Anita Yvonne Stenberg to the Olympics with a golden secret – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule

– If you lose by one millimeter, it’s a bit annoying.

That’s what Anita Yvonne Stenberg says to NRK as she tests out one secret facility after another in the new velodrome in Asker.

It is so secret that the team around Norway’s best track cyclist does not want to share all information with NRK. Or to the competitors.

Because nothing is done by chance until the highlight of the year is Stenberg’s turn.

– On a good day, we are all equally good. And then it depends on who has the best equipment, says Stenberg.

None of the competitors have anything similar

Therefore, the team around Stenberg is undertaking extensive testing. One of the most important details is a gold chain with matching gears that none of her competitors should have access to.

The Hemmelegheita is imported from Malaysia and is the result of a close collaboration with the team, which has some of the best men’s sprinters in the track cycling circus.

– It’s about optimizing. I know that my competitors spend an incredible amount of time and resources on this. If you are not in that match, you are giving up a golden opportunity, says Stenberg, who among other things can point to European Championship gold in points race and scratch.

The small details can be the difference between gold and silver. In the world of track cycling, there is a matter of millimeter margins.

What Stenberg and the team are now looking for is the least possible friction between the chain and the sprocket.

Where normal chains and gears have a little friction, this chain has almost zero friction. When the mechanic pulls the chain on the sprocket, it is almost as if glued.

• See the difference with your own eyes:

Expert tribute

NRK’s ​​cycling expert, Sondre Sørtveit, praises the Olympic hope’s investment in new equipment.

– Standing on the starting line, being confident that you have top-of-the-line equipment and some components that no competitor has, can give you extra confidence, says Sørtveit.

The hunt for margins like this is far from unusual in the world of top sports:

When the Norwegian national skating team changed its color from red to blue, since it was claimed that the blue color would ensure faster suits, a whole skating world frowned at the focus on detail.

This year, several pace helmets also have weight concerns. First it made headlines when the cycling team Visma-Lease a Bike appeared with these temp programs in March:

The International Cycling Union (UCI) is still hoping that this innovation should be allowed to live on.

The new helmet sock for Soudal-Quick-Step, on the other hand, was banned.

– The mental game is much bigger

The NRK expert doubts whether Stenberg’s new gold chain will give her an enormous advantage. However, he has no doubt that the placebo effect will give her an advantage at the starting line.

– You can go into the competition with extra confidence when you have an ace like this up your sleeve, says Sørtveit.

However, it is not just a new chain that is in place before the Olympics for the track hopefuls. New close-fitting and aerodynamic socks are tested against each other to see which is the fastest. New bicycle wheels must also be chosen.

Every detail must be maximized before he sets foot on the velodrome in Paris.

– The mental game is much bigger than one would think. It’s not just about physics and what you can physically do, but it’s also about what you believe in. If you really believe that what you have is much better, then you will most likely beat her anyway, says Stenberg.