Dsm-firmenich to debut new Syncros Capital SL wheels at Tour de France

Dsm-firmenich have undergone plenty of changes in recent months, taking on new title sponsors, firmenich, and with them a new name. They now also have new time trial wheel sponsors to add to the mix after extending their existing deal with Syncros.

The wheels in question are Syncros’ brand new Capital SLs which were also released today and they’ll make their team debut on stage 16 of the Tour de France, the race’s one and only time trial.

It’s not a completely new deal as the Scott-owned brand already supplies the team with a range of components including cockpits, saddles and seatposts, but that’s now been extended to include time trial wheels too, the team confirmed.

"We're thrilled to expand our partnership with Syncros. We worked intensively with the engineers of Syncros, who share the same holistic approach to aerodynamics,” dsm-firmenich head of science, Narelle Neumann, said in a press release.

“This has resulted in an extraordinary set of TT wheels that align perfectly with other aerodynamic elements. We can't wait to race with the Syncros TT wheels from tomorrow onwards."

Syncros, El Toro Media

dsm-firmenich will debut the wheels on stage 16 of the Tour de France.

So, what do we know about the new Capital SL wheelset? For a start, there are two new wheelsets available, the standard Capital SL with 40mm rims or the Aero 60mm edition.

Buying wheels is usually a matter of sacrifice, either in the favour of weight or aerodynamics. With their new Capital SL and Capital SL Aero wheelsets, Syncros appears to have found a very handy balance.

Both have aerodynamic designs and come with the usual figures to back it up with Syncros most notably claiming that the wheels are 7% faster and have 20% less rolling inertia compared to competitor wheels.

To achieve this they spent plenty of time in the wind tunnel with their new wheels, testing them in 200 different configurations, including multiple yaw angles. This allowed Syncros to optimise the rim shapes which they say “leads to a drag reduction and makes the wheel more predictable in windy conditions”.

Syncros

Syncros put the wheels to the test in a wind tunnel.

Beyond aerodynamics, the figure that really caught our eye is the weights which clock in at a featherweight 1170g for the Capital SLs and only 1290g for the Aero version.

That’s impressively lightweight for wheels of this depth and it’s been delivered through Syncros’ patented manufacturing process. Using this method has enabled Syncros to remove the carbon hub shell which is used on other wheelsets, saving weight. It also leads to a smaller hub diameter which they say is more aerodynamic.

For stage 15 of the Tour de France and future time trials, dsm-firmenich will use a customised version of the wheelsets, pairing the Aero 60mm front wheel with a custom-designed rear disc wheel based off of the standard 40mm Capital SL.

Syncros, El Toro Media

Syncros have custom-designed the rear disc wheel.

The wheels will be used on the team’s Plasma RC time trial bikes supplied by Scott who have been the team’s bike sponsors since 2021. Scott acquired Syncros in 2012 and they renewed their deal with dsm-firmenich for an extra two years at the beginning of 2023.

“We are excited that the partnership continues to grow with Team dsm-firmenich as we today announce our extended sponsorship for the Time Trial wheels,” Pascal Ducrot, Vice President of SCOTT Sports said. “The innovative Capital SL wheels will bring a real benefit to the team, and I really look forward to the future, as the team goes from strength to strength.”

Check out the Capital SL and Capital SL Aero wheelsets on the Syncros website here.