The new, Team Visma | Lease a Bike time-trial helmets have quickly become one of the biggest talking points in the cycling world since they were first shown off on the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.
The response to the new design has been somewhat mixed with numerous big-name figures within the sport sharing their opinions on the look and its pros and cons. Whilst former Team Sky aerodynamics expert, Robby Ketchell may not be the most well-known name to share his views, he's probably one of the best-placed giving his vast knowledge, and in his opinion, the helmets make perfect sense.
“To be honest, it’s a great design and makes complete sense,” Ketchell commented in conversation with GCN from his lab in New Hampshire. “The thing I’ve always said since I started to work in wind tunnels in 2008 is that the number one thing to make yourself faster is to close that gap between your helmet and your hands. That’s why the Floyd Landis and the Levi Leipheimer positions really worked back in the day because they were closing their hands by bringing their hands up.”
“Jumbo are doing the opposite to close that gap, by bringing the helmet down. You’re basically creating a big windshield there that closes the entire section at the front and makes it a nice airfoil in front of the rider," Ketchell continues. "It’s an optimal aero shape because you can’t create an optimal aero shape with your fists. They’re creating one with the helmet, though. It makes total sense. And even when you put your head up, you’re still having an improved shape, even if the gap isn’t closed."
Although the performances from the Visma riders were nothing to write home about on the stage, Jonas Vingegaard being best-placed in 9th, Ketchell sees big potential gains with the new look. “The savings are going to be larger for some more than others. If you look at riders like Jonas Vingegaard, they’re going to have larger savings because they have larger upper arms, so the distance between their forearms and their head is larger,” he says. "It could give a second per kilometre in a time trial."
Although he admits a UCI rule change is likely not too far away. “It always happens this way, and then the rules change and you need to modify the designs,” he concludes. “I’m curious to see how it behaves in crosswinds, and how much you give away when you’re climbing and not in the optimal tuck but these are all things they would have considered. I’m curious if the rules will hold up for the rest of the year."
The GB researched this approach to aerodynamics circa 2006 thanks to the bravery of @Ed_Clancy but after careful consideration of the wind tunnel data we couldn’t see a big enough advantage to justify the trauma it would cause to rider and fans #TirrenoAdriatico #justno
