Peter Jones.

When Joseph Sullivan describes the past 12 months of his life as ‘‘an insane journey’’, he could just as easily be describing his entire sporting career.

The 30-year-old’s progress from a schoolboy rowing prodigy to Olympic double sculls gold medallist; then rejected international oarsman to revolutionary sailing ‘‘cyclor’’ and eventual America’s Cup winner is nothing short of astounding.

This modest man, labelled the ‘‘Pride of Picton’’, found it difficult to compare the glory of Olympic gold with the high of winning the world’s oldest sporting trophy, but is equally proud of those achievements.

‘‘The Olympics were incredible, because it was so much of my life to get that medal. The America’s Cup is just so massive for the country, it’s not just me, it’s all of New Zealand.’’

Speaking soon after the final America’s Cup street parade in Dunedin, and prior to departing for Europe and a well-earned break, Sullivan described the reaction of the nation to Emirates Team New Zealand’s heroics in Bermuda as ‘‘almost shocking, just overwhelming’’.

Although the London 2012 Olympic medal-winners received a welcome home of sorts, it was nothing compared to the outpouring of affection the cup parades engendered.

‘‘It’s been crazy. Every place we have gone we have expected so many people, but it has almost tripled or quadrupled. The support we have got from the country has been truly humbling.’’

When Sullivan signed up for Team NZ as a grinder in mid 2016 he had no idea that 12 months later he would be operating as a ‘‘cyclor’’, a cycling sailor. He found out about the new role after a few months of traditional grinding when the sailing and design team decided to ‘‘give [cycling] a go and see what the results were’’.

‘‘Initially we were unsure,’’ said Sullivan. ‘‘There were a lot of issues with [the cycling] ... it was still very much up in the air for a long time.’’

However, the benefits of the new set-up soon became apparent when the team began testing the traditional grinding technique against pedal power.

Although Sullivan initially thought he would be utilising the traditional methods, he had no bother adapting to the new process.

‘‘Actually the pedalling suited me, from my rowing background, so it wasn’t too difficult to adjust to. We had been training it for about a year before we brought it out.’’

He said the revolutionary method of producing the boat’s hydraulic power had to be kept secret, as they hoped it would become a ‘‘game-changer’’, and it was. ‘‘I think it definitely helped in the way we sailed the boat. Being fully hydraulic, it was a huge advantage for us.’’

Although the Kiwis felt they had an ace up their sleeve they still had to operate as a team, both on and off the water, and teamwork is the area where Sullivan feels they had the biggest edge.

‘‘The whole way through we have had some great designers and boat builders ... it’s just been a huge team effort. I think that is the greatest thing about this whole campaign ... no matter what position you were in the team everyone played a huge role in it.’’

Although Sullivan had completed plenty of trial races with Team NZ against their own boats before reaching Bermuda, he was unprepared for the intensity of cup racing.

‘‘The pressure [of racing] just adds that little bit more, but I had full trust in the team and all I had to do was power the boat as best I could, which I was trained for.

‘‘It’s the same as rowing, you are just putting everything that you have practised so long for into motion.’’

However he admits regularly leaping out of his cycling seat and running to the other side of the yacht took some getting used to.

Kiwi rower Joseph Sullivan has forged a remarkable career, writes