Speed vs power
Wind resistance goes up as the speed^3. It takes a lot more power to go just a little faster.
For example, from this
bike speed calculator, taking the defaults:
137 watts:
17mph
210 watts:
20 mph. That's
50% more power to go 18%, 3 mph faster!
That's on the hoods. To go 20 mph:
210 watts on the hoods,
170 watts in the
drops. Aero is critical.
And you need to be able to stay in that aero position at least reasonably comfortably.
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Handlebar setup
I have a similar Bianchi. A great bike. Your grin says it all.
One thing that I really like is that I can stay in the drops comfortably. It's an obvious
speed improvement whenever I do it, and the drops also have better
handling control, and more palm
comfort on very bumpy roads. And the frequent change in hand positions between hoods and drops is good for my back and shoulders, too.
Try a setup like mine:
flip the stem back to it's upward position. (you'll have to re-set the headset bearings tension when you reinstall the stem. It's easy, but make sure you know how to do it -- the top cap is lightly tightened to set the bearing tension, then the two pinch bolts hold the stem in place. See the Park Tool guides
online)
Rotate the front curve of the bars downward until the bar ends are pointing to near the top of the rear tire. About where rim brakes would be mounted. That's just slightly tilted downward from level for the flatter ends of the drops.
Fine tune by sitting on the bike in a doorway and see if the flatter part of the drops touch the whole width of your palm as you lower your arm and hand to the drops.
You may want to reposition the hoods a little higher, but they actually look correct for this better bar rotation already.
Again in the doorway, sitting on the bike, I shake out my arm to get it neutral, then try to reach naturally to the hoods. I want the small slope of the hoods to fit my hand as it reaches the hoods. Then my wrist is in a neutral position.
I have the slope of the hoods angled up a bit, perhaps 10 degrees. There's a little tradeoff between hood/brakes angled up and the reach to the brakes in the drops. Test it out.
If you slide the hoods up or down the curve of the bars, make sure to remove the tape holding the cable housing to the bars. Push the end of the housing into the hood sockets so it's seated correctly. Then redo the tape.
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My bar tops are a little bit higher than some of the local riders, but they just about never ride in the drops unless forced to by high winds or sprints.
My arms have a natural bit of bend in the elbow, I'm not extending my arms way out and locking the elbow. I have a slightly shorter stem than the original one.
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Fizik Aliante saddle?
It looks like an Aliante. It works surprisingly well for me, but it took a couple of weeks to get used to it. I hated it on the first ride. Perfect now.
I have mine set with the nose just slightly tilted up. Then the back part of the saddle is fairly level.
I can pass this bike fitting test:
Riding along in a moderate cadence, I slowly lift my hands off the bars. I can do this without sliding forward even a small amount on the saddle, and without a lunge in the pedal stroke to help lift up.