"It's a shame that only those who have a wind tunnel or a helmet costing thousands can win" - Brian Holm believes rising costs of cycling tech are hurting the sport

Cycling
Thursday, 06 March 2025 at 16:30
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The fight for marginal gains within the World Tour peloton is increasingly becoming something of an arms race as rivals teams look to outdo each other and gain a potentially vital edge. In the process though, the costs of the newest tech and equipment are rising and rising, potentially causing a big financial disparity within the peloton.
Because of this, Danish cycling legend Brian Holm, who has seen multiple sides of the development of cycling tech as both a rider and sports director over the years, has felt it right to deliver a stark warning about the future of the sport. "If you take the Danish time trial. There are many young people who say: 'We don't have a helmet for 15,000 or this for 12,000. We don't have the expensive suit or the right bike'. So they stay away," begins the 62-year-old on the latest episode of the Cafe Eddy podcast. "It's a bit of a shame that it ends up costing the tip of a jet fighter."
Holm also warns that more than just the financial disparity this growing costs threaten to cause, there is also a tangible mental risk at play. "There's also something psychological about it. If you're racing and it hurts, there's a time when a little voice tells you when it really hurts: ‘I'm also riding on the wrong equipment’. So then you ride a little slower," he concludes. "So it's a bit of a shame that the trend is that only those who have a wind tunnel or a helmet costing thousands can win."
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