GPS Kids | Ask Team Garmin: How do pros use the Edge 705?

We get the question all the time: “How does Team Garmin use the Edge 705 to their advantage?” We’ll let them answer for themselves. David Millar, who knows a thing or two about conquering time trials (2007 British TT champion, 2009 Vuelta TT winner), answered that very question in a recent Reuters Life story by Chris Baldwin, excerpted here:

In Italy’s Cinque Terre this May, professional cyclist David Millar swooped alone into blind corners and hairpin turns with supreme confidence, all thanks, he said, to a high-tech navigation device on his handlebars.

“The race that day was really technical, more like a mountain stage in a road race than an individual time trial, and nobody had any idea where the turns were or how to ride the course beforehand,” said Millar. “When you are racing that hard, you need every technical advantage you can find.”

The story talks about how Millar used his Edge 705 to tame the “wild, rolling hillside above Italy’s Ligurian coast” which was Stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia. “So I could cook it into the corners hot because I knew just from looking down at my Garmin how tight the turn was,” Millar said. “To have that gps kids watch map on the bike definitely helped me race faster.”

Read on for more examples of the Edge in action, and watch our online tutorials to learn more about the 705’s features.

In Steve Cozza’s dazzling debut
at Paris-Roubaix, Cozza vaulted himself into the day’s main breakaway
and led the group through the cobbles of Arenberg. Only a late-race
crash dampened the day as Cozza was still to finish the race. In the
interview with VeloNews, Cozza talks about two things vital to the argyle armada’s success: teamwork and technology. 

The cool thing that really helped me in the race is the Garmin computers
were programmed for the entire race. The 27 sectors of cobblestones
were programmed into the unit, so my Garmin would tell me all the
details about each sector: how long before I arrived, how long each
sector was. It was such a huge advantage. I could rely on my Garmin
because you could not remember the entire course…. It’s all done with gps kids watch, so it’s exact. It scrolled through automatically.

And when Dave Zabriskie won his fourth consecutive national time trial championship, Zabriskie discussed how his teammate became his virtual partner:

The US Pro championship is an important race for me. I love
wearing the Stars and Stripes and am proud to wear it again next year.
Mike Friedman had a great ride, too.
I didn’t use a radio today, just my Garmin and I knew Mike had set the
fastest time for the first lap so I knew what I had to do. I watched my
Garmin and when I went through the first time check I knew I’d been
fast, so I kept digging after that! It feels great to hold onto the
stars and stripes and I’ll wear them again this year with pride!

We’ll end with more from Millar, who talked with The Kansas City Star back in 2008 about training with the Edge: “I went out for an hour this morning
and didn’t particularly pay attention to landmarks or street signs or where I
was going,” Millar said. “I hit the button that says ‘take me home’ and followed
the route back. It was great fun, actually.”

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