Jonas Vingegaard competed this Monday in his first time trial of the season. The double winner of the Tour, after sweeping O Gran Camiño, debuted in the Tirreno-Adriatico with a 10 km individual stage in Lido de Camaiore. The Dane and his team, Visma, revolutionized the start of the time trial with their futuristic new helmet for the modality.
The new garment stands out for its size on the forehead with a large foam visor that elongates the head in front. This change promises to improve the aerodynamics of cyclists and their attachment to the bicycle, trying to eliminate as much as possible the space between the head and forearms.
Created by the helmet brand Giro in collaboration with the Visma team, the new protection has impressed and not precisely because of its aesthetics. “We have been working for a long time. From its appearance, you can see that it is completely different from other helmets. It is a new way of conceiving aerodynamic helmets. We believe we have found a big improvement in our entire time trial system,” explained Paul Martens, head of equipment for the Dutch team.
Lenticular wheels, goat handlebars, triathlete controls, very light bicycles, skin-tight one-piece suits, high boot covers… Time trials have always been a specialty for technological innovation in cycling. Helmets have been the latest item of clothing to be added to this extensive list.
For a few years, the fashion was to use helmets with an egg shape on the front and also finished in the shape of a tip or shark fin, or even with an inner mesh that encompasses the face to prevent the protection from moving, which is the used by Soudal, Remco Evenepoel’s team.
On the networks, the new helmet has not left anyone indifferent. Some compare it to Darth Vader’s and others to a mushroom. However, Vingegaard, who had a great time trial in the last Tour, winning it with a 1m38s advantage over Pogacar, did not help him win on a completely flat stage.
