Image 1 of 20 Steven Kruijswijk's Bianchi Specialissima for the Alpe di Siusi time trial in which he placed second (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 2 of 20 Specialissima... (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 3 of 20 While Bianchi launched the Specialissima in its celeste, Kruijswijk received a custom black version to shave 20g of weight (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 4 of 20 Kruijswijk's saddle of choice is a San Marco (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 5 of 20 Very little rake on the fork which Bianchi claims the weight at 340g (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 6 of 20 Minimal bar tape for Kruijswijk but it is pink to recognise his position as maglia rosa (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 7 of 20 Vittoria Crono CS tubular tyres on Shimano Dura Ace C50 wheels for Kruijswijk (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 8 of 20 Kruijswijk didn't go for anything too crazy when it came to rear cassette selection (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 9 of 20 With Kruijswijk running Shimano Dura Ace Di2, the mechanics cover over the cable (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 10 of 20 The Pioneer power meter is also attached to the inside of the left crank (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 11 of 20 Shimano Dura Ace brakes for Kruijswijk (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 12 of 20 The mechanics mark the precise height of Kruijswijk's seatpost which is held in place by a carbon-Ti clamp (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 13 of 20 Kruijswijk went with a 53-59 chain ring combo, topped off with the pink Pioneer power meter cap (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 14 of 20 The Specialissima features Bianchi's Counterveil technology which is claimed to reduce vibration and allow a rider to hold an aero position for longer (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 15 of 20 Pioneer provided pink caps for its power meter (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 16 of 20 Kruijswijk's SRM Power meter head unit was tucked in nicely between the Vision bars (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 17 of 20 The Vision carbon fibre aero bars weigh 250g (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 18 of 20 Kruijswijk went with Vision clip on bars for the TT (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 19 of 20 No confusing who this bike belongs to (Image credit: Stephen Farrand) Image 20 of 20 Steven Kruijswijk on his Bianchi Specialissima time trial bike (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Steven Kruijswijk used a special Bianchi Specialissima bike for Sunday's mountain time trial at the Giro d'Italia with Bianchi engineers saving weight wherever possible so that the bike could be fitted with short aero bars and still be close to the 6.8kg UCI limit.

Kruijswijk wanted aero bars for the opening 1.8km on flat roads before the climb to up to the Alpe di Siusi ski resort began. It proved to be a wise decision, with the Dutchman gaining time on all his rivals in the opening kilometres. He gained 43 seconds on Esteban Chaves and only lost three of those seconds on the climb. That allowed Kruijswijk to extend his overall lead on the Colombian to 2:12, while Nibali slipped to third at 2:51 after a tough day in the saddle during the mountain time trial.

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Bianchi Product Manager Angelo Lecchi told Cyclingnews that the Italian brand had worked closely with Kruijswijk to study and develop the bike. The Vision carbon fibre aero bars weigh 250g but were determined to be vital. Other weight saving had to be found to bring the bike down to the close to the UCI limit of 6.8kg. Savings were made on every item possible, including the paint scheme.

The LottoNL-Jumbo team issue bikes are Bianchi celeste but the Specialissima was painted matt black and super light decals were used to save 20g. This helped reduce the frame weight to around 760 grammes. The Specialissima also included Bianchi's Countervail anti-vibration technology that is used in its Infinito CV model.

The LottoNL-Jumbo mechanics also helped reduce the weight by fitting pink tape on the upper sections of the bars where Kruijswijk needed grip. The rest was left bare, with carbon fibre tape used instead of bar plugs. The same lightweight tape was used to cover the cable holes in the frame instead of heavier plastic covers and screws.

Kruijswijk's bike was fitted with a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Shimano C50 wheels, FSA K-Force seat post, FSA bar and stem and a San Marco saddle. Kruijswijk raced on Vittoria Crono CS tubular tyres.