Cycling – Tempo hunt at the Tour de France: people, technology and records

The cycling professionals are on speed hunt. Tadej Pogačar collects speed records of mountain passes. The three-time tour champion also pushes into new dimensions during the winning time: in 2015 Chris Froome won the Tour of France with an average of 38.72 kilometers per hour, with 44.52 triumphed Pogačar last year. And among the ten fastest flat stages of the tour of all time there are six daily sections from the past three years.

The reasons for this lie in people and technology. One: the nutritional revolution. Instead of 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour, athletes now eat 120 grams due to a mixture of glucose and fructose preparations. “This enables the drivers to call up their maximum performance,” explains the Danish sports scientist Carsten Lundby »ND«. The result: If the chainring with 53 teeth was the maximum a few years ago, it is now 56 or even 58.

Tom on tour

Photo: private

Tom Mustroph, Cycling author and doping expert has accompanied this sport for “ND” for more than 20 years.

The aerodynamic developments on the bike, the clothing and the seating position are crucial. It is particularly optimized for time trials. On Wednesday, the 33 km long and flat course around Caen became a racetrack for muscle -driven machines. “The driver’s front section is responsible for 75 percent of the air resistance, only 25,” explains Jenco Drost, material developer at Visma, the team of the two-time tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, “ND”.

While the jerseys in the shoulder and chest area are processed according to Drost, the wind tunnel is about finding the driver’s best position on the bike. There are now three types for the wheels themselves: the time bicycles that are extremely optimized in aerodynamics, but are more difficult to master. The closer bikes, which are also designed for good aerodynamics, also have extreme rigidity and minimize vibration losses. Cervelo and Canyon were the first manufacturers, Colnago brought out the fast Y1RS for Pogačar and his Emirates team this year. Factor has developed a prototype approved by the World Association.

The lightweight mountain bikes have developed from the usual street bikes as a shape. The frame is dispensed with a few layers of carbon and the wind -slip, but more complex drops of drops. In the mountains, the air resistance is not decisive, but the weight. At least 6.8 kilograms are specified by the World Association. Aeror bikes are also becoming increasingly easier. Vingegaard was already seen in training with mountain passes with the new S5 from Cervelo. Maybe he will use this in the Pyrenees. The same thing at Pogačar even believes the developers of Colnago is unlikely. “We developed the Y1RS for sprinter and men who have to drive a long time in the wind,” says engineer Filippo Galli “ND”. A special wheel for every task: It is quite possible that the race stables will soon come to the tour with monster trucks instead of a material car.