Olympics: Kiwis say basics as good as hot pants

Simon van Velthooven puts warm blankets before warm pants. Photo / Getty Images

The Brits will unveil their revolutionary hot pants at the velodrome - New Zealand will instead rely on the less sexy, but virtuous notion of hard work as they try to secure success on the boards.

The track programme starts in the early hours of Friday morning, with both the men's team sprint and team pursuit in action on the first day. But the buzz around the infield has been Great Britain's belief that their battery-powered pants will give them a crucial advantage in what is expected to be a two-way "Ashes" battle for the lion's share of gold medals.

The pants will be worn by British cyclists right up until the moment they enter the track, with the garments aiming to keep the bums and thighs at about 38C, considered to be the best temperature for high-performance.

"We can just put them on any time we're in the middle, which means we don't have to go on the bike as much," said British sprint queen Victoria Pendleton. "They heat up almost instantaneously, you feel the temperature on your quads and hamstrings, and it really makes the difference."

New Zealand hope to barge their way into medal contention in the men's and women's team pursuits, the men's team sprint, omnium and keirin, but they won't be doing it with any straight-out-of-the-lab James Bond-type innovations - just the usual mix of perspiration, inspiration and Government funding.

"I only just found out about the heated pants yesterday," coach Tim Carswell, in his final gig for BikeNZ before taking up a UCI role in Switzerland, said. "We're just making sure we do the basics really, really well and have had a great support team around the riders.

"Our equipment is as good as we can afford to get with our budget and is equivalent to all the teams out there. Yes, you can have all those extra bells and whistles, but we're happy with what we've done."

"We've got electric blankets," sprinter Simon van Velthooven interjected, suggesting perhaps that Britain's desperate search for an edge was being viewed more cynically by their opponents.

Carswell said BikeNZ had trialled a number of training aids over the past four years, some they take on, and some they ignore.

The New Zealand team had been scattered around Europe and North America before coming together in Bordeaux, France, for a team camp four weeks ago. Initial training on the track suggests quick times are going to be needed to succeed.

"If you want to have a chance for a medal, you're going to have to be doing world record times or close to it," Carswell said.

BikeNZ hopes for four medals across the four disciplines of road, track, BMX and mountain bike, but it is the track where they really want to shine. While it is expected to be a Great Britain and Australian duopoly, the pursuiters would be disappointed not to at least get on the podium. The women's team, led by individual world champion Alison Shanks, disappointed at the Melbourne world champs recently, but she believes they have improved.

"As a team we've come a long way," Shanks said. "Our build-up has been solid and we're looking forward to racing now."