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Simon van Velthooven has made an art form out of turning pedals. In a past life he was a world-class track cyclist, winning Olympic, world championship and Commonwealth Games medals. Now he’s a sailor with Emirates Team New Zealand and next week will help them defend the America’s Cup against Luna Rossa.
The 32-year-old made a name for himself as a top cyclist, highlighted by the bronze medal he won in the keirin at the 2012 London Olympics. He was involved during the emergence of the highly-successful New Zealand track cycling programme and he delves into that but also the weird and wonderful world of professional keirin racing in Japan where cyclists were essentially seen as colourful greyhounds riding on steel-frame bikes complete with padding and oversized helmets. It was all done among the backdrop of a monk-like existence and the spectre of big-money betting and the Japanese mafia.
It was Simon’s achievements on the bike which landed him an invitation to work with Team New Zealand in 2016 as they explored putting bikes on boats. He liked what he saw, hung around and found himself on the boat in Bermuda as they won the America’s Cup. Incredibly, his first sailing race was and America’s Cup race. Simon is still with the team but has had to reinvent himself as a traditional grinder, turning handles with his arms rather than his legs. Simon, though, has fallen in love with sailing and can often be found in his spare time racing keelboats, and he’s also worked in the industry beyond the America’s Cup.
