Jakob Fuglsang shows off his 2014 road frame(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
A production line of handlebars awaits attention(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Corima supply the team with wheels for 2014(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
The new Specialized Astana time trial frames(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
There's a huge amount to work on as 2013 bikes are stripped of parts(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Time trial bikes for the coming season sit buried under wheels and frames(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
An Astana mechanic makes sures that everything is in check(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Vincenzo Nibali's Specialized Tarmac is one of the last bikes to be built(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Each bike is built up by one of the team's experienced mechanics(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Each bike is built up by one of the team's experienced mechanics(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Kangert's Specialized road bike is worked on(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Jakob Fuglsang watches on as his bike is put together(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
One of Astana's Specialized road bikes is assembled at the team's training camp(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Janez Brajkovic finally finds the frame he's looking for(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
The riders have also been testing out their time trial bikes during the team camp(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Astana's Specialized road frames for 2014(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
New signing Michele Scarponi has been training on this(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
An Astana mechanic hard at work ahead of the 2014 season(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
The Astana team also use parts from FSA(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Janez Brajkovic's handlebars are marked(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Alexey Lutsenko's road bike on the mechanic's stand(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
The Astana mechanics are hard at work with the 2014 bikes(Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Training camps in December serve a multitude of purposes but hard miles on the bike generally isn’t the most important one. After a long season on the road winter training camps tend to be about looking back and assessing the year, just as much plotting paths for success in the future.
One section of the team that work almost on the rivet are the mechanics. This period in time is a rare opportunity for them to strip down the 2013 bikes and start the arduous task of assembling new machines for the coming season.
For Astana, at least, it meant that some form of continuity could be extended with Specialized remaining as the provider of their bikes for another season. Still, there was plenty to be done, with new bikes for every rider and brand new set ups for new signings such as Michele Scarponi from Lampre.
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