Video: Peloton Pull a Plane to Takeoff
The nine rider Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe squad connected by harness hit 54km/h in husky formation to launch a plane into takeoff.
Peloton Takeoff saw nine riders, push the boundaries of physics, aviation, aerodynamics and human strength to achieve a world first – successfully towing Andy Hediger and his glider plane to flight, using only human energy. The speed, power, and teamwork required were not far from what it takes to win a Grand Tour stage, but here, the consequences were far greater.
Florian Lipowitz and eight teammates from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe pulled off this extraordinary feat in Son Bonet, Mallorca, following a challenging test in Austria. Using a 1500-meter runway, the nine riders had to accelerate to 54km/h whilst connected to a 150-meter cord attached to the specially engineered harness, peaking at a combined 6500 seated watts. Communication was crucial, riders couldn’t see the glider, and pilot Andy Hediger lost sight of them immediately after takeoff.
“When I first heard about this project, I didn’t think it was possible. Launching a plane? It seemed impossible. Nothing like this has ever been done in road cycling”, said Florian Lipowitz.
The physical effort from the riders was nothing short of astounding, some might argue it’s World Tour race winning calibre, as they averaged 650 watts for 90 seconds. Dan Bigham, Head of Engineering for the team compared the effort to that of a race winning move: “The effort was unique, but equally comparable to a ‘race winning move’, with the added complexity of balancing the forces with your team-mate to keep the peloton unified.”
For Hediger, however, the challenge was mentally: flying the plane at near-minimum speed while maintaining steady tension on the cord required incredibly precise, sensitive control throughout takeoff. “Being towed by manpower was a special feeling. I’m so happy to finally combine aviation with cycling, and to see Red Bull bringing our new ideas to life.”
Bringing together cycling and aviation unlocked an entirely new landscape of research, science, and challenges. For Dan Bigham, the team’s Head of Engineering, the project was transformative and “game-changing for the sport”, a chance to fully leverage his deep expertise in aerodynamics and engineering.
“The harness was a critical element, something that simply did not exist before. We spent countless hours developing it, and that work allowed us to make history with Peloton Takeoff. From the data and our models we knew it would take 500 watts from each rider to launch the plane, but we did not want to stop there. Every watt more, meant more altitude for the plane. To see Andy reach 100meters was pretty special” , concluded Dan Bigham. //