Nino Schurter with shoe covers in the Short Track, aerodynamics or something to hide?

The first Short Track of the World Cup left us in Araxá, Brazil, the curious image of Nino Schurter competing with shoe covers. He was not the only one, we also saw his teammate at SCOTT SRAM Filippo Colombo and the winner Chris Blevins from Specialized using them. So the question arose, is it for aerodynamics or is there something they don't want to show yet?

Shoe covers return to the World Cup

In XCO competitions, it is very rare to see bikers using shoe covers, not even in rainy or muddy conditions, but the truth is that the Short Track discipline is evolving so much towards a speed race that in Brazil we even thought that this accessory was being used to shave off some seconds from the clock.

Two seasons ago we saw this situation in races in other teams and what finally happened is that under those shoe covers were hidden the new Shimano S-Phyre XC903 presented months later.

So for the SCOTT SRAM team, the most logical explanation would be that under Schurter and Colombo's shoe covers there is actually a new version, or the development of a new model, of the Scott RC Ultimate, SCOTT's high-end mountain bike shoes. The latest version of the RC Ultimate was presented in 2023 and could fit a renewal. Time will tell.

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But in Blevins' case, the winner of the race against his teammate Koretzky, more doubts arise. The American used toe covers to compete and although they could also be to hide a new version of the S-Works Recon, the latest model is also from 2023, the truth is that he was the only one on his team who did it. So really in this case, and knowing that Blevins is one of the cyclists who opts for unconventional configurations to compete, shoe covers could have a more aerodynamic purpose.

In any case, time will tell us if shoe covers become an aerodynamic trend for mountain bike Short Track races or if they continue to be used to hide the new shoe models that brands are developing.