Standing inside British Cycling’s new wind tunnel, I’m immediately struck by how cold it is. I had readied myself for the force of the air, but as the engines begin to whirr and the turbine roars, an icy blast punches me in the face. My fringe, still wet from the Manchester rain, lifts off my forehead and points skywards. To my left, a lady scrambles to catch her lanyard, now flapping from her neck towards the fan at the back of the chamber.
The turbine spins to a halt. In front of us, Ed Clancy, three-time Olympic gold medallist turned test dummy, shivers as he steps off his Lotus track bike. “Can somebody pass me my jacket, please?” he asks, rubbing his hands together for warmth. We laugh and turn to fix our dishevelled hairdos.
This wind tunnel is British Cycling’s latest weapon in its quest
