While the big name riders are out and about taking the headlines – Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgensen using double-disc wheel equipped time trial bikes at Tirreno-Adriatico and Tadej Pogačar using a prototype set of Enve 6.7 wheels at Strade Bianche – sometimes lesser known riders and races still get to make the news, as is the case of an unnamed EF Education development team rider using what appears to be aerodynamic triathlon shoes for the UCI 1.2 Rhodes GP one-day race on the Greek island of Rhodes.
The shoes were spotted by Marcello Valoncini, via the ever-useful Cyclingspy Instagram account, and while they were hidden beneath what appeared to be a chopped-down set of Velotoze overshoes, the silhouette was distinctive enough for the Instagram commenterati to conclude that they were a set of VeloVetta Monarch triathlon shoes, which normally retail for over £300.
From the ankle forwards the shoes look low profile, though unremarkable, but rearwards there’s a pronounced fin that gives the appearance of a fairing. If it is a fairing then it would fall foul of the UCI equipment rules, but even if it isn’t then it still exists in a grey area as the rules state:
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“Shoes that have been made more aerodynamic by the addition of a non-essential element or by a modification to the toe or heel are prohibited from competition. No part of the shoe should extend above ankle height.”
The closure mechanism is built into the heel of the shoe, which is why it protrudes rearwards, but the design of the shoe itself, specifically the rearward protrusion, is there to provide an explicit aerodynamic advantage, per the Velovetta website. This perhaps explains why the rider has chosen to hide them beneath the bottom half of an overshoe while their teammates have shoes exposed to the elements and the prying eyes of the commissaires.
Aero shoes aren’t necessarily a new phenomenon. We’ve seen Stefan Kung adding laces to his Shimano shoes for the 2025 world championship TT race, and TT ace, Remco Evenepoel, has made the switch to laces for aerodynamic reasons in recent months, mirroring Tadej Pogačar, who has been using them for many seasons now. Perhaps the earliest iteration of the aero shoe was Adam Hansen, former Lotto-Belisol rider and now president of the CPA, manufacturing his own low-profile carbon shoes with a closure dial mounted underneath. A…
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