Lance Armstrong Wins Stage 16 of Tour de France in Nike Swift Spin Suit Designed Specifically for L' Alpe d'Huez Time Trial BEAVERTON, Ore., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nike's Advanced Innovation Team (AIT) created a special suit for Lance Armstrong to wear at the Tour de France today for the unique rigors of Stage 16, a 15km climb from Bourg d'Oisans to L'Alpe d'Huez. Their efforts complimented Armstrong's winning climb during the grueling individual mountain time trial stage. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO ) 2004 marked the first time that the L'Alpe d'Huez climb was a time trial, forcing the riders to attack a steep average gradient of eight percent for over 40 minutes. Knowing the challenge the course would pose, Nike designers developed a special suit to meet the demands of such an unusual stage: lightweight, cool, but still fast. "With such specific requirements to meet, we set out to design an extremely lightweight and breathable suit," explained Nate Demarest of AIT, who designed the climbing suit. "We placed venting on the suit in optimal zones that our research showed would provide the best cooling. We balanced the need for cooling with reducing drag by maintaining a conformal fit, and using our patented Zoned Aerodynamics where appropriate." To address the many hairpin turns that force riders out of the saddle, Nike designers added a stretch panel to the front waist. The panel provides greater comfort when cyclists are standing on the turns, but will return to a more streamlined fit through the waist when the cyclist is seated. The Nike Swift Spin Suit is nearly 22% lighter than a standard Tour-issue short-sleeve time trial suit, and up to 35% lighter than a standard jersey and bib shorts. Design highlights include: -- Lightweight power net mesh is placed along the side of the torso and down the spine. Nike Sports Research Lab testing has shown these areas to be the most effective locations for cooling. Power mesh placed along the side of the thighs balances cooling with typical levels of leg compression; -- Waist expansion panel stretches to improve comfort while standing yet returns to provide a close fit when in the riding position; -- Eyelet mesh on the front chest balances cooling with surface turbulence concerns; -- Finely tuned textured fabric on the arms and legs generates surface turbulence in these zones where airflow typically detaches from the body. Nike's AIT team tested dozens of innovative fabrics and settled on the strategic use of ultra-lightweight Dri-FIT moisture-management fabrics, along with mesh textiles and trims. Nike's patent-pending no-sew seaming technique is employed on the center-back vent for a streamlined fit and comfort. NIKE, Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, which designs, markets, and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Nike, Inc. CONTACT: Nate Tobecksen of Nike, Inc., +1-212-367-4429 Web site: http://www.nikebiz.com/

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