Sir Dave Brailsford, then performance director of British Cycling, joked to a French newspaper that GB’s “secret squirrels club” headed up by Chris Boardman had designed some “specially round wheels”, leading to a famous headline in L’Équipe: “Magic or Mavic.”
Great Britain have led the way in track cycling R&D for years, and appear still to have the most sophisticated programme.
Among the team’s innovations this year are £3,000 skinsuits designed by Silverstone-based aero experts Vorteq, and 3D-printed titanium cranks, split-seat posts and seat bridges by Renishaw. The overall cost of the British Hope-Lotus bike is £55,000 if you add up its constituent parts.
According to International Cycling Union rules, all equipment used at the Games has to be made commercially available, although in practice many of the prices quoted are grossly over-inflated so as to dissuade anyone from buying them.
The margins are getting ever tighter, though, with other nations taking a far keener interest in this area and also using 3D printing and other technologies. The Japan team have developed a bike with a drivetrain on the left which officially costs over £100,000.