Cyclists riding for Australian team Orica-GreenEdge in this year's Tour de France will have a secret weapon, a new helmet believed to be the fastest in the world.
The helmet has been developed by Swiss company Scott Sports and University of Adelaide engineers and will also be used by Australian cyclists and triathletes at the Rio Olympics.
The university says aerodynamic testing shows the helmet could give a rider up to a two-metre advantage in a bunch sprint.
"In professional cycling terms, that could make the difference between wearing the winning jersey or not," Associate Professor Richard Kelso said on Friday.
Professor Kelso said the university began with a blank sheet of paper more than two years ago with a goal of producing a helmet with the lowest possible drag that would also keep riders cool and well protected.
"After many months of wind-tunnel work and theoretical modelling, we were able to provide Scott with a concept that we believed would outperform any of the leading helmets currently out there," he said.
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