When the goal is to go as fast as possible on the bike, no stone is left unturned, and when that goal is combined with the chance to take the Grand Tour leader's jersey, attention to detail takes on a new dimension as teams, riders, and sponsors try to outdo their rivals.

In preparation for this year's Tour de France, which kicks off with a 13.2 km individual time trial in Copenhagen, Denmark, Alpecin Phoenix (now renamed Alpecin Deceuninck) clothing sponsor Karas Sportswear, Mathieu Van der Pol is committed to helping the time trial specialist take the race lead.

"Performance and innovation are at the heart of everything Kalas stands for. Our commitment to our partners is to provide them with the best possible support to help them achieve victory on the World Tour. The special combination of their unique aero expertise and our state-of-the-art production facility means that together we can create a new collection of world-class aero kits. [This is not the first time Alpecin Phoenix has taken full advantage of aerodynamics in the Tour de France time trial. In last year's race, the team was forced to scramble at the last minute to optimize the leader's time trial bike as he tried to defend the yellow jersey in the stage 5 time trial after taking the lead in stage 2.

The result of this scramble was that a team official had to travel 10 hours across France to deliver an incorrect Princeton Carbonworks wheel to the sponsor. Despite this, he instead used an Aerocoach wheelset, an Aerocoach cockpit, and a Lazer helmet. All of these were strictly ineligible for sponsorship. Because he was already wearing yellow for that stage, the Dutchman was forced to wear a Le Coq Sportif racing skinsuit instead of the Sonic aero time trial suit provided by Karas.

This year, there was no last-minute panic. Van der Pol and his teammates have reportedly already been in the wind tunnel at Silverstone, adjusting their equipment as part of a partnership between Crow and Vortec.

"The partnership with Vorteq has immediately put both of us at the forefront of skinsuit technology. We are very excited to be working with Vorteq," explained František Klouček, head of development at Kalas.

"Alpecin Deceuninck is currently optimizing skinsuits for the Tour de France in the Silverstone wind tunnel and is benefiting from this partnership."

Of course, Van der Pol will have an uphill battle to win yellow over longtime rival Wout Van Aert and time trial supreme Filippo Ganna, and this partnership is not just focused on the upcoming Tour prologue, It is important to point out that the same level of kit will be offered to the general public and will be expanded in the future.

"We have multiple data from tests we have done with our garments and our competitors' garments, and we already have a world-class product for our customers, and we plan to offer more in the future," Kloucek concluded.

The Tour de France can be seen live on Cycling News.