Wout van Aert goes full aero and uses double disc wheels again for Tirreno-Adriatico time trial

Fresh from a strong top 10 placing at Strade Bianche on Sunday, Wout van Aert, as well as his Visma Lease a Bike teammate Matteo Jorgensen, seemingly threw caution to the wind today by running double Reserve Infinity disc wheels for the opening time trial stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Van Aert paired the wheels with a huge 1x aero chainring and the bulbous Giro Aerohead helmet, but the super aero combination wasn’t enough to net either rider the stage victory and leader’s jersey.

The Belgian rider finished in 59th place, 1:10 down on eventual winner Filippo Ganna, though granted Van Aert may not have been going flat out. His teammate Jorgensen fared better and finished in 16th place, 44 seconds back on a rampaging Ganna.

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A single rear disc wheel is a common sight in pro time trial events, and the aerodynamic rear wheels are most usually paired with a deep-section or perhaps tri-spoke front wheel.

The use of a front disc wheel, however, whilst common for indoor track events, is highly unusual on the road, and double discs have not been seen much in pro road time trials for several decades.

The generally accepted wisdom is that the completely solid nature of the front wheel impacts front-end handling and inertia, whilst also making the bike more susceptible to strong gusts of wind, already a factor when a rider is using tri bars.

Ultimately, it seems that the potential risks and handling issues created by a double disc setup outweigh any available performance advantage for most.

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It seems that Van Aert is definitely confident using the setup, and after a dramatic outing two years ago at the Paris Olympics using the combination, he decided to do the same again today. The use of the wheels in today’s event may also be a test run for other events this year that the Belgian is targeting.

The amount of riders to use double discs on the road in the last few decades is very small indeed. This is Shara Gillow at the London 2012 Olympic time trial (Image credit: Alex Livesey / Staff)

This isn’t the first time Wout van Aert has used a double disc combination on the road. Much to the cycling world’s surprise, the Belgian star brought out the combination at the Paris Olympics in summer 2024 to take a bronze medal on the rain-soaked streets of Paris. Back in 2024, Van Aert claimed the team had found a 17-watt advantage from the system.

“When we tested it in the wind tunnel, there were different wind angles and speeds, but double discs were 17 watts faster than a normal time trial wheel. That’s quite a lot.” He explained at the time.

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It’s clear that Van Aert and his team believe there’s a performance advantage in using the combination, and most riders would probably sign on the dotted line for a 17-watt improvement.

Perhaps the two-year gap between Van Aert using the combination again points to a need for the conditions and course to suit double disc wheels. It also seems like the type of combination that just isn’t considered much (apart from by Visma), there can’t be very many current riders out there who must know what running double discs on the road feels like.

Perhaps now with wider rims and better wheel/tyre fitments, larger volume tyres and improved aerodynamics, double discs are no longer the handful they are perceived to be in some conditions.

It’s also worth mentioning that the recently updated UCI wheel depth rules don’t apply to individual time trials. Riders can use far deeper rims in time trials than the maximum 65mm depth that’s permitted for road races.

Van Aert used the combination during the Paris Olympic time trial (Image credit: DIMITAR DILKOFF / Contributor)