U.S. Team Pursuit adopts NASCAR-style 'bump drafting' after AI aerodynamics study

The U.S. Team Pursuit program shifted from traditional lead-swapping to a synchronized push technique after an aerodynamic simulation indicated clear speed gains. The model, created by Ingmar Jungnickel with support from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, showed that applying sustained pushes between teammates reduces drag enough to change competitive outcomes. At peak, teams maintain velocities near 30 mph, so even minor reductions in aerodynamic losses cascade into meaningful time savings. Coaches led by performance director Shane Domer redesigned training to assign and specialize skaters by positional role—front, middle, rear—so each athlete can optimize technique for a single task. The approach depends on millimeter-level spacing and synchronized force application; athletes practice position-specific cadence and tactile timing rather than rotating leads. Jungnickel translated cycling aerodynamics and computational fluid insights into an ice-specific mathematical model, coupling velocity profiles with inter-skater pressure fields. The simulation predicts that, under ideal execution, a team could leap many placings — the study cited a conversion from eighth to first in a modeled scenario — by cutting collective drag. Early skepticism from veteran coaches gave way as competition results improved, and by the most recent global events the push method was used by podium teams. The technique borrows the concept known in auto racing as bump-drafting, but it is adapted for human balance, blade contact risks, and indoor-ice aerodynamics. Training now emphasizes trust, body-language reads, and avoiding blade contact while maintaining continuous propulsive contact with the teammate ahead. Risk management is central: close proximity increases cut and fall hazards, so drills prioritize consistent corner entries and synchronized stroke lengths. With the United States refining execution and an AI tool guiding marginal gains, other national squads have also integrated pushing as a baseline tactic, shifting the event’s meta toward contact-driven energy sharing.