From the right track to the right tack
From the way Simon van Velthooven goes on about the importance of horse power or weight and speed over water, you can tell he’s well schooled, or at least getting there, in the art of sailing.
One of the new additions to the Team New Zealand America’s Cup crew, van Velthooven is what he calls a trail blazer, having switched from the New Zealand track cycling programme to join the sailing outfit.
A year ago, van Velthooven was trying to earn a spot in the New Zealand Olympic cycling team, now he’s one of the new grinders on the Team New Zealand AC50 boat, which is trying a revolutionary cycling crew to power the boat, rather than traditional grinders, who use their arms.
The Manawatu 28-year-old and the rest of the crew arrived in Bermuda last week and he said before they left they were keen to get out on the water and see how fast the boat can go before the competition proper starts next month.
‘‘The sailors have turned into quite impressive cyclists, they’re impressive athletes in their own right,’’ van Velthooven said. ‘‘It’s going to be like a normal boat race.
‘‘We put out a lot of power while making split-second decisions that can affect the race. It’s all relative to me in a totally different sport in a totally different environment.’’
For a man who has spent the past 10 years riding a bike, van Velthooven was loving the change to sailing.
‘‘The only difference is you’re outside really. The speed’s much the same.
‘‘Everything gets in tune when you’re out there doing it day after day. It just become natural even though it might seem scary to the outside eye.
‘‘You’re very comfortable in your little zone there making the right decisions at the right time to make sure the boat’s up in the air the whole time. I haven’t had any race experience, but we’ve practised against the pace boat.
‘‘I’m looking forward to getting into some real duelling; actually put the race hat on and get in the race state of mind.’’
It was all new to him and was a ‘‘massive change of scenery’’, but he had learnt quickly from the sailors.
Van Velthooven said ‘‘you get so stuck into it you forget what you’re doing’’ and that it’s not until the reviews after each run he actually sees what he was doing out on the water.
‘‘You’re giving 100 per cent of your effort and mindset to your small job to keep the boat up in the air. If you mess up you get the kendo stick.’’
Van Velthooven has put on 12kg of muscle since his cycling days so he can create more horsepower.
‘‘Bike fitness is pretty important. It’s so important to be explosive. You leap out of the cockpit and run across the boat. It’s not a dawdle - you’ve got to be fast while you’re doing it. You lose power while running across the boat.’’
Van Velthooven said the boats at the last America’s Cup regatta in San Francisco in 2013 were ‘‘big dinosaurs compared to these highoctane things’’.
‘‘The bikes are probably one per cent of the changes on the boat, but 100 per cent of the visual changes, well maybe not 100 per cent.’’
So much work behind the scenes has gone into the technology and innovation on the boat and they are constantly trying to make the boat faster. ‘‘There’s six guys on the boat, but there’s 50-odd decision-makers and shore crew who design and build the boat and they’re ultimately more important that the sailors.’’
Van Velthooven was keen to emphasise Team New Zealand are not a crew of show ponies and are going to Bermuda to win.
"I'm looking forward to getting into some real duelling; actually put the race hat on and get in the race state of mind." Simon van Velthooven