La vittoria della prossima America's Cup potrebbe essere decisa dalle... biciclette. Il team New Zealand, infatti, ha modificato il sistema di regolazione delle vele, delle derive e dei foil, che fanno letteralmente volare sull'acqua il catamarano ormai pronto ad affrontare le qualifiche della Louis Vuitton Cup il prossimo 26 maggio, alle Bermuda. Clicca qui per vedere il video.
Le bici sono state montate all'interno degli scafi
A bordo del multiscafo (15 metri di lunghezza, dotato di vela ad ala rigida alta 25 metri) le maniglie dei winch non si fanno più ruotare a forza di braccia ma con le gambe di campioni del ciclismo del calibro di Simon van Veltthooven, bronzo alle Olimpiadi di Londra 2012. La rivoluzione "pedal power" punta su velocità e potenza dei quadricipiti, dunque, che "pompano" sui pedali di quatto bici ad hoc, montate negli scafi della "formula uno del mare" allestita dai kiwi.
"Quando abbiamo iniziato a disegnare il catamarano, tre anni fa, erano lampanti i benefici del ciclismo rispetto al metodo grinding tradizionale - ha spiegato Dan Bernasconi, responsabile del design -. Ma abbiamo dovuto superare diverse difficoltà tecniche prima di riuscire a fare funzionare il tutto".
Grant Dalton, a capo del team, è fiducioso. "Questa è la barca che speriamo possa riportare l'America's Cup in Nuova Zelanda".
AP/Massimiliano Angeli
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