BIOMECHANICAL ASSESSMENT OF AERODYNAMIC RESISTANCE IN PROFFESSSIONAL CYCLISTS: METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

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 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 into account the technique employed, corrected RA values with the anthropometric characteristics, static vs dynamic assessment when comparing professional cyclists RA.