Standing at just 157cm (5ft 2in), Emma Pooley was one of the smallest riders on the start line of the Olympic time trial, and as such required a special time trial bike to tackle the hilly Rio course.
Pooley compensated for her smaller wheels with bigger gears (Photo: Richard Abraham)
Pooley's bike of choice is an extra small Cervelo P3 time trial bike that has been specially ordered from Cervelo, equipped with 650c wheels (a Zipp disc wheel on the back and an unbranded 60mm deep section wheel on the front) and custom components from USE.
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The ends of the bars have been sawn off then glued back on for a narrower front end (Photo: Richard Abraham)
The choice of smaller wheels means that Pooley had to compromise with a bigger chainset, running 56/44t Rotor Q-Rings which are combined with an 11-32t cassette (hence the Shimano Ultegra Di2 rear derailleur) to cope with the hills. For comparison, Chris Froome is using 56/36t chainrings in the men's time trial.
Pooley has an exceptionally low front end (Photo: Richard Abraham
The other interesting component choice is with the bars, which have been custom made by USE. These are 40cm bars that have been cut to make them just 33cm in width. The brake ends have then been literally glued back on to the bars, which are then combined with a custom stem with a massive drop for a lower and more aerodynamic position that has been extensively tested in the wind tunnel over the last year.
Completing the bike are Continental Competition tyres, Speedplay Aero Zero pedals, and, the old triathletes' favourite, and ISM Adamo saddle.
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