WTF, whilst racing the Americas cup, they cycle to produce the power to control sails, winches etc.. This used to be done by hands if you recall where you'd have 2 blokes on either side of the pole....
I think..
Sitting on a bike and pedalling is something Simon van Velthooven has done for countless kilometres and hours during his cycling career. He has done it well, winning Olympic, World and Commonwealth medals on the track.
He still pedals a bike for a living, but the New Zealander's life as a 'cyclor' on a sailing boat in the America's Cup is now very different.
"You're just getting shaken around, holding on while you're turning some cranks that are veering a lot," Van Velthooven tells BBC Sport.
"It's RPM [revolutions per minute], power, watts, cadence, shaking, high turbulence, getting punch-drunk by whacking your head on the walls and trying to look at your numbers on your screen, and listening to all the comms of the sailors and what they're doing and trying to anticipate your energy levels coming up to the next manoeuvre."
Van Velthooven is among the wave of cycling experts that have crossed over to the world of sailing before the 37th edition of the America's Cup - the oldest international sailing competition in the world - this autumn in Barcelona.
Traditionally everything above the waterline on the 75ft-long boats - the sails, mast and winches - was powered by grinders, sailors who used their arms to turn cranks.
Yet technological rule changes for this year's competition have reduced crew sizes from 11 people to eight, but with the proviso that any body part can now be used to create power.
As legs can typically produce more power than arms, cyclors have been brought in and static pedalling systems installed on the boats. Teams estimate they have since seen a 25-30% gain in watts produced per athlete by using the lower part of their body rather than upper.
Cyclors are not entirely new. They were also used during in the 2017 staging of the America's Cup in Bermuda by Emirates Team New Zealand, which is how 35-year-old Van Velthooven was initially recruited to sailing from cycling.
The Kiwis were outliers during that competition as the only crew to try the technology, although it was to great effect as they won the Cup. They retained the title in 2021 when rules required a return to grinders.
This time around the cyclor technology is being used by all six competing teams.
