(TU/e website) A cyclist in a peloton experiences considerably less air resistance than previously assumed

Description

In the middle of a peloton, racing cyclists experience only 5 to 10 percent of the air resistance they have when cycling alone. That is about 10 times less than was previously assumed. This is shown by calculations and wind tunnel research on a peloton of 121 cyclists by TU Eindhoven, KU Leuven, software company ANSYS and CRAY supercomputers. The results may explain why so few escapes in road cycle races are successful: the assumptions contained in the calculation models that race teams use to determine their strategy are incorrect.