We are late in this edition of Time Trial Tuesday, and not by accident. Today we bring you some weekend light reading as the dust has settled in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE Tour is one of the first Time Trial outings of the year for the UCI calendar, and in 2025 this didn't disappoint.
The UAE Tour TT is typically fast, very fast, and it also showcases what is ahead for the 2025 season, with most teams testing their equipment ahead of arguably the more important races of the year. The trends that have emerged from this race? Well, not many surprises and much more of what has been seen in 2024.
Large chainrings for the win. No surprises here — this was the state of play in 2024 but what is surprising is that teams are still leaving performance on the table. Even SRAM has now accommodated teams' requests for larger 1x options, first seen under Wout van Aert at the Paris Olympics. While the exact size required is rider-specific, 64–68t was the optimal range for the UAE Tour. When the speeds are nudging 57 km/h, the larger chainring is required to place the chain further up the cassette (larger cog), with a straighter chain line.
For Triathlon application, the common chainring sizes are now 58–64t and for UCI TT application 60–68t chainrings are now commonplace.
Positions are trending "shorter" in the UCI scene, while in the Triathlon scene the trend is to explore length, with more forward placement of the arm cups. As a brand active in this space we always encourage exploration and finding the most optimal solution. In the middle of the range, biomechanical stability can be found, where joint angles and mass distribution balance out. Going shorter (the current UCI trend) and going longer (the current Triathlon trend) can both improve aero performance, but often come at a cost to position consistency.
Skinsuit evolution continues, with new fabrics emerging, both single layer with texture and dual layer, with texture. The garment space has seen a rapid evolution over the past 12–18 months. What translates here to the Triathlon space is the development of fabrics that achieve both thermoregulation and aerodynamic demands. With the advancement of single-layer fabrics, expect to see a step forward with Triathlon garments in 2025.
Saddles are in vogue and finally getting the attention they deserve. As one of the most important enablers, just like the use of "short" cranks, saddle choice is one of the most critical considerations in establishing an optimised TT position, for all disciplines. It seems that 2025, at least in the UCI cycling scene, will be the start of a lot more to come in this space.