{"id":26014,"date":"2025-07-26T17:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T17:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/26014\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T17:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T17:53:10","slug":"why-tour-de-france-riders-are-wearing-nose-strips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/26014\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Tour de France Riders Are Wearing Nose Strips"},"content":{"rendered":"

“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”><\/p>\n

Struggling to put a finger on why Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> and Sepp Kuss<\/a> look a little different this year at the Tour de France<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Their nose strips.<\/p>\n

Vingegaard and Kuss have joined the likes of Remco Evenepoel<\/a>, Mattias Skjelmose, Jonathan Milan, and Julian Alaphilippe in jumping onto the hottest fashion fad of the summer.<\/p>\n

But in reality, these \u201cnostril dilators\u201d are far from new. Jan Ullrich put them into the eyeline way back in the \u201990s.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a puzzling comeback from the old-school nose strip.<\/p>\n

The consensus is that they\u2019re a placebo, at best.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t offer a performance advantage per se. They can give increased comfort for some, and can increase ease of breathing when eating,\u201d Tudor Pro Cycling performance coach James Spragg told Velo.<\/p>\n

Spragg works with none other than nose-strip-touting panache merchant Alaphilippe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably just a fashion thing that more riders are suddenly using them,\u201d Spragg said.<\/p>\n

A Bastille Day-themed nose strip for Matthias Skjelmose on 14 July pic.twitter.com\/67dhO76d02<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

It seems more of these sticky strips are getting strapped over the world\u2019s fastest nostrils with every passing week.<\/p>\n

Yet even staff at the science-backed, research-driven Visma-Lease a Bike struggle to see the physiological potential in the peloton\u2019s favorite strip.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike with many things, even a placebo effect is an effect,\u201d said Tim Heemskerk, who trains Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, and many more.<\/p>\n

Heemskerk isn\u2019t on-site at the Tour de France. He told Velo he didn\u2019t even realize some of his riders were using them until he saw the images beamed onto his T.V.<\/p>\n

Perhaps cycling super-nerd and long-time nose-strip aficionado Victor Campenaerts was the culprit. The team\u2019s recently recruited Belgian regularly raves about them in his wacky vlogs on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ventilation benefits or just fashionable BS?
\n\"TourWho doesn\u2019t wear nose plasters at team Visma-Lease a Bike!?<\/p>\n

Like Heemskerk and Spragg said, there\u2019s little physiological point in nose plasters.<\/p>\n

Recent studies call B.S.<\/a> on the strips.<\/p>\n

It seems they\u2019re just another placebo of the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

In theory, the strips help improve airflow through the nostrils.<\/p>\n

Heavy breathing during intense exercise can create a \u201cnegative pressure\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Another WorldTour trainer and physiologist [who chose to remain anonymous] told Velo that in reality, any potential \u201cbenefit\u201d was beyond minimal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no direct increase in performance metrics with them,\u201d\u00a0they said. \u201cResearch shows no significant improvements in time-trial performance, endurance, or sprint power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can help with nasal congestion, deviated septum, or allergic rhinitis. But I think unless you have significant nasal obstruction, there\u2019s no major benefit,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

#TDF2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Pink nose strips = fashion, right Victor?<\/p>\n

A tribute to the Giro d\u2019Italia win, turned into a Tour de France stage win! pic.twitter.com\/Mkx6s1n03C<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) July 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Spragg joked about the \u201cfashion\u201d for nose plasters.<\/p>\n

Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek and the riders at Visma-Lease a Bike won\u2019t disagree.<\/p>\n

The \u201cKiller Bees\u201d coordinated with pink nose strips on stage 10 through the Massif Central to celebrate Simon Yates\u2019 recent Giro d\u2019Italia victory \u00a0\u2013 and the pink flourish seemed to inspire the Brit to a hilltop win<\/a> that very same day.<\/p>\n

Skjelmose took things to an all-new level before he was forced out of the Tour with injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Danish climber rocked a collection of different nose strips, each one custom-drawn by his 12-year-old sister-in-law.<\/p>\n

A Tour de France celebration of nose strips, Skjelmose style:
\n\"\"Not the most original, but we dig it. (Photo: Tim de Waele \/ Getty Images)
\n\"\"A nice nod to the French holiday for stage 10. (Photo: Photo by Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)
\n\"\"When in France \u2026 (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)
\n\"SkjelmoseDefinitely one of our favorites. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n