This 2014 Tour de France marks the 101st event that has been held since its creation in 1903. It is incredible how far technology has advanced over the past century of exhilarating races. This year, the Tour de France has proven to be more brutal than ever, as the unfavorable weather conditions continue to cause terrible crashes along each leg of the race. Coincidentally, it is also the first year in history that riders are legally allowed to have video cameras onboard their bikes, so viewers are getting a firsthand peek inside the experience to witness just how brutal the Tour de France can be.
There are nine teams using the bike-mounted video cameras this Tour de France. A Japanese company that has dominated the bicycle parts industry, Shimano, has jumped on this opportunity and provided eight of the teams with Shimano CM-1000 cameras that can be attached to each bike, either hanging from the handlebars or the saddle. These teams using Shimano action cameras this year include Bianchi, Lampre-Merida, Orica-GreenEdge and Giant-Shimano. You can check out some of this awesome footage from Team Giant-Shimano in their 9th stage of Le Tour de France. As Giant-Shimano’s Koen de Kort told The New York Times, “From the helicopter, it looks hectic, but it’s nothing compared with what we actually go through and what we see from the bike camera… Everybody can see what we see.”
Some exciting features the CM-1000 provides include an f2.0 lens with 1080 HD recording capabilities and a 180-degree lens option built in. It is also an ANT+ and WiFi enabled so it can connect with smartphones, power meters, and Shimano’s Di2 transmitter. This allows viewers to see rider data as the race, such as heart rate when they’re climbing up an impossibly steep hill.
Samsung Electronics also took the opportunity this year to partner with Trek Bicycle and improve Tour training for company racing teams with their integrated mobile devices. The Trek Factory Racing Team, including cyclists, coaches and staff, were given Samsung Galaxy Gear wearable devices that monitor the health of the athletes. They were also given Samsung mobile and tablet devices to view this data and enhance the cycling experience, with improved ways to communicate and interact with the team.
Aside from these brand new additions to Tour de France technology, there have been major advancements in bike and frame technology going on over the past century. This year, Trek’s Emonda bike is the lightest frame the company has ever released. It’s so light, in fact, that Trek had to add a 300g lead bar to the bike so it met UCI race regulations.
Contemporary bike frames are constructed with carbon fiber, which also happens to be the easiest material to repair as well. In fact, the last bike to win a Tour that wasn’t made of carbon fiber was Marco Pantani’s Bianchi Mega Pro XL Reparto Corse in 1998. This bike was a custom aluminum frame, a much heavier material than the contemporary carbon fiber technology.
Carbon fiber has the unique ability to be precisely engineered to perfect racing qualities. The cutting edge carbon frames are then fitted with carbon wheels and electronic gears to make them as fast as possible. Carbon can be made stronger and lighter than any other materials used on bikes so far, so it is ideal for parts like the frame and rotating wheel rims.
Riders also are sporting new aerodynamic helmets, such as the cutting-edge Bell Star Pro helmet worn by Team Belkin, which Bell claims is the fastest aero road helmet on the market. This helmet is made of Active-Aero Technology and comes with vents you can open and close for more aero efficiency and ventilation. This makes it the “first-ever dual-purpose helmet that provides the ride complete authority in maximizing both aerodynamic speed and ventilating comfort for the road category,” says Bell. When test against competing aero helmets at the Faster wind tunnel facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, tests proved the Star Pro is the fastest helmet out there with when the vents are closed.
Technology improvements to equipment and apparel that make products lighter and more aerodynamic can make all the difference on those steep, inclined stages when every ounce of weight counts. Since 1903, the Tour has continued to evolve from a test of endurance and speed to a field dominated by new and innovate technology as athletes look for any advantage they can get to surpass other competitors.