Do you know the fairy tale of the pro cyclist and the winter break? We are pretty sure that it is a fairy tale. Because as soon as our professionals have a short break, our phone rings. They all have the same request: “Do you have time to continue working on my riding position?” Just like recently with Egan Bernal and Dylan van Baarle from team INEOS Grenadiers.
#1: EGAN BERNAL
The first to come round for a fitting was the winner of the Tour de France 2019. Egan Bernal has been working with our bike fitting pros since 2018 and has visited us several times in Münster. Already when he got back problems during the Tour in 2020, we worked intensively with him to get him back on track. The adjustments to his position have had a noticeable effect, as shown not least by his victory in the Giro d’Italia this year.
This time the Colombian asked for a finetuning of his aero position by analysing and optimising it to take the next step, especially in time trials. So, we went to the Velodrom in Büttgen together with our aero experts from HYCYS. “The development of the aero position is a very intense process consisting of many steps. That’s why we of course used our complete range of measurement technology,” explains bike fitter and managing director Daniel Schade, who supervised the aero optimisation on gebioMized’s part.
Technology comprises:
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SADDLE PRESSURE MAPPING
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HIGHSPEED VIDEO ANALYSIS
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ACCELERATION SENSORS ON THE BODY
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REAL TIME CDA MEASUREMENTS
WHEN TECHNOLOGY MEETS IDEAS – AND A LOT OF EFFORT
Technology was combined with many ideas and food for thought – and of course with numerous test runs, which the highly motivated Egan Bernal completed. Again and again, the superstar speeded over the oval at full throttle.
Was the effort worth it? “Definitely!” confirms Daniel Schade. “From a biomechanical and aerodynamic point of view we have made huge progress.” Specifically, stability was enhanced and gains regarding comfort as well as aerodynamics were made. “But, of course, we won’t reveal the details.”
#2: DYLAN VAN BAARLE
Shortly after the Tour winner World Championship runner-up Dylan van Baarle came to Münster to set the course for the 2022 season in the gebioMized concept-lab – on both the road bike and the time trial bike.
“To do this, we optimised his position at the saddle contact point, for example, and improved his weight distribution on the bike,” says gebioMized bike fitter Daniel Schade. Another key point was the improvement of power transfer from the feet to the pedal by using his new gebioMized PUSH inserts. “It’s not just about mere power, we also increased stability and comfort in the shoe,” says Schade.
For our fitting with Dylan we used the following technology:
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SADDLE PRESSURE MAPPING
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FOOT PRESSURE MAPPING
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GEBIOMIZED PUSH CUSTOM INSOLES
WHO’S NEXT?
This way the Dutch rider will have all set to perform even better next year. Especially the optimizations in his weight distribution should give hime some proper gains, not only for the famous Classics in spring. With this in mind, both athletes and bike fitters will start into the new season full of optimism and zest for action. After all, who needs a winter break?
Speaking of a break: We definitely won’t take one. The next pro cyclists have already made appointments.
