Vuelta a España team time trial tech gallery

From new bikes to custom components, here’s the best time trial tech we spotted at the Vuelta a España

07:48, Sunday 27th August 2023

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

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For the second year in a row, the Vuelta a España kicked off with a team time trial. This year’s edition of the Spanish Grand Tour boasts one of the strongest line-ups in recent memory, but could Jumbo-Visma win the opening-day TTT for the second year in a row to get Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič off to the perfect start? Check out the results here.

The world of time trialling is always a minefield for new and cool tech as teams and riders attempt to eke out every ounce of performance against the clock. Here’s a gallery of the best tech we spotted ahead of stage 1 of the Vuelta a España.

Colnago's integrated bottle design

Colnago’s TT1 time trial bike has been around for over a year now, first released ahead of the 2022 Giro d’Italia. It still catches the eye a year later, partly due to its integrated bottle cage which is designed to smooth airflow, like this one on Finn Fisher-Black’s (UAE Team Emirates) bike.

A custom K-EDGE chain guide

The New Zealander’s bike proved to be a hotbed for tech, including this K-EDGE Race chain guide with a custom New Zealand design. To support 1x set-ups, which are now used frequently throughout the peloton for time trials, riders use a chain guide instead of a front derailleur. They’re designed to prevent the chain from dropping off the chainring, but as Primož Roglič discovered at the Giro d’Italia, that doesn’t always work out.

UAE Team Emirates kept things simple with this tape-inspired solution

While tubeless set-ups have become dominant, some teams have reverted (or never left) the old-school tube, like UAE Team Emirates. For a rear disc wheel, this leaves a hole through which you can access the valve, but UAE Team Emirates have a simple solution to cover it: black tape. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, even in the world of aerodynamics.

Syncros became dsm-firmenich's wheel sponsors this season

The newest wheels on show, from what we found, were dsm-firmenich’s Syncros Capital SL Aero wheels. These were debuted by the team at the Tour de France and combine a 60mm-deep front wheel with a custom-designed rear disc.

Lidl-Trek mixed things up with a different tyre widths and models for its front and rear wheels

Tyre choice is also an important part of the performance equation and Lidl-Trek interestingly opted to use different models and sizes on each wheel. On the rear this was a 28mm version of Pirelli’s P Zero Race TT clincher tyre - this was released earlier this year with claims that it’s 5% lighter and has 15% less rolling resistance than the previous version. That was paired with one of Pirelli’s tubular options, the P Zero Velo in a 25mm width. Mixing and matching like this is usually about finding the right balance between reducing rolling resistance and maximising grip.

Many riders used large chainrings, as is common in time trials

The time trial course the riders tackled was short and flat, so it’s no surprise that there were some large dinner-plate-sized chainrings on show to help the riders chug along. By our estimates, this Specialized Shiv had a mighty 60-tooth chainring, although it wasn’t enough to propel Soudal Quick-Step to the win.

The chainring on Egan Bernal's spare bike

Better known for his climbing ability, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) had a similar set-up on his Pinarello Bolide time trial bike.

Movistar uses SRAM components

SRAM-specced bikes also used dinner-plate chainrings, like this set-up on one of Movistar’s Canyon Speedmax bikes. SRAM is the only major groupset brand to offer a 1x offering whereas any Shimano-sponsored teams have to sub in a non-Shimano chainring, although SRAM teams will also often swap out the chainring too.

WattShop was founded by aerodynamics expert and rider Dan Bigham

While many parts of a bike are beholden to team sponsors, riders often have a little more autonomy to customise their cockpits for time trials. Larry Warbasse (AG2R Citroën) was one of those riders who took advantage of this, using a WattShop set-up. WattShop was founded by Dan Bigham, someone who has mastered the aerodynamic approach to the point where he nearly beat Filippo Ganna in the individual pursuit at the World Championships, missing out by 0.054 seconds.

Rune Herregodts' custom Cube tri bars

A rider’s position has the biggest effect on aerodynamics and that’s why some use custom handlebars designed around their preferred riding position, like Rune Herregodts of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty who had custom Cube tri bars.

Filippo Ganna uses a noticeably elevated handlebar set-up

Filippo Ganna's (Ineos Grenadiers) time trial bars had a noticeably high stack height compared to his teammates' set-ups. The Italian is a two-time time trial world champion and will have spent countless hours in the wind tunnel fine-tuning his aero position, so who are we to argue with his set-up?

James Knox's tri bar set-up with Shimano shifters

To switch gears while riding, time trial bars have shifters built into the ends, like these Shimano ones on James Knox’s (Soudal Quick-Step) Specialized Shiv. Some riders also use blip shifters which can be added anywhere on the handlebars.

Ridley's new Dean Fast

By this point of the season, most of the bikes in the peloton are tried-and-tested. The exception to that rule was Ridley’s new Dean Fast which was only released at the beginning of August, making its debut at the World Championships. It enjoyed its first Grand Tour outing on the opening day of the Vuelta a España with Lotto Dstny, although the team didn’t challenge for the win. Taking advantage of the UCI’s relaxation of tube-shape rules, the bike has an incredibly deep head tube.

The Lapierre Aerostorm has a very deep seat tube

It’s similar in depth to Lapierre’s seat tube design. The French brand has traditionally erred on the adventurous side with its seat tubes, most notably on its Xelius climbing bike. For their Aerostorm this adventurous size materialises itself in the form of a very deep tube which will undoubtedly be designed to slice through the air.

Rein Taaramäe's CeramicSpeed jockey wheels

The hunt for any marginal gain extends to every component, and for Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) that included CeramicSpeed’s OSPW Aero jockey wheel.

Alpecin-Deceuninck uses the Zwift Hub turbo trainer

As the route was only short, riders had to warm up for longer than they would for other stages. While some teams warmed up on their road bikes, others like Alpecin-Deceuninck used their time trial bikes, in this case the Canyon Speedmax paired with a Zwift Hub turbo trainer and a Wahoo Kickr fan.

It was a hot day in Barcelona

Despite the warm conditions, it was still an incredibly hot day for the most part with temperatures above 30° Celsius. To keep their core temperatures down, many riders used cooling vests.