Astana Chief Mechanic and Contador Personal Tech Faustino Munoz.
4 minutes 30 secs to bar tape perfection and that 9 times in a row! Watching Astana chief mechanic Faustino Munoz wrap bar tape is like attending a theatre performance.  Its impreesive to watch as ‘Fausto’ motors through 9 bikes in a row. Amazingly each one taking 4.30 mins, is perfectly finished. Faustino is a legend in the Pro scene and as Alberto Contador’s personal mechanic he is enjoying great success. Check out the video and the pics, Im sure you can learn something here (just dont blink!).
 

SRAM RED LTE equipped Andy Schleck Takes Stage Win, SRAM RED LTE equipped Alberto Contador Sews Up Tour Maillot Jaune

2010 Tour de France Thursday 22 July
Stage 17: Pau Col du Tourmalet 174km

On the fog shrouded summit of the Col du Tourmalet, SRAM RED LTE equipped Andy Schleck took his second stage win of the 2010 Tour de France, but the lanky Saxo Bank rider couldn’t crack Maillot Jaune Alberto Contador, who finished second on the day. Schleck said post-stage “I’m satisfied with the stage win but I also wanted to …

Astana’s SRAM RED equipped Contador Maintains Maillot Jaune at Tour de France

2010 Tour de France Tuesday 20 July
Stage 16: Bagnères-de-Luchon Pau 199.5 km

After a tough day out front, Radio Shack’s SRAM RED LTE equipped Lance Armstrong admitted “It was a tough day. I paid for it at the end. I warmed up a little bit before the race and it went right at kilometre zero. 200km at the front took it out of me. I had a no sprint at the end. But I tried.” Armstrong finished 6th in Pau, in a …

RadioShack mechanic Nick Legan talks about his journey from his local shop to wrenching with Team RadioShack at the Tour

Prior to the official Tour start I spent some time with RadioShack team mechanic Nicholas ‘Nick’ Legan, who will work on many of the most visible road bikes in the world as a RadioShack team mechanic at the 2010 Tour de France.

Legan’s career began as a local shop mechanic and part time racer in 2004. He took advantage of an opportunity to wrench for Team HealthNet in 2005, and then leapt to CSC, followed …

Schleck Just :39” Out Of Race Lead, Promises To Go On The Attack

2010 Tour de France Tuesday 20 July
Stage 15: Pamiers Bagnères-de-Luchon 187.5 km

SRAM RED Limited Tour Edition (LTE) equipped Alberto Contador (Astana) will wear the Maillot Jaune on Stage 16 as the two time Tour winner took the race lead today in Bagnères-de-Luchon. Post-race, Contadoe told French TV “At this moment it’s a really good situation for me, but 30 seconds more or 30 seconds less could change things a bit. It’s always good to be ahead in the general classification.

“I …

Maillot Jaune Schleck and Contador Mano a Mano To Ax Trois Domaines

2010 Tour de France Monday 19 July
Stage 14: Revel–Ax Trois Domaines 184.5 km

After an audacious 160km breakaway, SRAM RED equipped Christophe Riblon of Ag2r La Mondiale held on from the fast finishing frontrunners at the 2010 Tour de France to win Stage 14 in Ax Trois Domaines. Riblon, a former track rider showed he has adapted well to the road as the last survivor of an 180km break. Riblon took the silver medal in the 2008 World Championship points race …

No Consolation Prize Saturday For SRAM RED equipped Astana Man

2010 Tour de France Saturday 17 July
Stage 13: Rodez-Revel 196 km

After a dramatic late stage attack, SRAM RED equipped Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) took a stage win in Revel, just 24 hours after a disappointing third place in Mende. “It’s like a dream come true for me to win here,” said Vinokourov post-stage. “I tried for the win yesterday and maybe the stage was one kilometer too long. Today my legs felt good and I decided to try again. I knew the sprinters …

Most Aggressive Rider Consolation Prize For SRAM RED equipped Vinokourov

2010 Tour de France Friday 16 July
Stage 12: Bourg-de-Péage Mende 210.5km

For another day at the 2010 Tour de France, A SRAM RED equipped rider in wearing the Malliot Jaune of race supremacy. Saxo Bank’s Andy Schleck explained after Stage 12 “This morning I counted on losing a couple of seconds to Alberto today because I really don’t like this climb. It’s on my black list. It’s really short and you cannot really find a rhythm so my plan was to just stay on …

Carlos Sastre on the Cervelo R5 California equipped with SRAM Red LTE and Zipp 303’s.
Carlos Sastre is the 2008 Tour de France Champion and to commemerate this SRAM presented him with a LTE Limited Tour Edition grupo for the 2010 Tour. Carlos is riding a special Cervelo R5 ‘California’ bike with yellow touches that match the LTE group perfectly. The end result is probably the classiest looking ride in the bunch, appropriate for a classy guy like Carlos. Here’s some detailed shots of the …

Hottest Tour Since 2003 Bakes Riders On the Road to Bourg-lès-Valence

2010 Tour de France Thursday 15 July
Stage 11: Sisteron-Bourg-lès-Valence 184.5 km

The 184.5km stage from Sisteron to Bourg-les-Valence started just before 1pm with 179 riders as Charlie Wegelius (OLO) and Robbie Hunter (GRM) didn’t start the Tour. After an easy day yesterday, the attacks started as soon as the flag fell to signal the start of racing at Km 0.

Frenchman Auge (COF) made the first move and it turned out to …

Time to go yellow for Andy Schleck.
When Andy Schleck smashed the peleton and took the Yellow Jersey on the  Col de la Madeleine he became the 2nd SRAM athlete to receive the new Limited Tour Edition (LTE) group as a Yellow Jersey wearer after Fabian Cancellara. Alberto Contador (2nd @ 40sec) is also using the LTE Group as a 2 time Tour Champion and it looks like this is becoming a two horse race. SRAM Red LTE vs SRAM Red LTE! Here’s some exclusive shots of the bike build at the Team Saxo Bank race …

Much speculation ensued around Team Saxo Bank as new machinery has been discovered among it’s already formidable technological support structure here at the Tour De France. And no worries, it’s nothing to do with high powered micro motors hidden in riders bikes.

What the brain trust at ‘Saxo did invest in is arguably the oldest, most sophisticated, and often overlooked technology to be found in pro bike racing and especially in the heavily travelled Grand Tours: Tasty, healthy, & interesting food, or as Chef Thorsten Schmidt calls it “Performance Cooking”