On a day when some of the WorldTour’s most keenly observed Grand Tour contenders were showing their early season form at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tirreno-Adriatico and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Nice, it was striking that on Monday the majority of the cycling🍃 world’꧅s attention was instead focused on what a handful of riders were wearing.

Visma-Lease a Bike showcased a hitherto un🥃released Giro time trial helmet, named Aerohead II, which was so radical that the Cyclingnews tech team spent some time debating whether it was an AI-generated pꦿrank. After the initial wave of social media atten🐓tion, though, more details have emerged about the highly enigmatic helmet.

"It's it's a very, very good helmet," team leader 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Jonas Vingegaard said after the finish🔯. "I think it's very, very fast."

"We worked on it a lot in the last year," he added. "It's different, of co🌱urse, but yeah, I mean, it's very fast. And I think that will be the future."

The helmet comes in the wake of years of dramatic 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:time trial helmet designs, with the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Specialized TT5, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Sweet Protection Redeemer 2Vi, and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:POC Tempor ꦺall drawing attention over the last few seasons. However, Giro’s new Aerohead II has seen a far more dramatic reception.

The aesthetics no doꦅubt have played the biggest part in this, with the tall visor marking a stark departure from any time trial helmet we have seen in the past.

Vinge⛎gaard was quick𝓡 to dismiss the aesthetic criticism of the helmet, though.

"The thing in recent years, cycling has been going more, more and more away from aesthetics," Vingegaard said to Cyclingnews. "So yeah, this was just the next step. And there will ♏be another step in the future as well."

One advantage of the Aerohead II's radical design is visibility, he said. "The visibility is better than previous helmets," Vingegaard said, arguing th𒁏at with many time trial helmets, "You can't reꦛally see. But this one is like you have the whole [field of view]."

Comfort has also been an advantage with Vingegaard praising it as꧅ "more comfortable than other time trial helmets that I tried." He added, "Other ones are pushing a lot of places on the head. And this one is very comfortable."

According to the helmet has seen considerable wind tunnel testing, and the name is an homage to the original Aerohead – worn by Greg Lemond in 1986 when he won the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France by a slender margin of 8 seconds following a sens𒁏ational final time trial performance. 

Givenಞ the extensive testing, Visma-Lease a Bike were familiar with the design well before yesterday's debut. "I've seen the helmet already in December and January. And yeah, so back then I had a bit of a laugh. But yeah, when you test it, when you see how fast it is, then you won't laugh anymore."

Team staff were also quick to praise the new helmet. "It's a new way of thinking about the aerodynamics of ꦺa helmet,” said Paul Martens, the Visma-Lease a Bike equipmꦚent manager in an interview with . "We truly think we have found a real improvement in our system for time trials.”

Frédéric Grappe, performance director at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Groupama-FDJ also weighed in on the new helmet in a discussion with L'Équipe, highlight🅷ing the role of new UCI regulations on bo𝓡dy position in time trials on the design of the helmet.

"Today, we a🍎re in extreme positions where we almost put our heads in our hands," he said. "The Visma helmet, if you look at it in profile, limits the entry of air between the head and the hands. While preserving good vision."

Grappe went on to highlight that a helm🌱et works as a system with a rider, but that in the right circumstances, he suggested that an aerodynamically-optimised helmet like Giro's Aerohead II could render gains of one second per kilometre.

Despite the technological developments, Vingegaard found himself 22 seconds down on GC rival 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) in the opening time trial of Tirreno-Adriatiꦓco.

"He did a very good time trial beating, beating Ganna𝓡," Vingegaard said of his rival before he addressed the challenge of losing 22 seconds at the race's opening.

"Yeah, I mean, it's true 22 seconds, and I think 🌜you did a good time trial. And we'll just have to do what we can do in the next coming days to see if we can take back the time."

The helmet is due another outing today at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Nice as the entire Visma-Lease A Bike squad – including 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Matteo Jorgenson and stage 1 winner Olav Kooij – a🎐re set to don the Aerohead II during the stage 3 team time trial.