Industry News
UCI okays Wiggo’s ‘aero’ arm wires
Bradley Wiggins’ yellow TT suit had aero-style wires; UCI classifies them as legal seams.
The (new) UCI rules on go-faster clothing are (sort of) clear: “it is forbidden to wear items designed to influence the performances of a rider such as reducing air resistance or modifying the body of the rider (compression, stretching, support).”
Such rules are open to interpretation which is likely the argument Team Sky used with the UCI to justify the use of what look to aero expects like aero arm wires on the time trial suit used by Bradley Wiggins on stage nine of this year’s Tour de France.
The skin suit has the logo of the Tour’s clothing supplier – Le Coq Sportif – but it’s believed the suit was probably made by Moa Sports of Italy.
Head-on photos of Bradley Wiggins on stage nine (slightly more hi-res version) clearly show his suit has linear features on the arms. These lines could be the sort of ‘wires’ which are thought to trip air flow, delaying separation of the boundary layer, which reduces drag.
Such wires, in a strict reading of the UCI’s rules, are not allowed. The UCI has said Sky cleared use of the suit before the Tour de France.
