Almost like in Formula 1, the technology is tinked about in cycling. Racing bikes, clothing, translations – many, often only small details ensure ever faster speeds. At the same time, awareness of the risks is growing.
Road cycling is located in a revolutionary phase. The translations that the drivers can step are getting bigger. “There used to be hardly a racing driver who drove more than 53/11”, John Degenkolb looks back on his early times as a professional compared to the sports show. The chainring with 53 teeth was considered maximum. “Now you would no longer get along with 53/11 in the peloton. The development goes towards 56 or even 58”, He alludes to the large translations that are now common.
The fact that the drivers can still keep the pedals in motion even in the larger translations is also due to the parallel nutritional revolution. Instead of once 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour, athletes can now eat 120 grams per hour due to a mix of glucose and fructose preparations. At the moment, sports scientist Carsten Lundby even tests the inclusion of 150 grams of carbohydrates per hour in a study with amateur drivers. “The effect is not that the athletes are now becoming twice as fast. But thanks to the increased fuel intake, they can call up their maximum performance longer”he explains the sports show.
Aerodynamic optimization
The aerodynamically improved material ensures greater speed. The optimization of the bikes alone has led to savings in the air resistance of “Certainly more than 50 watts”estimates the Jenco Drost sports show. Drost is a material developer at the racing team of the double Tour-de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, Visma-Lease A Bike.
He sees even larger savings potential than the wheel himself. Because its front section ensure 75 percent of the air resistance, but the wheel, on the other hand, is only a quarter. That is why special textiles are processed on the jerseys in the area of sleeves and shoulders, says Drost. A lot of research also goes into the helmets. And because the time trial helmets are the nonplusultra when it comes to wind slipping, they are increasingly being used in the normal street races.
Time trial helmets at the mass sprint
The Dutchman Caspar van Uden won with a time trial helmet at the mass sprint of the 4th stage of the Giro d’Italia. Even his helpers in the sprint train had exchanged the conventional helmet for the final for the final. “It may not look nice, but I don’t value aesthetics so much. If it makes you faster, you use it”said Van Uden dry after his victory.
Staff victory with a time trial helmet: Casper van Uden at Giro
The pioneer was Visma – Lease A Bike. At the Tour of Oman in February this year, U23 world champion Niklas Behrens put itself over the time trial helmet, despite the brooding heat, was not exactly approved for its cooling functions. Behrens was a driver of Olav Kooij, who also won the stage. So it would only be consistent if the mass sprints of the Tour-de-France top sprinter and their drivers appear with very futuristic headgear. The use is permitted as long as the dimensions of 45 cm in length specified by the UCI are not exceeded, 30 cm wide and 21 cm height.
UCI announces new rules
However, the UCI is in the process of tightening technical rules. The World Cycling Association has already announced new limits for drivers, wheels and frames. There should be a specification for street races and time trials, which applies from 2026. This could mean for time trial helmets in street races. The new rules that do not yet apply to the Tour de France should make the race for more speed more difficult and make the peloton a little slower.
Outside of a mass sprint final, the disadvantages predominate for the aerodynamically optimized helmets: they are heavier. And the lack of air circulation means that the racing bodies heat faster. Keeping the body core temperature low is eminently important in order to be able to use the maximum performance permanently. Aerodynamic design comes into conflict with training science aspects.
Aerorad or lighter mountain degree?
There is a similar conflict with the bikes. Many manufacturers have developed special aeror bikes. According to tests and manufacturers, they bring advantages in terms of air resistance at speeds over 40 km/h compared to other models. However, they are often heavier and stiffer – and therefore more suitable for rapid straight -outs than for climbing in serpentines.
“We developed the YRS1 especially for the Sprinter. It is very quick and very stiff. So there is little energy lost through vibrations“, says Colnago engineer Filippo Galli the Sportschau. Tadej Pogacar’s team UAE Emirates, for which Colnago delivers the work equipment, is not through top sprinters. Galli also looks at the new aerorad but also for the helpers in the flat in the wind to check for their captain Pogacar. Aerorad to the easier mountain degree in the race, if the course changes, Galli considers the effort to get back to the peloton after a planned change of bike.
Pogacar himself uses both bikes. During his sprint victory on the 1st stage of the Dauphiné tour, he was on the Aerorad, but mostly you can see the triple tour winner on the easier mountain degree-including the mountains of the tour general rehearsal or in his classic victories in spring. Jonas Vingegaard opponent was only on a new S5 from Cervelo on the Dauphiné tour, the aerobics of the Visma supplier. But it would also be an easier mountain degree. Other manufacturers such as Specialized, supplier of the German Bora racing team,, on the other hand, use the Tarmac to “only” a light and aerodynamically optimized rakebike.
Jonas Vingegaard on the Dauphiné tour
Shorter response time as a risk
The higher speeds that are possible through the new material also pose danger moments. Because the attention spans can be shortened, for example, on descents. Christian Pömer, sporting director at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and at the same time a qualified mental coach, sees the area for the next revolution on cycling. “We are already working in this direction, want to better exploit the resource perception”, he says the sports show.
The drivers are trained with optical stimuli. “For example, light signals can be given that are outside the normal field of vision”explains Pömer. The subjects learn to perceive these stimuli and thus expand their field of vision. “Another starting point is to train the drivers, to reduce the level of arousal and thereby increase the level of attention.”
This shows that research is carried out in the current road cycling at all corners and corner. The Tour de France is then the ultimate reality check for all innovations.