Victor Campenaerts Return to Visma last winter does not occupy large informative spaces. He is a good cyclist, with victories in Tour and Giro, … But not so much impact was expected within the structure. His previous stage concluded through the back door in 2017. In full chrono of the turn, in which the team hoped he would fight for the victory, the jersey opened and wore a message written in his chest. He asked a woman, Carlien. Triathlete like him. He left eleven minutes in goal with Tom Dumoulin. His directors and colleagues took him from disrespect. The ICU fined with just over 100 euros its behavior. “It damages the image of cycling.”
Beyond his romanticism (or fanfarería), the Belgian is distinguished by his concern for aerodynamics and seek the limits of everything that may be a benefit for the cyclist. The Sky popularized his name: marginal gains. Campenaerts arrived at the visma and has become a capital gregarious for Vingegaard, established a new trend, the nasal strips. The whole team appeared with them in the tenth stage of the Tour of France, and they were no longer removed. In fact, the Belgian cyclist had no scheduled to go around. But the low form of Attila Valter generated a hole. “You have to come back with me to provide nasal protectors every day,” said the Danish. “It was a joke, of course, but I’m here, right?” Said the Danish in the Het Nieuwsblad.
In that same tour, Enric Mas or Kevin Vauquelin also took them. Guilio Ciccone began with them at the beginning of the season and now Almeida has also joined, of the few of the UAE. Why do some yes and others? “An improvement statistically has been demonstrated,” says the sports doctor Xabier Leibar. That is why he explains that they behave and others do not. “Of course, these studies are linked to medical processes, where to say that there is a clear benefit, higher results are needed than in high performance sport, where differences are minimal,” says the Biscay.
The nasal strips, a gadget that became fashionable in the 90s, especially between athletes and soccer players, which Alberto Contador then took and that had disappeared in cycling until this year, have their role in cardiorespiratory function. “Mentol is also used to improve the sensation of freshness of breathing.” Its operation is basic, expand the space of the nostrils. Another specialized doctor, Kepa Lizarraga, for a practical exercise to understand it. «You put the big toe of the left hand of the left hole, you pint with the index of that same hand and the same with the other. You will see that you breathe much better ».
At rest, when you breathe about five liters per minute, the improvement is clear. Cyclists use them for continued efforts, which can be equivalent to one hundred and peak liters of air per minute, according to Lizarraga. “In a high intensity test you breathe where you can,” says Leibar, aware that force can go through the mouth. «The greater the entrance hole, from the nose, something you will save. Is it so much? Surely not, it will be a minimum percentage, but if that makes them improve 1%, it is already worth something, ”says Lizarraga. “If in those moments of hyperventilation you force yourself to breathe through the nose, you give your body the signal to relax,” says Championaerts.
And shave your nose?
Leibar, a 16 Olympic athletes, acknowledges that at that levels the differences are meager and that any advantage, even if it is minimal, can be beneficial. More doubts have with the other championship technique, shave their nose. «The usefulness of these hairs is that not between dust or other things. Without them, a mosquito or a bug goes straight to the trachea ». His profession of profession does not think he is advantageous. They give some more foundation to nasal strips. The same that are used not to snore are now indispensable for candidates to win the return.
