“Project 35 continues to be alive!”
That was the phrase shouted within the route of Mark Cavendish on the finish of stage 1 of this 12 months’s Tour de France. The British sprinting famous person had suffered a torturous day within the warmth, vomiting because of the trouble mixed with the necessity to devour a lot water to stay hydrated. He in the end completed the day comfortably contained in the time minimize, and so his hopes to win a record-breaking thirty fifth stage of the Tour de France are nonetheless alive, however it did not look so clear minimize earlier within the day.
Despite the French fairytale unfolding on the entrance of the race, wherein Romain Bardet stormed into the yellow jersey in his farewell Tour alongside DSM teammate Frank van den Broek, for each eye watching the entrance of the race was one other on Cavendish’s combat on the again.
Up till this level, I’d not heard the time period ‘Project 35’ however true to Baader-Meinhof phenomenon type, I’ve seen and heard it all over the place since. Whether or not Cavendish himself makes use of the time period himself is unknown, however as he rocked as much as the beginning on stage three – the primary actual alternative for the sprinters – it was clear he’d left no stone unturned within the pursuit of the following win.
His bike, the Wilier Filante SLR aero bike resplendent in {custom} colors, was donning aerodynamic bottles from a time trial bike and his Nike sneakers had been enshrouded in a cloth sleeve to clean out the airflow over the Boa dials, however that was only the start.
The Manxman is not any stranger to tech hacks within the pursuit of victory. When he gained the World Road Championships in 2011, he employed an add-on shell to the highest of his Specialized helmet, closing off the vents to make it extra aerodynamic. That was in the end the origin of the aero street helmet as we all know it immediately, and the UCI subsequently banned the addition of detachable covers in racing, one thing that Intermarché-Wanty are nonetheless grappling with at this 12 months’s race.
In the times since, we have regarded extra intently on the gear and clothes of the Manxman and his Astana Qazaqstan workforce, and we have uncovered a handful of intelligent tips, hacks and optimisations. Let’s check out what he is been doing.
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Time trial bottles
Starting with the plain one from stage 3: The bottles. So a lot consideration goes into shaping the carbon tubes of bikes today to eke out marginal aero enhancements, however then we slap on a spherical bottle and name it finished. Over the years, manufacturers have toyed with optimising these. Campagnolo did it years in the past, however it’s a typical sight on time trial bikes today.
The simply-titled Aero Bottle & Cage from Tacx is the selection employed right here. They’re narrower than a conventional spherical bottle, barely deeper, and higher fill the house contained in the body triangle. Exactly how a lot sooner they’re is unknown, however each aero specialists Aerocoach and Swiss Side agree that aero bottles are sooner.
Mid-stage tyre modifications
A DOUBLE wheel change for @markcavendish… let’s hope they’re the successful type! 🤔3️⃣5️⃣TDF 2024 | @SBS @SBSOnDemand | June 29 – July 21#sbstdf #couchpeloton #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/zMhDYf2CRsJuly 1, 2024
Another notable spot on stage 3 was Cavendish’s determination to swap each his entrance and rear wheels on the similar time at 88km to go.
It wasn’t clear precisely why the change was made. He did not have a double puncture, and the brand new wheels gave the impression to be the identical depth as these eliminated, so the following logical conclusion is that he swapped to sooner tyres.
Vittoria makes the Corsa Pro tyre, which Cavendish’s Astana-Qazaqstan workforce use, in a number of completely different variants. The customary Corsa Pro is the on a regular basis race tyre, whereas the Corsa Pro Speed is a lighter weight, barely sooner tyre for time trials and sprints. It could possibly be that he deliberately ran the usual Pro tyre for the early a part of the race, utilizing its elevated puncture resistance, after which swapped to the Pro Speed to achieve the additional pace within the remaining.
Shoe covers and costly socks
On stage three, enshrouding Cavendish’s white Nike sneakers, in addition to the sneakers of his total workforce, had been small material sleeves.
Working equally to aero overshoes, these sleeves clean out the airflow because it passes over the otherwise-not-very-aero Boa dials. We consider they’re made by British model NoPinz and are referred to as the ‘Hypersonic Tovershoes’.
While not a typical product, we have seen them earlier than. The Specialized Sub-6 street shoe launched again in 2015, was a lace-up shoe that got here with a ‘Warp Sleeve’, though that carried out the twin responsibility of retaining the laces tidy and smoothing out the airflow.
Given the excessive temperatures we have seen within the Tour to this point, it is unsurprising that he did not simply go for full aero overshoes, given temperature regulation can be an essential consider efficiency.
Next up, socks, and for one thing so seemingly insignificant, it seems Cavendish has gone large.
With their v-shaped aero chevrons up the entrance, we have labored out that these are additionally from NoPinz, and are the ‘P35 Socks‘. They are absolutely custom-made, and based on the web site, they’re priced at one pence shy of £1000. It would not be the primary time we have seen socks fetch such a excessive worth, however we have contacted NoPinz to verify that is appropriate.
The NoPinz web site says they had been “designed by champions for champions,” including that they had been “crafted for a groundbreaking challenge.” I feel we are able to all guess what that challenge is, and certainly what P35 stands for.
Cees Bol’s {custom} sneakers
Speaking of costly footwear, one in all Cavendish’s leadout males, Cees Bol, has been sporting a pair of custom-made aero sneakers. They come from a model referred to as Antiloper, and so they’re so area of interest that worth is offered solely on utility.
The retention dial is hidden out of the airflow on the heel, and so they look to be made nearly totally from carbon fibre. It’s not the primary time Bol has used these sneakers although. He truly had them on the Tour final 12 months too.
A wide range of skinsuits
Back to Cavendish himself, and the following aero optimisation we have discovered comes courtesy of his skinsuit, though there’s some complication right here.
On stage 3, he was sporting a skinsuit with aerodynamic journey strains down the sleeves. Not all of his teammates are sporting the identical skinsuit, as evidenced within the picture above, however most had been. The trip-strips on the sleeves are mentioned to be extra aerodynamic, however the precise distinction is unknown.
Fast ahead to stage 5 and Cavendish was in a unique skinsuit with clean sleeves, however with what seems like an aero base layer beneath. The cause for the change is unknown, however it might merely be a consolation factor, or maybe associated to warmth.
He additionally ditched the shoe covers for the race’s fifth stage.
Radio positioning
The remaining hack we have noticed is the place of Cavendish’s radio. Most riders will put it in a pocket stitched onto the within of the again of the jersey, however a blocky protrusion on a rider’s again is sort of an un-aerodynamic form.
Instead, Cavendish has put it on his chest, one thing time triallists have begun doing lately for an aero profit, so we are able to solely assume the Briton’s motivations are the identical.