Tour de France 2024 - Stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Saint-Vulbas | 177.4 Kilometers
After the climb up the second highest mountain of the Tour, the fifth stage is back to flat fare. The sprinters in the peloton will have marked this day as another opportunity. The two fourth-category mountains will hardly stop the sprinters’ teams from preparing a fast finale, as there are still 30 kilometers to the finish from the Cote de Lhuis, which is only 383 meters high.
The approach to the finish is once again straightforward. Wide roads lead into the town and the last 2,000 meters are mostly straight ahead. 250 m before the finish, the 6.5 meter wide finishing straight makes a slight bend to the right. The home straight climbs slightly: there is a four-meter difference in altitude between the devil’s lobes and the finish line.
How much aero is needed?
From a material point of view, the matter is clear: an aero bike is still the measure of all things today. There are also new additions to the peloton. A new, rather extremely shaped aero bike has appeared from van Rysel, although the team’s all-rounder, the van Rysel RCR Pro, already has good aero characteristics. The 7.2 kg van Rysel RCR Pro was measured by TOUR at 207 watts, which is at least two watts faster than the hyped Specialized Tarmac SL 8, which is even lighter. Nevertheless, Decathlon, supplier of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team, has not missed the opportunity to put an apparently even faster bike on its wheels, which will certainly be used on the fifth stage.
We don’t have any measurements of the bike, but we can assume that it will be even faster, otherwise why would the team pursue a two-bike strategy? The benchmark for super aero bikes in the TOUR test is 200 watts. So far, only the Simplon Pride II has fallen below this (199 W). However, this bike is not at the start of the Tour de France. We are curious to see whether the still nameless Aero van-Rysel will be able to break into these regions.
In contrast to Decathlon, Trek is now pursuing a one-bike-fits-all strategy like Specialized. The Americans have lightened the new Madone and reduced the aero tube shapes; the Trek Emonda lightweight bike has been dropped, at least in the carbon version.
Number of the day: two thousandths of a second
Once again, Canyon snatched first place and secured the tiny margin of two thousandths of a second over the Cervelo S5, whose weight we adjusted downwards after weighing it ready to race at 7.6 kg in the paddock (Christophe Laporte’s bike, size 54).
Canyon’s mathematical lead has thus become smaller. This shows that every little bit counts. Especially when several tiny details come together, they add up. We predict a final speed of just over 70 km/h in the short sprint.
The (almost) entire field at a glance*
*) The calculations are based on the bikes tested by TOUR in the laboratory and wind tunnel. The bikes at the Tour de France may differ in some details. Of course, we have also not yet been able to examine last-minute prototypes. Background to the simulation.
Aero rules: The mathematical ranking almost mirrors the aero ranking. Since acceleration also plays a role in the last few meters, weight is not completely out of the question in the sprint. If in doubt, the sprinter’s bike should therefore be as light as possible. Especially if the sprint is short, as in our simulation of the fifth stage.
The importance of aerodynamics has been confirmed by the course of the Tour so far. The breakaway victories on the first two stages were won with aero material. The fact that Romain Bardet and his team-mate were able to successfully fend off the peloton on the first stage and take the yellow jersey for one day was also due to the fact that he had a fast bike at his disposal with the Scott Foil RC (206 W). Bardet, a climber by nature, fought the decisive battle downhill and finally even flat with a headwind. Further aero anomalies of the first days: Jonas Vingegaard preferred the fast S5 to the lighter R5. He was able to exploit this advantage on the second stage, in the “pair time trial” with Tadej Pogacar, when the two of them distanced the field. On the third stage, Biniam Girmay from Intermarche-Wanty on the Cube Litening AeroC:68X was able to beat Mads Pedersen on the new Trek Madone. Girmay’s timing was certainly more important than his aero bike, but when you’re riding at the front, every little helps to increase your chances of winning. Our prediction is therefore: aero bikes will not completely merge with lightweight bikes. Where an advantage can be realized, it will be sought, found and implemented.
Our expert
Robert Kühnen studied mechanical engineering, writes for TOUR about technology and training topics and develops testing methods. Robert has been refining the simulation calculations for years, they are also used by professional teams.
