Crimson Bull is well-known for its fondness for all sports activities excessive and numerous. The bike racers in its secure are usually chosen for his or her multi-disciplined skills – riders like Wout van Aert love to combine on and off-road, for instance, which is true there within the power drink model’s wheelhouse.
However now Visma-Lease a Bike rider Van Aert has introduced a brand new slant to off-road using, on the behest of Crimson Bull. It is nonetheless very a lot off-road, nevertheless it’s not on path or dust both – the newest stunt from Crimson Bull in Belgium sees Van Aert using on water.
That is no CGI-driven, physics-defying mock-up – nothing fairly so thrilling. As an alternative, Van Aert is filmed on the RedBull.be Instagram account using a Crimson Shark ‘Bike Surf’ water bike alongside the Leie river within the centre of Kortrijk.
He’s making significantly slower progress than he normally would on the street bike, which is mirrored in his somewhat laboured expression.
The Bike Surf does what it says on the tin, basically taking the type of an train bike mounted on a paddle board. In line with Crimson Shark, the board is inflatable, whereas the body weighs 8kg and options an alloy riser bar with a consolation saddle. The pedals drive a propeller mounted beneath. Type of enjoyable, however most likely a little bit of a step down for Van Aert from his ordinary Cervélo with SRAM Crimson eTap.
The issues cyclists need to do for sponsors. It is a fantastic setting, as he passes between town’s medieval riverside Broel towers, however the 30-year-old should absolutely be trying ahead to getting again on his extra accustomed two wheels.
This yr Van Aert has listed the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix as his two predominant objectives – races that he has tried in useless a number of occasions to win prior to now.
He’s additionally because of trip the Giro d’Italia for the primary time, with the Tour de France additionally on his programme.
The Belgian will even hope to have a simple run at his goals, following a torrid 2024 season that noticed him crash closely early on, in Dwars door Vlaanderen, necessitating two months out, earlier than one other heavy crash on the Vuelta a España ended his season prematurely.
