Race Day Tip Tips

Several tests in the past have shown that an aero helmet can save up to 30 – 40 seconds of your precious time in a 40km circuit. We at Specialized have done numerous iterations of helmets and spent countless hours in the wind tunnel to make our most aero helmet faster & more breathable. That is the all-new S-Works Evade 3. The new Evade 3 has a 10% increase in breathability which is perfect for our hot and humid climate yet still maintaining its aerodynamic performance.

What is rolling resistance? It’s simply the friction between your tires and the contact surface which is the road. The greater the friction, the slower you will go on your bike. So what’s the solution? The all-new S-Works Turbo tires! Our all-new Gripton T2 compound is the fastest, most efficient compound we’ve ever created. We’ve combined this with the legendary grip of our Gripton T5 compound on the shoulders to the Turbo 2BR more grip, speed, and durability than ever before – six watts faster vs the previous 2BR and just 260 grams for a 26mm tire. Again six watts faster! You don’t want to sleep on this!

Now that you have your tires sorted. Let’s talk about wheels. Looking at the TdB route profile, the best wheels would be something that has strong aero elements but is also versatile enough to climb over the crest during the race. Well, we have something suitable for the rolling terrain of Bintan. It’s the Roval Rapide CLX II. What about it? Combining the aerodynamics of a deep-section TT wheel with the light weight of a shallower climbing wheel and mixing in the superior efficiency and sublime handling of a tubeless system—the Rapide CLX II delivers maximum speed for real-world riding.