Tech: Tony Martin's Tour de France time trial flats

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Tony Martin's (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) special time trial-specific clincher tires are built with a supple 220tpi casing, a minimal breaker belt, and a paper-thin sub-1mm of tread. Based on how the prologue and first individual time trial went, though, it seems Specialized needs to build a bit more durability into the system.

Tony Martin's (Omega Pharma-Qu🐈ickStep) special✱ time trial-specific clincher tires are built with a supple 220tpi casing, a minimal breaker belt, and a paper-thin sub-1mm of tread. Based on how the prologue and first individual time trial went, though, it seems Specialized needs to build a bit more durability into the system. (Image credit: Jonny Irick)
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Specialized provided BikeRadar with this image of Tony Martin's (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) punctured tire after this year's Tour de France prologue. According to Specialized, the culprit was a piece of glass.

Specialized provide🐓d BikeRadar with this image of Tony Martin's (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) punctured tire after this year's Tour de France prologue. Accordinဣg to Specialized, the culprit was a piece of glass. (Image credit: Specialized)
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The low rolling resistance comes from the supple casing and special ultra-thin sub-1mm tread cap made from secret-sauce synthetic rubber. In fairness, a tubular constructed in a similar manner would be comparably susceptible to punctures.

The low rolling resistance comes from the supple casing and special ultra-thin sub-1mm tread cap m💝ade from secret-sauce synthetic rubber. In fairness, a tubular constructed in a similar manner would be comparably susceptible to punctures. (Image credit: Jonny Irick)

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