The 2010 Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii served as a vindication of sorts for the pro-technology crowd, those of us who insist that wind tunnel tests are relevant, that aero differences do matter, and that the time savings to be had by investing in well-designed, wind-tunnel developed products are real and significant. I bold the world development because "wind-tunnel tested" has become a bit of an industry catch phrase. As I like to point out, if I have the time, money, and the inclination, I could put my blender in the wind tunnel and test it. My blender could then carry an official wind-tunnel-tested sticker, but it would still be as unaerodynamic as it was before. A test only reveals how good - or how bad - a job you did when designed something. Testing is important, but it doesn't make products better. A wind-tunnel developed product is one where time was spent in the tunnel refining a design based of testing of prototypes, changes, tweaks, etc. Wind tunnel development is what makes the best products - from an aerodynamic perspective, and it's how the best companies design their bikes/wheels/aerobars/etc.

For the first time that I can remember, all three members of the men's podium rode wind-tunnel developed bikes, used windtunnel developed wheels, and wore windtunnel developed aerohelmets. Specialized's cutting-edge Shiv and TT02 helmet came out on top, so it's okay to mention the "other" brands used - Zipp wheels by Macca & Marino (Raelert used Shimano's latest creations - the C75), the latest wind-tunnel developed bikes from Blue (their new Triad SL) and Scott (their new Plasma 3), and Giro Advantage 2 helmets on both Marino & Raelert. In case I didn't mention it, Macca won the race...

Aero helmets were especially prevalent in the top-10 this year, with none of the top-10 athletes except Craig Alexander choosing to eschew an aero lid. The Specialized TT02 was one of the most prevalent helmet in the top-10, with both Raynard Tissink (5th) and Dirk Bockel (8th) choosing that helmet, despite not being Team Specialized riders. It's worth noting that despite the contention made every year that aerohelmets are hotter, there is a very significant difference between feeling hotter - which generally means increased skin temperature - and being hotter- which means an increased core temperature. Aero helmets certainly make you feel hotter, but I've never seen any evidence that they actually cause an increase in core temperature. Considering that from an aerodynamic perspective, they can be as significant as putting a disc wheel on your bike, that's an awful lot of time savings to leave on the table. Note the word "can" in there, though. Like wheels and bikes, not all helmets are created equal, and - to further complicate things - the very best helmet is individual, unlike a bike or wheels. But in virtually all cases, an aero helmet is going to be faster than a regular road helmet.

One of the most notable element of the bike setups, at least to me, was how "clean" Macca's bike was. He had a single bottle cage on his frame and a second regular bottle cage mounted between his arms. That's it. Many competitors had aero-drink bottles up front - which are actually a detriment on a bike with as aero a front end as the Shiv - AND rear saddle-mounted hydration systems, which are an aerodynamic disaster. The only potential improvement would have been a Virtue aero-bottle on the frame, but for a race like Kona, I can see not only wanting - but feeling as if you need - two regular bottle cages. The Virtue bottle is significant because it was designed to work with the specific tube shapes of Specialized's bikes. It does not make the bike any faster. But it also doesn't slow it down at all, something that is important to consider when you need to race the clock and worry about nutrition/hydration. Macca's ability to run a clean bike was helped by his win-or-go-home mentality (full complement of spares wasn't needed), but for most age-group athletes, a very close to equally clean bike could be achieved, especially if you run clinchers (a topic for the future), and only need a very small saddle bag to carry 1 tire level, 2 CO2, a microflate, a micro-tool, one tire boot, and a spare tube. A very small saddle bag will hold all that in an aerodynamically optimal way just under your saddle, giving you a bike that is almost as clean as what Macca rode to victory. A gel flask tucked in a back pocket, as Macca did, is probably equal to a flask mounted neatly behind the bars, but again, if you approach setting up your bike with "how little do I need to carry," you'll probably avoid setting up your bike like a grocery store with wheels. So be judicious. And remember that pacing is the number one limiter on nutrition (another topic for the future). If you pace well, you'll likely tolerate the on-course nutrition just fine. The pros seem to do just fine, and it's amazing how gatorade/etc. work just fine during training for almost everyone, but during a race - when many people push way outside their limits - their stomachs cannot tolerate it. Nutrition problems are very often (though not always) pacing problems. So pace well, and you can keep that bike nice and clean. Far better to learn to pace your race than to start adding pounds of nutrition/hydration onto it.

It's hard to know exactly what rubber shod the wheels of each bike, but I do know that the Specialized Mondo S-Works is one of the fastest rolling - from a Crr perspective - tires around. So at least I know that Macca had good treads. Gluing job makes a big impact, though, in the case of tubulars (again, something for the future), so no way of knowing who really came out ahead. But across the board, Macca made excellent equipment choices, and it paid off with his second Ironman World Championships. So kudos to Macca for sweating the details. And kudos to the geeks who helped him do so.