- We are here with the bike and kit of
Rio Olympic Games Bronze Medalist Vicky Holland.
(techno music)
So let's start with her bike.
And she is riding the Specialised S-Works Tarmac
in a 52-centimeter frame with a few customizations.
So let's start with probably the most obvious customization
on the front end, and that is her bar tape--
where she's got a blue and pink set-up,
which came standard from Specialised, apparently,
which is pretty cool. And then on the end
of that she has the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9150 levers.
Interestingly, she also has some clip-on tri bars,
which not everyone opts for in ITU racing,
given that you cycle in a pack,
and you don't necessarily need the tri bars quite so much.
But where they do come into play is when you may be coming
out of the swim and you need to bridge a gap
up to the group at front, or perhaps you're trying
to attack off the front of a group.
But they can't extend beyond the brake levers.
So these look like a mixture of brands that-
she's got some Deda arm cups here and the Deda clamps.
But these are perhaps actually some Zipp bars.
I'm saying that because there are some Zipp plugs there.
I might be completely wrong. And then,
they have to have a bridge on these tri bars.
So she's actually got a Profile Design bridge here.
Now, moving on to the wheels-- you're never going
to see anything super deep in ITU racing.
I mean, you want a bike that's agile, responsive,
and you can throw around.
So you're going to go for something slightly shallower.
So she has the Roval CLX50 Rapide wheels.
And then on those she has the S-Works Turbo tubular tyre
in a 24mm width. And there's something I really like,
that I've just noticed, is that she's got
this specialised tape around the valve.
Now, valves often rattle in the wheel.
So I often just use some electrical tape.
So this is a really neat
and clean way of doing it from Specialised.
Now, let's go back to the frame itself.
And Specialised have kind of overhauled the Tarmac
to prove its lightness and also its aerodynamics.
Now we don't have the scales here today to weigh the bike,
but it's believed to be around 200 grammes lighter
than its predecessor. And they've done that
through improving the carbon layout
and also how much paint is applied to the frame.
Now in terms of the aerodynamics,
they've changed a few designs in the frame.
So you've got this cut-out around the rear wheel,
as well as aerodynamic features around the seat tube
and the seatpost. We've got the dropped rear stays.
But something I thought was really cool is
that the forks actually come in three different sizes
to complement the aerodynamics of the different frame sizes.
So all in all, say Specialised have made more
than just a road bike.
This is actually becoming almost an aero road bike.
Back to some of the componentry of the bike--
she has the S-Works power crank set,
which is a dual-sided power metre from Specialised,
which is really exciting.
It is due to be released at some point in 2018.
She's running a 170 crank length.
But she has told us that she is playing
with the idea of using 165s.
But currently she is riding 170s.
And on the end today she has the Look KEO blade pedals,
and then she's running a 52/36 chainring set-up.
And then she obviously has the Shimano Dura-Ace
Di2 9150 front mech and rear mech.
But you probably have noticed the rather large cogs
on the back, and that is because
she's running the CeramicSpeed OSPW jockey wheels.
In short, they help to save watts
by reducing the friction of the chain going
from the cogs through the jockey wheels.
On a standard jockey wheel set-up, the chain has
to go through some relatively tight angles.
So basically, CeramicSpeed are aiming to improve
the flow of the chain through that area.
And then that is all connected by
this rather flash gold KMC chain.
Then on to some of the finishing touches and componentry.
She has the Shimano Dura-Ace brake callipers.
And then on top of the S-Works Aero seatpost
she has the S-Works Power saddle,
which she has opted for the smaller 143 mm size.
And then she has the S-Works bottle cages.
Now moving on to some of Vicky's other kit.
Now, Vicky comes from a very strong swimming background.
So she opts for the ROKA Maverick X wetsuit,
which kind of complements that neutral buoyancy
in swimming, and she's got that in a small tall size.
And then moving on to these rather flash shoes.
These are actually her shoes from the Rio Olympic Games.
These are the New Balance 1500v2s.
These come in at around 215 grams, depending on the size.
And she's actually talking about going
for something slightly lighter, but still
with some good support from New Balance as well.
But check out those soles.
(TECHNO MUSIC)
So there we go-- that is
Vicky Holland's S-Works Tarmac and her race kit.
I hope you liked the video.
If you did, hit that thumbs-up button.
And if you haven't done so already,
subscribe to GTN by clicking on the globe.
And if you want to see
what these clip-on aero bars are all about,
then click on the video up there.
If you want to see some other tech from ITU racing
at the ITU Grand Final in Rotterdam, click down there.