Friday, 29 Mar, 2024
CLOSE

The new aero aficionado from Ineos Grenadiers brings the F1 idea into professional cycling


The new aero aficionado from Ineos Grenadiers brings the F1 idea into professional cycling

“],” filter “: {” nextExceptions “:” img, blockquote, div “,” nextContainsExceptions “:” img, blockquote “}}”>

Get access to everything we publish when you> “,” name “:” in-content-cta “,” type “:” link “}}”> join VeloNews or Outside +.

You don’t have to be a nerd to ride a bike, but it helps.

That is certainly the case for Dan Bigham, the aero aficionado and British hour record holder who joined Ineos Grenadiers in the role of performance engineer.

With a degree in motorsport engineering and experience working with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team as an aerodynamicist, Bigham comes into the back room of the Ineos Grenadiers to keep the team in the new world of Grand Tour racing.

“My role is to effectively apply all of the team’s collective knowledge and science of aerodynamics and equipment to the athletes and act as a link in the middle,” Bigham said in a team release this week.

“I can speak in rider terminology because I ride a bike, but I can also speak in aerodynamics and engineering terminology and be the person who connects the two and works on answering the questions we don’t currently have the answers to. That can be anything from position optimization, helmets, clothing, tire selection, tire pressure selection, speed strategies to gear selection. “

Also read: Dan Bigham breaks British hour record

Bigham, 30, is the latest addition to the Ineos Grenadiers line-up looking to reclaim his place on the Grand Tour throne of Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič.

Sports director Roger Hammond and former sailing employee Ben Williams were also brought in this winter, while long-time coach Tim Kerrison is absent.

Just like Williams will bring his skills from sailing, Bigham will bring his intelligence from his experience in Formula One. He’s previously spent time at Jumbo-Visma, Canyon SRAM and the Danish track team tweaking aerodynamics and was undoubtedly involved in dialing his partner Joss Lowden’s world record run.

With team boss Dave Brailsford now working across the Ineos sports empire, Bigham will come into contact with the great thinking of leading motorsport team Mercedes.

“After Ineos invested in the Mercedes F1 team and worked together in sport at Ineos, the team already began to learn how Formula 1 works and realized that there were some potential gaps in racing technology, the application of knowledge, and aligning that with the athlete – explaining why he should do things, ”he said.

Wind tunnel testing and the search for faster components and clothing are nothing new to the propeller.

Also read: Bernal is optimizing the TT position in the high-tech laboratory in this off-season

Egan Bernal was already busy cleaning up his time trial in a laboratory in Germany to tame TT heavyweights Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič in the Tour de France. But Bigham plans to take the saddle pressure mapping, body sensors, and CdA metrics much further.

“There will be many different areas that will open up over time,” he said. “The time trial will lead the way and it’s a breeze as there is always work to be done there, but hopefully we can bring the same mentality and approach to road racing.”

Bigham already worked with Ineos Grenadiers during his December camp and will continue to do so through 2022 as he also does time trials and sets another hour record run. He doesn’t have to give Filippo Ganna too many tips beforehand.


Did you miss our previous article...
https://formulaone.news/mercedes/factory-friday-whats-happening-in-nondestructive-testing