So-called ‘bra maxxing’ has caused a stir at the Tour de France Femmes, but why are riders doing it, and why does it make you
The latest controversy in professional cycling is not doping, not hidden motors, or even extended sticky bottles. No, the controversy sweeping over the Tour de France Femmes is padded bras, which have led to [extra clothing checks] as riders sought an aerodynamic edge in the stage 4 time trial on Tuesday.
But why on earth has this become a controversy, is there any merit to the claims that padding out a bra can make cyclists faster on the bike, and how is it supposed to help?
Interestingly, the science behind why padding your bra out can make you faster on the bike is based on very sound aerodynamic science.
When cycling, especially in time trials where speeds are higher and there’s nobody to shelter behind, the majority of the force you have to overcome is aerodynamic drag. The faster you go, the greater this majority becomes. You just have to look at the giant time trial helmets that have taken over the professional peloton to see that aero gains are the driving force behind a lot of developments, if sometimes maybe at the expense of aesthetics.
Those large helmets give us some clue as to why padding out bras can create a gain. With aerodynamic drag being a key factor to overcome, one way of doing this is reducing turbulence around the body. This can be done via textured fabrics such as you see on skinsuit sleeves and backs, or by reducing the amount of ‘space’ around the body of the rider.
This is because that space, such as between the head and shoulders, arms and head, or behind the arms and into the gap between them, the body, and the hips, creates areas of low pressure.
Air flowing over the body then enters the low pressure area and creates turbulence, which creates more aerodynamic drag. Wide time trial helmets are used to close the gap between the head and the shoulders while also creating a smoother transition, while large visors are also now commonplace to reduce this gap between the rider’s arms and the helmet.
From Cycling News
I’m curious why bigger helmets are perfectly OK but padded bras are not?
In a nutshell, air that managed to get past the “chest” ends up getting caught at the stomach waist area, which causes turbulence (= resistance) . A more “generous” chest pushes that air smoothly out the the side and past the rider. It saves a few Watts, but in TT cycling, that is meaningful.
No need to fill the volume with watery stuff, foam does the trick just as well (possibly even better because it can be shaped). That aside, while weight is of course a factor its relevance is dwarfed by drag at high speeds. The top link speaks of up to 3.6% drag reduction equalising a gain of at least 0.78sec per kilometer.
And for all you over-weight blokes worried about their man-boobs - seize the moment - you’ve found your forte so take up cycling and start winning races!
Helmets for time trials do have a maximum size and it’s quite big. They also don’t need air vents but ones for mass start road races need at least three vents.
There are also silly rules for sock lengths too.
All sports have rules on what is allowed to be worn including colour of clothing, weight, and shape of equipment and so on so it’s nothing special.
Rules constantly change too as people find ways around them and new technologly and/or safety measures appear.
The biggest problem now in professional road cycling now is how to slow it down as it’s getting a bit too fast and much more dangerous.
That is like trying to slow down F1.. just won’t work. The only way is too try and make it safer (banning unsafe descending positions, better barrier protection etc.)
True - they can’t slow down the whole thing but changes that have already been made include not having finish lines at the bottom of a hill, for example so sprint finishes are slower.
