Fast Data: Speed Insights & Results

• Luuk Blijboom

  editor NOS Sport

One didn’t hesitate for a second. The other sensed a small dose of skepticism within himself.

When Stijn van de Bunt and Sebas Diniz were offered the opportunity at the end of December to start during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the so-called ‘hybrid’ Olympic speed skating suit of Milan 2026, the pair of Team IKO-X2O were not immediately on the same page.

“Somewhere I was a bit in doubt,” Diniz (24) remembers. “You put on something that is different from the clothes you are used to. And I rode very well in my old suit.”

The 21-year-old Van de Bunt had a different attitude to the match. “The data from wind tunnel tests done in the summer clearly showed that this is a super fast suit. So why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?”

The two, like their other teammates, eventually got into the suit after careful consultation and turned out to be the surprises of the five-day tournament. Van de Bunt won individual starting tickets in Thialf for the five and ten kilometers. Diniz secured a return trip to Milan in the 500 meters.

It was a bit strange to make the switch, Van de Bunt admits. After all, the new outfit differs significantly from the material he normally rides in. “The suit consists of two layers and the first layer fits much tighter around my body than I am used to, especially in the arms and legs. There is no stretch, so you have to squeeze into it little by little.”

“A skating suit is always tight, but this is really a lot tighter,” says Diniz. “You put on a normal suit in no time. That’s different now.”

Van de Bunt: “All in all it took me maybe fifteen minutes to get in. And if you have just done a warm-up and you are still sweaty, it takes a long time. But in the end it feels very comfortable and it is absolutely not constricting.”

The clothing sizes of Van de Bunt and Diniz were measured for the first time in the summer of 2025. “These are not suits that are supplied in ready-made sizes,” says Van de Bunt. “We put them on for the first time at the beginning of December.”

“Somehow you get used to the suit very quickly, because it doesn’t hinder your freedom of movement. I didn’t notice during the OKT that it felt different in terms of the turbulence on your arms or legs, or anything like that. You would say that you should notice the difference while you skate, but I didn’t feel that. And I actually quite like that.”

Van de Bunt and Diniz do not believe that there is a mental advantage in wearing a suit that Bert van der Tuuk of producer Sportconfex describes as ‘revolutionary’. Van de Bunt: “You know that this is a very fast suit. Maybe it subconsciously gives me a good feeling when I am at the start.”

“I am not at all concerned with what the other countries will be doing at the start,” says Diniz. “I focus on the things that I can influence and that is currently mainly the training. The rest is all peripheral matters.”

Van de Bunt: “But it is clear that it makes a difference when you know that these suits are genuinely fast and better than the previous batch of suits. Other countries also appear at the start in Milan in new outfits, and you never know what advantages they will bring.”

Sprinter Diniz opts for nuance. “You can still have such a fast suit, it ultimately comes down to the man. But I am convinced that it helped me a little.”

“If I’m not in top shape in Milan, this suit won’t save me,” Van de Bunt adds. “But if I prove to be just as strong as my opponent, it will help me just that little bit to win. I am convinced of that.”