Dominant Kiwi 70.3 athlete Kyle Smith is working with HUUB’s Fellowship of Speed in search of even more speed this year.
New Zealand triathlete Kyle Smith is excited to announce a new partnership with HUUB as he looks to create even more speed as he takes on his first full Ironman tomorrow in Taupo.
The athlete, who has already been wearing and racing HUUB wetsuits and tri suits for the last two years thanks to support from HUUB’s New Zealand distributor, Teamline, has won his first five 70.3 races in a row, all in course record times*. Yet, he believes there’s more speed to be found and is determined to continually improve and reached out to HUUB to assist in his quest to go even faster.
HUUB CEO Dean Jackson connected Kyle with leading aerodynamicist, product design engineer and founder of Wattshop, Dan Bigham, to help find an extra level of speed. With only weeks until Ironman New Zealand from their first consultation, initial changes made have been small but significant. Dan has advised Kyle on several changes he could make pre-race, including tyre selection, which on its own could result in a potential saving of up to 4 minutes over the full distance Ironman.
Further changes included drivetrain efficiency improvements and even switching to Wattshop Anemoi Aero Extension on his bars, an upgrade that a pro-tour cycling team have recently made, and the use of HUUB Aero Calf Sleeves.
Following the Ironman Kyle and his coach Tim Brazier, will be investigating other savings and test wheel options, saddle, stack height, armrest width, extension angle and more. With Kyle looking to test in greater detail on a track or in the wind tunnel.
Dan Bigham, founder of Wattshop and HUUB Fellowship of Speed member, comments, “With his first full distance race so close, we have kept changes to the minimum but looking for the best quick wins Kyle can make including using the Wattshop Anemoi Aero Extensions. After the race, I can’t wait to help Kyle make further improvements in the coming months as he pushes for even more speed.”
Dean Jackson, HUUB owner and CEO, comments, “We’ve been following Kyle’s development the last couple of years, and he is a phenomenal athlete and great HUUB ambassador. He is incredibly driven and passionate about pushing himself faster, and I am glad that HUUB and the Fellowship of Speed have been able to make some meaningful performance improvements already, and we can’t wait to see just how fast and successful he can be over the coming years.”
After this weekend’s Ironman New Zealand, Kyle will be aiming for success at the 70.3 Ironman European Champions, Challenge Championships, PTO Championships, Xterra World Championships and, subject to qualification, the Ironman World Championships.