Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) pushed the limits of the UCI rules on aero tucks and bike tech to make sure he remained an overall contender at the Tour Down Under despite being handicapped by racing in the pouring rain during the opening prologue.
The 5.5km prologue in Adelaide was raced on road bikes for logistical reasons but disc wheels and time trial helmets were allowed. Aero bars were not allowed, forcing teams to try to create aerodynamic positions while respecting the UCI rules.
Just like his teammate Matej Mohorič's use of a dropper seat post at the 2022 Milan-San Remo, Bilbao’s position was also innovative and surprising, yet also legal.
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Bilbao and the Bahrain Victorious mechanics turned his brake levers inward significantly and then rotated the handlebars upwards so that the tops of the bars and the brake levers created a near-aero-tuck position that appeared to be significantly more aerodynamic.
The ‘puppy paws’ position brought back memories of the Spinaci bars that were often used in the 90s and how riders used to position their forearms on the bars before the UCI banned the position in 2021. Other riders also turned their brake levers in but Bilbao’s position seemed more studied and more efficient.
Unfortunately for Bilbao, he raced in the pouring rain, while eventual stage winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), who opted to go off early, raced well in the dry conditions and had his own marginal gains. Other riders raced in improving conditions but nobody got close to the Italian, who is the first race leader at the 2023 Tour Down Under.
“I like to race in the rain but it would have been better if we’d all raced in the same conditions,” Bilbao lamented to Cyclingnews after his ride.
“We worked pretty hard to do our best. I’ve been thinking about this race for four or five months. We prepared a special bike and I used the position to get as aero as possible. I rested my wrists on the bars as per the UCI rules and held the levers with my hands. It seemed to work well.”
The Basque rider admitted to Cyclingnews that he and his Bahrain Victorious team had been thinking about the Tour Down Under and the vital opening time trial for several months. Bilbao anticipated his winter training to have an early peak of form and the team’s performance staff and mechanics worked to give him the best possible set-up for the 5.5km time trial contested on road bikes.
Bilbao’s extreme bike set-up helped him in the time trial but only limited his losses against Bettiol and against his overall rivals like Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma), who also raced in the rain.
Bilbao finished 20 seconds down on Bettiol, in 25th place, but only lost six seconds to Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) and Matthews, three seconds to Dennis and one to Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers). He gained six seconds on Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) and Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroen).
“We prepared a special bike but in the end I couldn’t take all the risks I’d hoped to take. I had to race with a cool head and think about the battle for the overall classification without thinking too much about the stage,” Bilbao admitted.
Bettiol quickly played down his overall chances but Bilbao was cautious about writing off the Italian.
“Anything can happen. Bettiol took the win and gained time, maybe he’s fresh and strong. He’s a specialist in these kinds of efforts, we can only hope that he’ll suffer on the climbs when we do a different kind of effort,” Bilbao said.
“The Tour Down Under parcours is unique. There are some stages with late climbs and then descents to the finish. We’ll try to make a difference there and on the last stage up to Mount Lofty.
“I think Michael Matthews is the overall favourite, more than me. He’s got a good punch for the climbs and is fast in the sprints where there are time bonuses. We’ll see how he goes and everyone goes on the climbs.”
