Originally Posted by
bulgie
So
Pogačar, whose tires were over 32 mm wide in the most recent TdF, was somehow "uncompetitive" despite his decisive win? The tires were called 30 on the label but were measured as over 2 mm wider than that by BikeRadar. Here's the quote from the linked article:
"we measured the 30c Conti GP5000 STR tyres on Pogačar’s V4Rs at 33.3 and 32.5m wide, front and rear, mounted on a 32mm-wide ENVE SES 4.5 wheelset."
Any theories as to why such a light skinny guy would ride such slow, heavy, non-aero tires, and win anyway?
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Pogacar did switch to 28mm on the time trial stage. So rotating weight and aerodynamic frontal area still matter when you don't have team riders pulling in front of you.
Also, I suspect part of the reason why they switched to wider tires, is because of the mass adoption of tubeless. Tubeless simply does not seal well at high pressures. Hence wider tires which run lower pressures.