Pirelli Launches P Zero Race TLR RS: The Racing Tire for Top Performance

Already adopted in competitions by the professionals of the World Tour Lidl-Trek team, which has more than 70 podiums including 30 victories to date, it uses the evolved and even more race-oriented SmartEVO2 compound. Light and fast with 16% less rolling resistance compared to the P Zero Race.

Source: Press Release

Pirelli introduces the P Zero Race TLR RS (Racing Speed), its highest-performing road cycling tire. This tire is dedicated to competition bikes and cyclists demanding the best performance, at a professional level.

Starting from today’s stage of the 107th Giro d’Italia, the Lidl-Trek team officially adopts the P Zero Race TLR RS in races. The American team, both women’s and men’s, which has been racing with this model since the beginning of the season (under the #prototype label), has already achieved more than 70 podiums, including a 2nd place at Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Women, a 2nd place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Women, and a 2nd and 3rd place at Paris-Roubaix Women and Paris-Roubaix Men.

30 victories are to be noted, including the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia, the Tour of the Alps, Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour de la Provence, and the Tour of Flanders WE, as well as two national titles (ITT and road) at the South African championships.

The P Zero Race TLR RS is the latest version of the P Zero Race range of bicycle tires, produced in the Milan-Bollate factory. This new model rises to the top of Pirelli’s high-performance road tire range and has been designed and developed specifically for racing. Its characteristics emphasize grip in all weather conditions, excellent handling during braking, acceleration, and cornering, minimal rolling resistance, and light weight.

A new generation SmartEvo compound

The P Zero Race TLR RS uses the SmartEVO2 compound, whose original formulation has evolved both chemically and in terms of manufacturing processes. Made in the same Pirelli factories that develop compounds for motorsport, the SmartEVO2 compound comes from a blend of “intelligent” polymers, meaning chemically treated to reinforce the properties of the different polymer chains, created to give the tire optimized grip and speed.

The patented SpeedCORE™ casing technology comes in a lighter version for this model. The tread thickness and the fabric layers of the structure have been revised to reduce weight (-8%* compared to the P Zero Race TLR) and contribute, along with the compound, to significantly reduce rolling resistance (-16%* compared to the already high-performing P Zero Race TLR).

(*) average value recorded in the workshop between the four available measurements.

The P Zero Race TLR RS is a tubeless ready tire with a new bead, whose geometry and internal structure, made with a different arrangement of Kevlar fibers, have been re-engineered to promote tire compatibility with the latest generation of rims, whether hooked or hookless.

Fast and efficient design

The proximity between Pirelli’s R&D department in Milan Bicocca and the newly equipped factory in Bollate allowed for the rapid and efficient development of this new tire, whose design took less than six months. Prototypes were tested and validated in the laboratory, using virtual development and design models (which Pirelli has and are commonly used in the automotive sector), in Pirelli’s Indoor Testing Center, and on the road. Joint tests between Pirelli’s test team and Lidl-Trek athletes took place along the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily and in the heart of the Arenberg forest in France.

Thus, the P Zero Race TLR RS embodies the nec plus ultra of Pirelli road racing tires. Its name, “Racing Performance,” defines its use and distinguishes it from the P Zero Race (All-Round Performance) and the 4S model (All-Weather Performance). The other models (P Zero Race TLR SL, P Zero Race Tub SL, and P Zero Race TT) complete the range and are intended for very specific cycling activities.

This new tire is already available in the best cycling shops and online, in sizes 26-622, 28-622, 30-622, and 32-622.

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