Large Eddy Simulations of zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers over riblets have been conducted. All along the controlled domain, riblets maintain a significant 11 % drag reduction with respect to the flat plate at the same R e τ (from 250 to 450). To compare the flows above riblets and a reference smooth wall, an appropriate vertical shift between the two surfaces is required. In the present study, the “vertical origin” is set using the identity of Fukagata, Iwamoto and Kasagi (FIK) in Phys. Fluids, vol. 14, 2002, L73. This identity, which provides a physically meaningful decomposition of the skin friction, has been extended to complex wall surfaces and constitutes the basis for the derivation of a new virtual origin. Using this FIK-based origin, it is shown that the complex interactions between the riblets and the near-wall turbulent structures can be taken into account by a simple shift of the two axes of the mean and turbulent velocity profiles. The appropriate upward shift Δu +, typical for drag reduction, is directly dependent on the skin friction on the riblets and on the reference smooth plate at the same R e τ .