New front-only Continental ‘Aero 111’ tyres spotted at the Tour de France

An all-new tyre has been spotted at the Tour de France, using some unusual tread pattern and with an apparent aero benefit. 

Spotted on the Van Rysel bikes of Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at the Teams Presentation in Florence, Italy, the team’s SwissSide wheels were wrapped in a tyre with no demarcation besides the words ‘Continental Aero 111’ and ‘Aerodynamics by SwissSide’. 

Not all bikes were fitted with them, and interestingly, they were only used on the front wheels, rather than in pairs. A mixture of GP5000 S TR and GP5000 TT TR tyres were used at the rear. 

Given the front wheel is the first thing to hit the air when travelling, it is the area of greatest significance concerning how much of a difference a reduction in drag can make. Any air that hits the rear wheel has already hit the seat tube (and before that, the down tube and the front wheel), so the air is already turbulent, whereas the airflow hitting the front wheel is laminar.

The tyre has an unusual tread pattern that, put simply, looks as though someone has taken a chisel to the tyre and taken chunks out of the tread at regular intervals on either shoulder. It’s a significant difference from the intricate tread pattern found on the existing GP5000 tyres. 

We know from the Enve SES Road Tyre that a well-designed tread pattern can offer an aero benefit. As air flows around the tyre, that tread adds turbulence that keeps the airflow attached. Instead of pushing the air away leaving the rest of the wheel in the wake of dirty, turbulent air, it helps the air stay attached long enough to flow into the rim surface of the front wheel.