Australian team unveil striking new track bikes to take on Team GB at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Australian team have finally unveiled their striking track bikes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

After the British squad revealed their revolutionary new machines late last year, their major rivals Australia have released photos of their Argon 18 bikes, complete with Zipp components.

The 2020 Electron Pro bikes have been designed as part of a join project between Argon 18, Cycling Australia, Zipp, Monash University and the University of Adelaide, with all the latest aero optimisation.

VP of product at the Canadian bike builder Argon, Martin Flaubert, said: “This project brought together a team committed to innovation, optimisation, and performance.

“By combining resources to develop the best possible equipment, we now have a bike that pushes the boundaries in every way, giving riders every possible advantage in the quest for gold.”

Stand-out features for these bikes include the new slender pursuit fork and the custom-designed Zipp Super-9 Tubular Track Disc Aus wheelset, the custom-moulded sprint bars and pursuit extensions, and an integrated timing chip.

According to the Cycling Australia, the bike took over 4,500 hours of engineering for the design, modelling and testing.

The bikes feature reduced drag and increased stiffness, while extensive work was done developing a narrow fork to apparently reduce drag by up to 30 per cent compared to the previous generation.

They have also been designed to stand a maximum resistance of 350 kilogram-force, which is three times the recommended load, to ensure these machines can withstand the enormous power being put through them by the track athletes.

Performance director at Cycling Australia, Simon Jones, said: “We are really proud of this bike, and it’s through real teamwork and collaboration that Argon 18 and Zipp have developed this bike for us.

“To have the bike on time is excellent, as it gives all the riders time to get used to the feeling, which they all have done very quickly. I want to thank everyone at Argon 18, Zipp and CA who worked together - across many time zones - to deliver our new bike.”

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In October last year, British Cycling unveiled the incredible Lotus/Hope track bikes for the Olympics later this year, with a reflationary new fork and seatstay design.

Governing body British Cycling describes the bike as “cutting edge” and said it has had extensive testing and production around the UK to make it as lightweight and aerodynamic as possible.

The collaboration with Lotus is also a nod to Chris Boardman’s 1992 Barcelona Olympics bike, the Lotus Type 108, which he rode to gold medal victory.