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The bikes of Hell: Robert Hunter's BMC & Steffen Wesemann's Giant prototype, April 13, 2006Black widow: Robert Hunter's Phonak Hearing Systems BMC Roubaix special
The team from Phonak Hearing Systems spared no expense when it came to kitting out their riders for Roubaix, despite not having a rider who was an obvious candidate for victory in the 'Hell of the North'. Mechanic Stephane Maechlur told Cyclingnews each of the team's eight riders received a one-off bike for this special race, an aluminium BMC Streetfire SSX. "This is only for Paris-Roubaix - it's the hardest race!" he said. "Normally, we use carbon frames but this race, everyone is on aluminium. It's almost the same as the carbon frame except that it's a bit longer in the wheelbase - [the frames] are more abused in this race because of the cobblestones, so they are a bit heavier, but also a bit stronger and can take more punishment."
This happened to be the Swiss mechanic's inaugural outing at Paris-Roubaix, guided by head mechanic Frédéric Bassy, so we asked him whether the thought of washing a plethora of mud-caked bikes till midnight tomorrow had crossed his mind yet. Maechlur laughed before replying, "Of course, it's more work than the other races, especially after the race, but it's a very special race for everyone, not just the riders."
Maechlur added the aluminium offering is not really that special, saying that Average Joe could buy the exact same frame at his local bike shop, provided of course they stock these Swiss-made bikes. Naturally being a Swiss team, everything was running like clockwork the day before Roubaix, with the entire stable of race bikes and spare bikes (these were actually last year's frames from Roubaix, which looked surprisingly new) ready to rumble before the team's final recon of the parcours at 10:30am Saturday morning.
While the BMC frames would be only used for this race only, the 32 spoke wheels - a selection common with just about every team Cyclingnews visited - are used for all the cobbled classics, again a diversion from the lighter though more brittle (not to mention less compliant) carbon wheels the Phonak riders normally use. All saddles looked brand-spanking new, so a question worth asking was whether some of the riders had chosen a different model seat for a bit more cush in the tush. "No, they're all using the same saddles, but sometimes they do change for different races - they always change something," Maechlur smiled, "but not for this race." Okay, so what happens to these frames once this race is over? "They go back to the service course and wait for the race next year," Maechlur chuckled lightly. "These ones (pointing to the more traditional green, white and yellow painted bikes) are from last year, so we will most likely use these as the spare bikes for next year." It takes two to tango: Steffen Wesemann's T-Mobile Giant prototype
For T-Mobile's perilous pair for the cobbled Classics, Steffen Wesemann and Andreas Klier are using a custom-made Giant that is a full four centimetres longer in the wheelbase than their standard frame, according to mechanic Dirk Tyteca. "On his main bike, we also have Wesemann riding with cantilevers," added the busy Belgian as he made a few last-minute adjustments to the team's bikes for Roubaix.
In fact, most of the wrenchers on T-Mobile are from Flanders, and while this first seemed unusual on a German team, it is the influence of Belgian former team manager Walter Godefroot. Asked how long Wesemann and Klier had been using these bikes for the bumps, Tyteca revealed it was the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde that saw these prototypes first race tested, before they received a thorough workout at the Ronde van Vlaanderen
So they were satisfied with what they'd got, then? "Yeah, sure, they are satisfied," Tyteca said. "They said it was a lot more comfortable." PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Anthony Tan/Cyclingnews.com
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