Team New Zealand Managing Dir Grant Dalton confirmed cyclors "will play no part in the next America's Cup," according to the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. The Kiwi team's "radical pedal-powered innovation" was one of the key factors in Team NZ's "stunning" win in Bermuda this year, but it appears bikes on boats are "set to be consigned to a quirky footnote in the annals of America's Cup history." Team NZ will announce its plans for the 36th America's Cup next week, "but the full design rules will not be released" until Nov. 30. However, Dalton indicated the rules would not "allow for cyclors." When asked if it would be "goodbye to the sailing cyclists," Dalton said that "grinders are coming back." The cyclors were "one of a handful of factors" that gave Team NZ a "healthy speed advantage" over Team USA in Bermuda. The cycling innovation "was a response to a unique set of challenges posed by the design rules for the power-thirsty and undermanned America's Cup Class catamarans." One of the criticisms of the "spectacular high-tech catamarans was that of the six crew on board, three were there to provide the grunt alone, leaving no room for the traditional sailing roles such as bowmen and trimmers." Since "getting their hands on the Auld Mug in June," Team NZ, with challenger of record Luna Rossa, "made no secret of their intention to return to some of the more traditional elements of the America's Cup" (NZ HERALD, 9/19).
