Advertorial: Team Sky Tech Channel set for launch

The channel will include blogs from Team Sky’s backroom staff, interviews with the riders and news and features on all the components, kit and technologies that enable Team Sky to compete with the world’s best in the sport’s toughest races. Produced by Team Sky and Cyclingnews.com in collaboration with Team Sky’s partners, the Tech Channel will show how the team’s philosophy of “the aggregation marginal gains” relates to its work with partners when it comes to developing industry-leading products and will detail the latest innovations they’re collaborating on.

Among the many launch highlights are Mat Hayman’s impressions of Pinarello’s KOBH 60.1, which he raced for the first time this season in early April at Scheldeprijs before putting it to the ultimate test in Paris-Roubaix. The experienced Aussie pro details how the KOBH differs from Pinarello’s Dogma and explains why those differences can provide Team Sky’s riders with an advantage in a race as tough on equipment as “The Hell of the North”.

Staying with the Classics, the Team Sky Tech Channel also investigates the range of Shimano wheels available to Team Sky riders, with a particular focus on the wheel choices that contributed to Simon Gerrans’ outstanding third place finish at the Amstel Gold Race. There’s also an in-depth look at the development of Shimano’s Di2 electronic shifting system.

The Classics provided an opportunity to see how Team Sky takes advantage of the technology provided by SRM and TrainingPeaks to analyse the performance of their riders and ensure that it remains at optimum levels. Utilising data taken from Ian Stannard’s SRM PowerMeter during Paris-Roubaix, the Tech Channel reveals how TrainingPeaks software not only shows what would otherwise be the untold story of Stannard’s constant efforts that day in support of Team Sky leader Juan Antonio Flecha, but can also ensure that riders do not end up over-racing or over-training.

The Tech Channel looks at a host of details that when combined can give Team Sky’s riders and their support team a significant advantage over rival outfits, from specially designed sports drinks and energy products, to state-of-the-art bandages that speed up healing of road rash, to the time trial helmet produced exclusively for Team Sky that made a winning appearance at the team’s grand tour debut.

Over the coming months, the Tech Channel will also highlight the work done by Team Sky’s support staff behind the scenes with regular blogs and interviews. This starts with British Cycling’s head physiotherapist Phil Burt, who explains why Team Sky have taken their bike-fit programme in-house and the benefits that can provide when working with riders in the wind tunnel as well as in guaranteeing consistency when the team’s riders switch between bikes for different races and disciplines.

Race Coach Bobby Julich also blogs about his role at Team Sky, revealing how he provides the riders with logistical back-up, motivation and coaching advice. Bobby explains the crucial role played by TrainingPeaks software in enabling him keep the riders at the top of their form. He also provides some insight into Team Sky’s innovative approach on the coaching/management side, explaining what makes the set-up stand out from so many of the longer-standing teams in the pro peloton, particularly in their use of technology.

The Team Sky Tech Channel features a whole range of exclusive video content shot with the riders and the team’s partners at their Majorca training camp. These clips provide a wealth of insight into the cooperation between the team and partners, as well as offering another exclusive look behind the scenes at Team Sky.
Updated regularly, the Team Sky Tech Channel will be focusing on Team Sky’s preparations for, and performance at, the Giro d’Italia in the coming weeks, in the process giving fans unrivalled access to the riders and staff.

You can find the channel here where you can see what it really takes to make a team like Sky work at the peak of their performance.