Castelli say Johan Van Summeren was helped over the line in yesterday’s Paris-Roubaix by a piece of kit they've dubbed “possibly the fastest bit of clothing ever created for road racing”.
The SpeedSuit, first used by Van Summeren and other Garmin-Cervelo riders in last month's Milan-San Remo, is essentially a pair of Castelli Body Paint shorts and a full-zip Aero Race jersey stitched together at the waist round the sides and rear.
It combines the aerodynamics of a track-style skinsuit with two key features of the traditional jersey/bibs road racing combo – the rear pockets and, perhaps more importantly, ability to pee (essential for long races).
Castelli claim the suit can save 10-15 watts at 40 km/h, and it seemed to do the trick for Van Summeren. It'll be used exclusively by the peloton this season, but is set to be made available to the masses in 2012.
