Our nation's triathletes will look to motion-capture analysis to give them an edge on their bikes at the Beijing Olympics, as USA Triathlon has announced Retül as a technology supplier to the national team program.

“The motion-capture analysis gives our coaches crucial data on how to avoid injury as our athletes are training,” said Scott Schnitzspahn, the performance director for USAT, “and also how we can modify their bikes to cut crucial minutes when racing without sacrificing stamina in their runs.”
Motion-capture analysis has come a long way since first employed in film and software animation and is now employed in a variety of industrial uses, including injury prevention in assembly lines, noted Retül’s Co-Founder Franko Vatterott. For cyclists, it allows for dynamic 3-D analysis of a fitting -- which can affect everything from saddle and handlebar positions, the amount of travel in their strokes, the position of their feet on the pedals and especially their wind resistance – while ramping up the RPMs on a stationary trainer.

“We’re all huge triathlon fans around here, and we're honored USAT will use our 3-D technology to optimize the US athletes in Beijing for superior performance,” Vatterott said. “But we also believe the Retül system provides a common dynamic fit language that will ultimately be used to further the science of fitting a bicycle to the human body and therefore help manufacturers make better bikes.”

Slipstream-Chipotle's David Millar retools his fit

Photo: GearWestBike.com

In February, Retül’s expert fitter Todd Carver visited USAT offices at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to provide the first few bike fits for a few of the Olympic hopefuls, including Andy Potts, Hunter Kemper, and Sarah Haskins. The coaches and staff of USAT quickly decided the portable technology was needed by the program for both training and races, a technology that is also considered mission critical by another Retül client, Slipstream Chipotle, the US Team competing in this year's Tour de France.

Both Potts and Haskins have since turned in winning performances at the March 29 Ford Ironman 70.3 California (Oceanside) and the March 16 Miami International Triathlon in Miami, Fla., respectively.

The triathletes were both able to increase their time advantages during the bike legs of the race, though Potts expressed dismay he had not been “reeled in” during the ride.
Retül's new portable bike fit system -- the 45-inch by 16-inch case could go into an airline's checked baggage -- is also commonly used by elite cyclists to test positions while riding their bikes in wind tunnels.

”It is our goal to continue to take advanced technology, make it easy to use and apply it to endurance sports where it can quickly and effectively increase athlete performance,” said Retül Founder and Inventor Cliff Simms. “There is so much we can do, and we are excited at what we have been able to do so far.”

Todd Carver retools an athlete

Photo: IT Interactive

The system is similar to that used for motion capture for motion pictures or video games, but employs a harness of eight LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) instead of reflective markers. The LEDs are placed in key body movement locations for bike riders and tracked by three infra-red cameras resulting in three-dimensional measurements accurate to fractions of a millimeter.
“It's really an incredible evolution, of sorts, in terms of technology,” said Allen Lim, PhD, the sports physiologist for the Slipstream Pro Cycling team, about the Retül technology and software. “This is like a stock broker going from a ticker tape to the Internet.”

About Retül
Retül technology offers 3-D Cycling Gait Analysis using state-of-the-art motion capture technology originally designed for the surgical navigation industry. The same accuracy standards used by medical professionals who are performing brain and other noninvasive surgical procedures are now available for precision bicycle fitting. The Boulder company has provided systems to fitters around the globe. To learn more, please visit www.retul.com.

About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the national governing body for triathlon -- the fastest growing sport in the U.S. -- as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 2,300 races and connects with more than 100,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games, and the Olympic Games. Website: http://www.usatriathlon.org