America's Cup: Kiwis talk up cycle grinding advantage

Team New Zealand will have four sailors on static bicycles. Photo / ACEA

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 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 said. "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 grand prix 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 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 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 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 adapting 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."

And that massive increase in power is the key. New Zealand have even added a professional Olympic sprint cyclist, Simon van Velthooven, to their roster.

"On a Wattbike, our guys can hold 1000 watts for a minute, 1300 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."