Vuelta a España time trial tech gallery – A Cambrian explosion of aero bar tech

The first time I ever watched a time trial my best friend Henry sat me down and said “This is the best bit of bike racing: All the teams using all the coolest gear”. At the time I didn’t really get it, but then I’d only had a road bike for about three weeks. Roll on many years and I’m at the opening of the Vuelta a España on a searingly hot day just outside Lisbon, Portugal, and I very much get it now.

The stage 1 time trial, a short 12km affair that sits somewhere between an old-fashioned prologue and a ‘proper’ TT, was won by Brandon McNulty. A block headwind blowing off the coast meant aerodynamics were even more of a factor, though the strength of the gusts put Wout van Aert off using his infamous double disc setup here. 

More important than aero, even for such a short stage it seems, was heat management. Every team had a seemingly endless supply of ice, misters, fans, and freeze vests. Given the temperature – elevated in a very local sense by the paddock being situated on an entirely unshaded road – was over 40 degrees Celsius, it’s hardly surprising. 

Aside from the endless aero optimisation and cooling tents, I was really struck by the sudden, bewildering variety of forms modern aero bars now take. 

My background is geological, and it put me in mind of the Cambrian explosion. For aeons, life slowly evolved from one simple blob to the next, all vaguely similar in form, until at some point it rapidly proliferated into bizarre, complex forms that so confused early palaeontologists that species were named ‘Hallucigenia’, as they wondered if they were hallucinating.

Back to bike tech, and the ease and availability of 3D printing now, not just in plastic but also in titanium, has resulted in myriad forms, each with anatomical tweaks, recesses for shifter blips, computer mounts, and adjustable sections. 

Scroll down to see them all, as well as a more general look at all the teams using all the coolest gear. It is the best bit of bike racing, after all.