Cycling Spy

Noemi Rüegg used what looks like a modified POC Procen to win the opening stage of the Vuelta. At the beginning of this year, the UCI banned helmets that cover the ears in an attempt to stop “TT helmets in road races”, forcing riders to either remove the current ear covers or POC to produce a new helmet. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #vuelta thanks @xouted for spotting 🕵️‍♂️

Not many new/different things on show at Roubaix, but Pogačar had a couple of interesting things that he was doing. 🧷 The first is using a safety pin to make his overshoes fit a bit better on the front. I’m assuming he has plenty of spare pairs so wouldn’t need to repair damage, he’d just use a new pair. Slightly surprising that the World Champion doesn’t have custom fit overshoes if this is the case (photo removed for copyright). 😎 The second thing is what looks like a new version of the Scicon Aerostorm glasses, with a more pronounced flick at the base. Could this be an attempt at the Gurney Flap solution that was banned on the Kask TT Visors? #parisroubaix #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #pogi thanks @cyclistecanadien for spotting 🕵️‍♂️

Lidl Trek have been spotted using an adjustable tyre/tubeless insert. Edit: On his podcast, Max Walscheid explained that the insert doesn’t touch the inside of the tyre but does provide some security if the tyre loses pressure. Additionally, in the case of a puncture in the tyre and insert, the large amount of pressure in the insert (6 bar) can help re-inflate the tyre and seal the puncture which is pretty cool. Original: Inserts can stop a tubeless tyre burping, pinching, or falling off a rim in the event of a total loss of pressure. However, they can come with a small rolling resistance penalty. That’s why a lot of teams usually run without inserts at most races (apart from Roubaix). I’m not totally familiar with this system but I wonder if the tuneable element may allow less interference from the insert and therefore negate some or the Crr penalty of foam inserts without losing the security the insert offers. I.e. have just enough pressure in the insert that the tyre doesn’t fail on the Arenberg (the Porsche story of how the perfect race car crosses the finish line in first place and then falls to pieces). But that’s just a guess. It could also be that other inserts weren’t offering enough security so they’re using high pressure inserts here to add extra security. I don’t think it’s reinventing the inner tube or the tubular tyre, but it’s trying to keep the advantages of tubeless while reducing the risks it may pose at Paris Roubaix (we’ve all seen the Arenberg tubeless failures). If anyone has any more info or experience on the system, please let me know in the comments 🙂. #lidltrek #cyclingtech #parisroubaix #marginalgains thanks @jakob_frech for Walscheid’s podcast, super useful insight. 🕵️‍♂️

Luca Vergalito unfortunately crashed during the S1 TT at Itzulia and as a result couldn’t start the second stage. I wish him a speedy recovery. For tech spotters however, it gave a glimpse of the base layer he was using. He’s using a track aero base layer from Rule 28, normally designed for super high speeds or larger riders (i.e. higher Reynolds Numbers). I find this interesting for two reasons. 1: It is a visual demonstration of what I discussed in my last @escapecollective article, in that for skinny riders, conventional cycling aero development seems to break down and things start behaving backwards or counter-intuitively. 2: That the whole of Alpecin Deceuninck aren’t using the Vorteq Kalas skinsuits. The product has been out for a few years and national track teams as well as amateurs have been using it but only a couple of star riders on the team get to use those suits. The rest are having to make do with the old skinsuits and then getting their own aero base layers. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #timetrial

Roubaix content begins! Tudor have gone into a bit of detail as to what data they’re gathering to make choices going into Paris-Roubaix. We’ve seen similar data capture systems in other teams but they haven’t said what they’re actually measuring. This is a good behind-the-scenes look into what data teams are capturing and how they will use it. Tudor is using a combination of tyre pressure sensors, IMUs, power meters, and speed sensors to make various decisions for race day and for future development of the frame, tyres, and other components. The most interesting thing I thought was wheel spend sensors on both the front and rear wheel to look at the difference in slip between each one. Combining this with strain gauge and IMU data could give you an understanding of how to design a frame or specific front/rear tyre to maximise power delivery to the road and reduce the energy spent spinning the tyres. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #parisroubaix 📸Tudor Pro Cycling youtube channel

Mauro Schmid has been spotted in what looks like a Vorteq road suit. It has some of the telltale oval fabric on the shoulder and is different from the skinsuit he has worn earlier in the year and what the other Jayco riders are currently using. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #mauroschmidt

Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe have been using a new road suit with an interesting seam layout. It effectively moves the seams around the shoulder much further inboard to minimise the disruption seams can create in a critical area, while also allowing some rough fabric on the back and chest without having to create an extra panel for it. Unless you can do something useful with it, you would typically put a seam out of the way (behind the arms, behind the legs, etc). To me, it looks as if the arm seams would be in the wake of the head/helmet in a road position, essentially hiding them. The extra seam on the chest must likely be having little to no effect on drag, as in a road position there is more stagnation on the chest. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #remco

Post-Flanders round-up Part 1: Aero accessories. More and more teams are looking to accessories to bring a performance advantage. Previously individual riders would look at this but that culture seems to have started to come into whole teams. One of the main things I noticed at Flanders was who kept arm warmers on and who took them off. A lot of Red Bull BH riders and Lidl Trek riders kept their aero arm warmers on while others took them off. If it’s light enough and not too warm while giving you an aero advantage, why would you take it off? I’m sure the UCI used to limit the temperature you could wear arm/leg warmers but I couldn’t find it in the current rules, opening up the options for riders. The same goes to socks and overshoes. Aero socks have been around for years and overshoes in road races was a trend from last year, but now teams look to be optimising this. Layering ridges fabrics on top of each other can change how it alters the boundary layer flow, effectively by making a fabric with a combination of different ridge heights. There were also some glasses with what looked like aero flicks but I struggled to get good photos of them. I’ve also probably missed some things but hopefully you still get the idea that teams are diversifying the products they’re looking at to improve performance. I’ll be interested to see what riders choose for Paris-Roubaix as you don’t need to consider weight. Will we see more riders keeping aero arm/leg warmers on? The weather looks to be ~17C sunny with a slight headwind into the finale. #deronde #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains

MET have teased the launch of a new aero helmet and it’s been spotted on Pogaćar during training ahead of Milan Sanremo. It looks like a slight evolution on the current Manta, with a repositioning of the vents and a re-profiling of the helmet overall. It’s hard to tell, but to me it looks slightly narrower at the widest point and extends further down the back of the head than the previous version for a softer shape overall. Evolution rather than revolution. What is also interesting is the device used in testing in MET’s wind tunnel. Just guessing, but it looks like it would be able to automate different head positions during testing to make it quicker to test an aero map of different conditions (speeds, yaw, head position) than doing so manually. The Cipressa and Poggio are so fast that aero plays a significant part. If you’re producing less drag, the person behind you is getting less draft as well. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #milansamremo

A recent trend that’s been spotted is putting more attention on the handlebar accessories. It’s a pretty important area as it gets the cleanest airflow and affects what happens with the aerodynamics downstream. 1. I’m super happy that Girmay no longer has bar tape wrapped all across the tops. This had become a pet peeve of mine over the last couple of seasons! 2/3/4. Computer mounts that act as a fairing between the computer and handlebar are becoming more common. This should reduce the losses all along the stem for a small drag reduction. What handlebar accessory/design do you think teams should investigate next? #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains Thanks to everyone who sent photos in, @wsaerotesting . 🕵️‍♂️

The EF Education First development team was spotted with these additions to the shoes underneath the overshoe at Rhodes GP. It is unclear whether it’s a fairing added to the shoe or a new shoe entirely, how they implement it could decide whether it is UCI legal or not. The shape is trying to make it easier for flow to stay attached behind the shoe and reduce the drag in this region significantly. Over the ankle and heel you have a few shedding structures that are quite chaotic so controlling the pressure behind this part of the foot/leg could be quite advantageous. #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains thanks @marcyvalo1 for spotting! 🕵️‍♂️

2026 is proving busy for the pro teams and I’m struggling to keep up! Life, work, and everything is proving super busy at the moment so scrolling Instagram for tech has taken a back seat for the time being 😅. There’s been so much stuff going on and I have missed being on time with a lot of it! I’m going to try and put out some summary posts grouping things together that I’ve spotted and that’s been sent in. First summary post: Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe has been busy! I don’t just want to post about Remco all the time but he does seem to be the focus of a lot of investment. The suit he wore in the UAE Tour TT had double layer on the back in an oval/squares pattern rather than the single layer ribbed fabric we’ve seen on him previously. This should deal a bit better with the different/changing flow directions on the back than a straight line should. The base layer sleeves also extend high up on the shoulders, rather than finishing at the top of his arm. We’ve also seen riders experiment with aero arm and leg warmers (long live Taco Van Der Hoorn), this is the first time I’ve seen a whole team be supplied with aero leg warmers. They use what looks like a similar fabric to the overshoes and both are at 45 degrees rather than vertical or horizontal like other overshoe/aero sock designs. The front wheel in the TT also uses internal spoke nipples. As long as the spoke holes are handled properly, this can clean up the flow on the rim a little. There are also rumours than Remco has been experimenting with different helmet sizes and that a new Venge is on the way. Thanks to everyone that’s sent stuff in so far in 2026, I will always (eventually) read everything, even if it gets put in hidden message requests! The page wouldn’t run without you all! #cyclingtech #cyclingaero #marginalgains #remcoevenepoel 🕵️‍♂️