After meeting with the team director about the day's TTT stage, the riders jump on their bikes that have already been set up with a trainer wheel and attached to Elite trainers. Here, Italian Valerio Agnoli (left) and Sylwester Szmyd of Poland warm up.

While the riders warm up for the TTT on their trainers, Archetti and an assistant mechanic place electrical tape over the valve access holes in the Mavic disc wheels for improved aerodynamic benefits.

As Senior Mechanic, Archetti takes some of the most critical bike setup tasks upon himself. This includes meticulously combing every single tire for any signs of wear and tear. For time trials, specifically, any tire with even a marginal imperfection is replaced.


One of Liquigas' buses is dedicated to storing all the bikes, gear and equipment. There are enough wall-mounted dropout mounts to hold close to 30 frames.

The Liquigas bike and gear storage bus is filled with close to one hundred Mavic wheels for every condition.

A small section of wall inside the storage rig is dedicated to holding a wide variety of SRAM chainrings in both standard and compact varieties, as well as TT-specific rings.

A large drawer directly underneath the wheel racks holds dozens of custom-colored Fizik saddles. Members of Liquigas' Giro squad all ride different Fizik models, including the Arione, Antares and Aliante.

Here's a close-up shot of GC contender Vincenzo Nibali's custom Fizik Antares saddle, mounted on his SuperSix EVO road bike. It features the logo of  Insieme Si Puo (Together We Can), an Italian charity dedicated to building homes in and providing aid to third-world nations.