Invisible, unpredictable and unforgiving, wind is every cyclist’s ghostly nemesis. Gusty winds will steal your speed, blow you into danger and batter your will to keep riding. Long distances, however challenging, can be conquered with smart fuelling and training, but wind cannot be mastered by gels and fitness alone. Gravity – that other invisible foe – is made manifest in the form of mountains, making its torments reassuringly visible and finite: what goes up must come down, you remind yourself – just 1km more to do at 7% before a rewarding descent…
But the wind is wild, fickle and merciless: it can blast all day long, makes no promise that the pain will soon be over, and offers no guarantee that it won’t just change direction and smash you again. Fight the wind and you will lose. But if you learn how to work with – rather than against – this force, a flurry of performance benefits awaits.
“…if you usually ride at 26kph on the flat in still conditions, a 32kph headwind will leave you crawling at around 10kph”
It’s easy to forget just how much the autumn and winter winds affect your ride. Aerodynamic drag accounts for up to 90% of the resistance a cyclist encounters when riding on the flat, and eats up 56-96% of their
