How Tinkoff-Saxo overcomes the heat at La Vuelta
During the first stages of Vuelta aEspana, the riders of Tinkoff-Saxo and the rest of the peloton has had to cope with temperatures above 35 C in the scorching heat of Andalusia. Tinkoff-Saxo has brought a few tricks up our sleeve from our inventory of 2014 technology.
OSMO Nutrition – keeping hydrated
When you start feeling thirsty it’s already too late. In fact as soon as you feel thirsty you’ve lost two percent of your body water – and 11 percent of your power output. For our riders, this is a constant threat during the hot stages of the Vuelta. Tinkoff-Saxo has teamed up with the renowned and science based Osmo Nutrition for the 2014 season. Adding one scoop of Osmo Active Hydration helps to bind and retain water in the cells and blood resulting in optimum conditions for our riders to perform at their maximum power level.
“The specific ratio and concentration of glucose, sucrose and electrolytes in Osmo Active Hydration results in the fastest fluid absorption possible thanks to a lot of pioneering work and feedback from the athletes”, explains Dr. Sims.
“With OSMO it’s the first time that all our riders are stomachache free. We have experienced OSMO as a very gentle but highly efficient hydration supplement. The riders drink the Osmo Active Hydration, Preload Hydration and Acute Recovery at their own request so I don’t have to force it in them”, says team doctor Piet de Moor.
Sportful’s R&D Ultralight Jersey
R&D stands for “research and development” and is the cutting edge of the Sportful collection. Race tested by Tinkoff-Saxo this is the ultimate jersey for warm weather. With the latest Diablo mesh fabric it keeps our riders completely dry no matter how hard they ride underneath the Spanish sun. Unlike many of the mesh jerseys in the peloton the Ultralight still blocks 90% of UV rays so it’s safe for our skin too, even when worn, as designed, without a base layer.
The bottle vest – easier, faster and safer
The bottle vest, which made it’s first appearance in this year’s Tour de France, is back in action at the Vuelta a Espana. The bottle vest is a new, faster and safer way for the domestiques, or supporting riders, to supply the captain and teammates with water bottles during the stage. The bottle vest is designed by Sportful, team-clothing sponsor of Tinkoff-Saxo. And according to the riders, the new bottle vest was needed and has been applied with great results.
“It’s a really nice idea – and no one has thought about it before. The bottle vest is much faster. When I go to the team car, the sport director or mechanic has prepared it for me, I put it on and off I go. When I reach my teammates, they can just take the bottles straight of my back”, says Daniele Bennati, who uses it every time he takes his turn supplying bottles.
The bottle vest was designed by Sportful’s race department during the weeks leading up to Tour de France 2014.
“Bjarne called us up and said he needed something that made supplying bottles faster and significantly safer. So we came up with the bottle vest as a joint venture. The bottle vest holds 7 bottles and the rider can have two on his bike. So one rider can in fact supply all his teammates”, explains Andrea Peron, former Tinkoff-Saxo rider and now Product Manager at Sportful.
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