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Hello everyone! After a long break from the Tour de France and Eurobike, we are back with another episode of the Performance Process podcast and newsletter.
As always, we bring you the latest episode of our podcast, where we bring you tidbits of tech news and delve into the world of double training, whether on purpose or during your commute. First up…
Weekly “Gains”
As you can imagine, a lot has happened since our last newsletter, and there is a lot of news, both new and old.
🚲 In case you missed it: supersuits have been spotted everywhere in Paris. Specifically, so-called “dual layer” skinsuits. “What’s a dual layer suit?” you asked, thanks. In an article published earlier this week, we took a closer look at what it is, who has it, and who owns the tech.
NoPinz Aero Toe Shoes – Speaking of articles on this site, remember when we saw Mark Cavendish and his teammates wearing aero partial covers and took a closer look at how committed he is to aero? Lace and BOA dial covers are back in fashion about 10 years after Specialized offered similar covers for their Sub-6 lace-up shoes. NoPinz has a new take on a similar concept, and although they don’t come free with your lace-up shoes, they’re a little more affordable at £40 a pair.
Sync ergonomic chainrings – Sync, an Australian company known for its custom and 3D printed time trial extensions, has partnered with cSixx to produce a machined aluminum 1X chainring. According to Sync’s website, the ring is “engineered to be aero and stiff while providing excellent chain retention and smooth operation at the maximum gear counts.” The rings are available in five sizes, ranging from 54 to 62 teeth.
Additionally, Sync has also developed a chainring backing plate for Shimano cranks that is said to improve both stiffness and aerodynamics. And, as if to synchronise the entire drivetrain (I’m over it), Sync has also developed its own pulley wheels, chain guides and chainring caps, and now offers a Molten Speed Wax treated chain, prepared by Zero Friction Cycling. Add each of the new Sync driveline components to your basket, bringing the total to £445.
KMC waxed chain – Speaking of waxed chains…it seems like every company is following suit. KMC now offers pre-waxed Road SL, Extra Lite, TT, MTB and E-Bike 11- and 12-speed chains with their exclusive new KMC GO Drip Wax, developed in collaboration with Squirt. If you’re already waxing, a pre-waxed chain makes sense when it’s time to replace your current chain. That said, just having “waxed” on the label is no guarantee of great performance.
Nix Hydration: TrainingPeaks Integration: Both TrainingPeaks and Nix sweat analysis biosensor users can now upload their hydration and sweat profile data directly to the TrainingPeaks web and mobile apps, allowing athletes and coaches to view and analyze their hydration data in one place, along with countless other metrics like power, heart rate, cadence, etc. Nix data will automatically sync to a user’s TrainingPeaks profile after initial account link-up.
Join Period TrackerJoin, an app that provides training plans for cyclists, has announced a new menstrual cycle tracker integration that allows female users to record their menstrual cycle and see the impact it has on their training recommendations. Martini Hospital and UMCG/Obstetrics and Gynecology “This capability enables customized training that aligns with the body’s natural rhythms, helping athletes reach their goals on their own physical terms,” they claim. Join hopes that the data it collects will help “fill important research gaps.”
As discussed on this week’s Geek Warning podcast, Team GB sprinter Katy Marchant used two different types of forks at the Olympics. As the lead rider in the team sprint, Marchant used a narrow fork that fit snugly over her front wheel. Two days later, she reverted to the wider forks typically found on her GB Hope track bikes in keirin. Some speculated that her use of the narrow fork in the team sprint was because she was essentially speeding the team up from a standstill and in her position as the lead rider she would not be able to reach the speeds where a wider fork concept that would generate wake would actually be beneficial. Contrast this to keirin, where she is riding at a much higher speed and therefore could potentially benefit from a wider fork concept.
Raketa 200 bcd track crank – Chainrings are getting bigger on the road this year, but are already huge on the track. Raketa Components of the Czech Republic believes that these even larger chainrings mounted to the same 144mm BCD track cranks will cause problems with increased chainring runout and flex. To address this, Raketa has designed a new 200mm BCD crank standard (black cranks and blue chainrings), which they are keeping for the Dutch sprinters at this Olympics, but are now offering it to any crank manufacturer, license- and royalty-free.
Each unit is CNC machined from a six-kilogram solid block of 7000 series aluminium for the driveside crankarm alone, and Raketa claims that the new 200mm BCD combination “increases the stiffness of the 65-tooth chainring by five times, improving overall drivetrain stiffness by an astounding 25% compared to the already robust Raketa 144 BCD crank.” The company claims that moving to seven chainring bolts instead of five provides a “sturdier and more uniform mount,” and overall the new combination can produce up to 30 watts more than competitor cranks.
Returning to the Olympics, teams have until the Glasgow World Championships to have their equipment approved for use in Paris, and it must be on the market by January 1 of the Olympic year for it to be approved for Olympic use. So while there was quite a trove of equipment produced at last year’s world championships, no equipment developed since then was allowed at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome this week.
The UCI reminded the teams of this with this notice posted at the track centre, informing them that both the Kask Aero Pro Visor 2 and these Nimbl custom shoes cannot be used this week. The notice cites article 11.1.010, which states: “In track racing, all equipment used at the Olympic Games must, in accordance with article 1.3.006, be commercially available no later than 1 January of the Olympic year and therefore must not be in the development stage (prototype). Furthermore, the equipment must have previously been used in the year preceding the Olympic Games in an event included in the list defined in the UCI Track Equipment Registration Procedure.”
First spotted back in June, Pinarello has unveiled the new Bolide F TT, a carbon fibre masterpiece that combines the existing carbon Bolide F with a 3D printed track frame inspired by humpback whales. Pinarello promises that several new features will result in a 2.28% reduction in CdA compared to the previous Bolide F TT.
- Most notable among these are the downtube ‘aeronodes’, developed in collaboration with the University of Adelaide, NablaFlow CFD specialists and Humpbacks.
- The bottom bracket profile has been “stiffened” to allow for more tire clearance without compromising stiffness, and it’s also “longer and slimmer to reduce frontal area.”
- Pinarello opted for “narrowest possible forks and seat stays,” finding that this concept minimized frame weight and produced the fastest overall results in a range of wind speed and yaw angle conditions compared to a wider stance concept.
- The Base Bar is also said to “minimize the overall resistance between the rider and the bike,” which seems to suggest that Pinarello is employing a similar concept to the Ribble, hoping to reduce drag on the rider’s rear legs, using the handlebars as some kind of wake generator.
- Surprisingly, Pinarello has stuck with a relatively plain bottle – pictured here with the Elite Aero TT bottle – but Pinarello hasn’t followed the lead of compatriots Colnago and Wilier and produced a more integrated bottle.
Fairingbottle.
To conclude this week’s newsletter, I wanted to share some social media posts that have caught my eye recently.
Let’s start with this neat solution used by Lidl-Trek to make quick wind tunnel adjustments to their TT extensions: Though not intended for outdoor riding, these adjustable risers seem to greatly simplify and speed up adjustments between rides.
UK-based clothing brand Rule28 has shared a behind-the-scenes look at wind tunnel testing of their upcoming aero kit.
Finally, the pod
And finally, after a Tour de France-like gap of about six weeks in the past, the performance process is back. In this week’s episode, we focus on the concept of a double training day, inspired by the split days of the upcoming Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where two stages are ridden in one day.
Stephen Gallagher, coach at Dig Deep Coaching and Performance Director for Women’s World Team Canyon-SRAM, will share his expertise on managing double training days. He will explore the rationale, benefits and strategies for incorporating two training sessions in one day and explain how this practice improves performance, enhances recovery and strengthens resilience.
The main points discussed were:
- The logistics and challenges of managing two days of training, especially in a professional race like the Tour de France Femme.
- The importance of strategically planning nutrition, recovery and timing to ensure peak performance.
- Practical tips for all of us to implement double training days effectively.
Whether you’re a competitive cyclist who double trains to improve your performance, or a commuter cyclist who has to double train to commute, this episode is packed with practical advice on maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your training. Visit our members-only podcast page.
Until next time…
That’s it! Lastly, I want to say thank you to everyone who has read the newsletter, listened to the performance process, and who has already signed up. Escape Collective member.
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Until next time…trust the process.
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