Jan 23rd, 10.  Ben Christian from RoadCycling.co.nz talks to the Euskaltel-Euskadi team about the 2010 Orbea Orca they are currently riding in the UCI Pro Tour.

Colin Eribo talks to Ben from RoadCycling.co.nz about the Orbea Orca

The Spanish based Euskaltel-Euskadi team are one of the 18 pro-tour teams competing this week at the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide.  

They are riding bikes from their long standing Spanish supplier Orbea, and the model of choice for this race is the 2010 Orbea Orca.

Colin Eribo, ex pro rider from Ireland and now mechanic for Euskaltel-Euskadi, took time out of his busy schedule to explain some of the highlights of the Orbea Orca.

"They are a simple, very light and very strong bike," said Eribo.

"The riders really like them and that's the most important thing. If a rider likes what he is riding, then he is going to perform very well. And they really like these bikes," he said.

Eribo explained how the frame angles were designed to make them good on the descents, something which is key for the Euskaltel-Euskadi team who are famous for their climbing ability in the Tour de France.

Therefore having a high performance bike on the descents is a must have.

"A lot of frames in the industry are a compact frame design and they don't corner that well. The Orbea frames use traditional parallel angling, so they corner extremely well. They can follow the apex of the turns very, very fast," said Eribo.

Romain Sicards' Orbea Orca

Shimano Dura-ace / FSA cockpit

The Orbea Orca is also a very light frame with the bikes the Euskaltel-Euskadi team is riding here in Adelaide weighing in between 6.4kg and 6.7kg depending on frame size.

"To meet the UCI regulation weight of 6.8kg all bikes are weighed with full water bottles," said Eribo with a big smile on his face.

Part of the weight saving is made by not having paint on the frame, with the Orca having a sleek black almost naked carbon weave appearance.

The Orbea Orcas used by the Euskaltel-Euskadi team are spec'd with Shimano Dura-ace 7900 components and wheels, FSA handlebars and stem, Selle Italia saddles, and Vittoria tyres.

Eribo was proud to report his team were the first in the world to ride with the new model Shimano Dura-ace 7900 wheels.

"We are running the new high spec 7900 carbon wheels, with the rear wheel only having six spokes on the off side. This is an extremely light and stiff wheel to help the team get up the climbs," said Eribo.

The new Dura-ace 7900 carbon wheels, with only six off side spokes.

Ben talking to U23 World Champion Romain Sicard about his Orca

Romain Sicard of Euskaltel-Euskadi was also pretty excited about his Orbea Orca. Sicard is the reigning UCI U23 World Road Champion and can't speak highly enough of the bike.  Or I think that is what he was meaning, I guess I should have studied a few languages in college.

"The bike is very very good," the Spaniard said in English.

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Brought to you by RoadCycling.co.nz, Official Media of the Santos Tour Down Under

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