July 23/04 8:41 am - Redden Report from stage 18 TDF

Posted by Editoress on 07/23/04
 

Redden Report

Photographer Chris Redden is back at the Tour again this year, and has decided to try his hand at writing as well as photos. Here are his impressions from his 7th day at the Tour.

Photos

July 23, Stage 18

Today I thought I would talk about some of the cool tech stuff that I have seen at the Tour. Actually, for the most part the riders are running stuff that guys like you and me could buy at a good retailer. The components are either Shimano Dura Ace or Campy Record. There are an assortment of cranks, stems , seat posts , and rims that the riders are using that are proven race parts. I want to highlight a few of the components that are cutting edge and show what some of the riders are using. I have already talked about the stuff Postal is using so I will leave that alone till the ITT tomorrow. I saw a pair of outboard bearing FSA carbon cranks that are using a hollow axel like that of Dura Ace. This was on a CSC bike. I hear that they are lighter than Dura Ace but I couldn‚t confirm this. The next thing I saw was the Mavic / Michelin tubless road rims and tires. This is a product that will be available next year. It is like a tubular but with the ease of clincher tire installation. I have been using this combo on my mountain bike for over a year now and love it. I can‚t wait to try this set up on the road! I also saw a pair of Stronglight cranks that looked pretty cool. They were made of carbon with hollow crank arms. Check out the pic for yourself.

The bikes that Liberty Seguros ride are BH bikes. They have a 1 piece carbon frame with integrated seat post. Very trick, but not a lot of adjustability. The last tech thing that I saw today was a new flavour of Power Bar. It is Caffeinated Raspberry and Cream. This has Acticaf caffeine from Guarana and is designed to be slowly absorbed in to the body and to last for several hours. This helps to keep riders alert while they are riding in long races. Don‚t know if we will see this in Canada. A note : The Riders in the Tour will use 26,000 Power Bars and 19, 000 Powergels through the course race. That‚s a lot of chewing!

A few other random notes today: Bernard Langer (the Golfer) made an appearance today to greet Lance. They chatted before the stage and he wished Lance well. I saw Phil Anderson here today. He is an ex pro road racer from Australia. It looked like he was here doing some press work. I guess that is new field for ex racers to get into , and to be a media personality. Just like my buddy Frankie and everyone‚s fav Bob Roll.

If you happening to be checking out CBC NewsWorld on Sunday I will be doing a phone interview with them to be aired at 9 am Toronto time. Check it out!

Tomorrow is the ITT. Look to Ullrich to challenge Lance, but for Lance to dominate again.

As far as Lance goes here is my daily report on what he had to say. Actually I asked him to sign a jersey for me and he told me ‰hey man I won‚t sign those.‰ When asked about another Tour, he said „ I have a new sponsor for next year and that will be up to us to sit down and to discuss it‰. He kind of indicated that he won‚t do another but the Giro will be a distinct possibility as well as the Pro Tour. He also said that he says this every year and changes his mind after the Tour finishes. On a final note he did say that he had a beer and some ice cream last night. He must be feeling pretty confident!

I just want to say hi to Eon D‚Ornellas who I bumped into at the side of the road today. Eon is a ex Can National Road Champion (and former Olympian) racer, and a retailer in TO. Nice to see you!