Prototype Campagnolo wheels and a weighted saddle highlight Colombian climber’s machine
Movistar's Nairo Quintana is eager to add a Tour de France title to his resume. This is the machine upon which he hopes to climb to victory in the mountains of this year's Grand Boucle
Movistar's Nairo Quintana is eager to add a Tour de France title to his resume. This is the machine upon which he hopes to climb to victory in the mountains of this year's Grand Boucle - Nick Legan
Social media is here to stay. Follow Nairo at @NairoQuinCo - Nick Legan
Quintana's cockpit is very tidy. He rides a 42cm bar, the same as his entire team save for one who uses a 40cm. Surely this helps with inventory! - Nick Legan
His Canyon stem is a negative 17-degree affair in a 12cm length. Also note the latest version of Campagnolo's EPS wiring harness. The v3 incorporates wireless communication with the Italian firm's smartphone application - Nick Legan
Extra care was taken to keep electronic wires protected and out of the wind. Lizard Skin's grippy DSP bar tape has color-matched accents - Nick Legan
A Garmin mount keeps vital information in plain sight - Nick Legan
German power meter manufacturer Power2Max is a Movistar sponsor. Quintana had standard 53/39 chainrings mounted for the start of the Tour - Nick Legan
Despite his small stature Quintana uses 172.5mm crank arms - Nick Legan
Like much of the pro peloton, Quintana relies on electronic shifting - Nick Legan
An 11x29 cassette was installed on his wheels. A team mechanic mentioned that most of the team runs the wide ratio cassette in all conditions - Nick Legan
Quintana and Valverde will have access to the only five pairs of Boras in the world with a prototype brake track treatment meant to improve wet weather braking - Nick Legan
Quintana prefers a used saddle for the start of important races. His seat height is 69cm - Nick Legan
To meet the UCI minimum bike weight of 6.8kg, mechanics glued lead weights to the underside of his saddle - Nick Legan
Both the fore and aft of the Fizik Antares have weight added to them - Nick Legan
With one Grand Tour victory under his belt, Movistar’s Nairo Quintana is hungry for more and some believe that the lithe climber may just be able to bag his second at this year’s Tour. It’ll take some doing to topple the heavily favored Chris Froome, and to that end his sponsors – Campagnolo in particular – are pulling out all the stops.
Quintana and Valverde will have access to the only five pairs of Boras in the world with a prototype brake track treatment meant to improve wet weather braking - Nick Legan
On his size-XS Canyon Ultimate CF SLX, a pair of prototype Campagnolo Bora 50 wheels should give Quintana added braking confidence, especially in the rain. As we reported earlier, the new wheels feature a textured brake track to enhance brake pad grip.
According to a Movistar mechanic there are only five sets of Campagnolo Bora wheels with the new brake track in the world, two pairs of 50mm wheels and three with 35mm deep rims. All are in the care of Team Movistar, and only Quintana and Alejandro Valverde will be riding them at this year’s Tour.
German power meter manufacturer Power 2 Max is a Movistar sponsor. Quintana had standard 53/39 chainrings mounted for the start of the Tour: - Nick Legan
The rest of Quintana’s bike is what we’ve come to expect for a Movistar team machine. Quintana uses a German Power2Max power meter, Canyon bar, stem and seatpost, a Super Record EPS groupset, Look pedals and Continental tires. (See photo captions for more details).
Quintana prefers a used saddle for the start of important races. His seat height is 69 centimeters: - Nick Legan
Another interesting component on his bike is the Fizik Antares saddle. Quintana prefers to start a race as important as the Tour on a used saddle. So mechanics carefully measured his position and moved his saddle and seat post assembly over to the new bike they built for the Grand Depart. The underside of the saddles has several lead weights glued to it to bring his bike weight up to the required 6.8kg.
To meet the UCI minimum bike weight of 6.8 kilograms, mechanics glued lead weights to the underside of his saddle: - Nick Legan
It’s a strange place to add weight, with most preferring to do so as low as possible. Gluing it the underside of the shell may also stiffen the saddle, but as Quintana had previously ridden the seat he must be accustomed to it. In any case, when the Tour reaches the inclines of the Pyrenees, Mont Ventoux and the Alps, we’re sure to see the Movistar team leader attacking con gusto.
