New Giro aero road helmet spotted at Paris-Nice and Healthy Ageing Tour

Published March 14, 2021 12:26AM

Several Canyon-SRAM riders and Arnaud Demare of FDJ-Groupama have been spotted at the Healthy Ageing Tour and Paris-Nice sporting an unannounced Giro road helmet. Given the helmet’s appearance and the relative age of other models in Giro’s road lineup, it seems likely that this is a new aero road model destined to replace the Vanquish (or at least some sort of semi-aero model slotting in between the Aether and Vanquish).

The new helmet sports the suitably trim profile and relative paucity of open vents that you’d expect to see in the category. It’s still more vented than the Vanquish, however, which suggests it’s better suited to all-around use in warmer weather. The Vanquish is good in that respect, but can feel a little toasty unless you’re moving quickly enough to take advantage of its generous internal channeling.

Giro looks to be taking a big step on the safety front here, too, as the new helmet incorporates the company’s MIPS Spherical construction. Similar to how it’s used on the Aether and Helios, this new aero road model features a helmet-within-a-helmet layout that is said to provide more rotational movement in a crash than MIPS systems that are built into the pads or liner.

Also visible is Giro’s latest browpad design, which uses a tabbed extension to help redirect sweat so that it drips harmlessly down in front of a rider’s sunglasses, instead of down into the inside of the lens.

It’s uncertain at this point how that sort of double-layer design might affect the helmet’s aerodynamic performance or ventilation characteristics, but progress being what it is, it seems safe to assume that this new helmet will offer claimed improvements in both — and if only accounting for the added manufacturing complexity, there’s a good chance this new helmet will be more expensive, too.

Giro is understandably tight-lipped regarding the new helmet, offering only the following non-statement:

“Our engineers and designers are constantly developing new ideas and designs in the pursuit of improved performance. These helmets are simply too good to make the world’s fastest riders wait for mass production.”

In the meantime, expect to see this new helmet pop up with increasing frequency as the season progresses, and we’ll be sure to bring you the full details as soon as they become available.