Five months after Johan van Summeren soloed to a career-best win in Paris-Roubaix, the same type of San Remo SpeedSuit will be worn by the Italian team competing in the road world championships in Copenhagen.
Manufacturer Castelli has unveiled the jersey-and-shorts combo, which effectively enables riders to wear a skinsuit in road races and thus gain an aerodynamic advantage. The company claims that wind tunnel testing shows that at 40km/h, the jersey saves between twelve and fifteen watts of energy when compared to a standard clothing combination. It is, it says, worth 45 seconds in time savings.
We’ll have to take Castelli’s word on it as regards the precise figures, but what’s indisputable is that the kit is visibly tighter than was the case with cycle clothing in the past.
That’s largely down to the cut and materials of the SpeedSuit, which hugs the body in the legs, arms and torso area, and thus eliminates excess material which would otherwise flap in the wind.
“Skinsuits are obviously fast, but they aren’t practical for road racing for two reasons: they have no pockets and, perhaps more importantly, it’s tough to take a nature break in one,” stated Castelli, in explaining the theory behind the SpeedSuit.
“We created a new and improved aero jersey with a full zip, then stitched it to a single piece of fabric bibshort with engineered aero dimples right into the fabric to induce flow separation and reduce aerodynamic drag.
“The jersey portion and short portion overlap on the front for full coverage, but leaving the front unstitched allows for nature breaks even from the bike. The 3 rear pockets are securely held in place in all conditions, including when fully loaded.”
Those pockets remain supportive, even when the jersey is completely unzipped.
The Speed Suit is will be used by the Italian team next week in its worlds campaign. According to the company, it will be available soon through the Castelli Custom Teamwear program, and next Spring it will be available in Castelli’s summer colours.