National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Faedzal Ramli said the Vorteq skinsuit was part of a RM13 million research and development (R&D) project between NSI and UK company TotalSim Ltd.
He said that apart from the WX-R Vorteq bikes, which cost over RM300,000 each, that national cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Shah Firdaus Sahrom will use in Tokyo, the custom-made skinsuit could also have a big impact on the riders’ overall performance.
According to him, the skinsuit, which must be approved by the International Cycling Union, was specially designed according to the physical size and physiology of an athlete to help maintain racing position, thus reduce drag.
“It is a secret weapon. It is pretty amazing because it will lock the rider in position. It takes three people to put on. It’s definitely a challenge to wear,” he told Bernama recently.
“Many materials were tested to obtain the right one for the suit. We had to make sure the material chosen was the right one to help the athlete perform better … the R&D of the skinsuit itself took a long time,” he said without revealing their value.
He said the skinsuits had also undergone wind tunnel testing.
Azizulhasni, the 2017 keirin world champion, and Shah will begin their Tokyo Olympic campaign in the sprint and keirin events at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka tomorrow.
This will be ‘The Pocket Rocketman’ Azizulhasni’s fourth straight Olympic outing since his debut at the 2008 Beijing edition while Shah will be making his Olympic bow in Tokyo.
Azizulhasni, who finished empty handed in the Beijing and 2012 London editions, bagged a keirin bronze in Rio five years ago.
Meanwhile, Faedzal said the R&D collaboration between NSI and TotalSim, which began in 2018, was mainly to focus on the concept of marginal gains.
He explained that every aspect that could help maximise Azizulhasni and Shah’s potential, including racing attire, cycling position, bike frame and handle, was taken into consideration.
“All these elements will help reduce drag by a small percentage, but they could have a big impact on the riders’ overall performance,” he said.
He said that NSI experts and scientists also learned something valuable and gained invaluable experience during the three years of their involvement in the R&D project.
“It’s no longer about relying only on the physiological aspects. In certain sports, it’s a combination between physiology and technology … the machine is also important,” he added.