Mechanical engineers from the University of Adelaide have helped develop what is believed to be the world's fastest road cycling helmet. And it will be used by the Australian cycling team in the upcoming Tour de France.
The aerodynamic development of the helmet, called the Scott Cadence Plus, was led by Adelaide's Associate Professor Richard Kelso in conjunction with Swiss company Scott Sports.
"One of the most satisfying aspects of this project was seeing all the science and engineering brought to life in this product, and knowing that professional riders will be wearing the helmet in both the Tour de France and the Rio Olympics," Kelso said.
"From an aerodynamics perspective, the Scott Cadence Plus performs better than any of the leading helmets in the market today. Depending on the helmet it's tested against, this new helmet could provide anywhere from a 0.2 m to a 2 m advantage over its competitors in a bunch sprint. In professional cycling terms, that could make the difference between wearing the winning jersey or not."
The helmet will become part of the official kit worn by Australia's ORICA-GreenEDGE Cycling team in the Tour de France and by numerous cyclists and triathletes in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
A second road cycling helmet, known as the Centric Plus, was also design, which provides additional cooling for the rider's head and very low drag. Both helmets offer a high level of head protection through a system known as MIPS (Multi Directional Impact Protection System).
Scott Sports Senior Product Manager John Thompson said their goal was to deliver the best performance advantage to our professional road and mountain bike racers.
"We have worked with Associate Professor Kelso for a number of years and he is a key member of our high-performance helmet development team," said Thompson.
"The results speak for themselves, with both new helmets exceeding our expectations and outperforming the competition in controlled wind tunnel testing."
[An ORICA-GreenEDGE cyclist tries out the new helmet. Photo: Simon Ricklin/Scott]
Don't forget to register for the Australian Engineering Conference 2016 in Brisbane on November 23-25.