Air resistance is the biggest mechanical component preventing cyclists from going faster on flat road, and slipstreaming can save up to 50 percent of their energy. That was the assumption, at least! The reality is that almost no information exists on aerodynamic resistance in cycling pelotons. Systematic computer simulations or measurements have never been reported before. Professor Bert Blocken of Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) and KU Leuven (Belgium) set out to fill the information gap. In partnership with Cray and ANSYS, Prof. Blocken conducted the first aerodynamic simulation (Video) and wind tunnel test of a full peloton of 121 cyclists. With almost 3 billion calculation cells, the Peloton Project simulation was the largest ever in sports and the largest using commercial CFD software anywhere.

The results showed that the drag of all cyclists in the peloton decreased compared to that of an isolated rider - but in the mid-rear section, the reduction plunged to between 5 and 10 percent the drag of an isolated rider.

More Information: cray.com/blog