This is it @giroditalia - every time people said “aero doesn’t matter, just pedal harder etc” & it comes down to the final TT.

Less than 1sec between @taogeoghegan & @JaiHindley which converted to a wattage difference during tomorrow’s TT is <1w #giroditalia2020 (thread)

1/11

This means that if Hindley and Geoghegan Hart were identical riders with the same equipment and mass, but one rode the TT with a power output 1w higher than the other, they would win the Maglia Rosa

2/11

How can you gain this 1w advantage? That’s a 0.25% reduction in aerodynamic drag of the entire bike and rider system.

Taping over your bolts holes (now UCI legal), ensuring the timing chip is correctly placed and “secured” with tape to aero it off ...

3/11

Making sure your skinsuit has no wrinkles and your race number is in a number pocket or correctly pinned.

Pulling your overshoes up that extra centimetre

Running the deepest/most aero front wheel you have access to.

4/11

Aero skewers, a shortened chin strap on your aero helmet, a bottle in the cage or nothing at all, even something deeply stressful like where to put the large @VelonCC race data transmitter - everything counts.

5/11

It’s not just aero drag that will make a difference (although for this flat stage it’s the most important), if we convert this time saving to a difference in mass for two identical riders it’s 1kg. Difficult to take a kilo off the TT bike without affecting aero however.

6/11

And then we have rolling resistance - in this case let’s use tyre pressure as the comparison. If you get your tyre pressure wrong by 2-3psi, that is the equivalent of 1w and will cost a Grand Tour victory.

7/11

Calibrated pressure gauges and info on the best pressure to use each teams tyres on the Milan parcours will be critical. I keep going on about rolling resistance but it all adds up!

8/11

Drivetrain efficiency is the last piece of the puzzle. Improving the efficiency of the drivetrain by just over 0.1% will do it. Chain lubes and bearing friction here.

9/11

Regardless of whether you’re trying to win a Grand Tour, go <1hr for a 40km (25 mile) time trial or just beat your club mate, making sure your entire setup is optimised will reward all the hard work you’ve put in training.

10/11

It is relevant to everyone regardless of your speed or level, but this final TT is the most important we’ve ever had in a Grand Tour and is going to be a cracker. Good luck to both!

11/11