Ahead of this year’s Giro d’Italia (May 8th-30th), Rapha is showcasing a new time trial aerosuit, billed as its ‘fastest ever’ and a limited edition switch-out ensemble for the EF Education-NIPPO team, which ‘includes every colour but one’.
Throughout the month of May, Rapha notes that there’s only one colour that dominates the professional peloton’s collective consciousness. Coloured pink as a nod to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper which founded the race in 1909, the Giro’s maglia rosa is one of cycling’s greatest prizes. And no other team’s trade colours can clash with the iconic leader’s jersey.
All of this means that EF Education-NIPPO’s regular pink coloured racewear is off limits in Italy. ‘But no pink, is no problem for this team.’
For the next three weeks, all eight riders will be outfitted in the Euphoria collection: a kaleidoscopic creation, designed to celebrate people from different backgrounds and nations coming together in pursuit of a common goal. From Italy to the world, look out for a splash of colour at the first Grand Tour of 2021.
The Euphoria collection will be available to buy from the end of May on rapha.cc.
Getting aero
Rapha’s commitment to driving innovation has led the product team to develop a new range of elite-level aerodynamic apparel. According to the company, this is built specifically for the world’s best athletes in the world’s biggest races where seconds and marginal gains really count.
The new TT Aero kit will be worn for the first time at this year’s Giro d’Italia by team EF Education-NIPPO, with CANYON//SRAM racing in it later this month.
The TT Aerosuit was designed over two years alongside Rapha’s UCI men’s and women’s teams and a team of world class sports scientists and researchers. Rapha adds… ‘this is our fastest suit to date.’
‘Wind tunnel data showed the new men’s package produced a 12.4W energy saving at 55kph, 1 degree yaw, compared with the old team issue package.’
Harry Osborn, Rapha Product Designer, said “Aerodynamics has such an impact on cycling performance that bad equipment choice can really mean the difference between winning and losing. Without the peloton to hide in or share the work, time trailing is the pure embodiment of cycling fast and this new aero package will provide our athletes and teams with ground-breaking innovation that will help them perform at their best at the biggest races.
“What makes this exciting still, is that we’ve been able to apply the knowledge learnt on this project to the development of our commercial range, starting with our SS22 collection. We’re committed to helping our customers reach their own potential through delivering the most cutting edge products on the market.”
The team tested and evaluated over 100 fabrics and fabric combinations to find ‘the perfect fabric suite for the suits, socks, overshoes and mitts.’ Textured fabrics were tested at leading UK sport science institute, Loughborough University, in its state-of-the-art wind-tunnel laboratory, with smooth fabrics optically tested for surface roughness to identify the smoothest surfaces.
