Cyclors lose their senses providing pedal power

Olympic rowing champion turned America’s Cup cyclor Joe Sullivan has admitted to some unpleasant side effects of his power work in Bermuda.

As Team New Zealand prepare for the first- to- seven Cup match against Oracle Team USA, starting tomorrow morning, Sullivan and fellow former Olympian, sprint cyclist Simon van Velthooven have given an insight into what the cyclors go through in a race.

Both were used to experiencing pain in their previous sporting careers. Even so, it takes some managing.

Van Velthooven said Sullivan, double sculling gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics with Nathan Cohen, loses his sense of taste when driving himself hard during racing.

“You can lose your sight a bit towards the end and you definitely lose your hearing a little bit,” Sullivan said. “It’s just putting yourself into pain. In rowing, it is pretty easy. As soon as you start the race, you’re hitting the red zone. You’re in a lot of pain and it’s just about managing it and keeping in that zone where you don’t fail and can keep pushing.

“In sailing, it’s much the same. You’re really pushing everything you’ve got. You have to be really single focused, nothing else matters apart from that one goal of putting out as much power as you can.”

Van Velthooven, London keirin bronze medallist, went a step further.

“When he goes into those dark places, he doesn’t know what’s going on and sometimes in training, he can’t see after doing a big effort,” he said of Sullivan. “He knows how to push himself, but when you’re pushing as hard as you can and you’re told it’s time to run across the boat, you’ve got to keep conscious 100 per cent or you’re falling off the front or back.”

Van Velthooven said the physical exertion is different to riding a bike.

“You’re pulling and pushing a dead weight, so you need to train the right muscle for the right movement. It was a learning curve for me as well as the team to train your body to power the pump.”

Sullivan said the cyclors needed plenty of recovery time.

“It hurts a lot, definitely destroys muscle, and it’s not something you can do a lot over and over.”