USA Pro Challenge race leader on custom 3T aerobars
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Race leader Tejay van Garderen raced the uphill stage 5 time trial at the USA Pro Challenge on his BMC TM01 Time Machine(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Allow stage 5 of the USA Pro Challenge was a time trial, it was an uphill time trial, so Van Garderen ran the standard 53/39 rings on his Dura-Ace SRM crank(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The painted Lightweight disc provides quite the mirror. While the electronic drivetrain wires are neatly tucked out of site, van Garderen has an old-school wheel magnet and sensor taped and zip-tied on, respectively(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The BMC Time Machine's seatpost bolt is tucked neatly out of sight and covered with a rubber stopper(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
With the brake tucked behind the bottom bracket and the seatpost bolt hidden on the top tube, the rear of the BMC Time Machine cuts quite the smooth profile(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
BMC has team-only Continental tubular tires. On the relatively narrow Lightweight disc, BMC uses 22mm tires. On the wider PRO discs, they use 25mm(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
This team-only Continental tubular has a perfectly smooth center tread with fine file-tread shoulders(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The front tire, which features the same dual tread as the unmarked rear, is a 24mm width to match the Shimano C50 tire bed(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The BMC Time Machine features a dial on the rear drop out to precision-set the rear wheel (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 battery is tucked out of sight in the down tube(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Turning the handlebars reveals the internal routing for the Time Machine(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
While some riders have opted for saddles with dramatic cutouts for time trials, Van Garderen rides a standard Fi'zi:k Arione(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Elite's aero bottle requires a dedicated cage(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Like all the BMC bikes, van Garderen's machine got a thorough cleaning and polishing before the stage(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
BMC mechanic Aaron Fairley spent a number of minutes going over an already very clean bike(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Acetone is kept on hand for the particularly sticky clean-ups (read: sweat and sports drink) and Motorex polish keeps things shiny(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Motorex isn't a team sponsor, but BMC goes through so much lube and polish that mechanics sometimes pick up supplies on the road. A silicone lube was applied prior to the dry time trial start(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
While some pro gear is quite expensive, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, like this duct tape holding on a magnet(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Van Garderen no has a custom-molded stem/aerobar from 3T. While most of the team rides stock bars, top riders like Cadel Evans and Taylor Phinney get this custom job(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The custom 3T bar is drilled to hold the Di2 interface(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
You won't find this Di2 configuration on a stock bike(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Van Garderen's custom bar isn't so much low as it is extremely narrow(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Van Garderen is hoping for a home win in Colorado's USA Pro Challenge(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Just to the left of the red paint is a rubber bumper to prevent the integrated fork fairing from hitting the frame(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Tejay van Garderen set out on the uphill time trial of the USA Pro Challenge in the yellow leader’s skinsuit aboard a BMC TM01 Time Machine with a custom 3T aerobar and new team-only Continental tubulars. Although not exceptionally light at 18.98lb/9.06kg, van Garderen’s Time Machine was chosen for its aerodynamic advantage.
With about 1,500ft of climbing in the 10mi/16.1km time trial, some riders opted for road bikes with aero bars, but all the GC contenders rode full TT rigs.
Van Garderen ran a standard 53/39 ring set-up on his SRM Dura-Ace cranks, with an 11-25 cassette in the rear.
Van Garderen matched a Shimano C50 front wheel with a Lightweight disc, which BMC mechanics have painted over and polished to a mirror-like finish. On the front a 24mm Continental tubular marked Force Comp shared the same tread as the unmarked 22mm rear. Chief team mechanic Ian Sherburne explained that the tires are pro-team only, with a perfectly smooth center tread for ultimate speed matched with file tread shoulders for cornering grip. When BMC riders use a rear PRO disc, which has a wider tire bed, mechanics mount a 24 or 25mm tire to match.
But the most remarkable piece of van Garderen’s Time Machine is the custom-molded aerobar, which integrates not only the bars and the stem but the bayonet fork itself.
The Shimano Di2 wiring is molded into the aerobar, which is drilled for a zip-tie connection for the wiring harness.
Van Garderen’s resulting position is not insanely low by pro standards, but his extensions are quite narrow. The arm-rest pads are 14cm apart (c-to-c) and the extensions are only 5cm apart at the tips.
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