What you see is a new airbag system integrated directly into the “race-ready” skinsuit, not bolted in like other solutions. It was developed for road cyclists by Van Rissel with the help of airbag technology specialist In&Motion. It is currently being tested on pro riders ahead of a general consumer release “within the next two years”.
Its development follows a call in February by pro cycling’s governing body the UCI, calling for gear that can help protect riders traveling faster than ever before.
The current version is in final validation before potential race deployment. Van Rissel says its total weight is around 700 grams (500 grams for the airbag components), making it significantly lighter than the airbag systems worn in MotoGP. And like proven MotoGP solutions, Van Rissel’s airbag deploys just 60 milliseconds after its impact-detection algorithm senses that something has gone horribly wrong.
The skinsuit is designed to be aerodynamic and heat-dissipating, with abrasion-resistant materials used to help reduce the risk of road rash and other surface-level skin injuries. The airbag deploys to protect areas of the upper body not covered by the helmet, including the central core, cervical region and spine. More comprehensive protection will be explored in the future.
“Behind every race number there is a human being and sadly it is still widely accepted that a rider can lose everything in a fraction of a second due to a crash,” says Jocelyn Bar, product manager at Van Rysel. “What the helmet represented 20 years ago is what we think the airbag can represent today, but now, we’re looking beyond the head, we need to protect as much of the body part as we can.”
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