Hey, the Winter Olympics only come around every four years…so might as well give ski racing a little love while they are in the spotlight. Looks like we have a good shot of getting some medals in many of the ski disciplines…so that is cool too!
You know it’s a competitive sport when the winner can be decided by what he/she is wearing. At least that is what Spyder believes and instead of just sewing up a patchwork of flashy covered fabric, they have gone through years of research to create the ultimate ski racing suit out there. The “Slippery Suit”, to be worn by team USA and Canada, will debut at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and hopes to propel team members to the podium. “The focus of Spyder’s research during the last few years has been about how we can make our speed suits more slippery against air,” says Spyder Product Director Phil Shettig, “Our goal is to manipulate airflow properties to make all of our suits faster against the competition.”
What has Spyder done to make their suits faster? First off, the overall fabric they use has less texture and in it self can shave hundredths of a second of a ski racers time. They have also used d30 padding, which is an intelligent material that is soft to the touch, but hardens and stiffens upon impact to adsorb shock. (BD also uses this in their gloves) This allows Spyder to reduce the size of the pads by 40% and make the “Slippery Suits” more aerodynamic. The pads have also been moved to the inside of the suit, which somehow reduces the amount of thread, seams and needle holes in the outside fabric. Now, if they can only build them with skin pockets and a pee hole, they will for sure corner the rando racing market.
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I wonder if it’s illegal yet to spray down the number bibs with hairspray which is a little known air-resistance reduction trick.
I still think ALL the racers should be using identical clothing(colours excluded)/equipment/wax. It’s ski racing not a science-fair.
Regardless, the Dave Murray Downhill in Whistler should provide some entertainment and a great race if nature doesn’t decide to remove the snow for Babylon-fest 2010. If only Rob Boyd would come out of retirement for this one, nobody would stand a chance!!!
Hey Steve, why not start a “who’s gonna win” poll? I’ll start and pick the hometown favorite Manuel Osborne-Paradis;-)
I would agree ptor…seems like it should be an even playing field for all the athletes. And a poll sounds like fun…guess i’d need to study up before i make my selection.