Onlookers have likened a new bulging cycling helmet to something out of Star Wars, while others just think it’s plain ugly. But a leading cycling team hopes that its futuristic-looking design will lead to a “big improvement” in time trial performance. That is as long as the design passes a review by the Union Cycliste Internationale , cycling’s global governing body. Team Visma-Lease a Bike riders debuted the large helmet at the Tirreno-Adriatico prologue in Italy on Monday.
“The UCI acknowledges that while this may not directly contravene existing UCI Regulations, it raises a significant issue concerning the current and wider trend in time trial helmet design, which focuses more on performance than the primary function of a helmet, namely to ensure the safety of the wearer in the event of a fall,” the statement said.