Excessive heat on the feet, a challenge for companies and riders

The heat generated between the shoe and the body's extremities affects the athlete's performance and well-being. Lowering the temperature, maintaining constant ventilation, and achieving optimal comfort are the primary objectives.

Let's tackle the topic with Nicola Minali of DMT and with the intervention of Luigi Bergamo of Q36.5We also asked Elia Viviani, an exceptional testimonial for DMT and tester who helped develop the Venetian company's knit footwear.

Heat on the feet hurts

Viviani was one of the first athletes to wear shoes with knit uppers and made a significant contribution to the development of this type of footwear. "He's a stickler," Minali told us, "but he's able like few others to give feedback on the product and report his ideas, which are also constructive in favor of improvement."

«Heat in the feet is one of the things that hurts the most – says Elia Viviani – it conditions you and you try to find the perfect solution. With DMT we started the upper revolution using Knit fabric, in my opinion a kind of gamechanger. To break down the problem of excessive heat, we work mainly in two directions. The ventilated shoe and the quality of the sockSummer socks are very thin and not everyone likes them, but they don't accumulate heat."

Heat, a constant challenge

If DMT was the first to use knit fabric in cycling, Q36.5 has made research into materials and the fight against excessive heat the two cornerstones for clothing and footwearThe two companies adopt different approaches to the development and evaluation phases of footwear. Let's go into detail.

Excessive heat in the feet; a problem that affects performance?

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «Certainly, any excess or deficit in temperature substantially affects performance and physiological well-being. This is the credo from which our brand was born: always trying to to maintain il perfect balance of the organism».

MINALI (DMT): «It is certainly one of the problems that has always been fought against, both in summer and in winter or the cold season in general. But it is also a challenge and a starting point to consider when developing new shoes."

The problem of hot feet is a topic that is addressed in the development phase of new products?

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «The entire R&D process of Q36.5 includes atemperature monitoring activities, through standard scientific parameters, thanks to detection tools and empirical tests. It should also be specified that, when we talk about hot feet, we are faced with aalteration of the peripheral nervous system resulting from conditions of extreme heat but also of extreme cold. Our studies evaluate both."

MINALI (DMT): «In this case I proudly state that, since DMT has completely turned on theuse of Knit technology, the problem of heat latency inside the shoe has almost disappeared. Or rather, we have started a new way of interpreting cycling footwear and everything related to comfort, constant ventilation and also the optimal combination between foot and upper. Furthermore we also work on pressure pointsI believe that the evolutionary process still has a lot of room for improvement and we will see further progress in the future. Furthermore, a clarification is needed: when the riders go on the roads of the Grande Boucle or race in the central summer months, the asphalt temperature reaches 50°C and is difficult to combat. It's not just a detail."

Match research and athlete feedback?

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «Uppers and soles are crucial in creating a shoe that is globally adaptable to different physical conformations. Following the principle of the “three points of contact” of Q36.5, we are naturally also very attentive to other factors such as insoles and type of closures that can have a significant impact. Naturally when these concepts are taken to extremes, as in the case of professional athletes, a process is triggered that leads to pushing to an extremely deeper level of detail".

MINALI (DMT): «Thanks to the athletes' feedback we try to implement some solutions, but also to provide alternatives, because riders are different. In Diamant the modelling work that is done is enormousEach model is tested by professionals and then brought back to mass production. An example of this is: the shoe with laces used by pogacar, when he won his first Tour. It was simply a test and was not in production. We had delivered the shoe to him shortly before he went to France."

Excessive heat in the extremities of the body, are there any consequences?

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «Certainly, it starts from a simple sensation of annoyance, which represents an element of stress and distraction that should not be underestimated when you are expressing an athletic gesture, to the point of losing sensitivity which are extremely dangerous and penalizing."

MINALI (DMT): «It was once said that with pain in your feet you couldn't go onMuch has changed, in shapes and materials, in the way shoes are built, and making good ones for cyclists is no easy feat. But the old adage remains true and relevant.

Have you noticed any correlation between the increase in temperature and the shape of the foot??

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «There is no direct correlation. Our experience leads us rather to consider the temperature increase on all terminal parts, hands and feet, as a consequence of incorrect air exchange. This affects the the body's ability to adapt to climate change external or internal conditions due to the running dynamics."

MINALI (DMT): «There is no direct connection between the two factors. What we have noticed is a radical change in the shape of the feet, who are increasingly lean and dry, almost elongated. More and more athletes are showing this evolution."

Carbon soles and the use of some types of custom insoles affect the internal temperature of the shoe?

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «Certainly materials have a fundamental importance, but it is equally clear that there are some elements that have now become essential for athletes, such as the carbon sole or the personalized insole. It is our job find a way to make them efficient also in terms of heat management».

MINALI (DMT): "Certainly. Carbon soles do not dissipate heat and they are very stiff. This stiffness, so requested by riders, comes at a price. This translates into micro-rubbing that generates friction and heatThe same thing goes for insoles, although in this case it is always necessary to consider the construction material, but they certainly do not help to cool down».

How can we intervene to maintain optimal comfort even during the hottest season??

BERGAMO (Q36.5): «Extreme heat or extreme cold are not much different from mild climate conditions when it comes to comfort. The principle is to ensure that the foot is correctly incorporated into the shoe system, sole/upper, to prevent and keep away as much as possible phenomena of alteration of the peripheral nervous systemWhen the foot is in a condition of correct nerve transmission and blood flow, any form of discomfort is avoided."

MINALI (DMT): "The air must circulate constantlyThe heat produced by the foot, the steam and sweat must not wet the upper and must escape. Obviously we are talking about materials that make this possible and I refer to Knit. Then we can talk about shapes and the subjectivity of the athletes, but a constant ventilation of the body extremities must not be sacrificedThis statement is valid for the summer season, but also during the colder months, because an upper that doesn't get soaked in sweat doesn't get cold and doesn't make your feet freeze."