During the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team's training camp this past January in Solvang, California, teammates José Azevedo, Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie, Viatcheslav Ekimov and Yaroslav Popovych headed off to San Diego for testing in the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel (www.lswt.com).

It was the first time that several teammates, and not just Lance, participated in wind-tunnel testing, and an AMD processor-powered system made it possible for each cyclist to immediately understand how changes in position, equipment and clothing affect aerodynamic drag and power – critical factors riders in time-trial competition seek to improve, to increase aerodynamics and ultimately improve their performance.

"The AMD team has been actively involved in the wind tunnel, helping us with our technology," said Lance Armstrong. "Now we are including a whole new crop of young riders who can apply what we've learned in the tunnel. We already have the fastest equipment, and through the tunnel work and the research, I truly believe we have the fastest positions as well. Every year, we've been able to dial it into position a little more."

Armstrong, Azevedo, Hincapie, Ekimov and Popovych each spent one hour testing in the wind tunnel, which AMD has outfitted with an end-to-end solution based on AMD64 technology. AMD mobile processors enabled control of the wind tunnel, while AMD Opteron™ processors enable archiving of test data, design of analysis software, and real-time display of bike and rider performance.

"This is an effort to gain every possible second, and AMD technology is controlling both the power and the speed of the tunnel," said Morris Denton, AMD Director, Global Corporate Marketing and Branding. "The reason for going in the tunnel is to measure drag, in as close to a real-life situation as possible. Time in the Allied Aerospace tunnel gives these world-class riders instant feedback, so they can make adjustments and leave confident that they're in the best possible position."

In the tunnel all five riders and their director sportif, Johan Bruyneel, received detailed, accurate drag measurements as well as heart rate, cadence, and road speed. Tunnel engineers set wind speed at 30 mph at a moderate power level (Watts) and evaluated data for each position or equipment change.

In a typical test, the cyclist rides at a constant pace and power output for a fixed time, during which his drag coefficient is sampled many times per second, then averaged for the session. Because the testing information projected directly onto the floor (even as tunnel engineers are recording it in an observation booth), each rider can easily gauge the relative efficiencies of various position changes.

"Testing in the wind tunnel lets you see that sometimes the position you think is right isn’t actually the best one,” said Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team member José Azevedo, who placed fifth overall in the 2004 Tour de France. "On a flat course, I was surprised to learn that head-down is not the best. On the flat, the helmet is much more effective when you keep your head up."

Mathematical models have shown that aerodynamic changes can trim as much as 90 seconds off of an individual cyclist’s time over a 34-mile time trial. [That may not sound like much, but consider for a moment that Lance won the 2,100-mile 2003 Tour de France by just 61 seconds.] This year, the Discovery Channel team could potentially reap five times that 90-second benefit, which could translate into a total team time savings of as much as seven and a half minutes.

Prior to the tunnel tests, designer and aerodynamics guru Steve Hed joined Trek aerodynamics consultant Len Brownlie and Trek teams liaison Scott Daubert to brief the first-timers on form and function.

"It was the best wind tunnel testing I've ever been involved with," said Brownlie. "We were able to demonstrate to riders their best time trial position and, in three cases, we were able to lower a rider's drag with some simple changes with minimal bike position changes."

The five were able to lower time-trial drag by 50-100 grams per rider, which over a 55 km distance represents a potential time saving of 18-36 seconds (or .663 seconds per KM).

"Data collection was flawless. We collected useful and repeatable data, which is crucial since tunnel time is costly and since you don't get that many riders all the time or for an extended period of time," Brownlie said. "We were able to get the feedback in front of the riders immediately and even reinforce it the next day with the video. At one point the following day, we had seven Discovery Channel cyclists crammed into a hotel room reviewing one rider's tunnel session so not only were the five benefiting from the tunnel experience, there was a little tutorial going on as well with those who hadn't tested."

Dating to the mid-1940s, the Allied Aerospace wind tunnel itself is a tool. Long known for its efficiency in acquiring test data, the facility has grown to become one of cycling's leading testing sites. This is due in large part to Allied's in-house development of a highly accurate, state-of-the-art force measuring balance.

“To maintain a high degree of accuracy and repeatability in our testing, we require all critical test equipment to be exceptionally reliable. AMD processor-powered computers have proven to be a reliable component in our complex and demanding testing environment,” said Allied Aerospace software engineer Rex Cuizon. “These computers are deployed in a variety of applications ranging from motion control, data acquisition, data reduction, and data analysis.”

"When you get a team with all that talent, and you refine five time-trial guys with those bicycles and that technology, they're going to be really strong," said professional cycling consultant and former Lance Armstrong teammate Kevin Livingston. "It's no mystery why this team is where it is today – they put in the work and they stay focused on what they need to elevate their game."

AMD also provided a BOXX workstation which serves as the tunnel's bike computer, displaying all the drag, rider heart rate, speed and cadence information. In addition to using the AMD system for future cyclist tests, Allied Aerospace intends to use the workstation for FEA (Finite Element Analysis) work at the tunnel.

“As we continue to advance the state of the art in force measurement system design, FEA has become an integral tool," said Design Engineering Manager David King. "AMD processor-powered systems greatly improve our productivity."