RACE-DAY UPGRADES

Gear to make you faster and more comfortable.

- JON MINSTER

The first part of the year is jam-packed with races - on tar and on dirt. After the dust has settled on the Attakwas in January and the Tankwa Trek and PE to Plett in February, the Cape Town Cycle Tour and the Cape Epic headline in March, followed by a slew of gravel marathons like the Swartberg 100 in April and May. If you've signed up for any of them (or all of them, you nutter!), here's your chance to spruce up your race-day experience with gear that really works. We've done the research on which helmets, bibs, shoes, wheels, hydration vests, tech and more will give you the lift you need when the announcer sends you off into the sunrise.

Use Your Head

Lightweight and safe racing helmets

ROADIE KING

SPECIALIZED S-WORKS PREVAIL 3

R5500/298g (M)/specialized.com

Specialized claims the new Prevail is the most ventilated helmet they've ever made, and it's easy to see why. The designers have eliminated many of the traditional foam 'bridges' that typically create the little vents on a helmet. In their place are woven aramid 'cables' that traverse the helmet shell and anchor to carbon fibre plates on the side of the helmet, allowing them to act as a suspension bridge-type structure.

This system, which Spez calls Air Cage, creates five massive vents and provides a big increase in ventilation, while still creating a strong and impactresistant structure.

On the road, the Prevail delivers on its promise of incredible breathability. Swapping between the Prevail and the more modestly priced (yet also well-ventilated) POC Omne Air, we genuinely felt like more air passed through the Prevail. We would even go so far as to say that riding with the Prevail basically feels like riding without a helmet altogether. And with MIPS and microfit adjustment points, it's as safe as a road helmet gets.