As Nick Acland, Bond’s MD explained, ‘we were approached by the English Institute of Sport who were looking for a way to enable the cyclists to train in an atmospherically controlled environment with conditions similar to those they would encounter in Beijing’. Following a site visit and detailed discussions as to the exact requirements Bond came up with a custom-made solution to enclose the treadmill used for training and monitoring the athletes’ output. This enabled the cyclists to train in Beijing conditions without leaving the facilities in Manchester. The structure was designed to be portable so that it could be used at other training sites around the country and could even be transported to the Olympic training camp in China itself. David Bailey, from the English Institute for Sport commented: ‘it proved a popular tool for the team as they do their final preparation before leaving for China. It even appeared on Chinese television!’

Bond employees watched the cycling team’s progress with bated breath as they took on the world’s best in Beijing. And what a triumph it turned out to be! The company was particularly proud of having contributed in a small way to the stunning success of gold medallist Nicole Cooke and silver medallist Emma Pooley. David Bailey wrote in answer to Bond’s congratulatory message: ‘Thanks for your congrats. Your contribution was more significant than you think. Both female road cycling medallists used the chamber extensively before they left for China. Additionally, none of the team suffered from the heat/humidity unlike some other nations.’

Nick Acland said ‘we at Bond are immensely proud of having contributed in a small way to the wonderful success of the British Olympic cyclists. The heat chamber helped enable the British team to consolidate their already excellent achievements in the world championships by adapting to the very different conditions they experienced in China. We much enjoyed being involved and send our warmest congratulations to the Team GB cyclists on their magnificent results.’