British racer Chris Hoy will be looking to go fast on the track (Image credit: John Pierce)
Competition at the Olympics isn't just about the athletes, but also their gear. Both Great Britain and New Zealand have plans to outfit their racers with high-tech equipment an attempt to give them an aerodynamic advantage - especially in events where thousandths of a second can separate finishers.
Britain's new skinsuit will be seen on the first day of racing in Beijing on Saturday. According to the UK's Telegraph, the top secret suit is known only to former Olympic champion and British Cycling's director of research and development Chris Boardman and a few of his colleauges.
Track sprinters and pursuiters will also race in custom shoes and on bikes, estimated at £10,000 each, that have been given a design overhaul since the 2004 Olympic Games. The design has evolved with the expert input of BAE Systems's aerospace engineers.
The riders have trained in secret with the equipment a few times, but the Olympics will be the first race were all the new gear is used in competition simultaneously. To ensure compliance with the UCI's strict technical rules, the new items have been tested and raced one at a time in competition during the past two years.
"We've analysed and improved every single square centimetre of the riders and their bikes and improved everything we legally can," said team representative Jonathan O'Neil to the Telegraph. "But we are a competitive team and are constantly looking for a competitive edge and we don't ever discuss details of the innovations in our bikes and clothes."
New Zealand's High Performance Manager Mark Elliot said his squad will also race in a specially developed skinsuit. "We are doing something similar (to the British), but I am not going to tell you what," he said to Fairfax media.
The suits, made by an un-named manufacturer, are under test by racers like Hayden Roulston, and a final decision about whether they are faster and will be used at the Olympics is expected soon.
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"We don't yet know whether they are better than what we have got," Elliot said.
In response to the news of the British suits, Elliot said, "They (the British) can show up with whatever they want. It comes down to how well the athletes are prepared. We know the British have got huge resources. We would expect nothing less. What we are focusing on is giving our athletes the best preparation we can."
