John Cobb and Raoul Luescher prepare Katie Mactier (Australia) (Image credit: AIS)
Australia's Katie Mactier teamed up with Australian National Track Cycling Coach Ian McKenzie and a team of experts for some wind tunnel testing at the Colorado Premiere Training Wind Tunnel facility in Fort Collins last weekend to work on her pursuit position ahead of next year's Beijing Olympic Games in August. The assembled group included guru aerodynamicist John Cobb, Monash University aerodynamicist Scott Wordley, University of Utah cycling modeling expert Dr. Jim Martin, carbon fibre expert Raoul Luescher from Melbourne's CRC Advanced Composites, Dr. David Martin, Dr. Nick Brown and the Australian Institute of Sport's Marc Quod.
The group followed up on some data collected at an AIS National Team Track Camp in Büttgen, Germany, earlier this month. The team spent a day evaluating specific aerodynamic issues associated with Mactier's riding position, with a second day in the wind tunnel used to evaluate position, helmets, suits, handlebars and other modifications, which will be kept under wraps until the Beijing Olympics.
"It was great to work with some of the world's most knowledgeable cycling experts in a wind tunnel," said Mactier, who also riders for the ValueAct Capital women's team in America. "I can't wait to try a couple of my new positions out on the track to see if they are really as fast as the models suggest. The whole team was fantastic - it felt like I had Formula one race car support."
