BARCELONA (Spain) – In less than 24 hours the Tour de France number 113 in history. He will do so with a 19,6 kilometre team time trial entirely through the streets of Barcelona and with the finish on Montjuic, the natural balcony overlooking the Catalan capital. A unique team time trial, with the formula that ASO proposed last year for Paris-Nice: the time will be taken from the first rider to the finish line, not the fourth, as was the case in the past (top photo by @paulineballet).
These days leading up to the race have also served to understand how the teams are preparing for an event that will award the first yellow jersey and represents a unique showcase for sponsors. Everyone wants to start off on the right foot. That's why they've been working on tactics, materials, and accessories.
A lot of work has been done. Not only during the winter, between training camps and the first races of the season, when this event had already been targeted, but also during the days spent in Barcelona. In fact, many teams have taken turns renting the Montmeló racetrack, the Formula 1 circuit, to carry out the final group rehearsals.
I work at the racetrack
La Ineos Grenadiers, but also the Visma-Lease a Bike, the Decathlon-CMA ee la Red Bull-Bora they were finally able to rehearse with the full lineup. In fact, it was the first time that the eight men designated for the Tour faced a team time trial together.
«This – he told us Marco Pinotti of Jayco-AlUla, which particularly follows the time trial sector – is the real problem. You're having a hard time putting them togetherWe also had four at the former Dauphiné and four at the Tour de Suisse."
At the racetrack the teams carried out several work sessions. Pre-established rhythms and telemetry in hand to evaluate setup and above all the best positionsAt Ineos, they even set up cones to simulate the curves and test the group's ability to stay together after each turn. Positions remain the key issue.
"It's very difficult to establish a fixed rule in team time trials, because in reality there isn't one. First of all, you have to see what kind of men you have. Nowadays aerodynamics are very important and the athletes' measurements are also taken into accountYou can arrange them from smallest to largest, or vice versa, say from the one with the lowest BOD to the one with the highest BOD. Usually, however, a compromise is sought, to prevent the largest rider, perhaps also the one destined to push the most, from always being behind a smaller one and ending up constantly taking in air and therefore never being able to catch up.
«The positions have been established for some time now – he explains Mattia Cattaneo – Team time trials are now primarily a matter for engineers and trainers. They're the ones who decide, based on aerodynamics and kilojoules developed, what the best positions are for each athlete. Everything is truly studied down to the smallest detail.
«True – he confirms Edward Affini – we also already have more or less predefined positions. There are only a few small doubts left, which we will resolve tomorrow after the test on the route».
Just the route? Is it technical or smooth? On paper, despite running through the city, it seems pretty smooth. The roads are wide.
«However – adds Pinotti – I want to see it with barriers and fences up first. Only then will you be able to get a true sense of it. In my opinion, it's moderately technical: you have to drive well, but it's not a totally determining factor. This also affects the choice of positions. If you have a rider who is particularly good at cornering, you try to leave him in front as much as possibleAnd behind him you avoid putting someone who has more difficulty riding the time trial bike.
"And let's not forget that you also have to listen to the riders. I've had requests from someone who didn't want to follow a certain teammate because, after the changeover, he accelerated too quickly."
Pinotti also told us about the wind, which has been constant in Barcelona these days. "It will be slightly contrary and is expected to weaken, which means that the stronger teams, who will start later, will also have this small advantage further».
Which tactic?
Then there's the delicate tactical issue. This team time trial is more of an "all for one" than a "one for all." With the leader taking the time and the final 900 meters uphill, albeit not particularly steep, how will the leaders be managed?
«This affects both the positions and the various pulls and pacing – explains Pinotti – because it's fine to protect the leaders, but you also can't give up on exploiting riders like Remco Evenepoel or Tadej Pogacar. You protect it a little, but not too much.
"I remember, for example, the Paris-Nice team time trial last year. That day, Joshua Tarling pulled for 1.200 meters straight. We covered the same stretch with three men. When you have athletes like Filippo Ganna or Tarling, everything becomes easier. A rider who can pull for 40 seconds or even a minute resets the whole team: It keeps it in a row, tidy, with less stress during gear changes. Today, except in exceptional cases of wind, double rowing is practically unused. It's not even used in track pursuit quartets, let alone on the road.
«Even at home UAE Emirates They have extraordinary and very homogeneous riders. Pogacar himself, on the pure flat, is not necessarily stronger than Brandon McNulty or Nils Politt. He will also do his part."
Evenepoel has already declared that he does not intend to hold back in view of the final climb and that he will contribute along the entire route. On the contrary, Politt and Affini himself explained that they will push to the maximum until the entrance to the last climb. «It's still a team time trial, not a time trial for the leaders», said Remco.
Still Affini: «Everyone has more or less pre-established times for shooting and it's clear that I'll stay ahead longer than a Sepp Kuss, just to give an example."
Cattaneo concludes: "It's fine to save energy, but if you have a time trialist like Remco on your team, what do you do? Don't you exploit him?"
Rain of 68
The bikes and setups for the team time trial remain unchanged. Each team remains faithful to the solutions developed so far: riding position, extensions, and adjustments are now consolidated. What can change, however, to adapt to high speeds and the management of collective effort, are the gear ratios, in particular the front chainring.
Visma-Lease a Bike will use SRAM 68-tooth single chainrings, but each rider will maintain their own crank length. Jonas Vingegaard is expected to use 155mm chainrings, while other teammates will stick with 160mm or longer. However, given the final climb, which he'll be tackling at full speed, the Dane may opt for a 64-tooth chainring.
«I – explains Affini – I'll use the 68 and push hard, I already know that my time trial will end when the flat section ends."
La UAE, instead, has focused on maximum uniformity: all with a 64-tooth Shimano single chainring and an 11-30 rear cassetteThe only exception is Politt, who for this team time trial asked for a cassette with a 34-tooth sprocket so he could pedal more easily once his work was done, to tackle the final climb a little more easily.
The situation is different at Ineos, where the time trial specialists They have very different characteristics. Some come from the track, like Ganna, others develop enormous absolute power, and others possess more explosive qualities. For this reason, each athlete will use their own gear ratio, with chainrings ranging from 62 to 68 teeth.
Another crucial aspect, even more important in team time trials, concerns the additional controls on the appendagesNot so much to maintain the aerodynamic position, but because they allow you to change gear even when, after a head change, you remain slightly too long or too short. Just one more or less sprocket is enough to immediately regain fluidity. Considering that the expected speeds will be constantly in the order of 64-66 kilometers per hour, even these details can make the difference.
