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Struggling to put a finger on why Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss look a little different this year at the Tour de France?
Their nose strips.
Vingegaard and Kuss have joined the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Mattias Skjelmose, Jonathan Milan, and Julian Alaphilippe in jumping onto the hottest fashion fad of the summer.
But in reality, these “nostril dilators” are far from new. Jan Ullrich put them into the eyeline way back in the ’90s.
It’s a puzzling comeback from the old-school nose strip.
The consensus is that they’re a placebo, at best.
“They don’t offer a performance advantage per se. They can give increased comfort for some, and can increase ease of breathing when eating,” Tudor Pro Cycling performance coach James Spragg told Velo.
Spragg works with none other than nose-strip-touting panache merchant Alaphilippe.
“It’s probably just a fashion thing that more riders are suddenly using them,” Spragg said.
A Bastille Day-themed nose strip for Matthias Skjelmose on 14 July pic.twitter.com/67dhO76d02
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 14, 2025
It seems more of these sticky strips are getting strapped over the world’s fastest nostrils with every passing week.
Yet even staff at the science-backed, research-driven Visma-Lease a Bike struggle to see the physiological potential in the peloton’s favorite strip.
“Like with many things, even a placebo effect is an effect,” said Tim Heemskerk, who trains Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, and many more.
Heemskerk isn’t on-site at the Tour de France. He told Velo he didn’t even realize some of his riders were using them until he saw the images beamed onto his T.V.
Perhaps cycling super-nerd and long-time nose-strip aficionado Victor Campenaerts was the culprit. The team’s recently recruited Belgian regularly raves about them in his wacky vlogs on Instagram.
Ventilation benefits or just fashionable BS?
Who doesn’t wear nose plasters at team Visma-Lease a Bike!?
Like Heemskerk and Spragg said, there’s little physiological point in nose plasters.
Recent studies call B.S. on the strips.
It seems they’re just another placebo of the Tour de France.
In theory, the strips help improve airflow through the nostrils.
Heavy breathing during intense exercise can create a “negative pressure” in the nostrils and create a pinch-point for airflow. The thinking is that dilator strips can help athletes breathe through their nose for longer before they start mouth-breathing.
Another WorldTour trainer and physiologist [who chose to remain anonymous] told Velo that in reality, any potential “benefit” was beyond minimal.
“There’s no direct increase in performance metrics with them,” they said. “Research shows no significant improvements in time-trial performance, endurance, or sprint power.
“They can help with nasal congestion, deviated septum, or allergic rhinitis. But I think unless you have significant nasal obstruction, there’s no major benefit,” they said.
Pink nose strips = fashion, right Victor?
A tribute to the Giro d’Italia win, turned into a Tour de France stage win! pic.twitter.com/Mkx6s1n03C
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) July 15, 2025
Spragg joked about the “fashion” for nose plasters.
Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek and the riders at Visma-Lease a Bike won’t disagree.
The “Killer Bees” coordinated with pink nose strips on stage 10 through the Massif Central to celebrate Simon Yates’ recent Giro d’Italia victory – and the pink flourish seemed to inspire the Brit to a hilltop win that very same day.
Skjelmose took things to an all-new level before he was forced out of the Tour with injury.
The Danish climber rocked a collection of different nose strips, each one custom-drawn by his 12-year-old sister-in-law.
A Tour de France celebration of nose strips, Skjelmose style:
Not the most original, but we dig it. (Photo: Tim de Waele / Getty Images)
A nice nod to the French holiday for stage 10. (Photo: Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
When in France … (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Definitely one of our favorites. (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)