On Tuesday, pro cycling team Team Novo Nordisk announced a partnership with NormaTec. The team will use the company’s dynamic compression products to help its riders recover after long and grueling days on their bikes.
If you’ve ever seen an athlete sitting around wearing what look like a giant pair of inflatable black pants, you might have seen NormaTec’s products in action. The pants fit over an athletes leg, and once inflated begin to massage muscles and tissue by altering the air pressure in compartments of the device. The aim is to help the movement of fluid through the limb in order to speed up recovery. NormaTec, also makes arm, shoulder, and lower back versions.
“The NormaTec System is a key component of our rider’s recovery,” explained Team Novo’s Senior VP of Athletics, Vassili Davidenko, in a statement. “Professional cycling is an extremely demanding sport, and it is an incredible display of human performance. Our athletes push their bodies to the limit on a daily basis, and NormaTec’s technology will help our riders recover faster, especially during stage races, so that they can perform their best.”
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Team Novo Nordisk is a pro cycling team formed entirely of athletes with diabetes, and aims to inspire, educate and empower people affected by those diseases. The team recently finished the inaugural Vuelta Aragón in Spain, and next heads to the Tour of Estonia, which starts on Friday, May 25.
SportTechie Takeaway
NormaTec was originally designed to help patients with circulatory disorders. But now, according to the company, upwards of 97% of professional sports teams use the technology.
Superstar gymnast Simone Biles used the system in the run up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. With very little time between competition and practice at a high-profile event like the Olympics, Biles relied on the pulsating compression sleeves to get her legs ready.
NormaTec is one of a host of products designed to improve athlete recovery. Other examples include Game Ready, which combines compression with cooling, and Tom Brady’s Under Armour athlete recovery sleepwear.