Parcours and Ribble join forces with athlete Joe Laverick to complete the fastest lap of London in the 'London loop in a 9-5'

Six counties, two Thames crossings and many lanes… it might sound like a description of the M25, but this loop of London is a bit different. We have partnered with Ribble to support athlete Joe Laverick in completing the fastest lap of London in the ‘London Loop in a 9-5’ challenge. Taking place on the 3rd October, Joe will ride the 276km supported route which will circumnavigate London, cross the Thames twice and take in many kilometres of home counties roads with the aim to complete in under 7 hours. 

Having the fastest setup will be key to Joe completing a record time for this challenge and therefore no stones have been left unturned with regards to both the equipment and his positioning on the bike. Alongside his kit partner, the Irish based Velotec, Joe spent time in the windtunnel perfecting all elements of his ride. Testing multiple new skinsuits, cutting the stack height down by 10mm, bringing the cleat position in, and adding a new visor to pair with his Kask helmet amongst other marginal gains were made to his set-up.

For the ‘London Loop in a 9-5’ challenge, Joe will be using the Ribble TT Ultra frame completed with Parcours Chrono and Disc wheelset. 

Ribble's performance-tuned, full carbon Ultra TT frameset has been aerodynamically optimised for ultimate watt-saving efficiency for real world racing conditions with built-in adjustability to enable the rider to achieve their perfect aerodynamic position.

The Parcours Chrono 77mm front wheel is designed to enhance handling and is incredibly stable for a wheel with a deep section rim profile. In the wind tunnel, the wheel maintains class-leading aerodynamics and reduces crosswind side forces by over 15% versus older models. The Parcours Disc is their fastest wheel against the clock for time trialists and triathletes, meaning athletes are able to ride a faster, smoother, and more stable wheel setup. Parcours developed the disc using wind tunnel and real world testing, carried out in partnership with Nottingham Trent University Sports Engineering department and with race proven results by Parcours athletes. 

We caught up with Joe to get his thoughts on the challenge this week. Joe said of the challenge "I've spent an awful lot of time planning the details of this bike, from equipment to wind tunnel testing it's been a fun project putting it all together. It's the first TT bike in my career that I've been able to choose every part, and it rides like a dream. I'm taking on this challenge knowing I have the best products available, now I just need the legs to work!"