Science of Cycling

Every year in the week before the Tour de France, the city of the Grand Départ also hosts the Science & Cycling conference. Exercise physiologists, WorldTour sport scientists and nutritionists come together to discuss advancements related to performance cycling. Recent topics have ranged from the impact of altitude training to the benefits of glucose monitoring units and even the impact of “chain wear and elongation in worldclass cycling”. (Yes, some of the subjects are rather esoteric.) It’s symposiums like this where the seeds are sown for the next innovation in training smarter. And it’s where many of the ideas started off that follow in Science of Cycling, brought to you by Cycling Plus magazine. Inside, you’ll discover strategies and sessions that have trickled down from professional level for you to…

If you’re looking to ride your bike faster, then aerodynamic drag is typically the biggest thing holding you back. Upgrading to a dedicated aero road bike can come with a significant price tag, though. Fortunately, there are plenty of other bits of kit that don’t cost the earth but can dramatically decrease your overall aerodynamic drag. To find out what the best-value aero upgrades are, we enlisted the help of Stephen Roche of The Bike Tailor (an expert in bike fitting, aero testing and custom builds based in London and Brighton), and the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub’s wind tunnel. With Roche’s help, our aero model Liam Cahill put a range of products (helmets, handlebars, tri-bars, speed suits and socks) and riding positions to the test to find out which offer…

To discover just how the various bike-fitting processes compare, I lined up fittings with three different specialists, utilising a mix of video technology, 3D biomechanical computer simulations and a good old-fashioned plumb line. We were also lucky enough to land a session with former Team Sky fitter Phil Burt, so we would be comparing our fitters with one of the very best in the business. To each fitting I took my Genesis Volare, a 54cm frame with 110mm stem and 44cm bar. Neither my body nor the bike changed during the period, so all the experts were dealing with as constant a control as we could give them. If all went well, I should have been hearing the same problems and solutions from everyone… → YOUR IMAGE OF a bike…

BIKES Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 Dura-Ace Di2 £12,000 Specialized’s all-round race bike is now even lighter, but what else is new? HOW DOES THIS latest model improve upon the already highly impressive Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7? Well, while they’ve adopted a general “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to the geometry, there have been a few tweaks to the frame’s make-up to make the SL8 even faster and lighter… The elongated headtube, or Speed Sniffer, is said to capture airflow sooner than the SL7 did for an aerodynamic gain. The latest Roval Rapide integrated cockpit also boosts efficiency by a claimed four watts at 45kph. The seat-tube and seatpost are both narrower, while the fork’s leading edges have also been re-shaped. All of this, say Specialized, makes it…

Naked Carbon Cycling Shoes £299 A light, breathable, durable, waterresistant, seamfree, sock-like build designed using Natex and hemp aims to keep feet comfortable in our ever-hotter climate. The nylon sole contains carbon powder for a good stiffness-tocomfort balance. The outer uses recycled materials. The minibus pulls up outside the futuristic façade of UYN HQ in Asola, Italy, while robot mowers tend to the immaculate lawns outside under an azure sky. I’m clutching what feels like a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory golden ticket inviting me on ‘a tour of discovery of the most advanced research academy in the textile industry’. I received my hot ticket as part of the worldwide launch of this sustainable apparel and footwear brand. UYN, by the way, is pronounced ‘win’ and stands for ‘unleash your…

01. Kapok Hailing from South America, this, say UYN, is the world’s lightest natural fibre. It’s organic, hand harvested and comes from the pods of rainforest plants. It also has natural antibacterial and hypoallergenic properties. 02. Flexycorn This recyclable material is a ‘plant-based bio-polyester’ that comes from corn that isn’t used for human consumption. It’s touted as an alternative to stretchy elastane, keeping its stretch and shape for longer. 03. Ecolypt Strength and elasticity are this fibre’s properties, along with high breathability. It hails from eucalyptus wood pulp and is responsibly sourced, biodegradable and all enzymes used to make it are recovered and reused. 04. Biolight It’s made from the cellulose in beech wood and can, UYN say, absorb twice as much water as cotton. This soft-touch material is 100%…