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TECH NEWS

Transcontinental 2016: Kristof Allegaert's Jaegher Interceptor

Check out the bike belonging to the lead rider in the cross-Europe race

Kristof Allegaert has built up a huge lead in the Transcontinental Cycle Race, and here’s the bike he’s riding.

The double race winner is riding a Jaegher Interceptor, Jaegher being a manufacturer from his native Belgium. 

The Interceptor is made from a Columbus Spirit steel tubeset that contains manganese, chrome, nickel, molybdenum and niobium. The idea is that this blend and a heat treatment provide high strength which allows Columbus to draw the tubes down to thinner wall thicknesses than ever before – as little as 0.38mm. 

According to Jaegher, the Interceptor is its best compromise between performance and comfort.

“TIG welded oversized tubes in featherlight Columbus Spirit steel provide maximum dynamic efficiency,” says Jaegher. “The frame absorbs shocks like only steel can. [It is] the ultimate choice… where lightweight, stiffness and reliability are essential.” 

We told you last week that the 2015 Transcontinental winner Josh Ibbett, who has been forced to pull out of this year’s race with an injury, uses a Shimano Di2 electronic groupset for ease of shifting, but Kristof runs a Campagnolo Record mechanical system. That means there’s no danger of a flat battery and no need to take any equipment for recharging.

Belgian company SWS provides the handbuilt custom wheels with aluminium rims, and the clincher tyres are Continental Grand Prix 4000s which feature a Vectran breaker under the tread to help avoid punctures. 

Like most Transcontinental riders, Kristof has clip-on tri bars attached to his drop handlebar. Not only do the carbon extensions from Ritchey provide a more aero option, they make things a little easier on the body after a long time in the saddle.

Speaking of the saddle, this one comes from Selle Italia. It’s a lightweight SLR with titanium rails. 

In common with the other top contenders, Kristof tends to stop only for short sleeps during a race like the Transcontinental so lighting is very important. He uses a system from Supernova. That’s an E3 Pro 2 dynamo light that offers 205 lumens and weights just 110g.

Apidura provides the Road Frame Pack and a Top Tube Pack. The bar bag and seat pack don’t look like they’re from Apidura, though [update: the bar bag is from Decathlon].

Sportful provides Kristof’s clothing, his shoes come from Gaerne, and his helmet and glasses are Lazer.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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17 comments

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

Yeah actually, would the savings going uphill be worth the extra weight, especially now courses are shorter with more climbing. We know weight doesn't have as significant an effect on time as most people believe. Love to see some numbers on this.

 

Even an easy hour per day could be a massive boon worth carrying the motor weight for, especially if it's just 2kg.

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barbarus | 7 years ago
2 likes

That's it! He must be using the dynamo to charge the motor battery! Oh hang on...

Avatar
srchar replied to barbarus | 7 years ago
1 like

barbarus wrote:

That's it! He must be using the dynamo to charge the motor battery! Oh hang on...

I get the joke, but wouldn't that actually work somewhat on a hilly course? Motor assist going up, then freewheel down, recharging the battery. Obviously you'd not recover all the energy you took out, but I'd be interested to see what the percentage recovered would be.

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BikeJon | 7 years ago
0 likes

I guess he is using a supernova front hub? I couldn't spot a dynamo on Josh's bike (although I'm not sure the pics were of his TCR event build). I don't see how you could hope to use battery powered lights and manage the logistics.

 

His quoted lighting weight presumably doesn't include the front hub.

I use a dymano front hub in the winter but my wheel is cheap and heavy. I'm hoping to get a better, lighter one as they do provide impressive lighting these days (I use an Exposure Revo).

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thelighterthief | 7 years ago
0 likes

That bar bag looks like the decathlon one that velcros on. Nice bike and excellent work. 

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Mat Brett replied to thelighterthief | 7 years ago
0 likes

thelighterthief wrote:

That bar bag looks like the decathlon one that velcros on. Nice bike and excellent work. 

 

You are right, it is from Decathlon. 

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StraelGuy | 7 years ago
0 likes

They do look way bigger than 25mm.

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nmu replied to StraelGuy | 7 years ago
0 likes
guyrwood wrote:

They do look way bigger than 25mm.

They are 25mm.

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gsavill90 (not verified) replied to nmu | 7 years ago
0 likes

nmu wrote:
guyrwood wrote:

They do look way bigger than 25mm.

They are 25mm.

 

I guess if they're 25mm in continental, they're actually more like 28mm. My 23mm GP4000s are 25mm wide...

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

Said in jest, but seriously, aren't events like these the perfect venue for hidden motors like the Vivax + Hidden Performance Package?

http://www.vivax-assist.com/en/produkte/e-accessoires/invisible-performa...

 

Strange I never thought about it before. Someone's buying them...

Avatar
BikeJon replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

unconstituted wrote:

Said in jest, but seriously, aren't events like these the perfect venue for hidden motors like the Vivax + Hidden Performance Package?

http://www.vivax-assist.com/en/produkte/e-accessoires/invisible-performa...

 

Strange I never thought about it before. Someone's buying them...

No, just about the worst event to use a Vivax in. The battery only last around an hour so after that you would just be lugging around 2kgs of dead weight until you could charge it again. If you wished to use it illegally, the motor would be more suited to a high power event of up to an hour....such as a CX race or TT  23

Avatar
jollygoodvelo | 7 years ago
1 like

It's a one-horse race this year.  He's a machine.

 

(Anyone tested his bike for a motor?  3 )

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Broady. | 7 years ago
0 likes

He's an absolute freak, 200k lead over his closest competitor.

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

Wonder how long he's sleeping for this time. Ibbett was doing what, 3 hour stints?

 

Love to know how much flexibility work these guys do too and how long they spend in the tri bars. What sort of distance would they recommend starting to use tri bars in distance training. Should try to bag an interview with Algaert when he's done. Loads of questions I'd love answered!

 

Last I heard he was overtaken at a nap but then it started bucketing down so timing was perfect. Need to do some catching up.

Avatar
Gareth_Baines replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

unconstituted wrote:

Wonder how long he's sleeping for this time. Ibbett was doing what, 3 hour stints?

 

Love to know how much flexibility work these guys do too and how long they spend in the tri bars. What sort of distance would they recommend starting to use tri bars in distance training. Should try to bag an interview with Algaert when he's done. Loads of questions I'd love answered!

 

Last I heard he was overtaken at a nap but then it started bucketing down so timing was perfect. Need to do some catching up.

 

Easy catch up on the blog - http://www.transcontinental.cc/blog

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Artem | 7 years ago
0 likes

What tires width? Looks above 30 to me?

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leepearce13 replied to Artem | 7 years ago
0 likes

Artem wrote:

What tires width? Looks above 30 to me?

I read somewhere that he said anything more that 25mm was for mountain bikes  1

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