JANA UDERSTADT'S KONA BIKE CHECK: THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP STICKS WITH ULTEGRA BUT GOES 1X
Last year, Jana Uderstadt arrived in Kona as a World Championship rookie with no grand ambitions. She had earned her spot with a sixth-place finish at IRONMAN South Africa, and she was just grateful to be there. Then she went out and finished 15th. She was the first of our five Quintana Roo pros across the line and our highest-placed athlete on the Big Island!
It was a breakout result for the German pro, who joined us as a member of our Factory Team last year. Getting on board a V-PRi has been a huge boost to her performance, and she's now a full member of the Quintana Roo Pro Team. Let's take a closer look at the V-PRi she's brought back to Kona this weekend.
Jana Uderstadt and Her V-PRi
When I did last year's Kona bike checks, I called Uderstadt's bike "the people's champ." That's still my nickname for her. She has what is perhaps the most relatable build of any of our pros, anchored by a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain. You don't see many pros riding on the same groupset as the average age-grouper, and it's proof that you don't need the most expensive parts to race at the highest level. Add to that that she's nice as heck, and I'll call her "the people's champ" for as long as she keeps racing!
But a 15th-place finish can set huge expectations. Jana is lining up against another strong field in Kona this year, and she's going to have to ride harder than ever. She's still on her Pro White V-PRi, but with Holo Blue graphics this year. A lot of parts have transferred over from last year's bike, and I even recognize the same scratched-up cranks! For the most part, she has stuck with what she knows works, but she has made two major changes to her setup in the quest for a bit more aero efficiency on the Queen K.
An Ultegra Build with Aero Upgrades
A big change can be seen up front, where Uderstadt has made the switch to a Speed4Tri cockpit. Like many top athletes (including Grace Thek and Matt Hanson this year), she has moved to a mono aerobar for potential aero gains. Speed4Tri claims its S4T cockpit saves more than 30 watts compared to a conventional handlebar, based on velodrome testing with an aerosensor, and estimates that could add up to more than 8 minutes over an IRONMAN bike leg.
The cockpit is mounted to our Intelligent Integration Cockpit (IIC), and it has a sleek built-in BTA bottle system. Uderstadt is running two bottles: a standard round bottle on top for easy swaps on course and an additional aero bottle underneath.
At the rear, she's using the EZ Hydro Gains rear hydration system, mounted to a gebioMized Stride saddle. The Stride is a specialized time trial and triathlon saddle developed using pressure-mapping data and insights from pro-athlete fittings. Uderstadt also ran EZ Hydro Gains at Kona last year, so the rear hydration setup is a familiar one.
Her drivetrain is where this bike gets more interesting. She's sticking with the Ultegra Di2 that worked last year, but she has made a big change by switching to 1x with a massive 56t ALUGEAR 1x chainring. Last year, she ran aftermarket 54/39t chainrings on her Ultegra cranks, so this is an even bigger gear with no small ring at all. Going 1x has aero and efficiency benefits, and a larger chainring also means less chain articulation, which reduces friction. Perhaps she felt she didn't need the small ring on the long climb up to Hāwī! (If you're curious about the tradeoffs, I broke down 1x vs. 2x drivetrains for triathlon bikes in a separate post.)
One thing I find amusing is that she has chosen to break an unwritten rule of cycling by putting Look Keo Blade pedals on her Shimano cranks! I'm mostly joking, but I love that this sort of brand mixing drives the most picky and obsessive athletes crazy. Personally, I use Keo Blades on my own bike, so it's just another reason to like Uderstadt!
Uderstadt has chosen deeper wheels this year. She's riding DT Swiss ARC 1100 85 wheels, 25mm deeper than the setup she ran last year, again for some potential aero gains. They're wrapped in 28mm Continental tires, a GP 5000 TT TR up front and a GP 5000 S TR in the rear, both set up tubeless.
Uderstadt's V-PRi shows that you can get to the front of the field without a bike full of the most expensive parts. She's made key upgrades in the right places, like the cockpit and wheels. After a 15th-place finish on debut, I can't wait to see what she does with another year of experience and a bike that's even more dialed in.
You can follow Jana Uderstadt on Instagram before, during, and after Kona, or follow Quintana Roo, where we'll be tracking her progress with excitement!
