Assos, the high-end Swiss cycling clothing manufacturer, has made its top-end chronosuit (or skinsuit to use the common parlance) available to purchase by the public for the first time. The brand says the suit is 'completely bespoke to athletes on the road to Paris 24'. We assume the skinsuit has been provided to Assos athletes or sponsored teams for some time but is now being made available to purchase via the brand's website.
The skinsuit, which is named the Fenoq, will be available as a single suit starting at £2,180 / $2,761. Or as a 'pack' which includes a 100% custom garment and includes overshoes. The starting price for this option will be a whopping £5,670/ $7,040
On the Fenoq page on the brand's website, two suit options are listed. The first is the Feno suit which is custom-made and designed for Time Trial use. Assos says the suit has been engineered and tested in the wind tunnel as well as at UCI WorldTour races. We understand this option to be a highly optimised but off-the-peg skinsuit which starts at £2,710.
The Fenoq pack jumps up in price and is a completely bespoke offering if you will, with the skinsuit itself being 100% custom. Assos says the suit is wind tunnel data and track test certified. And that the fabric features a skinGrip finish, twinDeck sleeves and a back panel. Overshoes are also included to the tune of £5,670 / $7,040
There isn't an option to add the skinsuit to your basket and purchase, instead interested customers are asked to fill out a form registering their interest.
The most cutting-edge, aero-optimised skinsuits still seem to be reserved for time trials and on the track, though race suits are commonplace on the road now. The fastest skin suits still take things one step further.
Optimised and custom skin suits are nothing new but they are often not easy to find information on and difficult to purchase, especially when worn by national teams on the track for example. However, for track races, any equipment used at the Olympic games must have been commercially available from January 1st of the Olympic year per UCI article 1.3.006, it's just not openly advertised as you might expect. We would imagine if a nation thinks they have the fastest skinsuit around they aren't likely to openly advertise it in the run-up to an Olympic year.
Some skinsuits have rocked the boat over the last few years and have even been rendered unusable thanks to shifting UCI regulations. In 2022 we covered the Vorteq skinsuit that Simon Yates used to win a Giro TT stage. That particular skinsuit was priced at £2,750 / $3,483 a little shy of the Assos Fenoq though Vorteq does list Paris Edition discipline-specific skinsuits starting from £3,000 / $3,800
Some skinsuits also fell foul of UCI rules several years ago, with the controversial Team Sky Castelli body paint skinsuit featuring 'vortex dimples' or grooved fabric to aid airflow falling outside of UCI regulations. The Endura / Drag 2 Zero skinsuit also fell outside the rules due to the 'textured material' the suit used.
Other competitors to the Assos offering right now are perhaps the WattShop - Custom labs custom skin suit that comes in at £2,500 / $3,167 with a custom fitting and aero testing included. Santini also offers its Viper skinsuit which is said to be used by Trek Segafredo and the Australia National cycling team, Santini will provide you with a quote if you are interested in one.
Looking ahead to the Olympics
We expect to see more equipment from clothing to road and track equipment quietly appear in the run-up to the Paris Olympics. As mentioned, some of it isn't openly shouted about but we will be doing our best to spot it when it does appear. It's always exciting to spot new and cutting-edge equipment in an Olympic year as manufacturers strive to provide athletes with the very best.
The track bike narrative in the run-up to Paris 24 has been interesting to follow with a range of outlandish designs appearing as the aero boundaries are pushed. The wild-looking Stromm track bike as well as Toot Racing offerings are just two bikes that have caught the eye so far.
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