ESMeaning in the Pursuit
A lifetime love of cycling defined in 4km
Zipp is proud to work with our partner CANYON, and through that key collaboration, and the U.S. national team. Longtime Zipp product manager and avid track racer Nathan Schickel, in his own words, describes the significance of the US women’s team pursuit gold and the development of the Super-9 track disc. Nathan in his own words:
I first learned of Zipp because of track racing. Somebody walked into the bike shop where I worked with a Zipp track bike with Zipp wheels. I was fascinated. When I started track racing in the ’90s, my first bike came with spoked wheels. I immediately started saving money for a Zipp rear disc and front carbon wheel. I bought a second-hand 950 Disc and a 404 front rim and built the wheel. I raced those wheels until I joined Zipp in 2003.
Nathan Schickel, top photo far left at front of group, circa 2001 about to start a points race. Below, Nathan as Zipp product manager.
You always hear athletes talk about the team behind them; in this case, we were part of the effort.
–Nathan Schickel, Zipp product manager
When we entered this past Olympic cycling quad, I had already written a project brief to redesign our disc wheel for track and road. At the same time, Canyon came to us and asked us to co-develop a wheel as part of their relationship with USA Cycling. That accelerated the development of the Super-9 track disc. Canyon provided information that helped guide us, but as the U.S. national team started racing, we also began to learn things. The most significant technological switch was moving from tubular to clincher tires. We ended up with a specificcarbon laminate for the track disc to give it the lateral stiffness needed for the intense starting effort.
The women’s pursuit team success happened over two days. The first day, I didn’t get to watch it live. The second day, I blocked my calendar so I could watch it. Seeing them win gold in the way they did was incredible. It was one of the crowning moments of my career as a product manager. After the women won gold, I sent a congratulatory note to the Zipp design team—they had also been watching live as well!
Team USA photos © Getty Images
Other photos © Jake Rytlewski and courtesy of Nathan Schickel