Stories by Matt Pacocha

• Posted: Sun, Jul 6th
  Tour de France leader Alejandro Valverde's custom Pinarello Prince
  When Caisse D’Epargne superstar Alejandro Valverde stormed past Columbia’s Kim Kircken in the last 200 meters of the opening stage of the 2008 Tour de France he did it on a brand new bike. The winning bike wasn’t new in the sense of a new design — it is the same bike as ...
• Posted: Sun, Jul 6th
  How do Tour de France teams deal with rainy stages?
  The first four stages of this year’s Tour take place on the windy, often rain-soaked roads of [nid:79435]northwestern France. The riders don’t truly escape it until the first time trial in Cholet. Because of the conditions, many teams, or individual riders, take special ...
• Posted: Sat, Jul 5th
  Robbie McEwen forgoes an 11-speed bike on the Tour's first stage.
  Robbie McEwen’s bike was lined up unassumingly, mid-pack, among his teammates' rigs in front of a roped off and guarded Silence-Lotto bus. All of the extra protection was meant to protect the race favorite — McEwen's teammate Cadel Evans — but McEwen’s bike benefited. He ...
• Posted: Sat, Jul 5th
  Oakley unveils a new sunglass design at the Tour de France
  Last year Oakley revamped its most popular sport sunglass the M-Frame into a new sunglass. Though the M-Frame is still available its predecessor, the Radar, has become as instantly popular as the decade old staple of Oakley’s line. Using the opening stage of the Tour as a ...
• Posted: Fri, Jul 4th
  Tech at the Tour - Down to the wire
  A day before the start of the Tour de France is almost too late to accomplish anything significant. Nonetheless, it’s a frantic time for mechanics and support staff as clock ticks down to the start of the world’s biggest bicycle race. Teams build bikes up to the last ...
• Posted: Thu, Jul 3rd
  The French federation has its own bike tech rules for the Tour de France
  This year’s edition of the Tour de France isn’t sanctioned by the UCI, so VeloNews readers have been curious whether the UCI's somewhat-infamous tech rules still apply. You’ll remember that before last year’s race, official rule clarifications led to frantic ...
• Posted: Mon, Jun 30th
  A breakdown of Campagnolo’s 2009 Campagnolo Record and Chorus
  Campagnolo’s three new 11-speed groups are tied by two bonds, the Ergopower Ultra shifters and 11-speeds. All are intended and designed for competition. There are numerous technologies, but each is tied to one of these end features — for a full report on the technical ...
• Posted: Mon, Jun 23rd
  Technical Editor Matt Pacocha reports on Giant's lineup for next season.
  You’ve already seen Giant’s new road bike, the TCR Advanced SL. Prototypes have been in service by the High Road (now Columbia) team since last year’s Tour de France. The bike and its radically shaped tubes have been highly visible all season, so it comes as no surprise ...
• Posted: Wed, Jun 18th
  Tech Report: The Campagnolo 11-speed Super Record group
  In Feltre, Italy, this week, just 15km away from the memorial to Tullio Campagnolo at the summit of the Croce d’Aune pass, Campagnolo reintroduced its Super Record racing group. Super Record was Campagnolo’s mystical racing group, but it has been decommissioned for more ...
• Posted: Sat, Jun 14th
  Scott rolls out a new line for '09
  Until now, an ongoing patent dispute over Specialized’s FSR design kept Scott USA’s Genius trailbike from the U.S. market, leaving one of the world’s most lucrative markets uncontested by Scott. With a major redesign of the Genius platform it will enter the U.S. with a ...
• Posted: Tue, Jun 3rd
  Shimano unveils the new Dura-Ace 7900
  With the introduction of its top-level Red group last fall, upstart road component manufacturer SRAM took a shot directly across the bow of the industry leader. Shimano’s soon-to-be-released 7900 series Dura-Ace group is clearly a direct response to Red and it adds ...
• Posted: Mon, Jun 2nd
  Magura makes changes for 2009
  Magura’s Marta three-model brake line-up is new for 2009. This is the first time the brake has been redesigned since its introduction at Interbike in 2001. While Hayes may have been the first to popularize disc brakes for mountain bikes, Magura’s Marta is responsible for ...