As of: February 24, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Marco Tobisch, Mahi Kola
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The German Ironman winner Patrick Lange can also be found in the Bad Wörishof wind tunnel in the future.
His coach Björn Geesmann is one of the initiators.
© David Pintens/BELGA/dpa
Will Bad Wörishofen make triathlon world champions or Olympic racing bike champions in the future?
From March, cyclists will be able to test material, optimize their riding position on the bike and train in the new wind tunnel at “The Aerow” in different wind conditions.
Well-known professionals have already come knocking.
Bad Wörishofen – What is currently being created in Bad Wörishofen is unique in the world.
Joachim Wenzkus emphasizes this in an interview with our newspaper.
The entrepreneur, who comes from the automotive and Formula 1 sectors, has already been involved in the construction of wind tunnels around the world.
His customers include well-known companies such as BMW, Porsche and MTU.
In the Kneipp town he is now realizing the project “The Aerow”.
The right symbiosis for this project arose for Wenzkus through contact with Björn Geesmann, coach of the German triathlete and Ironman winner Patrick Lange.
Geesmann and his company “Hycys Sports Performance” have been carrying out so-called “bike fittings” in Cologne, Munich and Hamburg for several years.
The goal: to create the perfect interplay of biomechanics and aerodynamics for cyclists.
A “bike fitter” works with the athlete to find the sitting position for the greatest possible power transfer.
The pressure distribution is checked using pressure foils on the bicycle saddle and the hip angle, pedaling pattern and foot position on the pedals are also optimized.
Geesmann and Wenzkus are now bringing this offer to the Allgäu.
Wind tunnel in Bad Wörishofen: You can also train in winter
But it is the combination of “bike fittings” and the wind tunnel that ultimately makes the project in Bad Wörishofen unique.
This already exists in a similar form - for example in Immenstaad on Lake Constance, where the cyclists share the wind tunnel with aerospace projects.
However, the model in Unterallgäu has the advantage: It is built according to the Göttingen style - that is, there is a flow return so that the temperature is kept constant at around 20 degrees and the athletes can train regardless of the weather.
“This is the world’s first wind tunnel for cyclists and triathletes that was built in the Göttingen style,” says Joachim Wenzkus proudly.
“The athletes can prepare for the new season here from October to March.” For the partner company “Hycys” it is already clear: “We are revolutionizing aerodynamics in endurance sports.”
Construction work is currently still underway around the building in the Bad Wörishof commercial area.
The project is scheduled to be officially inaugurated in mid-May.
© Tobisch
The first rush of inquiries also suggests this.
Numerous national and international (USA, Spain, Switzerland, Austria) triathletes and cyclists have already expressed interest, says Wenzkus.
The most prominent names include Ironman world champion Sam Laidlow, European triathlon champion Laura Philipp and Ironman winner Anne Haug.
The first athletes are expected from mid-March.
After a good 15 months of construction, “The Aerow” is now almost complete.
The new building cost 4.2 million euros, with the Swabian government contributing funding.
The project will also be presented to the public: in mid-May there will be four days of celebrations with local celebrities, professional cyclists and other visitors.
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You will find two parts of the building: at the back there are office and sanitary rooms, three rooms for “bike fittings”, a kitchen and a larger foyer on the ground floor, which will also be rented out for events in the future.
International professional cyclists will soon be training here: the athletes pedal against the wind on the plate in the middle (here still with mounting supports).
© Tobisch
But of course the most exciting thing is the front part of the building, which only houses the wind tunnel.
The athlete and his bike are clamped onto a kind of roller on a round platform and the wind blows from the front.
As the wind accelerates and circulates, the cyclist begins to pedal.
He is allowed to get used to the environment and stress for a few minutes, then the measurements begin, explains Wenzkus.
After a good three minutes it's all over - the result is a wattage with which cyclists should ideally pedal in order to resist the headwind.
It's also about health promotion
Wenzkus has hired “a mix of aerodynamicists and bike fitters” to look after the professional cyclists.
The “bike fitters” also include triathlete Philipp Hofmann from Darmstadt, who moved his center of life to the south especially for the project.
He tells our newspaper that “The Aerow” is not just about making athletes better, but also about health prevention and promotion.
Hofmann, experienced in the field of performance diagnostics, helps athletes, among other things, find the perfect sitting position on the bike.
The aim of all efforts: “To form man, machine and material into a unit – with optimal stability and low CdA (value for wind slipperiness, editor’s note),” it says on the homepage of “The Aerow”.
And with the new offer starting in March, Joachim Wenzkus sees the end of the line as far from being reached.
He is already planning an extension to the building that could accommodate a counter-swimming facility, a weight room with treadmills, a sauna and physiotherapy.
“The property is there and we already have the building permit,” says Wenzkus.
Entrepreneur Joachim Wenzkus in the wind tunnel.
© Tobisch
For now, however, he wants to concentrate on the existing offering.
Although this is open to everyone, it will be particularly interesting for professionals or ambitious amateur athletes.
“Bike fittings” can be done for around 350 euros.
Anyone who uses the wind tunnel is in the four-digit range.
The full program (“aerofitting” and material testing) is stated on the homepage as 2,250 euros.
You can book time slots of around three hours, and multi-day offers are also possible for professional athletes.
Why did Joachim Wenzkus settle with the project in Bad Wörishofen of all places?
“It was a coincidence,” says the entrepreneur.
He was looking for a place with good connections and came across Kneippstadt on the internet.
The Memmingen and Munich airports are not far away and athletes from Austria and Switzerland can also reach him quickly via the motorways.
More sports in the pipeline
When asked why the wind tunnel is only used for cycling, Wenzkus explains that they initially want to concentrate on triathletes and cyclists.
In the future, however, he could imagine also serving winter sports (skiing, bobsleighing or sledding).
“The Aerow” is a neologism from “air” and “arrow”.
That's fitting, because thanks to reduced air resistance, the Bad Wörishof wind tunnel with Formula 1 expert Wenzkus could soon bring numerous two-wheeled "Silver Arrows" onto the road - whether in the Tour de France or the Ironman.