Belgium’s top team looks for answers on aerodynamics
Stijn Devolder and Kevin Seeldraeyers were amongst a group of Quick Step riders that headed to Italy last week to improve their time trialing position. The Belgian team sent the group to one of the top engineering schools in Europe, the Milano Politecnico, to undergo wind tunnel testing.
The riders, which also included Dries Devenyns and Kevin De Weert, ran through a series of tests on their equipment and positions under the supervision of university staff and the team’s technical manager, Luca Guercilena.
“After two days in the wind tunnel,” Guercilena explained, “we did some tests on the track at the Montichiari velodrome in Brescia on Thursday, and now the same group of athletes is busy with 10 day training camp to fine tune their fitness as they prepare for upcoming competitive events.”
Quick Step follows in the footsteps of several other teams that have embraced wind tunnel technology as a way to improve rider performance.
“The time trial is not my specialty, everybody knows it,” commented Seeldraeyers says. “This is exactly why the team and I have agreed to invest our time and resources in a program that enables me to make the most of my choice in materials, and to get more from my position, to improve my performance in the time trials.”