BIOMECHANICAL ASSESSMENT OF AERODYNAMIC RESISTANCE IN PROFESSIONAL CYCLISTS: METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Juan García-López¹, José Peleteiro¹, J.A. Rodríguez¹, Alfredo Córdova^3,4, M.A.González², J.G. Villa¹.

¹University of León. ²Polythenic University of Madrid. ³University of Valladolid. ⁴Kelme-Costa Blanca Team.

The aim of this study was to measure and compare the aerodynamic resistance (RA) in five different professional road cyclists obtained from a wind tunnel and to establish modification that lead into a performance improvement. Five professional cyclists from the Kelme-Costa Blanca Team were studied in five positions, four on the aerobike and one on the standard bike. From our results we conclude that establishing small modifications in the aerohandlebars, which result in a more profitable position, can reduce RA. The use of aerohelmet was not shown to be always useful. It is necessary to take on account the technique employed, corrected RA values with the anthropometric characteristics, static vs dynamic assessment when comparing professional cyclists RA.