A look at the some of the technological advantages used for Friday's US pro time trial championships
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Armstrong's Felt TT race bike, with a waxed chain, Rotor rings and SRAM eTap(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina hosted the 2016 US national time trial championships(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
USA Cycling officials were checking bikes for the typical dimension requirements, including space between the frame and rear wheel(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
SRAM's new eTap remote shifters made an apperance at the US national time trial(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Olheiser's Merckx Stjeandemonts73 time trial bike features these unusual cut-outs in the down tube(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Lupus Racing's Michael Olheiser used a zip tie to tuck his cables up against the frame and out of the wind(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The Vision disc and team graphics make for quite the visual(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Orton's enormous CeramicSpeed pulleys. The idea behind the large pulleys is that less bending in the chain means less mechanical resistance and therefore perhaps a touch more speed(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The TR center-pull brake snugs up behind the aero frame(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Orton's flashy Orbea Ordu sports a 54t large ring with a Power2Max power meter(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Beth Ann Orton of Visit Dallas - DNA Cycling has her number spray-glued on(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
After this bike's rear triangle was deemed too tight, a Mavic mechanic adjust the rear dropouts to provide a little more space(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Post-adjustment, the bike passed the 'can you slide a card through it?' test, which is how USA Cycling was doing it as well(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Most time trial bikes were in no danger of being under the weight limit, including that of Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
With heat and humidity in abundance, ice was the theme of the day at the 2016 US national time trial championships(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Second-placed Amber Neben was one of a very few riders to benefit from fans during her outdoor warm-up(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
What this wheel bloc lacks in portability it makes up for in stability(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Held on country roads well outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the time trial course meant a gravel warm-up area for many riders(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Wheel-off trainers are becoming more common at time trials, as they don't require a second wheel. This LeMond Revolution has clearly seen some road use(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Many riders were right up against the legal extension length limit(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
SRAM eTap Blip shifters on Armstrong's bike(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Speedplay's dimpled, one-sided pedals make for allegedly smoother airflow underneath the shoe(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
VeloToze is a California company that makes these ultra-snug shoe covers(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Zirbel pushes a 55t big ring with this lengthy crank(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Some go for electrical tape to cover the disc valve hole. Rally takes it up a notch(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Use for electrical tape #2 & 3: Affixing a magnet and covering the valve hole on a disc(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Moment before he climbed up into the start house, Phinney put electrical tape over his SRM display. This way he could ride on feel and still capture the data(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Stevens had a trusty old Garmin Edge 500 on her Specialized S-Works Shiv(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Henderson sprays Stevens' arms, torso and legs with rubbing alcohol right before the start for its cooling effect(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The sticker may say Sufferlandia, but Stevens is often smiling(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Like many riders, Stevens used a cooling vest and bags of ice to keep her core temperature down. Unlike other riders, Stevens has a Mickey Mouse towel that she travels with(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Professional coach and amateur acupunturist Neal Henderson pins Evelyn Stevens while adjusting her number(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
While other sports have numbers sublimated onto the uniforms, cyclists have to make do with paper — which can present challenges when aerodynamics are of utmost importance. Here, Phinney pinned his as low as possible(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Phinney had the Zeiss shield in place just before the start(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Use for electrical tape #4: Consolidating cables for aerodynamics (on Tom Zirbel's bike)(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Use for electrical tape #5: Making an aero brake design a little more aero(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Use for electrical tape #6: Marking seatpost height (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Red Bull for go time(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Zirbel's littlest fan is his biggest supporter(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Check out the setback on Zirbel's saddle(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Rally's Tom Zirbel warms up in an ice vest before his silver-medal effort(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Extra-large CeramicSpeed pulleys on Stephens' bike(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Stephens' Infocrank power meter with Praxis Works TT rings(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Unusual casing on this Relix TT clincher, which Maxxis claims is its lowest rolling resistance model at 160g(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank sport some flashy bikes, like this one belonging to Lauren Stephens(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Use for electrical tape #7: Perhaps the most common use of all, finishing off handlebar wrap jobs(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Taylor Phinney en route to his 2016 US national time trial victory - without the sunglass shield on his Giro Aerohead helmet that he started with(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The little things add up in time trials, and at the US national championships, held May 27 in North Carolina, a bevy of interesting little things popped up as riders, teams and coaches tried to squeeze out every last drop of performance. Some details had been set long ago; some adjustments by riders before they rolled down the start ramp, including men's winner Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing).
With heat and humidity a factor, most riders employed some method of cooling before or during the event. Loose ice and ice bags were tucked into skinsuits, cooling vests were donned, fans were blasted and pop-up tents for shade were erected.
Right before her start, women's UCI hour record holder Evelyn Stevens (Boels Dolmans) warmed up on a trainer wearing a cooling vest, with an ice bag on her neck. As she climbed off to ride her time trial bike to the start, her coach Neal Henderson sprayed her arms, legs and torso with rubbing alcohol for the sensory if not actual cooling effect.
One interesting thing to watch at time trials is how veteran professionals make adjustments on the fly. BMC rider Phinney, for instance, called for electrical tape right before he climbed up onto the start ramp. With the clock counting down, he taped over the screen of his SRM PC8 computer, hiding the data so he could ride on feel but still capture the power and other data for analysis later. Why was this decision made on the line and not before?
Phinney also changed his aero helmet setup pretty substantially while on the road. He started with the full Zeiss sunglass shield on his Giro Aerohead helmet, but discarded it mid-ride, presumably for heat management.
While some tailoring of the bike setups were expensive and time-intensive — such as Kristin Armstrong's wax chain treatment — many were simple and along the lines of Phinney's 'just tape it' approach.
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USA Cycling officials were on hand monitoring bikes and gear, forcing last-minute changes of everything from Armstrong's skinsuit — no stars-and-stripes on national race day — to the rear wheel spacing.
For a detailed look at the the gear used at the 2016 US national time trial championships, click through the gallery above.
