Each body has a different soul: it commands the speed

With Simone Omarini of HardSkin We have repeatedly addressed the issue of clothing related to aerodynamics, but the trend has not ended. The track world championships and, before that, the time trial world championships have truly highlighted how you often win by fractions of a second and you have to seek an advantage in every possible situation. So if in the previous comparison we talked about what the general guidelines are for make a truly aerodynamic body, ornow the curiosity has shifted to the possibility of customizing it because in the same quartet, for example, giants like Ganna and Milan and more compact athletes like Consonni coexistYou don't expect everyone to dress the same, do you?

«The objective – Omarini begins – is always file to get a small contribution wherever you canThere are time trial, track and road suits. And if the track race lasts four minutes, how much is that advantage/minute worth in a race like the Sanremo which is 300 kilometers long? It's a bit like the rider's filing, who stays in the wheel as much as possible to save energy to use when needed in the final part of the race."

Body and average speed

The body is born based on the average speed of the test in which it will be used. So, as mentioned earlier, the quartet's body will be different from the time trial one for two reasons. The first is the usage time, which on the track is a few minutes and on the road can reach up to an hourJust as the position on the bike changes, which for 4 minutes can be much more extreme and uncomfortable, the bodysuit can also be less comfortable than a time trial one.

And then there is the matter of consideration the average speed, which on the road is around 50 km/h, while on the track it can reach 65Those 15 km/h make a big difference and allow us to design and then test different bodysuits.

«Then there are the triathlon suits – Omarini relaunches, given that HardSkin is very discipline focused – which are calibrated at 40 miles per hour. When testing an athlete in a wind tunnel, it's important understand what happens with the air at racing speed, but also above and below that thresholdBased on what emerges, the fabrics and their three-dimensionality are evaluated. We study each athlete individually, also to understand if different shapes affect the body's performance.It doesn't happen often, but it's easy to imagine that the answer between Ganna and Yates could be different."

Different fabrics

Customizing means designing, but starting from already known knowledge bases. Nobody invents anything, if anything the frontier of studies is concentrated a lot on fabrics, which are tested to understand in which parts of the body they perform best with their roughness.

«We play with smooth and three-dimensionality – explains Simone – the prototype is created and tested in the wind tunnelIn the long run, you always get better and the longer you stay in the gallery, the more secrets you discover. It is aimed at those who produce fabrics for sports useIt's unlikely you'll find a company that produces a fabric designed for a specific aerodynamic configuration. At most, if you collaborate with someone who does, you can offer some feedback on the performance of certain roughnesses. The engineers choose between various fabrics, trying to identify those that are thought to be the fastest.At that point we make the test body, playing with the various roughnesses to obtain the best possible result."

The details at play

And then the details come into play. The position of the zipper, front or back, the housing for the radio. There is no one solution that is better than another., simply each athlete will benefit from one solution or the other.

«The tests are done on riders – he explains – a mannequin would be convenient, but it costs a lot and is static. The variable in the use of athletes is that during the tests they get tired and therefore move, although time trialists are usually very good at maintaining the same position for a long time. Every change must be tested and retested, precisely because perhaps the athlete overlapped his thumbs and the conditions changed. It can go well right away, as well as the oppositeMaybe you discover that the fabric isn't very fast, or you try a new seam because the one you initially thought of doesn't close well and creases a bit.

«You work until you get the solution that works and Usually a test matrix is ​​created to ensure the repeatability of the testWe're talking about three prototype leotards and five sock prototypes. They're tested together, even in combination. Then, different types of helmets are used to evaluate whether their action damages or modifies the bodysuit's behavior. Given the costs, You enter the tunnel with your time already divided and knowing which tests you will doEvery downtime costs money, so the day is already planned down to the minute."

Borders to cross

Why do you change when you reach the perfect body? Because maybe the fabric representative arrives and suggests some faster ones, or because the previous one had some critical issues.

"In big companies, perhaps changes are also made for marketing reasons," says Omarini. "But here, the reason is more technical."

And then there are the final considerations on the fact that in the wind tunnel you can also study the wakeAnd then it turns out that having a motorbike behind you makes things easier, and so does having someone in your wheel. The unwelcome… guest actually lengthens the shape and with the same frontal surface area there is an aerodynamic advantage.. Never like that of the one behind, that's clear, but if you have the legs to do it, it's best to detach him as close to the finish line as possible.

And then we could study and measure the effects of ventilation in a velodrome, we could think about the Velodrome ventilation. Understanding whether the Tokyo world records were the result of a favorable environment. Considering the thrust that athletes in a group exert on the air as they turn, setting it in motion, or whether the forced ventilation of a velodrome can influence the athletes' performance. There are still unexplored boundaries and brilliant minds are already thinking of ways to cross them.