BREAKOUT TECHNOLOGY, FOR BREAKING AWAY

Everyone knew Stage 15 of the Tour de France was going to be revealing, a tough, difficult day with a category 1 climb to the finish. With this much anticipation in the air the riders were anxious and eager, and just 50 km into the 207.5 km stage a big group went clear. Rabobank’s Juan Antonio Flecha was the only rider in the peloton to respond.

Stamping the pedals and churning out a punishing rhythm, Flecha went it alone across the 45-second gap, trying to chase down a powerful group that included TT specialist Fabian Cancellara and other powerhouse racers like David Millar, Ryder Hesjedal and Franco Pellizotti, a cast of characters so intimidating no other riders would respond.

Flecha was helped by his TCR Advanced SL frame—with its PowerCore oversize bottom bracket and chainstays for pure power delivery; and MegaDrive rectangular downtube and oversize top tube, for exceptional front-end stiffness and minimal torsional flex—as the Rabobank rider attacked, chasing hard up the category 3 slope of the Cote de Prevonloup.

Flecha hit the summit four seconds behind the lead group, and then really poured it on, catching the break on the descent. Where others were tapping their brakes out of caution, Flecha hammered it, confident with the precision handling of his TCR Advanced SL frame, with its OverDrive front end that provides the perfect feedback and precision control needed to scream through switchbacks and bridge up to Cancellara, one of the most fearsome descenders on the road.

The break didn’t stick to the end, but it was an impressively powerful show of force in the face of a massively difficult category 1 mountaintop finish. And Juan Antonio Flecha was one of the few riders who were not intimidated, putting in one of the most aggressive moves of the day, on one of the hardest stages yet.

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