The 2 seconds that secured Wout van Aert‘s place on the rostrum within the Paris Olympics time trial could have been right down to his use of a entrance disc wheel.
The Belgian determined to make use of the unorthodox set-up, not often seen on the highway because of dealing with difficulties in crosswinds, after being noticed trialling it on his recon of the course. He went on to win a bronze medal within the occasion, afterwards explaining the good points he believed he bought from the double discs.
“I believe my set-up was super-fast,” Van Aert stated in his post-race press convention, to the shock of race winner Remco Evenepoel. “After we examined it within the wind tunnel, there have been totally different wind angles and speeds, however double discs have been 17 watts quicker than a traditional time trial wheel. That is quite a bit.”
Certainly, in keeping with a thread on X by aero professional Xavier Disley printed earlier than the race, one watt was estimated to be the equal of round a two-second saving within the time trial. By this maths, Van Aert’s double disc set-up could have saved him as much as 34 seconds across the 32.4km course. Nice Britain’s Josh Tarling ended up simply two seconds off him in fourth.
In feedback earlier than the race, Van Aert stated his use of a entrance disc relied on there being the “proper situations” on race day. Rain fell all afternoon in Paris, leaving the course moist and slippery, and claiming various victims, with riders crashing throughout the boys’s and girls’s occasions.
Nonetheless, the Belgian made clear, it was the wind he was frightened about. “You have got to have the ability to maintain your bike below management,” he stated. “I used to be completely satisfied after I noticed the course, as a result of there’s a whole lot of shelter, so [the front disc] might be an possibility, despite the fact that it seems uncommon.”
Van Aert’s bronze medal got here simply 4 months after he crashed at high-speed and fractured his collarbone, seven ribs and sternum at Dwars door Vlaanderen. In his restoration, he went two months with out racing, leaving him with an unideal preparation for the Video games.
Profitable a medal, Van Aert stated, got here as “a shock”.
“In the previous couple of seasons, it was more durable for me to compete in opposition to actual specialists,” he stated. “I used to be formidable however I assumed there have been at the least three guys stronger than me.
“My solely expertise is driving a motorcycle. There’s only a deep want inside myself to maintain on attempting and I am particularly pleased with my efficiency. This implies so much, not solely after crashing out in spring.”
Van Aert was not the one rider to make use of daring tech in the course of the time trials. Grace Brown received the ladies’s race utilizing brand-new Sync Ergonomics aerobar extensions, and Tarling wore a skinsuit with clean, silicone-like materials.
“[The weather] was powerful, however it might have type of suited me I suppose, particularly with this horrible, rubber swimsuit,” Tarling stated afterwards. “It is quick, however I really feel like I am in overshoes.”
