Stybar's Ride

So you think Cyclocross Magazine had the inside scoop on Stybar's new whip? Well, here's another look at his bike.

There's no mistaking who's tent this is.


And the new decor added to his camper.


And matching bike:


Here's a look at his two bikes during the break after the Espoirs race. He has Pipistrello 34s on the bike now, but would later switch to 32's for the race. Also, it seems as though Stybar has a favorite saddle too. The San Marco on the new Rainbow bike looks to have considerable wear.


Stybar had the Avid Shorty Ultimates on his bike. The Pipistrellos are also the "older" model with the large side knobs. These features were removed for the 2009 model, but the pros seem to favor the grippier tread of the previous generation.


A close up of the PMP hub. Even though Stybar is a Sram sponsored rider, he choses to use a Sram 1070 cassette instead of the Red model like many of the top domestic pros.


A view of Stybar's cockpit. Sram Red shifters decked out in a full white setup, on anatomic drop handlebars. Notice the slight bulge of the cable pushing out the bartape slightly.


The stockpile of wheel bags leaning against the trailer.


Each bag is labeled so the mechanic can figure out which wheels are in the bag, without having to open up each one. This one is the 34 Pipistrellos that we saw earlier on Stybar's bike.


A front view of the bike Stybar raced. Check out the fully integrated handlebar/stem setup and the low profile carbon hoops. I'm surprised that Stybar chose to race on these wheels (compared to the deeper profile ones) considering how sandy the course in Lille was. I do love the Czech inspired spoke pattern.


View from the rear.


Another view from the rear. All of the top riders are interviewed before the race. Cyclocross is a big deal in Belgium.


The man and the machine.


Stybar throwing down during the race, seen here on the B bike.


Stybar went on to finish second to Nys in a two-up sprint. Stybar would go on to finish second again in Ostmalle at the last GVA race of the season to Bart Wellens. He would also finish second to Nys in the series overall standings. Not a bad season though; several high profile wins including the Superprestige overall and World Championship title. I bet he earned one of these. That's right, Stybie cakes!

Adam Craig's Giant Prototype

You've seen it all before already. Giant is in the process of testing and developing a carbon cyclocross bike. I was able to take a closer look at this bike in the pit at the Cycle-Smart International Cyclocross race in Northampton, MA.

On day 1, after starting in the last row and being stuck behind a crash, Adam was able to make it up to the front of the race and finished 5th. On day 2, Adam suffered another bout of bad luck as another crash at the start of the race slowed down half the field. Craig was on the ground for several minutes before getting up and continuing the race. He took a bike change on the first lap and finished the race the current TCX aluminum production model to 9th place.

Adam's legs and the aluminum Giant during post race interview. Note the MRP guide with a single chain ring setup.

While leap frogging the field in the elite race, the carbon Giant sat in the pit in case misfortune were to strike again. The bike is complete with Shimano's latest electronic Di2 Dura Ace 7970 gruppo along with several other PRO selections.

A closeup of the stem on Adam's bike.
This stem is very similar to the stem on Mark Cavendish's bike from the Tour. This one has a hole drilled right through the middle to make way for the front brake cable. If you take a closer look, there's no cable hanger attached to the head set.

Craig uses TRP Euro-X Carbon brakes to scrub speed. Take a look at Adam's straddle cable height, relative to the setup on Jeremy Power's CX9 or Katie Compton's Stevens Cross Carbon Team. You can see why this is important over here.
Craig is also rolling on Shimano Dura-Ace 24mm carbon tubular rims. The front tire is a Michelin Mud tread glued onto to a 30mm Dugast casing.

A close up of the electronic Dura Ace shifter.

The bottom bracket junction on the carbon prototype.

Shimano 7900 crankset mated to a custom 46 tooth Dura Ace chainring.

The battery pack at the heart of the Di2 system. It looks like the mount is bolted to the underside of the chain stay, with the battery pack sliding right on. I wonder if there's a chance that this could get knocked off during a crowded run up?

On his first lap mishap, Craig seems to have suffered a rear tire casualty. Here's a closer look at the tire that was originally on his A bike. This tread looks like Vittoria's new XM tread.

A look of the rear triangle. Take a look at Craig's rear tire, mounted to a Dura Ace 24 mm clincher wheel. He choses to run a Michelin Jet as a backup to the Vittoria. The most interesting thing about this tire is the way it's mounted. Michelin features arrows on their sidewalls for a front and rear specific rolling direction. Many chose to run the rear tire in reverse, with the REAR arrow pointing forward. Craig on the other hand decides to run the tire with the FRONT arrow point, and the same direction as a front tire would be mounted.

Another view of the rear triangle and brake caliper. I don't fully understand the reasoning behind the small rear triangle. Initial reports say that Giant was aiming to design a compliant bike, instead of focusing on stiffness. My thought is that the smaller rear triangles and shorter tubes would result in a stiffer ride. An independent bike testing consultant told me that the smallest "bendy" bike, is still stiffer than the largest stiffest bike out there.

Check out the detail on the machined ramp feature on the one off Dura Ace chainring. The plates on the chain also have excess material removed to reduce wait, saving 18 grams over the older 7800 incarnation.

Good luck the rest of the season Adam. I'll be rooting for you at Nationals.

Adam Myerson in the Pits at New Gloucester

While at the race, this whole sequence made no sense. Why would anybody change their shoe in the middle of a race? Then this was overheard over the internet waves:

"3rd for a while, flatted, dropped to 5th, then lost a cleat! Changed a shoe, finished 6th. The form, it's coming..."

- @adammyerson

Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart) pulls into the pit and starts to take off his shoe


His mechanic comes closer ready with spare shoe in hand


Myerson finally pulls off his shoe and starts to put on a new one


He gets a hand from his mechanic with the buckle on the new shoe. It was 40 degrees that day, my guess is that dexterity was non existent.


After changing his shoe, Adam hops on a fresh bike and starts to rejoin the race


But stops after he realizes that he has a rear flat.


He runs back to his mechanic to grab the same bike he rode in on.


After an interesting pit stop, Myerson jumps on a functional bike to finish the race in 6th place. Nice race Adam.


Addendum 2009.11.05:
Adam came across this post and added a little commentary on his blog. Check it out: http://www.cycle-smart.com/blog/2009/11/04/you-cant-make-stuff

"As it turned out, the second flat was from a valve stem that wasn't completely closed and was leaning against something that accidentally depressed it. So while 2nd was still within reach when I flatted the first time, the combo of the loose cleat and and a good minute in the pit put me back in 6th for good.

Muddy days like this are just full of unpredictability, and even the winners are falling off their bikes. Fast and steady wins the race, as Frankie McCormack always said."

Gloucester Day 2 - 2009

Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) entering the sand pit after winning the mudbath that was day 1. If you haven't seen the video of his crash with Tim Johnson yet, I suggest you go check out cyclingdirt.org


Tim Van Nuffel (Rendementhypo Cycling) leads Dylan McNicholas (CCB), Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart) and Jesse Anthony (Jamis) in front of a wall of fans.


Andy Jacques Maynes (Bissel) visiting from California. A great interview with Andy can be found over at Podium Insight: part 1 and part 2. I've never met the guy but he's easily one of my favorite riders because:
a. He went to Cal and studied engineering.
b. He worked at Specialized as a product manager (A job I would love to have, Andy can you hook me up?)
c. Lived out of an RV over the fall of 2008, traveling to races up and down the east coast
d. Crashed hard in May 2007, was hospitalized and still came back to win Masters 30-34 nationals six months later.
e. He's from California


Jesse Anthony (Team Jamis). I don't particularly like this image but I love how one of the bib panels has an upside down logo.


A view of the pit


Joachim Parbo (CCV Leopard Cycles) over the barriers. He's the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Danish national cyclocross champion. You can check out a profile of his Leopard over a the old cyclingnews.com


Stu Thorne, the man behind cyclocrossworld.com hauling bikes away from the pit after the race. Take a look at this image for a second, each rider has a pit bike and a spare set of wheels. Let's do some math. A set of Zipp 303 wheels retails for $2280. A set of Dugast Typhoon tubulars retail for $230. With a set on the pit bike, and an extra set in case of a second flat, this comes out to over $5000 in spare wheels alone. Now take into account the wheels on the race bike, three sets of mud tires and three sets of file treads and you have just about $23,000 worth of wheels alone! Yes this is a pro team sponsored by Zipp and Cyclocrossworld.com, but I just thought this was insane.


The stable of Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com bikes after the race.