arundel Gecko Grip bar tape provides a firm hold(Image credit: James Huang)
The workhorse build includes an aluminum cockpit from Ritchey(Image credit: James Huang)
SmartStop races on carbon tubular wheels from Mercury Cycling(Image credit: James Huang)
Marcotte says he chose the Zero.9 model for its all-around capabilities(Image credit: James Huang)
External cable routing makes for easy maintenance - although ironically, the Gore Ride-On sealed derailleur cable set doesn't require much attention(Image credit: James Huang)
The American motif runs deep on this frame(Image credit: James Huang)
Team sponsor Wilier Triestina rewarded Eric Marcotte's victory at the US national road championship with this custom painted Zero.9(Image credit: James Huang)
While the parts were donated from Marcotte's standard team-issued bike, the frame was brand-new - and Marcotte intends to keep it looking that way for as long as possible(Image credit: James Huang)
Eric Marcotte of Team SmartStop Pro Cycling pulled off the biggest win of his career at this year's US elite national road championship, holding off much better-known, and better supported, riders and squads in front of the packed streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Naturally, team sponsor Wilier Triestina has rewarded that victory with a custom painted stars-and-stripes Zero.9.
While such a win would be impressive in its own right, it's even more so given that Marcotte isn't a full-time professional bike racer; he's a full-time chiropractor with his own practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. As befits his 'working man' racer status, Marcotte uses Wilier's second-tier all-rounder, the Zero.9, which was specifically introduced as a lower-cost option to the Zero.7 flagship.
"Initially as the season started, I was just given the Zero.9 frameset as being more of an all around rider," Marcotte said. "Who knew at the time I'd have the results that the year produced? That said, if I were to have the option, haven ridden and trained on this frameset for a year now, I'd choose it myself. Super responsive, great position and comfort for me on the bike, good positioning over the bottom bracket for cornering, stiffness in the bottom bracket, and sharp front end."
Not surprisingly given his day job, Marcotte says that dialling in his position was critical. While his own profession helps in that respect, his physical location in Scottsdale doesn't exactly hurt either. Cyclologic, a "Cycling Analysis Center" with a speciality in bike fitting, is located a few steps away, as is the wind tunnel at high-end shop Faster.
"Setup and positioning is very individualised," said Marcotte. "The most important thing is comfort that is individualised to the person's body, thus creating the greatest power vs efficiency."
Such a focus on the true relationship of a bike to its rider – as a mechanism to channel human power down to the road – is reflected in Marcotte's machine. The workhorse build includes a SRAM Red 22 group, Quarq power meter, Mercury carbon tubular wheels wrapped in Maxxis rubber, TRP R970 brake calipers, and Ritchey aluminium cockpit components. Finishing things off are Gore Ride-On sealed derailleur cables and housing, a Selle San Marco Aspide saddle, Arundel Gecko bar tape and Dave-O bottle cages, and a set of Mavic Zxellium SLR pedals.
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Total weight as shown here is 7.33kg (16.16lb).
Oh, and then there's that awesome paint job, resplendent in a patriotic red, white, and blue motif that even includes blue brake lever hoods and a custom laser etched Garmin computer mount from K-Edge. Naturally, Marcotte is "super stoked" about getting such treatment and while he loves the bike, he also has no intentions of subjecting it to unnecessary wear and tear.
"I actually haven't ridden it since I raced Worlds. It's like a collectors item!" he said. "It'll be like my coffee shop ride bike and make a great retirement bike down the road."
Complete bike specifications
Frame: Wilier Triestina Zero.9, size S Fork: Wilier Triestina Zero.9 Headset: Ritchey Carbon Pro Drop-In, 1 1/8-to-1 1/4in tapered Stem: Ritchey WCS 4-Axis, 130mm x -17° Handlebar: Ritchey WCS EvoCurve, 42cm (c-c) Tape: Arundel Gecko Grip Front brake: TRP R970 w/ carbon-specific pads Rear brake: TRP R970 w/ carbon-specific pads Brake levers: SRAM Red 22 DoubleTap Front derailleur: SRAM Red 22 Rear derailleur: SRAM Red 22 Shift levers: SRAM Red 22 DoubleTap Cassette: SRAM PG-1170, 11-25T Chain: KMC X11SL Crankset: SRAM Red 22 Quarq power meter, 172.5mm, 53/39T Bottom bracket: Wilier Triestina BB386EVO-to-SRAM GXP adapter Pedals: Mavic Zxellium SLR Front wheel: Mercury Cycling M5 tubular Rear wheel: Mercury Cycling M9 tubular Front tyre: Maxxis Campione tubular, 25mm Rear tyre: Maxxis Campione tubular, 25mm Saddle: Selle San Marco Aspide Seatpost: Ritchey WCS Alloy 1-bolt Bottle cages: Arundel Dave-O (2) Other accessories: K-Edge Garmin computer mount, Garmin Edge computer, Gore Ride-On sealed derailleur cable and housing, SRAM chain catcher
Critical measurements
Rider's height: 1.75m (5ft 7in) Rider's weight: 71kg (157lb) Saddle height from BB, c-t: 708mm Saddle setback: 30mm Seat tube length (c-t): 490mm Seat tube length (c-c): 435mm Tip of saddle nose to centre of bars (next to stem): 523mm Saddle-to-bar drop: 93mm Head tube length: 121mm Top tube length (effective): 528mm Weight: 7.33kg (16.16lb)
