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Bike selection was tricky for Tour favorites in stage 18
- Updated: July 21, 2016
Home » Bikes and Tech » Bike selection was tricky for Tour favorites in stage 18
Which bike was faster on Thursday, a road or TT frame? The two above-average rides of the day, Fabio Aru’s and Romain Bardet’s, were on road bikes. Yet the winner, Chris Froome, was on a TT bike. There’s no clear choice.
We’re used to the streaky lines and jutting extensions of TT bikes when these stages roll around. Aero helmets and skinsuits too. But stage 18 of the Tour de France threw a curveball at riders with some seriously steep climbing sections — up to a 14 percent grade in spots. For some riders, that meant leaving the TT bike back at the bus and hopping on an all-rounder with a few modifications. But did those modifications really matter?
Truly a tech conundrum, each team tackled the hilly TT course by combining the elements of TT bikes and all-rounders they thought would matter most. But not everyone bought into the all-rounder concept, opting instead for lightly-modified TT bikes. Orica – BikeExchange’s Adam Yates stuck with a TT bike, for example, and finished a respectable 16th. “Everyone has their own choice and their own …
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