Giant Alpecin Unveil New TDF Technology

In Team Giant-Alpecin’s "Keep Challenging" elite sports approach, cycling is about the battle of a collective of nine riders against the rest of the peloton. For the team to become in a position to win races, the team aims to get the designated rider in an as advanced as possible position with as much as possible energy left when the finish line approaches in the effort to enable that riderto go for the glory. To meet this paradoxal challenge of getting as far advanced as possible with as less energy spent as possible, a team needs two essential elements:
Optimal teamwork.
And innovation, to constantly improve every single detail in equipment, nutrition as well as in physical and psychological preparation.

For this year's Tour de France, Team Giant-Alpecin saw the potential of a further improvement on three innovation areas – aerodynamics, safety and overnight recovery – and the team’s experts have been working on a variety of equipment innovations that will be introduced in July.

Increasing safety by extending the range of protective apparel

At last year’s Tour de France the team introduced its new protective shorts by Etxeondo, created using the world’s strongest fiber, Dyneema. The riders provided extremely positive feedback, and the protective fiber has been further developed, improving strength and decreasing thickness. Close cooperation between Team Giant-Alpecin’s technical experts, DSM scientists and the team’s clothing partner, Etxeondo, has allowed for the creation of improved protective bibshortswith the 2.0 fiber – and, for the first time, the fiber is also being used in the team’s aero jerseys.

Technical R&D expert Tom Davids (NED) said: “We managed to incorporate the protective fiber into our aero jersey. Our technological challenge was to keep the same level of comfort, because the Dyneema fiber is extremely tough – it’s normally used as bullet protection. The aero jersey offers protection to the shoulder area, one of the most vulnerable areas for cyclists, and will be used when they need it the most: during the flat stages where speeds are sometimes up to 70 km/h as riders fight for position in the final kilometers.”

Coach Adriaan Helmantel (NED) added: “Safety is a hot item in cycling these days, and crashes are unfortunately part of our sport. Both the protective shorts and aero jersey help substantially reduce the wounds and injuries sustained in a crash. After a crash, the body has to devote a lot of energy to healing wounds, reducing the level of energy available for the overall recovery process. Less recovery means a decreased fitness level, affecting the riders’ performance.”

The best of two worlds in aerodynamics and ventilation

At this year’s Tour, Team Giant-Alpecin will be racing with the all-new Pursuit helmet, developed together with bicycle and accessory manufacturer Giant. The Pursuit helmet offers outstanding all-around performance, combining excellent comfort and ventilation for hot July days with minimal drag to ensure optimal aerodynamics.

Technical R&D expert Tom Davids explained: “The new helmet offers the best of both worlds in aerodynamics and ventilation and is the result of computational fluid dynamics testing, wind tunnel testing, and also testing in ‘live’ conditions with feedback from the team’s riders. It is designed for maximum speed in real-world rider positions, but it also helps save energy so the riders are fresher at the end of a long day. We worked with Giant in the wind tunnel to create a design that features ‘drag-neutral’ intake ports that pull air through internal channels in the helmet to help regulate temperature during hard efforts, while maintaining top-level aerodynamic performance.”

Making one of the peloton's fastest time trial suits even faster

The difference between winning and losing can come down to the smallest details. Team Giant-Alpecin’s experts have been working with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and the team’s premium clothing partner, Etxeondo, on a project to make the team’s fast time trial suit even faster.

“The partnership with TU Delft provides us access to additional resources to speed up our innovation projects,” said scientific expert Teun van Erp (NED). “Research shows that the composition and structure of the fabric in a rider’s clothing has a significant impact on air resistance, and this has been the starting point for investigating to what extend we could further improve the aerodynamics of our time trial suits, which are already among the fastest in the pro peloton.

“We wind tunnel tested different types of fabrics with different structures to understand why one suit is faster than another and to determine what fabrics should be placed on which parts of the body for optimal results. We used the unique PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique, which is only available at TU Delft. This technique allows us to record and analyze the airflow by the use of helium-filled soap bubbles, laser technology and special software. We need soap bubbles and a laser to make the airflow visible and apply helium to let the bubbles drift, because the molecules in soap are heavier than air and would otherwise drop.”

Technical R&D expert Tom Davids added: “With Etxeondo we brought theory into practice and extensively tested a range of fabric types to identify different options and ensure that no compromises are made to fit or comfort.”

Warren Barguil (FRA) and Tom Dumoulin (NED) will use their tailor-made time trial suits for the first time on Tour stage 13, the 37.5km time trial on Friday, July 15.

Optimizing overnight recovery

In the most challenging race in the world, covering 3,519km over 21 stages, good rest and recovery at night are critical. To this end, Team Giant-Alpecin has partnered with Auping, a producer of high-quality mattresses. To optimize overnight recovery, each of the riders on the Tour team has had a body scan and will sleep on a mattress tailored exactly to his body shape.

Coach Adriaan Helmantel said: “Innovations don’t always need to be revolutionary in order have a positive effect on the performance of the team. Rest and recovery are crucial for all human beings and especially for athletes tackling the toughest stage race in professional cycling. Making sure they get a good night’s sleep after the hard stages will obviously result in better performance the following day. In addition, we are introducing mobile air conditioners in the riders’ hotel rooms to control the climate.”

Check out Team Giant-Alpecin's innovations for the Tour de France.

Giant Alpecin Unveil New TDF Technology

Last updated : 03 July 2016 By CNS Sport