spartacus secret sauce
Ben Trovato
mystery drivetrain which originally appeared in La Dernière Heure. I
tried to preserve the hackneyed style of the original. But as they
say in France, it's another Belgian joke.
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Lying just off an intersection in the SS16 between Riccionne and
Cattolica, along the Italian
Adriatic coast, the storefront of the Migani bike shop doesn't seem
particularly remarkable.
Yet behind the door to the workshop lies some history.
The Giro leader's maglia rosa and a maillot jaune in Banesto colors
are
side-by-side.
"These two relics belong to Miguel Indurain," explains Martino Migani,
still wearing work
blues at more than seventy years of age, and an intimate of some of
cycling history's great
champions.
The modesty he cultivates barely allows him to give us to understand
that
he served as
personal mechanic to Marco Pantani, a native of Cesenatico just a few
kilometers distant.
His son Denis, on the other hand, is the friend of a more contemporary
champion: Fabian
Cancellara.
"Fabian's been coming on family vacations to Riccione since his
childhood," notes the
younger Mr. Migani.
When someone with us in jest rebaptises the Swiss as the motor man,
the
bike shop owner
brings an odd drivetrain, mounted on a holder, from an adjoining
room.
"Here's Cancellara's
secret," our interlocuteur declares with great seriousness.
A rumor which had the world time-trial champion benefitting from
electrical assistance in his
last victories at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix had its
genesis
in a video by RAI
commentator Cassani which showed that the device of Austrian
manufacture
could be
invisibly mounted.
"But Fabian never had a motor in his frame, " continued Denis Migani.
"He
only had a
revolutionary bearing system perfected by an engineer friend."
The demonstration is amazing: a very light push on the crank is enough
to
make it spin over
a minute without stopping.
"The device is patented, and named the Gold-Race," continues Denis
Migani.
"It was
designed by Giovanni Cecchini (ed.: no relation to the controversial
italian doctor) [sic] who
worked on this system for practically his entire career, first
introducing
it to the horse-racing
world by mounting his device on sulkies. After he'd consulted for the
Swiss Ski Federation,
Fabian Cancellara caught wind of his work and wanted to meet him. The
latest winner of
Paris-Roubaix has always shown great interest in the latest
innovations in
technology and
hardware."
The meeting was conclusive since the Team Leopard-Trek rider decided
to
retain the
services of this brilliant inventor, an engineer and professor at
university, on the condition
that he'd initially be the only racer in the peloton to be so
equipped.
Underlying the device is a bearing system composed of bearings partly
of
graphite but
above all making use of a very complex grease, produced from a mix of
two
substances
whose composition is defence classified.
"This mixture is very special, and must even be adjusted to the
prevailing
weather
conditions," continues Migani. "The volatility of the liquid varies
according to humidity and
ambiant temperature, and things must be tweaked accordingly."
An almost scientific preparation which impelled Giovanni Cecchini to
travel to all of
Cancellara's important races. "Cecchini stayed in the same hotel as
Cancellara on the eve
of important meets, where he'd prepare the Swiss racer's equipment
right
from the
beginning of their collaboration in 2007. Because besides the bottom
bracket, Cancellara
had decided to equip his wheels and derailleur pulleys with Gold-Race
technology."
The contribution is undeniable on several planes. "Tests were
performed
in laboratory,"
continues our interlocutor. "According to them, friction was reduced
by
more than 95%, and
up to 2.5 seconds were gained per kilometer. Tests performed at the
track
by juniors show
that the fluidity of the bearings also reduced lactic acid buildup by
27%,
for a set distance
and time. Finally, the mechanism allows the use of larger gearing as
a
result of the
assistance furnished by the mechanism. Fabian never cheated since the
mechanism is
authorised by UCI regulations. At most, he just has some cutting-edge
hardware."
When we ask why the invention didn't spread thoughout the peloton in a
few
short days,
Denis Migani couldn't repress a little smile.
"Because many racers take little interest in their sport's innovations
and
don't know of this
system. Here, in Romagna, several amateur racers have it mounted, and
the
system is also
available to the general public, as I've been trained in the system's
installation and secrets.
To equip your bike, it would cost for example 1,100 euros. I know
however
that Andy
Schleck had it mounted for the mountain stages of the last Tour de
France."
If the demonstration and test of the hardward has convinced us without
a
doubt, we still
have one reservation: it still doesn't explain Cancellara's numerous
bike
exchanges on the
2010 Tour of Flanders and the last edition of Paris-Roubaix.
DirtRoadie
As of tomorrow, a mere two weeks too early.
DR
Frederick the Great
<d8840a92-9f9f-4640...@a21g2000prj.googlegroups.com>,
Ben Trovato <benn.t...@hotmail.com> wrote:
--> NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 03:34:09 +0000 (UTC) <--
Two weeks early.
--
Old Fritz
Peter Armitage
> In article
> <d8840a92-9f9f-4640-ad25-5987b433c...@a21g2000prj.googlegroups.com>,
> Ben Trovato <benn.trov...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> --> NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 03:34:09 +0000 (UTC) <--
>
> Two weeks early.
>
> --
> Old Fritz
This story reminds me of the one where Lemond was given iron
injections to get over his "anemia".
thanks,
P
H. Fred Kveck
Peter Armitage <npetera...@gmail.com> wrote:
Wow, seeing your name is a major blast from the past. Cool.