Tour de France noticed: The aero particulars most of us will miss

Hello, I’m CyclingSpy. I’ve an Aerospace diploma and I’ve labored in sports activities aerodynamics for years, working with a few of biking’s biggest-name riders to enhance their efficiency on the highest stage of racing. 

I report on some extra area of interest tech/aero items that I really feel don’t get the eye they deserve and I take advantage of my expertise to supply my opinion and perception on new bits of tech that I discover, or my followers on Instagram ship in.

Bikes usually get the most important options (except we’re speaking about Mark Cavendish’s socks) regardless of not essentially making the most important distinction in efficiency. So on this function, I’ve rounded up all the different issues. I speak about clothes, pc mounts, socks (in fact) and extra. Think of it as an appreciation of the little issues that may in any other case fly below the radar. 

While I’ve 1000’s of hours of aerodynamic testing (wind tunnel, velodrome, CFD) expertise throughout a number of sports activities, I haven’t examined every little thing I speak about within the article. I’m utilizing my expertise in researching comparable issues to attempt to clarify what is perhaps occurring, however that is simply my opinion. Rider aerodynamics is so particular person and sophisticated that we will by no means make sure why a sure selection is made except we had been within the room through the take a look at. 

Biniam Girmay’s bar tape

It’s one thing of a operating joke on my posts that I hate when groups and riders have their handlebars taped all the best way as much as the stem. It is a incontrovertible fact that bar tape creates extra drag than having the sleek, aero profile or the handlebar uncovered. A taped bar has a bigger frontal space and worse floor properties, and it might solely be a few watts (even at 60+ km/h) nevertheless it takes extra effort to wrap extra of the handlebar and it makes you slower, I simply don’t get why groups are nonetheless doing it. 

We can see within the picture above that Girmay is the one rider together with his bars taped on this method, but he’s nonetheless profitable. He is essentially the most profitable sprinter within the race in the meanwhile. It doesn’t imply that every little thing I’ve written is incorrect or that small drag enhancements don’t matter, it’s simply that Girmay’s timing of his sprints particularly is greater than overcoming any deficiencies in his setup.

Jonas Abrahamsen’s pc mount

There had been a number of fascinating bits that had been reported on from the Stage 7 time trial (comparable to Pogačar’s new light-weight TT setup) however one of many smaller items I favored was Jonas Abrahamsen’s pc mount. 

Standard pc mounts on time trial bikes normally place the top unit in between the time trial extensions. However, Abrahamsen used an aerofoil-shaped pole to mount his pc a lot greater up and nearer to his face. I don’t know why it was the case right here as he wasn’t giving 100% within the race that day, nevertheless it’s one thing novel in races of this stage.

I’m satisfied that there can be some aerodynamic interactions that might be investigated between a pc mounted this fashion and completely different helmets/visors. I’d be particularly eager to see how massive computer systems work together with the gurney flaps used on the visors of Ineos Grenadiers’ Kask helmets.

Ineos Grenadiers vs Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

The skinsuit that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe used for the primary time trial at this yr’s Tour has been in use for over a yr now, however I wished to focus on a similarity between it and the method that Ineos Grenadiers have been utilizing for a few years. 

You can see within the photographs that there are ridges within the cloth on the arms and down the again of Filippo Ganna (simply above the place you may see his ribs) and Bob Jungels. However, Ganna’s swimsuit has this ridged cloth as a base layer utilizing double layer expertise and the Red Bull swimsuit is all single layer however with some therapy to the material. Both groups have invested some huge cash into the skinsuit improvement and presumably imagine that they’ve the most suitable choice for his or her leaders. What I discover fascinating is that they’ve used basically the identical cloth in the identical places however otherwise to one another to succeed in the identical aim.

It is value noting that each one Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe riders had been utilizing equivalent skinsuits, whereas Ineos Grenadiers have a number of choices for every of its riders and selects the choice that performs greatest. Ganna makes use of the double layer on the again, for instance, however different riders on this yr’s Tour aren’t.

Visma Lease-a-Bike skinsuit

Visma Lease-a-Bike’s ‘Renaissance’ themed design makes it tough to identify what’s going on within the skinsuit. The darkish color and sample on the material masks the shadows, and it’s the shadows throughout the material that enable us to identify what materials the crew is utilizing.

However, we will nonetheless see that this yr, they’ve modified the match of the swimsuit so it has additional cloth throughout the rider’s armpit in an try to scale back drag. The airflow round a rider’s arms may be very delicate to small adjustments and has an enormous affect on what occurs across the rider’s physique. I’ve seen wind tunnel outcomes the place having this additional cloth (like a flying squirrel) has resulted in a drag enhance however Visma-Lease a Bike should ensure that it’s producing a drag discount on their key riders. 

It all will depend on the skinsuit’s materials, the helmet, the form of the rider in addition to which course the wind is coming from.

Pogačar’s sock wardrobe

In the Giro d’Italia, Pogačar began with some socks manufactured from a breathable materials that may even have an aerodynamic impact of tripping the boundary layer to scale back the wake and due to this fact drag of the decrease leg. These had been in his normal crew colors (white) for the primary day. Then, for his first day within the pink jersey, he used a ‘regular’ aero ribbed cloth on his sock earlier than reverting again to his unique socks (albeit in a pink model) for the remaining phases.

In this yr’s Tour, Pogačar is utilizing the identical socks he used throughout final yr’s Tour. These are made out of the identical materials that’s utilized in quite a lot of aero base layers in the meanwhile. It options massive protruding ribs to journey the boundary layer in a managed method, quite than counting on a normal roughness to the material to realize this impact like his Giro socks. Using the aero base layer cloth as a single layer quite than a double layer will imply the boundary layer journey impact will occur at a a lot decrease velocity. When accounting for the truth that the legs are transferring, this velocity finally ends up being about 30km/h or roughly as quick as he would journey up a 5% climb, offering a few watts of financial savings on this kind of terrain. 

What I discover fascinating is the truth that in contrast to his socks within the Giro, his socks within the Tour have remained white. The aerodynamic efficiency of some materials can change once they undergo the method of making use of color/logos to them. I don’t know if Pissei or UAE Team Emirates are conscious of this (or have examined it) and are utilizing an undyed sock consequently, or if they’ve merely run out of the material and may’t make a particular yellow model.

What can be unusual is that Pogačar used a special cloth within the sock for the Giro and the Tour. The Giro cloth was new to him for this yr (different groups have used it prior to now) however for the Tour he has been utilizing final yr’s cloth. 

If we assume that the most effective gear is getting used for the Tour, did he and the crew knowingly use a sock with greater aerodynamic drag within the Giro, simply so he might journey matching pink socks? 

Comparing Lidl Trek’s Santini equipment with the Santini-issued yellow jersey

Pogačar has worn a number of completely different Santini-branded skinsuits throughout this yr’s race. When dropping the dash to Vingegaard on stage 11, he was sporting an outdated model of the Santini Viper skinsuit (the identical model Girmay has received sprints in). 

Lidl-Trek have seen a few updates to this skinsuit since this outdated model, so I feel it’s truthful to say that the race chief’s jersey can be slower by some watts than the model Lidl-Trek are utilizing. Of course, aerodynamics are rider-specific and the way massive the distinction in drag between the skinsuits will change from rider to rider. 

A extra fascinating commentary is the skinsuit Pogačar has used on phases 14 and 15 – the 2 largest mountain phases to date. It has clean cloth on the sleeves and a breathable cloth on the chest and sides and down the surface of the legs. This mixture is one thing that I haven’t seen on any Lidl-Trek rider however for good motive. This mountain skinsuit is almost equivalent, in each cloth selection and building, to the Le Coq Sportif skinsuits from a couple of years in the past. 

It’s not unusual for clothes producers to outsource manufacturing at this stage. Back within the early days of Team Sky, for instance, the Adidas (and subsequently Rapha) equipment was truly produced by Nalini, and extra not too long ago on the 2022 Giro d’Italia, British rider Simon Yates’ time trial skinsuit was made by Vorteq, quite than BikeChange-Jayco’s equipment sponsor Alé.

It can be fascinating to search out out if Santini makes all the skinsuits for the highway phases, or whether or not it’s outsourcing a few of the manufacturing in the identical method.

Contrary to the above, nonetheless, the skinsuits within the time trial had been the identical throughout all the chief’s jersey holders and Lidl-Trek. 

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