Didn’t Ineos do an entire tour with no punctures one year ?
That math is wrong. They’re not all riding the same tire. 10 flats in a 170km race is not the equivalent of a single flat in 3000km. (Tires on race day bikes don’t reach 3000km anyways) You can look at it as 6% (10 out of 180) of all new tires have a flat almost immediately.
I’d be interested to see the data. Although it would be tricky to say what is affecting the number. We’ve had the move to tubeless (albeit without enough sealant to fix punctures); a preference for TT tyres with less protection BUT also a faster peloton - which must be a factor.
If bikes were so light that they would be below the UCI minimum (i don’t think many are today), a few extra mm of sealant would be easy to adopt and help punture dealys?
Simon
“And thus began Netwhatever Ineos unprecedented string of flats at the 2026 Tour de France…”
But yeah, I think that was the year that they road Lightweight wheels for a couple of stages as well?