Milan Skating: Medal Hunt & Hybrid Outfits

The hybrid skating suit from TeamNL

NOS Skating•today, 06:43

Luuk Blijboom

editor NOS Sport

Luuk Blijboom

editor NOS Sport

He calls it one of the greatest revolutions in the history of skating. Bert van der Tuuk, the man who has been providing the Dutch Olympic team with aerodynamic competition clothing for two decades, is firm in his conviction. “With the suit with which TeamNL appears at the start in Milan, long track skating is entering a new era.”

According to the director of sportswear manufacturer Sportconfex, the so-called ‘hybrid’ suit that the Netherlands has at its disposal during the Winter Games will provide a breakthrough comparable to that of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

“According to calculations, it is 8 percent faster than the outfits that most opponents will soon be driving.”

The inner layer is pulled so tightly over the body that a skater needs fifteen minutes to put it on.

Sportswear designer Bert van der Tuuk

Van der Tuuk expects that Dutch skaters will have a wide advantage over most competitors at the Games in Milan.

Only Italy and Canada have the same suit. “This is because the Olympic committees of those countries, together with the Netherlands, have invested a total of around 350,000 euros in development over the past four years,” Van der Tuuk explains. “The Eindhoven University of Technology and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa even contributed to making this suit as aerodynamic as possible.”

The blacksmith’s secret? “It has become a variable outfit, hence the term ‘hybrid’. The suit consists of two layers on the arms and legs. The inner layer is pulled so tightly over the body that a skater needs fifteen minutes to put it on.”

Drum kit

“Vertical ridges have been applied to this bottom layer of fabric, one centimeter apart. The second layer fits so tightly around the first that a skin is created between the ridges, as it were, comparable to that of a drum set.”

2002: Swift Skin changes skating

The hybrid skating suit is reminiscent of the Swift Skin, which rocked skating at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The American Nike spent four years researching the development of the fastest suit ever.

The final design was a follow-up to the Swift Suit in which Australian athlete Cathy Freeman won gold in the 400 meters during the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.

According to the manufacturers, the rough structure of six different types of fabric had the same effect on air resistance as the dimples of a golf ball. Wind tunnel tests at the time predicted a gain of 0.2 to 0.3 seconds per lap.

The scoreboard at the Utah Olympic Oval showed Nike was right during those Winter Games. For the men, all Olympic gold winners wore the suit developed by the Americans.

A total of sixteen of the thirty Olympic medals to be distributed were won in the Swift Suit, in which eight world records were also set.

Gerard van Velde in the Swift Skin of Salt Lake City 2002

“When a skater starts moving, the skins start to vibrate as a result of air resistance. This creates turbulence around the arms and legs at a speed varying from 20 to 90 kilometers per hour. This turbulence provides reduced resistance and therefore provides an advantage.”

“Previously we tried to create such turbulence by using rough fabric at the front of the leg pieces. However, advancing insight showed that this became an inhibiting factor as a skater goes faster than 40 kilometers per hour.”

Turbulence

The idea of a suit with a double layer of fabric that promotes turbulence comes from cycling. There it has been used for some time to promote the aerodynamics of the arms.

“The use of this application is new in skating. During the previous Winter Games in Beijing we also tried to generate turbulence in this way. Only the substance we used was not the right one.”

To achieve optimal aerodynamics on the back and the upper part of the legs, polyurethane fabric has been applied in those areas. “We use a fabric that has a special coating to limit air permeability.”

Van der Tuuk was more than satisfied with the last test before the Winter Games at the end of December. “Stijn van de Bunt, Sebas Diniz, Suzanne Schulting, Tijmen Snel; all the surprises from the OKT rode in the hybrid suit in Thialf.”