Tour Tech -- Tour of Flanders

[HKEK]

On Sunday, I watched the Tour Flanders on Versus. The rider that
dominated and eventually won the race was Stijn Devolder riding for
team Quick Step. He was riding a Specialized bike and it appeared to
the Tarmac model. I would have thought he would have been riding the
Roubaix considering that the riding was over cobble stone roads.

Can anyone tell me what, if any, differences there are in the typical
components of the bikes built for the Tour of Flanders compared to
bikes built for road racing on smoother surfaces (such as TdF etc.)?
Are the weight limits the same for these one day classic races as in
TdF? What is the weight of a team bike built for one of these on day
races over cobbles? -- Thanks!

 

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On Apr 7, 10:39 am, HKEK <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sunday, I watched the Tour Flanders on Versus. The rider that
> dominated and eventually won the race was Stijn Devolder riding for
> team Quick Step. He was riding a Specialized bike and it appeared to
> the Tarmac model. I would have thought he would have been riding the
> Roubaix considering that the riding was over cobble stone roads.
>
> Can anyone tell me what, if any, differences there are in the typical
> components of the bikes built for the Tour of Flanders compared to
> bikes built for road racing on smoother surfaces (such as TdF etc.)?
> Are the weight limits the same for these one day classic races as in
> TdF? What is the weight of a team bike built for one of these on day
> races over cobbles? -- Thanks!

The cobble sections at Flanders aren't nearly as long and potentially
muddy as the ones at Roubaix, so most teams ride their usual road
rigs. Possible exceptions are slightly bigger tires and lower rim
sections. Weight limits are the same for all road races, but some of
the Roubiax specials might be two pounds or more over. I think
durability might also be a special concern at Roubaix because the team
cars need to take fairly long detours around the cobbled sections.

 

[datakoll]

read here was a discussion on the possible sighting/photo of 36 spoke
wheels: unresolved?

 

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On Apr 7, 11:53 am, datakoll <[email protected]> wrote:
> read here was a discussion on the possible sighting/photo of 36 spoke
> wheels: unresolved?

Maybe. There were plenty of 32's

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/tech/features/flanders_tech108/Saunier_Duval-Scott_rims2.jpg