Wind-cheating aero machines and huge chainrings in the Australian summer sun
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A look at the seat cluster on Luke Durbridge's Scott Plasma(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
BMC Racing teammates Miles Scotson, Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis warm up in the shade of their camper van(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Rohan Dennis made it three consecutive national time trial titles(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
A look at Rohan Dennis' cockpit(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
A different frame finish, but Porte ran similar components and wheel setup as BMC teammate Rohan Dennis(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Porte's front and rear derailleur's were the slightly older Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 series(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Porte customised his Fizik Arione saddle with some added grip material to stay in position while racing(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The bronze and gold medal winning bikes(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Here you can see just how narrow the profile of the BMC Teammachine is(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Luke Durbridge opted for a de-stickered Lightweight Autobahn rear wheel(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Durbridge's Scott was paired with a Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 series groupset, with a custom, oversized chainring(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
All three bikes from the final podium(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The final podium each ran the PRO Textreme 3-spoke front wheel(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Another look at Richie Porte's BMC Teammachine(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
BMC Racing look set to partner with Garmin for their computers in 2018(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The front profile of Rohan Dennis' BMC(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
A look at the Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 rear derailleur on Rohan Dennis' winning bike(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Dennis' BMC was equipped with a Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 groupset, complete with the new Shimano power meter(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Ben O'Connor models the new Oakley AR07 time trial helmet(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The rear of the Oakley AR07 time trial helmet in Team Dimension Data colours(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Nathan Haas cools off ahead of setting off(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Nathan Haas rolls down the start ramp for his first race in Katusha-Alpecin colours(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The PRO Textreme 3-spoke is a popular front wheel for time trialling at the top end of the sport(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Lucy Kennedy of Mitchelton-Scott's Scott Plasma time trial bike(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Katrin Garfoot chooses a Lightweight Autobahn rear disc wheel for the time trial(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Ben O'Connor runs a HED Stinger rear wheel(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
A look at O'Connor's ENVE cockpit(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Ben O'Connor ran a ROTOR 54t Q-Ring outer chainring(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The front end of Haas' Canyon along with the Oakley AR07 time trial helmet in Katusha-Alpecin colours(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Canyon supplies its base bars with proprietary Ergon rubber grips(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Haas' cockpit, including the Wahoo computer Katusha-Alpecin will be using in 2018(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Rohan Dennis and Richie Porte's BMC Timemachines(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
Luke Durbridge was equipped with a SRM power meter and PC-8 head unit(Image credit: Zeb Woodpower/Immediate Media)
The first national road championships of 2018 are underway this week in Ballarat, west of Melbourne in Australia, with the Cycling Australia Road National Championships in full swing.
The criterium championships opened the week, and Friday saw the men’s, women’s and U23 time trials get underway ahead of the road races this weekend.
Rohan Dennis claimed his third successive title in the men’s elite race, while Katrin Garfoot and Callum Scotson mirrored the same three-peat feat in the women’s elite and men’s U23, respectively.
Former national champion Richie Porte competed the event in just his second race day since the horrific crash descending Mont du Chat during stage 9 of the Tour de France last year. The Tasmanian finished in a bronze medal position behind Mitchelton-Scott’s Luke Durbridge, his second silver medal in as many years.
Both Dennis and Porte rode their team issue BMC Timemachine SLR01, alongside last year’s road race champion and BMC Racing teammate Miles Scotson.
The BMC teammates had similar setups, using PRO Textreme wheels, 3T cockpits, Fizik saddles and Vittoria tyres. However, while both riders were equipped with the latest Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 series cranksets with integrated Shimano power meter, Porte’s bike was equipped with slightly older Dura-Ace 9000 series derailleurs, whereas Dennis had the more up to date R9150 versions.
All three BMC Racing riders were also equipped with Garmin computers and look set to race with the latest Edge 1030 models for the 2018 season.
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Ben O’Connor (Team Dimension Data) opted for massive 54t ROTOR Q-Rings, with Luke Durbridge also choosing custom oversized outer chainrings from Shimano.
As with many elite level time trials, HED, PRO and Lightweight are the wheels of choice with many riders opting for the offerings ahead of their own team sponsors.
The men’s elite podium each ran PRO Textreme 3-Spoke front wheels, while Durbridge and Garfoot opted for the German carbon specialists’ Lightweight Autobahn disc rear wheels.
HED Stinger, Jet and Tri-spoke wheels were all also on display.
Nathan Haas completed his first race in Katusha-Alpecin colours, and for the first time aboard a Canyon. The versatile rider earned a respectable fifth-place finish on the day, finishing 24 seconds behind Scotson.
With temperatures in the high-30 degrees Celsius on the day, the majority of riders raced the courses equipped with bottle and bottle cages despite the aerodynamic costs.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to take a look on the wind-cheating machines on display in Southern Australia.
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