'A component that's poorly understood' – Are tyres the next marginal gain for Dan Bigham at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe?

Dan Bigham, the performance engineer at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, has reportedly identified road bike tyres as the next significant area for marginal gains. Citing them as a "poorly understood" component, Bigham's focus suggests a deep dive into tyre technology, pressure, and compounds, aiming to unlock further performance enhancements for the German WorldTour team. This initiative follows his well-documented success in aerodynamics and equipment optimisation.

This strategic shift is particularly noteworthy given Bigham's reputation for meticulous, data-driven analysis that has previously yielded tangible results, most famously with Filippo Ganna's Hour Record. While teams have long tinkered with tyre choices, Bigham's explicit declaration elevates it to a primary research frontier, indicating that the traditional understanding of tyre performance might be ripe for disruption. It underscores the relentless pursuit of speed in modern cycling, where every watt saved translates to a competitive edge.

Bigham's pursuit of tyre perfection is a testament to the fact that in elite cycling, even the most seemingly mundane components remain fertile ground for innovation – or at least, for a more rigorous application of science.