Did you know?
The management of the Tour de France and Bostik, a new official partner and world specialist in smart adhesives, have asked scientists to bring their expertise to improve the adhesive performance of the riders’ bibs. They have developed a new glue that allows the use of a fabric more ventilated, lighter, more flexible and with better maintenance in the race.
Why this innovation?
The technicality of the team jerseys has evolved greatly in recent years and the number bib, too rigid, no longer accompanied the mesh of the jerseys which have become elastic.
One year of work
Bostik with the sporting management and logistical services of the Tour de France, has worked hard over the last year for an advanced research on adhesive polymers. The goal was to create a more elastic bib that meets the requirements of bike racing (resistance to wind, rain, perspiration …), which offers more comfort, better ventilation and allows the rider to easily take off his bib at the end of the stage. Tests were made at different races throughout the year, to test all these parameters and to define the ideal grammage of glue to the back of the bibs. Bostik has used its hotmelt technology platform to develop a solvent-free, pressure-sensitive (hand-held) adhesive to provide extreme efficiency compared to the low bonded grammage.
