New Zealand lead the cycling revolution
Kiwis replace grinders with set of static bicycles
Other teams’ sailors ‘threatened’ by change
It has been one of the major talking points ahead of the 35th America’s Cup, with some arguing that it could be a game-changer and others dismissing its significance. New Zealand, though, have fired out a warning to their rivals on the eve of competition, suggesting the other teams have made an error by not incorporating bike technology on to their boats and insisting that, if the rules remain the same, eventually they will all be copying them and using leg power to charge their hydraulic systems.
Tim Meldrum, the mechanical designer at Emirates Team New Zealand who has led the cycling project, said he believed the others rejected the technology out of misplaced conservatism, and because some of their senior sailors may have felt “threatened” by it.
“I think one of the main reasons others discounted it is the influence of sailors in dominant roles who felt threatened by such radical change,” Meldrum told The Daily Telegraph. “It’s easy to understand – what would you do if you’d just spent a hard six months off-season conditioning to become a unit with huge shoulders and stick legs, then some designer thinks you should throw away the bench press and slip into some Lycra?
“It really goes against the tradition of an America’s Cup and grandprix sailing culture that has been strong in grinding for 30 years. Thankfully we took a rational, scientific approach that let the numbers speak for themselves.”
The significance of Emirates Team New Zealand’s decision to put four of their sailors on static bicycles rather than have them on traditional grinding pedestals has been played down in some quarters. Sir Ben Ainslie said in a recent column for this newspaper that his team had looked closely at it but eventually decided against, due to the trade-offs involved, the principal one being manoeuvrability.
Meldrum, though, is adamant that the “five contact points” his riders have make the system extremely stable. “There is some truth in the arguments against it, where crew manoeuvrability can be compromised. If you execute manoeuvres in the same fashion as grinding transitions there are some small delays with engagement. However, the ‘transition’ argument is the tail wagging the dog – it’s just a case of adapt- ing and learning new methods, and having the right architecture of the control system it drives. We have proven our manoeuvrability is not disadvantaged by any degree relevant to the added power we benefit from.”
Meldrum added that their research showed it was actually more aerodynamic than traditional grinding, which had been one of the other reasons proffered by teams who decided against using bikes.
“That is the initial assumption one makes, but after much study it turns out the aerodynamics of cyclists is in our view lower drag than grinding,” he said. “We run the guys really tipped over, like a timetrial rider, lower than an upright grinder, which is why our helmsman and wing trimmer remain seated for 80 per cent of the race.”
Oracle Team USA have already been experimenting with the use of one bike behind the helm. Meldrum believes that everyone will do so in the end, simply because of the massive increase in power. New Zealand have even added a professional Olympic sprint cyclist, Simon van Velthooven, to their roster.
“On a Wattbike our guys can hold 1,000 watts for a minute, 1,300 for 30 seconds. I think you would battle to do half of this with your arms. Perhaps this is why we don’t see arm-powered bikes in the Tour de France.
“On its own in this first incarnation of the AC50 class rule there are greater areas of potential I would class as game-changers. For example, bikes can’t help a boat with a slow set of foils. Items such as dagger boards and rudders carry much more significance. [But] if the class lives on through a few cycles without a rule change I expect bikes would become the norm, so would change the game.”
Meanwhile, America’s Cup organisers were sweating last night over a cold weather front headed for Bermuda which might force the cancellation of tomorrow’s opening day of racing. The upper limit for racing is 24 knots. A decision is expected today.