CYCLIST ADAPTS TO CATAMARAN
Contenders look beyond sailing in quest for Cup
Hamilton — Sailing skill is not enough to win the new-age America’s Cup, and the crews duelling on Bermuda’s Great Sound are calling on exceptional talents from a range of sports. Strength, stamina and agility are vital for the six-man crews racing the spectacular America’s Cup catamarans. The constant effort of the grinders — or in the case of Emirates Team New Zealand the "cyclors" — is all that powers the hydraulics necessary to control the craft. The hydraulic pressure allows the constant adjustments to huge fixed-wing sails and to the foils that keep the twin hulls "flying" at maximum speed above the water. With their innovative use of cycle-style pedals New Zealand turned to Olympic cycling medallist Simon van Velthooven. He has adapted from life in the velodrome, but says the experience is vastly different. "There’s cranks, that’s about it really," he says of the similarities between a bicycle and the on-board cycling stations. "We’re still turning our legs and such, but that...
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