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Thursday, November 20, 2008 Euskaltel and Orbea to the wind tunnel by VeloNation Press at 1:15 PM EST   comments Categories: Pro Cycling   Euskaltel Euskadi along with bicycle manufacturer Orbea are once again heading to the San Diego wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing with Orbea's Ordu time trial bike. Spanish cyclists Samuel Sanchez and Mikel Astarloza will be the test subjects and will be accompanied by Euskatel team director Gorka Gerrikagoitia, Orbea's product engineer Iñaki Argote, and the head of Orbea's US operations Justin Slarks. The group is continuing the work they started together back in January 2007 and are set to arrive in San Diego on November 30th. Their goal is to improve the time trial position of the riders, and see if any product improvements can be made to the machine that will shave valuable seconds off the clock. Argote from Orbea will be responsible for overseeing the tests and analyzing the data that is collected. The process will be followed up with field trials conducted by the team at the Anoeta velodrome to determine how to maximize the results. The practice of bicycle manufacturers working with professional cyclists has become more common place after the model was pioneered and proven successful by Lance Armstrong and his Team Director Johan Bruyneel. Their work with Trek Bicycles, Giro, and Oakley paved the way for the rapid development of product innovation.       comments Follow @Pro_Cycling Tweet Subscribe via RSS or daily email Contact the editor about this article