February 23, 2006 – Scott USA confirmed today that Saunier Duval-Prodir rider Gilberto Simoni was penalized in the San Jose time trial stage of the Tour of California for starting on a bike that was too light. Simoni’s new Plasma TT bike was weighed as he entered the start gate of the 27.4 km course and was found to be under the UCI weight minimum of 6.8 kg. Simoni was forced to return to his mechanic, David Fernandez, located nearly 500 m away, who quickly installed an Elite water bottle and cage, which was just enough to meet the UCI regulation, but Simoni departed nearly two minutes after his start time. Gilberto ended up 24th in the general classification after the TT, slipping 16 spots from 8th the previous day.

“With the Plasma we have to be careful of the weight limit,” explained David. “The frame is so light we must use the correct combination of wheels and components to make the bike weigh enough. We are used to this with the CR1 road frame, but it is not often that teams have to weigh their TT bikes. Typically, with aero bars and disc wheels, the TT bikes are not near the weight limit, but with the Plasma this is not the case.”

“Normally the team has scales on the truck to avoid these circumstances, we need them for all the bikes Scott supplies to the squad” said Adrian Montgomery. “With all of the equipment the team has to bring here, it does not make sense to bring them and we didn’t expect for this to occur. We weighed everything at team camp and knew the correct combinations needed to comply. The team is going to the Allied wind tunnel next week, so we sent them to California with new Plasma’s to research with. Some small geometry changes were made after the team tested the frames at camp. Some bikes were even made a little smaller. Gibo rides the smallest bike on the team, and according to the officials he has the lightest too.”

The Plasma utilizes Scott’s CR1 process to produce a 980 gram TT frame. The Plasma also uses TR! UEAERO t ubing, aerodynamic cable routing, and an integrated seatpost. All this adds up to the lightest TT bike available.


Scott USA Re-Signs Trish Sinclair For 2006

Scott Usa announced today that it will continue to support World Cup XC racer, Trish Sinclair, in 2006. “Trish is an amazing ambassador for our brand,” remarked Adrian Montgomery. “She’s a joy to work with and is a positive influence on our athletes and staff. Her wealth of racing experience and cheery disposition make her a valuable asset for Scott.”

“In the 15 years I have been racing, the Scale Ltd is the nicest bike I’ve ridden,” says Trish. “It’s not just the light weight, it handles so good and just seems to have wings. I have never felt so confident and fast as I do on my Scale. I’m really excited for another year with Scott USA, everyone is so easy-going and competent. It’s a pleasure to work for a company where the people are a nice as the product!”