Analysis of Cyclist’s Drag on the Aero Position Using Numerical Simulations and Analytical Procedures: A Case Study
by
Pedro Forte 1,2,3,*
, Daniel A. Marinho 3,4, Pantelis T. Nikolaidis 5, 
Beat Knechtle 6, Tiago M. Barbosa 2,3 and Jorge E. Morais 1,2,3
Pedro Forte 1,2,3,*, Daniel A. Marinho 3,4, Pantelis T. Nikolaidis 5, Beat Knechtle 6, Tiago M. Barbosa 2,3 and Jorge E. Morais 1,2,3
1
Department of Sports, Higher Institute of Educational Sciences of the Douro, 4560-708 Penafiel, Portugal
2
Departamento de Desporto e Educação Física, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
3
Research Center for Sports Health and Human Development, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
4
Department of Sports Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
5
School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
6
Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(10), 3430; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103430
Received: 13 April 2020 / Revised: 12 May 2020 / Accepted: 13 May 2020 / Published: 14 May 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sports and Health)
Background: Resistance acting on a cyclist is a major concern among the cycling fraternity. Most of the testing methods require previous training or expensive equipment and time-consuming set-ups. By contrast, analytical procedures are more affordable and numerical simulations are perfect for manipulating and controlling inputs. The aim of this case study was to compare the drag of a cyclist in the aero position as measured using numerical simulation and analytical procedures. Methods: An elite male cyclist (65 kg in mass and 1.72 m in height) volunteered to take part in this research. The cyclist was wearing his competition gear, helmet and bicycle. A three-dimensional model of the bicycle and cyclist in the aero position was obtained to run the numerical simulations. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and a set of analytical procedures were carried out to assess drag, frontal area and drag coefficient, between 1 m/s and 22 m/s, with increments of 1 m/s. The t-test paired samples and linear regression were selected to compare, correlate and assess the methods agreement. Results: No significant differences (t = 2.826; p = 0.275) between CFD and analytical procedures were found. The linear regression showed a very high adjustment for drag (R2 = 0.995; p < 0.001). However, the drag values obtained by the analytical procedures seemed to be overestimated, even though without effect (d = 0.11). Conclusions: These findings suggest that drag might be assessed using both a set of analytical procedures and CFD.
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Keywords:
cycling; drag; comparison; CFD; analytical procedures
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MDPI and ACS Style
Forte, P.; Marinho, D.A.; Nikolaidis, P.T.; Knechtle, B.; Barbosa, T.M.; Morais, J.E. Analysis of Cyclist’s Drag on the Aero Position Using Numerical Simulations and Analytical Procedures: A Case Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 3430.
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