For British cyclists in the Olympics, the secret is in the pants.
During the next two weeks, Team Great Britain will unveil its innovating "hot pants," which have been kept under wraps for 18 months and are the result of a covert collaboration.
The pants are individually tailored to each athlete, and riders can wear them before their race to keep their legs at about 100 degrees F.
"I have definitely been feeling the benefit," Sir Chris Hoy said of the pants. "As soon as you get them off, immediately before you do your standing start or flying effort, your legs feel like they are ready to go. You feel like you did at the end of the warm-up but not out of breath or fatigued from it. It gets you in the optimum state for competition."
British cycling worked with Adidas and Loughborough University on the creation of the pants. The idea behind them is that they should allow athletes to stay off the warm-up bike before races. And even if the gain produced by the pants is marginal, that could be the difference between a gold and silver medal.
I've got to admit, these "hot pants" are actually pretty cool.
-- Follow Robbie Levin on Twitter @RobbieLevin.
