EVOLUTION OF SPEED

British innovators Nopinz transformed endurance sport a decade ago with the SpeedPocket. Ten years on, Nopinz is at it again with its second-ever tri-suit, the Pro-1 Evo...

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Tim Don is a four-time world champion and former Ironman record holder with a 7:40:23 to his name. He’s a legend of the sport. India Lee recently toppled three world champions as she dominated the T100 Miami. What links them? That’s right, their feedback lay behind the development of British company Nopinz’s new Pro-1 Evo tri-suit that’s designed to improve the performance and comfort of long-course athletes. And, thankfully, you don’t need to be at the pointy end of the elite pyramid to benefit from the Pro-1 Evo’s many attributes. It’s an everyman speed ethos that’s been at the heart of what Nopinz does since its game-changing arrival onto the scene in 2014…

RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN

North Devon-based Nopinz is one of endurance-sport’s success stories and it all started with a rippingly good tale. “The Nopinz concept happened in 2012 when I bought a speedsuit,” says the brand’s founder and top athlete in his own right, Blake Pond. “I pinned on my race number and heard that horrible ripping sound of fabric. Within a couple of weeks I’d come up with the original Nopinz concept of a stick-on wallet with a pocket for a race number.” The SpeedPocket was born. Well, the idea was. It took two years and Pond’s life savings to make the SpeedPocket a reality, but it proved a worthwhile emotional and financial investment as performance-seeking athletes lapped it up. And why wouldn’t they, as studies show that flapping race numbers, clinging onto dear life via safety pins, can result in a 22-watt penalty.