EVOLUTION OF SPEED

What did the Victorians ever do for us? Lay the foundations for a world-leading aerodynamic facility that's just opened its doors, of course Welcome to Catesby Tunnel...

- James Witts

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to one of the most cutting-edge aerodynamic facilities in the world." That's Brian Scott, tunnel operations manager at Catesby Tunnel in Northamptonshire, once an integral section of the Great Central Main Line from Sheffield to London, now a stateof-the-art testing facility for cyclists, cycling manufacturers and automobiles that opened in December 2021. "As far as I'm aware, there's only one place similar to this in the world," says Brian. "It's Laurel Hill in Philadelphia and is predominantly for NASCAR [National Association for Stock Car Racing] testing. Rob [Lewis, the brains behind Catesby's conversion] visited the facility and spent time with the owner [Chip Ganassi]. It's impressive but is only a mile long."

Size isn't everything, Brian - although Brian might disagree. He served in the military for years and is a man mountain who could cradle Cycling Plus' Hobbit-sized editor Matt in one of his large paws. He's also a Catesby historian, which is great

background fodder, but we're even more interested in the current, and investigating exactly what's in it for the cyclist. And with that, the eight-metre-high doors open to this once abandoned tunnel...

A BLANK CANVAS ...

to reveal no aerodynamic sensors, no 3D cameras, no measurement tools of any kind. "The first thing to say is that we provide standardisation for cyclists and drivers; they provide the diagnostics. This is more a barometric chamber than a wind tunnel as, when the doors are closed, the temperature is 10.2°C and humidity 90%. That's winter and summer." In other words, it's a blank canvas for aerodynamicists and sports scientists to paint their bespoke dragreducing masterpieces by bringing along their aerodynamic sensors, power meters and any other diagnostic tools they possess.