INEOS Britannia’s sailing crew has been preparing for this summer’s battle on the water – on land. The athletes have been training with the INEOS Grenadiers, one of the most successful cycling teams in the world. For it is legs, not arms, that will power the flying machines in this year’s race to be crowned winners of the 37th America’s Cup.
“Providing the hydraulic power to sail a boat travelling at high speed is quite a task,” said Team Principal and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie. In all, eight cycling sailors – known as Cyclors – have been chosen to help power the boat, but only four will be on board for each race. Among the British team’s Cyclors are four former world-class rowers – Matt Gotrel (Olympic champion Rio 2016), Matt Rossiter, Ryan Todhunter and Harry Leask (Olympic silver medallist Tokyo 2020). The Cyclors’ job will be to provide the hydraulic power to trim the sails by pedalling static bikes fixed inside the 75ft carbon-fibre hull. Their goal? To churn out watts faster than the other teams. And that means – for Britannia to hit top speeds – they must maintain up to 500 watts on the bikes for spells of 20 minutes and nail sprints at up to 1,800 watts.
In the 36th America’s Cup, onboard ‘Grinders’ played that pivotal role. The more power they generated – using their arms to turn hand cranks – the more accurately the mainsail and headsail could be trimmed.
“We'd got to a pretty high standard with our arms and trained pretty hard for that for the best part of six, seven years for the last two Cups,” said Gotrel.
“So it came as a bit of a shock to the system having to teach our bodies to pump oxygen to the legs instead.”
But six-hour bike rides in the open countryside with the INEOS Grenadiers’ top cyclists have done wonders for their fitness. They are ready.
“This time you won’t see a lot of heads bobbing around in the boat,” said Gotrel.
“But you will see backs tucked away out of the wind.”
Prologo has been tasked with ensuring the Cyclors are able to stay in the saddle regardless of how choppy it gets on the water. Each saddle has been designed to reduce muscle fatigue, increase grip and absorb vibration. The handle bars have been fitted with Prologo’s Onetouch 3D tape, which will also help riders absorb vibrations.
“After having raced and won on the road with seven World Tour teams, and off-road with over 10 supported Mountain Bike teams, it was exciting to take on a new ambitious challenging terrain: the sea," said Salvatore Truglio, Brand Manager of Prologo.
During each race, the Cyclors will have to contend with the lumps and bumps of the sea off the Spanish coast.
“It can get pretty bumpy,” said Gotrel. “It’s not like riding a bike on a road. It’s like riding a road bike on a mountain bike trail with lots of rocks. It’s like cycling and being in a rugby match at the same time.”
Among those keen to test the onboard equipment was INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is backing Britain’s bid to make history. He boarded Britannia, shortly after the AC75 was christened, to join three other Cyclors, impressing Sir Ben with his grit, rigour and humour. “That INEOS mantra underpins all of our work at INEOS Britannia, and Sir Jim definitely showcased those three things by jumping on-board and helping us power Britannia,” he said.