Lance Armstrong Wins Stage 16 of Tour de France in Nike Swift Spin Suit Designed Specifically for L' Alpe d'Huez Time Trial
22 July 2004 - 3:14AM
PR Newswire (US)
Lance Armstrong Wins Stage 16 of Tour de France in Nike Swift Spin
Suit Designed Specifically for L' Alpe d'Huez Time Trial BEAVERTON,
Ore., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nike's Advanced Innovation
Team (AIT) created a special suit for Lance Armstrong to wear at
the Tour de France today for the unique rigors of Stage 16, a 15km
climb from Bourg d'Oisans to L'Alpe d'Huez. Their efforts
complimented Armstrong's winning climb during the grueling
individual mountain time trial stage. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO ) 2004 marked
the first time that the L'Alpe d'Huez climb was a time trial,
forcing the riders to attack a steep average gradient of eight
percent for over 40 minutes. Knowing the challenge the course would
pose, Nike designers developed a special suit to meet the demands
of such an unusual stage: lightweight, cool, but still fast. "With
such specific requirements to meet, we set out to design an
extremely lightweight and breathable suit," explained Nate Demarest
of AIT, who designed the climbing suit. "We placed venting on the
suit in optimal zones that our research showed would provide the
best cooling. We balanced the need for cooling with reducing drag
by maintaining a conformal fit, and using our patented Zoned
Aerodynamics where appropriate." To address the many hairpin turns
that force riders out of the saddle, Nike designers added a stretch
panel to the front waist. The panel provides greater comfort when
cyclists are standing on the turns, but will return to a more
streamlined fit through the waist when the cyclist is seated. The
Nike Swift Spin Suit is nearly 22% lighter than a standard
Tour-issue short-sleeve time trial suit, and up to 35% lighter than
a standard jersey and bib shorts. Design highlights include: --
Lightweight power net mesh is placed along the side of the torso
and down the spine. Nike Sports Research Lab testing has shown
these areas to be the most effective locations for cooling. Power
mesh placed along the side of the thighs balances cooling with
typical levels of leg compression; -- Waist expansion panel
stretches to improve comfort while standing yet returns to provide
a close fit when in the riding position; -- Eyelet mesh on the
front chest balances cooling with surface turbulence concerns; --
Finely tuned textured fabric on the arms and legs generates surface
turbulence in these zones where airflow typically detaches from the
body. Nike's AIT team tested dozens of innovative fabrics and
settled on the strategic use of ultra-lightweight Dri-FIT
moisture-management fabrics, along with mesh textiles and trims.
Nike's patent-pending no-sew seaming technique is employed on the
center-back vent for a streamlined fit and comfort. NIKE, Inc.
based in Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer,
marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel,
equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness
activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc.,
which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel
and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and
distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, which designs, markets,
and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; and
Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes
action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and
accessories. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Nike, Inc. CONTACT: Nate
Tobecksen of Nike, Inc., +1-212-367-4429 Web site:
http://www.nikebiz.com/
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