EF Pro Cycling Head of Performance Peter Schep stresses that to our athletes day in and day out. Peter is constantly looking for ways to reduce the amount of aerodynamic drag that our riders face on their bikes. Every improvement he can make with them through wind-tunnel testing, computer modeling, and refinements on the track equates to free speed on the road.

That is because wind resistance is the main force a cyclist has to push against. The faster you go, the more air you have to push, so every incremental modification you can make to your position, clothing, or equipment to reduce that load will allow you to get up to speed more efficiently.

Get aero and it will take less power to go a given speed and your speed will increase for a given power output.

At a race like the Tour de France, that can make the difference between winning and losing, so Peter invests a huge amount of time and resources looking for improvements.

Unless you are a Tour de France racer, you probably don’t need to spend days in a windtunnel to save three watts. But you can benefit from Peter’s knowledge and experience. Make these simple modifications to your position and equipment and you could soon be riding kilometers per hour faster.

“More than 80% of a cyclist’s aerodynamic drag comes from the rider themself. The easiest way to decrease that drag is to decrease frontal area. That means head down, elbows in. Obviously, you need to keep your head up enough to see. On the road, we focus on positioning and body position just like we do in TTs. Positioning is especially important when you're leading the bunch or in a breakaway. In the peloton, there is more of a draft, so you can ride in a more relaxed position. When you're fully in the wind, you face maximum air resistance and should focus more on your position. In terms of set up, narrower bars will help you tuck in your elbows and shoulders. Racers are pushing their saddles forwards to be able to better tuck over the bars. In testing, eight out of 10 riders will be faster with their hands on the shifters instead of the drops. You basically want a horizontal forearm position with your back flat and forearms parallel to the ground.”

“You’re seeing fabrics from time trials coming into road racing suits. Rapha’s aerosuit is basically a TT suit with back pockets. The materials and fabrics come from TT technology. For road racing, there might be a trade off between aerodynamics and concerns like heat management. Races are longer so you might need more breathability. If you’re going up a hot, steep climb, your speed will be slower so you can open your jersey for better cooling, but you’ll want to zip up for the descent and on the flat, because that flapping fabric will slow you down when you are going faster. Other than that, wearing aero socks is the biggest thing a rider can do clothing wise. Besides the rider’s speed, there is the additional force of their feet pushing forward through the air that you have to consider, so you can make big gains there. If you wear shoe covers as well, that’s even better.”

“Traditional climbing bikes are significantly slower than bikes with aero-shaped tubes like our LAB71 SuperSix EVOs. But the easiest way to make the bike you already have faster is to get deep-section wheels. Our Vision Metron 45 SLs and 60 SLs provide a great balance of aerodynamics, handling, and low weight. Deeper rims might be faster in a straight line, but will be more affected by crosswinds and be harder to corner. The other big one is helmets. Our team is the best example. We’ve already made the difference in races a few times by having the Procen Air. It is the fastest helmet in the peloton. Our new Cytal Carbon with the carbon wing is also extremely fast thanks to the Venturi effect.”