WATTS Lab

Aero Relevancy Research and Design

WATTS Lab is a highly specialized department whose objective is to optimize performance and aerodynamics in POC products, allowing the cyclist to go faster while using less energy.



WATTS Lab brings together knowledge and experience from Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling team, aerodynamic specialists and experts in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). All members are carefully selected for their expertise and to give POC’s product development team scientifically validated input on what to apply and focus on to improve performance and aerodynamic efficiency.

To develop products that match our uncompromising vision, we are working closely with the members of WATTS Lab. This allows us to predict and improve performance at an early stage and throughout the development process.



Members of the WATTS Lab

Marcus Berggren

Manager CFD & Automotive CAE at Semcon

Linda Josefsson

Aerodynamic Specialist at Volvo

Cannondale-Drapac/Slipstream Sports

Pro Cycling team

Saving watts and seconds

Ryder Hesjedal won the 2012 Giro d’Italia after 91 hours, 39 minutes and 2 seconds of riding. The difference to second place Joaquim Rodriguez was 16 seconds, which if averaged across the 3 476 kilometers of the race, represents 0.005 seconds per kilometer. And across the 21 stages it means an average winning margin of 0.76 seconds per stage.



In road cycling the margins of victory are small and every second is valuable. For Raceday we were curious to see what we could achieve in terms of aerodynamic performance. Being able to affect 80% of your aerodynamic efficiency is a challenge we have taken very seriously and it has required us to find new ways and solutions to improve performance.



Together with the aerodynamic specialists in WATTS Lab we have studied the specific performance needs in road cycling and importantly not only what to focus on, but also where to focus. Below are some interesting numbers we would like to share.