America's Cup: Kiwi coup: Cycling to Cup victory?

The idea is not entirely new. The first experiments with "pedals" for grinders were carried out back in the 1960s. Pelle Petterson's "Sverige" crew trialled them in the America's Cup in 1977 with mixed success. But now come the Kiwis! They have replaced the classic grinder columns on board the muscle-powered Cup bullet with bicycle pedals that are powered by the legs. Richard Gladwell reports online today at Sail World about the sensational premiere off Auckland.

Once again, it is the Kiwis who are causing a minor sensation. Back in 2013, it was Emirates Team New Zealand that made history with the first foiling catamaran. Today, experts agree that the New Zealanders simply showed their innovation to the public too early and the competition was able to start the technological race to catch up in time. The American Cup defenders then managed to catch up with a spectacular comeback. Now it is once again the men around New Zealand team boss Grant Dalton who are presenting their boat with a technological bang.

Instead of conventional grinder columns with cranks for two men each, the New Zealanders have installed pedals that allow their sailors to use their stronger legs to drive the winches and thus trim the sails, whereas all other teams have so far relied on the conventional grinder system, which is less effective because arm muscles are generally weaker than leg muscles. As an extra bonus, the New Zealanders have set up four "grinder positions" per side, while the other teams only have two positions on each side, each of which can be operated by two men.

With their new technical approach, the Kiwis can use more power than the competition. At the same time, stress and effort are reduced for each individual "grinder". During the first test on 14 February, the new Kiwi catamaran made a strong impression on the few observers in light winds of around six knots. Sail World reporter Richard Gladwell saw how the twin-hulled boat picked up speed after just a few seconds, seemingly effortlessly got onto the foils and "flew" across the water for about a kilometre. On the way back downwind, the cat also got onto the foils within two or three seconds and reached the harbour without touching down.

Richard Gladwell has spotted at least one spy boat from another unidentifiable team at the premiere. In his estimation, the development of the pedal seats on board the New Zealand Cup catamaran could be a strong response to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenge in the 35th America's Cup.