Extreme climatic conditions try Swiss solar bike team
On the second day of Australia's World Solar Challenge, the Swiss team has been put to the test by strong winds and a scorching sun.
The temperatures, which reached 40 degrees Celsius, did not deter the team.
“It was a real struggle to keep the bike under control despite the strong winds,” Sandra Stierli, one of the cyclists, told swissinfo. “But we still had a great day.”
“We did less kilometres than on the first day,” Stierli added.
The Swiss team took on some of the world’s best sun-powered cars in a race across the deserts of Australia last Sunday. It is the only team using two-wheelers in a field of 38 vehicles taking part in the solar challenge.
Battery-powered
The team’s two bicycles, dubbed “Intellibike”, were created by a group of professors, assistants and students from the Bernese city’s engineering school. Instead of solar panels, the bicycles rely on batteries, which drive a small electrical motor.
The motor then multiplies the rider’s efforts, allowing the cyclist to cruise at perhaps between 30 and 40 kilometres an hour – 75 at best on a flat road.
The race, which was first held in 1987, left Darwin in the far north on Sunday and takes competitors to Adelaide on the southern coast via Alice Springs.
“It’s a fantastic adventure,” Stierli said. “We’re having a lot of fun and the team is great!”
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