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Top tips for choosing aerodynamics from professional birdrom tests from Pro Tamara Jewett

The Canadian professional triathlete Tamara Jewett shows the subtleties of the aerodynamic tests at the highest level. Jewett takes the fans deep into the process of choosing this one percent on the bike in the Milton Velodrome in Ontario while preparing for the coming season.

Findings that have been obtained from the Jewett process can benefit the age group athletes when optimizing their bicycle, their position and their technology.

With her team at Argon 18, Jewett announced how you optimized your bike performance through aerodynamics tests to determine a precise bike position on your YouTube channel in order to achieve efficiency during the race. The tests aim to minimize the stress and to improve the performance through meticulous adjustments. It includes the measurement of various bicycle positions, the helmet -aerodynamics and the effects of different components on the total speed. Everything is on the line when Tamara prepares for her first Ironman event with full distance.

“The biggest change in the 2025 season is that I will try Ironman with full distance for the first time. I plan to do Ironman Texas on April 26th. I am excited, but I'm also a little nervous. It will be a big learning curve. It's twice as high as what I do. I think I will be a beginner in a way, so it could be spectacular from the bat or it could be like a little rough at first. I have a lot to learn, ”said Jewett.

Tamara Jewett, 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Champs St. George. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Pro tip No. 1: Understand aerodynamics

“It is one thing to look aero, it is another thing to be aero,” said Adric Heney, Argon 18 Aerodynamic and Structural Analyst. “That's why we do the tests.”

Small aerodynamic increases can be of crucial importance for elite athletes, as shown by precision adjustments during the test. Understanding aerodynamics is crucial for the test and modification process. Calling these details is not only important for elite athletes, but also for age groups. The optimization of bicycle adjustments and driver positions can achieve considerable performance. The essence of the competitive triathlon is in very small profits and changes how to approach training and furnishing.

Tests are of essential importance in sports in which breaks of a second matter. Regular adjustments and attempts ensure that athletes can determine optimal setups. This methodology crosses the professional level and can help age groups that want to take every opportunity to get the best out of your bike and yourself. The efficiency becomes more exponentially important with increasing racetrack. When removing Ironman, small improvements to massive savings in time and effort achieve when they are calculated via Ultra endurance events.

What Argon 18 learns from test professionals athlete also applies to amateur athletes.

“What we do with Tamara today is also very helpful for all of our customers and potential bicycle owners,” said JF Leclair, Argon 18 Global Marketing Director.

While you may not have the opportunity to work with a team of specialists, changes to the changes set up by your team are applied that highlight the adjustment areas that offer the greatest bang for your money.

Pro tip No. 2: Reduce the air resistance of wheels and helmet

The first step before testing and applying changes is to get a baseline. Set up your bike on the trainer to optimize your position and to move components for the most convenient aerodynamic positioning of the baseline if you have not yet chosen this with a good bicycle adjustment. Every time you replace a device or component, you should visit your basic bicycle position again to make the necessary adjustments.

“The idea of ​​the test is improving this? And if it is the case in any way, it would be about how we optimize this to make it more feasible, and if this is not the case, we don't have to take care of it, ”said Jewett.

Many bicycles are delivered with a great wheel set, but there is a value to reduce air resistance so that they cut the resistance with razor sharpness. If you can get on a route or a direct free, you can go through a rudimentary test process of driving with repeatable effort and take split while testing different wheel sets. The watch, the edition, the comfort and the feeling for the trip can provide great feedback, even if you do not have Argon 18 with more demanding science.

“What we do with professional athletes, a few watts here and a few watts there can be the difference between the podium or not. It is only transformed over such a long distance into such low profits, which is very critical, ”said the bicycle fontal JP Raymond by Browns Sports & Cycle Co.

Testing different helmets should also contain considerations for air flow and aerodynamics. The heat control is a large part of the race at hotter temperatures. Finding an equilibrium between speed and heat management is the key to optimizing your helmet selection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xvcvuhrksG

Pro tip No. 3: Show me your hands

To choose Jewett's body position in the cockpit, the team tested a few different positions, including their hands up to bring their hands and head closer together to make them a bluff body.

Heney explained that there are two schools in the hand and in the head in the cockpit for aerodynamic purposes.

“There is a kind of head with the head and something as possible with the base bar, as low as possible. So we try to test today to see if it can be optimized in these two positions. It is currently in a hybrid position of this.

As with the selection of the helmet, the hand and head position must take comfort. Driving for a significant period of time must address driver comfort, or will create other conditions that weaken all profits of the most optimal aerodynamic position.

“The test that we do today is interesting because it is illustrated how a driver improve their position regardless of their level and the bike and the way in which cycling can be adapted by bike that works well for them,” said Leclair.

“The performance is a better performance, a better speed and also the energy saving, which is able to make yourself comfortable and to appear on a race at the desired level,” he added.

For Jewett, it is more critical than ever to find a perfect balance between optimized aerodynamics and comfort. The new challenge of a complete Ironman doubles the distance that she has to drive and makes both comfort and efficiency of crucial importance for final decisions about equipment, components and position.

“I look forward to doing this when we process the data a little more. Hopefully this will give us a lot of confidence in some changes that we can make to make my bike faster this season, ”said Jewett.