Tokyo 2020 Countdown
Garneau and Cycling Canada’s head start on Olympic kit
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games had barely ended when Louis Garneau Inc. and Cycling Canada started looking ahead to Tokyo 2020. A committee was formed with representatives from both organizations, as well as athletes, coaches and outside specialists, to ensure the team goes into the next Summer Games with optimal kits. “It was clear we wanted to include the athletes,” says Garneau marketing manager Marie-andrée Vezina, who explains how an extensive survey was sent to the cyclists post-Games to gather feedback. This is the 34th year of the Garneau and Cycling Canada partnership.
As Andrea Wooles, research and innovation manager for Cycling Canada, explains there are a few streams of activity going on to ensure that the Olympic kit’s creation is on track. The committee’s aim is to work together to integrate marketing, innovation, ordering and feedback.
While the committee is obviously staying mum about the technology, it can reveal that different skinsuits are in the works for 2020. “One is specifically targeted to sprinting positioning and speeds,” Wooles says. Different fabrics react differently at various speeds, so a wind tunnel in Vancouver is used to test them. That information is subsequently used to build prototypes. Even elements like printing on fabric can change the aerodynamics of a kit, so there is much to take into consideration. “Believe it or not, socks are quite important, too,” Wooles adds.
What’s also important is that the athletes can try the kit on and wear it ahead of time, so they’re comfortable in it. “We want to deliver the final product way earlier than we have in the past,” Wooles says. This plan will build in time for fittings or changes. Besides the feedback the company has received from the athletes, there is also a whole host of regulations to abide by from the Olympic committee. Despite many common features of different cycling kits – the chamois, for example – different disciplines have specific demands. Road and some track riders spend more time in the saddle than mountain bikers and bmx riders, so specific patterns are being developed for each one. Still, there are some efficiencies. The road time trial athletes can use the endurance suit created for the track cyclists. In addition to the Olympic Games, Garneau is also making clothing for the 2020 Summer Paralympics. “There are such massive improvements we can make for Paralympic athletes,” says Wooles. Even though initial prototypes are made for non-disabled track cyclists, the development process includes Paralympic athletes, as well. And where a prototype doesn’t exist, Garneau is making sure those gaps are filled by working on separate clothing. For example, there is a special project for handcyclists in the works. The hope is that the order sheets that Garneau supplies with measurements, a photo and an area for filling out custom needs mean that what comes out of the bag fits as closely as possible. “It sounds like such a small detail, but it’s really important,” Wooles says. “It’s something we haven’t done for Paralympic athletes before.” As far as what all the kits will look like, the design process comes much later in the Olympic cycle than you’d expect. At this moment, the focus is on the technology. “It doesn’t matter how good the innovation is if the feedback from the athletes isn’t,” Wooles says.
“Believe it or not, socks are quite important, too.”