Ganna fila is a pleasure. In the flagship that follows him, Tosatto is at the wheel, Cioni studies the data. Travelling in the back seat are Sir David Brailsford and Matteo Cornacchione, the mechanic. It has its own case and a pair of wheels. On the roof of the Mercedes, two spare time trial bikes and also the road bikeThe pair of wheels is useful in case the rider punctures while going to the start, even if the Team Ineos he usually places a mechanic next to the ramp to cover everyone's eventualities. Ganna is running like a charm and is already ahead of everyone, when with a gesture he indicates the rear wheelHis radio can only receive, but the gesture is unmistakable. The wheel is flat.
Tosatto and Cioni
«tosatto he immediately started saying that we should change the bike – Matteo recalls – while Cioni he looked at the speed, which did not decreaseHe almost didn't want to accept that the tire could be punctured. Probably he must have hit a glass and the rubber was coming down very slowly. Pippo will have done 4 kilometers with the wheel that was deflating and meanwhile pushing harder because he didn't want to lose ground and he swayed and turned his back. Tosatto was sure that he wouldn't make it through the last few curves on the cobblestones.If the tire had slipped, he would have fallen. We continued like this for a while, then on a track 4-5 kilometers from the finish, Pippo must have felt that the wheel was slipping off and at that point Cioni was convinced and told him to stop."
Pit stop: change bikes
Ganna stops. He lifts his leg and slides the bike under us, then puts it down. He takes two steps towards the flagship and Cornacchione is already on top of him.Pippo climbs onto the black car, Matteo pushes him until he's out of breath and the time trial starts again. It all seems easy, immediate, banal, but there is a world behind it.
What happens from the moment the flagship stops?
I open the door. I get out. I release the hook. I pick up the bike. I could loosen the hook while the flagship brakes, but I risk that when I open the door, the bike will fall and that would be a much worse damage.
Pippo receives the order to stop and approaches a barrier on the right Ganna stops, passes the bike under his leg and looks for the mechanic out of the corner of his eye. Cornacchione passes him the spare bike, with the Garmin already mounted Ganna gets on the new bike and the mechanic pushes him The mechanic pushes Ganna: chain on 58x19, Pippo immediately gains momentum Ganna has left again, Cornacchione returns to the flagship Cornacchione takes the blue bike with the flat tire It's time to load the punctured bike into the Mercedes and start tracking down Ganna.
Pippo receives the order to stop and approaches a barrier on the right Ganna stops, passes the bike under his leg and looks for the mechanic out of the corner of his eye. Cornacchione passes him the spare bike, with the Garmin already mounted Ganna gets on the new bike and the mechanic pushes him The mechanic pushes Ganna: chain on 58x19, Pippo immediately gains momentum Ganna has left again, Cornacchione returns to the flagship Cornacchione takes the blue bike with the flat tire It's time to load the punctured bike into the Mercedes and start tracking down Ganna.
Is it easy to put the bike down?
The time trial one is bigger. And when you take it, you can't hit it on the ground to avoid problems with the wheelsIt weighs 700-800 grams more than the road bike and is placed on the roof with the handlebars forward. So I took it by the fork and the horizontal stay and holding it like that, I put it on the groundBy the time he did, Goofy was already on top of it. He had to come to meet us, because Tosatto stopped a little behindIf Cioni had driven, he would have mounted him. Dario is a devil when he drives.
Does the bike on the roof have a chain in gear to start it moving?
Always. We choose the gear ratio together, usually with the chain on 58 to avoid Pippo having to change gear after launching himself. You could put it on the 46x15 and he could pick up speed right away making a start like on the track. But then he would be forced to raise the chain to 58 and in those situations and with all those watts, it would risk breaking something. So 58×19-21, Pippo jumped in and immediately lowered the chain.
How much do you think he lost?
We haven't quantified it, but we're in the order of 12-13 seconds.
Unlike usual, we didn't see Goofy move the Garmin.
Because for him, Bernal and a few others, on the spare bike we have another Garmin already calibratedFor them, that device is more important than the water bottle, often more so for psychological reasons.
Pippo left again, and you at that point?
At that point I ran back to put the bike back in place. Loading it is more complicated, because you have to fit the wheels into those little tracksAnd since it was the blue bike, I didn't want to scratch it. So it took me two seconds longer, but I didn't damage it. These are operations that must be done quickly, however. because otherwise you risk the sporting director leaving you there.
How long was Ganna left without assistance?
At least 500-600 meters, then we went back to him for the final instructions. He had done his reconnaissance that morning and remembered the end well from last year, but when you have different tires underneath, the grip of the bike is always a little different, even if they are not new tires.
Are these wheels used only by him or are they team wheels?
They are its tires, mounted on its wheelsIt's not easy, but for Pippo and a few others it can be done. In the warehouse certain materials are set asideSo they finished the time trial and Pippo managed to win. And at that point they arrived with the scanner to check the bike.
The scanner?
Yes, not your usual tablet. They have a scanner but the bike didn't fit because of its size.I had already returned at the start to follow Martinez, so I told him to dismantle it himself and then I'd put it back together. And so they checked Pippo's bike, Martinez's, and finally Bernal's too. No gimmicks or special bearings. And then they also checked the weight.
Is Ganna's time trial bike really too light?
Absolutely not. Partly because we keep about 60-70 grams of tolerance and then why the same front wheel we chose for that day was heavierWhat we may have lost in grams we have gained in watts.
Italian touch
After the time trial and as we have already said, David Brailsford has commented that his mechanics could be teaching Mercedes' chief mechanic a lesson in Formula One.We told you how three Italians escorted and assisted the (Italian) world champion. to the victory of the Milan time trialThis injection of Italianness is dispelling that annoying aura that in years gone by made Team Ineos unpopular. E Brailsford, who has very good eyesight, also noticed this..
