Living my Dream at the Tour of Flanders

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What follows is a first-person account from Martin Dodd, our Channel Development Lead, International Markets, who participated in two of cycling’s most famous sportives. The first is his race report from the Tour of Flanders Cyclosportif. We’ll publish his report from the Paris-Roubaix Cycling Challenge also.


A Dream of Flanders and Roubaix

When people ask me what my favourite cycling races are, without hesitation I respond, ‘The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.’ So when I was invited to go to Belgium to experience “Holy Week” and support our 4iiii Dealers I was beyond excited to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity.

In cycling, Holy Week consists of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen (The Tour of Flanders), Scheldeprijs and culminating with the ‘Queen of the Classics,’ Paris-Roubaix. Before I left for Belgium I was asked if I wanted to join some dealers and ride the Tour of Flanders Cyclosportif and the Paris-Roubaix Cycling Challenge. Both events are run the day prior on the same course as the men’s race the following day. Without hesitation, I said yes.

The morning of the Tour of Flanders started with anticipation of what was in store for us: Over 175km of riding up and down the famous cobbled climbs of Belgium. The ride started on paved roads. With the first climb looming, my heart skipped a beat. This was it, I was going to experience my first cobbled climb.

Floating Over the Cobbles

As soon as we hit the first short, steep climb the adrenaline took over and I felt like I was floating over the cobbles. I was passing riders as my bike was thrown from one cobble to the next. I was trying hard to make my rear wheel grip on the slick, damp cobbles that had been laid centuries ago.

As I crested that first cobbled climb, I had a grin from ear to ear. Today was going to be awesome. I reminded myself to try and soak everything in, to burn it into my memory. Soon we were well into the ride and approaching the famed Muur climb. As you crest the Muur, the famous church sits atop the hill, looking down on the cyclists, giving them right of passage on these holiest of roads.

Going Deep and Feeling the Pain

Upon reaching the 100km mark, things were starting to get interesting. Each climb was approaching quicker and feeling steeper and rougher than the last. My body was taking a pounding and we still had over 75 km left. The most famous climbs of the Koppenberg, the Kwaremont, and the Paterberg were still left to ride. As I approached the Koppenberg, I knew I would be walking up this one. Not due to the grade, or the cobbles; it was due to the hundreds of people struggling to get up it.

This event is one of the most popular of the year, attracting 16,000 participants. When you approach these famous climbs they can be so crowded, there is no choice but to trudge up them, slipping and sliding while trying to gain any grip from your slick cycling shoes. After walking up that climb I was determined not to experience that again.

During the ride, I had no idea which direction I was in as the course, ducked and weaved through beautiful villages, farms, and towns seeking out every climb that is in the area. We would climb up one hill, just to immediately descend to climb straight back up another hill, sometimes even the same hill.

Oh, the Kwaremont!

After 150 km I had reached the Oude Kwaremont, famous because it is traditionally the point of attacks that win the Tour of Flanders. The climb was everything I expected and far more, with people screaming, encouraging you to keep going. My legs were burning, as I inched my way over every bump and crack. What I wasn’t aware of was the Kwaremont doesn’t seem to end, especially when you just want it to be over. Finally, after I crested over to the false flat of the cobbled road I was on smooth pavement, my legs yearning for this to be over.

Proof of cobbled glory, the finisher’s medallion

There was still one more climb to go, the heinously steep Paterberg. Luckily it was relatively short. The crowds were now deep, with beer flowing, warming up for the real deal tomorrow, encouraging their favourite rider onwards to victory. My victory was now to get over the top of the Paterberg and power on to the finish in Oudenaarde, 15 km away.

The Final Few KM

As I turned left I rode over a picture of Peter Sagan’s face, painted on the road, wondering what he would feel like tomorrow, riding over his own face, and vying for victory himself.

After 6 hours and 30 minutes I finally crossed the finish line, totally spent, yet feeling euphoric. My own holy week had begun. I had actually ridden over these historic climbs, where countless of my heroes had ridden before me and will ride after me. Emotion filled me. The Muur, Kwaremont, Koppenberg, and Paterberg didn’t disappoint.

How cycling continues to change my life

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A 4iiii employee profile with Jerold Hoshowatiuk, Customer Experience Specialist


This is the story of how Jerold from our customer service team became a tester in our labs and rediscovered himself as an athlete. This year, Jerold has embraced training with power, has participated in a number of events, lost over 120 lbs, and has set goals for where he’d like to take his training. We’ll follow his progress in a series of updates this year.

My love of riding

I love how riding makes me feel. I know it sounds cliche but when I ride, I forget about everything. I don’t care about anything except feeling free. When I ride it’s just me, pushing me, wanting to be a better version of me.

My history of training with power

I started training with power when I was asked to be a test rider at 4iiii Innovations. Right away it turned into a competition: we kept a running tally of the maximum power that we would hit during our sprints. I peaked at over 1600W and was proud to see my name at the top of the list for a long time.

Testing was fun and hard. We spent a lot of hours in a room with some of the smartest people I have ever met. They would push us and the equipment to the edge of what we were capable of. One time, I was on the fourth or fifth interval, and I cracked—I was face deep in a garbage pail. One of the techs helped me get back on my feet. Another, who was in charge of data collection, gave me a snack bar and a bottle of water and asked me to go again… I wasn’t finished. Believe it or not, this is a fond memory and I’m sure a lot of other athletes can relate.

The author, before and after

The Tour of Sufferlandria, a true test of strength and resolve

This winter I took part on the Tour of Sufferlandria, a virtual tour consisting of trainer workouts, hosted by The Sufferfest. It was fun and not fun at the same time. Riding the stages were really tough but I worked through it. Each day, I had it planned to ride and I did. Some were harder than others, but that doesn’t mean that any of the stages were easy. There is a Facebook group for ToS and people from all around the world encouraging each other. We came up with the idea of making a video of myself and Martin, another 4iiii staffer, riding one of the stages outside, in -30C weather here in Cochrane. That was a lot of fun for us, but recovering was harder than I bargained for. I don’t recommend it.

A return to cycling, and training with focus

2018 is kind of a return to cycling of sorts for me. I have always been a guy that struggled with weight. I love to eat! There was a time in my life, before working at 4iiii, that things just went off the edge and I managed to pack on enough that I tipped the scales at over 410 lbs! I was 38 and I was on the couch watching TV with all my snacks when I saw a show called “too fat for 40.” That was my ‘aha’ moment.

One major catalyst for getting back on track was meeting my buddy Dan. He owns a boutique bike shop in Cochrane and when I met him I was huge. We worked together to build a bike that would hold up under my weight. I pushed myself, I cried, and I tried, but I kept going on. My wife was amazing through this ordeal.

Fast forward to December 2017. My friends from work introduced me to The Sufferfest. I rode a few times and I started watching my food. My first 4DP Fitness test was brutal. The thing that was amazing was that my legs just seemed to remember how to do this. It fired a spark. I’m down over 120 lbs from my peak weight, and my power on the bike is returning in a big way. I feel better, I look better, and most of all I acknowledge that there’s still work to do.

New life goals, events, and family fun

Some of my goals this year involve racing BMX again and being able to be on the track with my boys. Being on the track with them is amazing.

I am going to ride in my third MS Bike Tour this year as well. It’s a great cause and I look forward to riding with my team, The MS Spokes People. As the year progresses, I’ll add more events to my calendar and train to achieve goals.

The importance of training with power

Training with power is key. I have always been a strong sprinter, but I don’t always have the gas to hold the power that long. By having a power meter, I am able to measure my efforts, building them up to last longer. To train against that weakness. Using programs like Sufferfest and my PRECISION PRO powermeter enables me to train smarter—to get myself to where I am able to produce more power and hold it longer.

An enduring love for the bike

These days I feel really good being part of the bike industry. Working with so many great riders and teams, teaching my kids about how fun and awesome bike racing is—that’s what makes me want to be better.

At this stage of my life, I like being able to throw my leg over the top tube, clip in and smash the watts with the younger kids on lunch rides. I may not be as fast as I once was, but I can feel myself returning to that former glory and I’m not done yet. Not by a long shot.

We’ll continue to follow Jerold’s progress and provide updates on his training and events. Have a training story you want to share with us? Leave us a comment or email Jerold directly at jerold@4iiii.com to share your story.

A Beginner’s Guide to Zwift

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For some cyclists, racing and training outdoors all year round isn’t always feasible. With the kind of weather we get here in Canada for example, that means a lot of indoor training, and for many, it means riding in the virtual world of Zwift.

Zwift — The Basics

What is Zwift? It’s a 3D virtual world, connected to the act of training on a bicycle (or a treadmill). It’s like a video game where you actually have to do the pedaling to advance.

Taking the components of “gamification” and adding them to the act of sweating on a bike trainer, Zwift has grown in popularity all over the world.

Athletes have several options. They can explore the various online “worlds” within the game: there’s a London course, the 2016 World Championship course from Richmond Virginia, and their own world called Watopia, with volcanoes, underwater tunnels and all manners of “scenery” to keep you in the spirit of riding.

As a rider, you can also choose whether to just ride, to follow one of Zwift’s training programs (like the 4-Week FTP builder), or you can make or upload your own custom workouts. Whatever option you choose, your mileage earns you points toward in-game upgrades like kit designs and fancy wheels and frames for your virtual bike. And whatever you choose, Zwift guides you through a ride, encouraging you to work harder as you ride among other virtual riders from all over the globe.

They also have group rides and racing, which is where things get interesting, and where an entire sub-culture of road cycling has emerged. The key metric in Zwift is “watts per kilogram,” so riders are expected to enter their weight honestly.

How to Get Started

To ride in Zwift, you need some means of connecting your bike to a device like a laptop, mobile phone, smart tv, or Apple TV. The app is available for download to a computer, or on a mobile device.

For the truly dedicated, this means buying a smart trainer, one that can respond to the game mechanics. For example, to ratchet up the resistance on a climb. But the minimum requirement is a means of reading the data from heart rate monitors, power meters.  If you’re using a 4iiii powermeter and/or Viiiiva heart rate monitor, the device you’re playing Zwift on may read the bluetooth signal directly.  Most modern devices like smartphones, tablets, and Mac or Windows laptops support bluetooth directly.  Some devices (like windows desktop PCs) may not have either ANT+ or Bluetooth – in this case, you may need an ANT+ USB stick.

What Riders Think

Janna Gillick on the road

“Over the course of a week, I make use of all the different types of Zwift rides in order to meet my training goals for the week,” says Zwift Canadian Champion (yes, Zwift has National Championships) and Women’s BC Premier Series Champion Janna Glick. “If I have a long ride, I’ll either pick a Fondo event or choose a long route to ride in its entirety. For workouts with specific power targets, I’ll add my own workout into their system.”

Her advice to new Zwifters? Janna, who races with Glotman Simpson Cycling, says: “Run what you brung! I’m usually on rollers with my iPad mini on a fold-up music stand that I found by the side of the road at the end of a ride. I’ve got good, consistent data coming from my powermeter and heart rate monitor and that’s all you really need.”

Stuart Lynne is a race Commissaire, racer, and bike race organizer with Escape Velocity Cycling Club in Vancouver. When he’s not doing the timing at a Spring Series, crit or cyclocross race, he’s training or racing on Zwift.

“I find doing structured workouts on the trainer and IRL boring and hard to finish,” says Lynne. “Doing the equivalent with Zwift Racing works for me. Effectively every race is an unstructured workout with a mix of high intensity and VO2Max Intervals, and recovery at tempo/threshold. Zwift trainer workouts are also very time effective—I don’t have to drive or ride somewhere to do a workout or race. More quality time on the bike, less wasted with prep and overhead.”

If you haven’t already, try Zwift for yourself.

Need a powermeter and a heart rate monitor with a Bluetooth connection to use as a bridge to Zwift? Check out our shop to learn more about our PRECISION and Podiiiium models.

What is FTP? Why does it matter for Cyclists?

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FTP – What is it?

FTP stands for Functional Threshold Power, defined as the highest power that you can maintain in a quasi-steady state, without fatiguing, for approximately one hour (measured in watts). Both FTP and the commonly used 20-minute testing protocol were developed by Dr. Andrew Coggan, co-author of Training and Racing with a Power Meter.

FTP – Why it Matters

When we explain the value of powermeters in cycling training, we sometimes use a simple analogy: You wouldn’t load up a barbell at the gym and just start doing squats. You’d take a careful approach to how much weight you could handle, for how many repetitions, to achieve a desired kind of growth. In cycling, powermeters give us the ability to measure our effort and follow prescribed workouts to maximize the effects of our time spent training.


In 2018, Alex Stieda, the first North American ever to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, explains the benefits of training with power.

Your FTP serves as a baseline measurement of your strength and informs your workouts. For example, a coach or training program might suggest a series of intervals of three minutes at 120% of your FTP, followed by three-minute rest sets at 50% of your FTP. Without FTP as a measurement of your current strength, you’re blindly “loading the bar” with no idea of the implications it will have to your training.

But what about your local hill climb or time trial? Isn’t that a good enough indicator of your strength? Simply put: No. Any number of factors can affect your time: headwinds, tire pressure, clothing, humidity, equipment…the beauty of power measurement is that it doesn’t lie. If you were 20 seconds slower on your local time trial because you were battling a headwind, your power numbers will tell the story accurately.

FTP – What can you do with it?

Measuring your improvement.

Understand what effort levels you can sustain for different durations.

Use training software programs to calibrate your training zones.

Setting the Standard: The 20-minute FTP Test

To determine your FTP, you need a powermeter and some form of training program or measuring device. Most training programs and head units will automatically note any increases in your 20-minute power numbers, and some will even guide you through the testing protocol. You can take the test outdoors or indoors, as long as you have enough road to ride an uninterrupted 20-minute all-out effort. Below, we’ve highlighted a protocol for an FTP test.

To take a self-directed test, follow Dr. Coggan’s steps:

  • 20 minutes easy warm-up
  • 3 x 1-minute hard effort wind- ups with a minute rest between (100 RPM pedal cadence)
  • 5 minutes rest, pedaling easy
  • 5 minutes all-out (hard at first, but make sure you can complete the 5 min)
  • 10 minutes pedaling easy
  • 20-minute time trial effort- This is the actual test. Pace yourself so you can last the full 20 min, maintaining the highest level of average power that you can
  • 10 to 15-minute cooldown

At the end of the 20-minute test, take your average power number and 95% of that figure is your FTP.

20min power X .95 = FTP

Cyclists love to compare FTP figures at the cafe, but how your numbers compare to that of another rider isn’t the whole picture. Your FTP is just for you. The highest FTP won’t always win a race, for example. The rider with highest power-to-weight ratio will have the easiest time on a hill climb — but even in a flat time trial, factors like drag and pacing will help determine the winning time and not a rider’s FTP. Still, it is a measuring stick and thus comparisons will be always be made.

Training to Increase FTP

Once you’ve established your FTP, it’s time to choose a training program, if your desire is to improve FTP over time. Training programs like Trainer Road,  Zwift and The Sufferfest have prescribed training programs, or you can enlist the help of a coach to guide you through a program that is purpose-built for your goals. In future articles, we will go into greater detail about these training programs, including advice from coaches and athletes who use these workouts successfully.

With regular training, it’s a good idea to retest your FTP every six weeks or so. That way, if you’ve seen some gains in your numbers, your prescribed workouts will change to your new number as well and you can continue to get stronger.

Core Health & Fitness Announces New Partnership Between Schwinn & 4iiii

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Vancouver, WA, March 12, 2018 – Core Health & Fitness® is excited to announce a new partnership between Schwinn® indoor cycling and 4iiii®. With this partnership comes the release of an optional 4iiii power crank upgrade available on the Schwinn AC™ and SC bikes.

“4iiii is a Canadian based tech company with a rich history in sport technology development and we have found a great partner in Schwinn” commented Bailey McKnight, Channel Development Leader for 4iiii Innovations. Founded in 2010, 4iiii Innovations has grown to be an industry leader in power meter development in a growing number of cycling disciplines. Founders Kip Fyfe and Victoria Brilz have deep roots in innovative sports monitoring that date back to 2000 when they started Dynastream Innovations Inc. Dynastream brought the world’s first speed and distance monitors and the widely adopted ANT+ communication protocol to the wearable market. The Company was sold to Garmin in 2006.

A vision of enabling athletes to be ‘smarter, faster, safer’ led Kip and Victoria to create the world’s lightest, most accurate and durable powermeter. 4iiii powermeter technology is relied upon by teams on the World Tour and has become standard equipment through a leading bicycle manufacturer.

The 4iiii story is one that resonates with Schwinn, the brand behind the first production bike designed specifically for indoor cycling. Schwinn is positioned to be on the cutting edge of the indoor cycling industry through new innovations and partnerships that help bring the best technologies in both indoor and outdoor cycling to Schwinn bikes.

“Measurement has been game changing in the indoor cycling category, so being able to partner with the visionaries behind ANT+ technology is a logical and exciting step for the Schwinn brand,” added Jeff Dilts, Vice President of Product Management & Innovation for Core Health & Fitness.

“While powermeters have seen increased acceptance in the past 10 years, we’re just beginning to see them reach the mainstream,” added Eric Gerstenbuhler, Managing Director of 4iiii Sport. “What sets 4iiii apart is the patented 3D strain gauge technology we use to measure the bending, elongation, and twisting deformation. This allows for measurement of every force being applied to the crank arm by a rider and provides the most accurate data possible.”

Schwinn offers power education and certification for cycling instructors. In addressing a growing industry, Schwinn’s commitment to quality and authenticity demanded nothing less than a partnership with the company behind the most accurate power meter on the market.

“Measurement has been a big story for Schwinn since we introduced it to the indoor cycling space in 2009,” concluded Dilts. “This new partnership with a company like 4iiii providing power measurement for the most elite cyclists in the world is very exciting!”

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4iiii Innovations 2018 Pro Team Partnerships

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4iiii Innovations 2018 Pro Team Partnerships include World and National Champions and Olympians in all cycling disciplines.

For the 2018 racing season, 4iiii will supply power measurement for Pro Cycling Teams from several continents. Included are three of the world’s top women’s professional road cycling teams, all of Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic cyclists, several National champions and two-reigning World Champions in Annemiek van Vleuten and Alban Lakata.

This is the third year for 4iiii as a World Tour team technology provider.

“Pro Team sponsorships play a key role in our product design,” says 4iiii CEO Kip Fyfe. “4iiii leadership is the result of putting our technology, reliability and durability to the test with the best riders, under the most demanding conditions in the world.”

An exclusive sponsor and supplier relationship with Cycling Canada will provide powermeters and heart rate monitors to athletes in all Olympic and Paralympic cycling categories through the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The five professional cycling teams sponsored by 4iiii in 2018 are Mitchelton-Scott, Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, Ale-Cipollini, Elevate KHS, and new to us this year is our first mountain bike team, the endurance mountain bike squad Canyon Topeak.

Mitchelton-Scott (formerly Orica Scott) of Australia has 10 women riders. The team includes World TT Champion Annemiek van Vleuten, who already has a victory in 2018 wearing her rainbow stripes, winning stage two of the Women’s Herald Sun Tour in Melbourne in 2018.

Founded in 2011, ALE-Cipollini is an Italian-based team and one of the top five women’s teams in the world. Australian star Chloe Hosking has already added two wins to her record in 2018. “4iiii is a synonym of top quality in sport technology, and a very competitive team needs the best,” says Team President Alessia Piccolo.

Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, based in the United States, is the longest-running professional women’s cycling team in North America, on a mission to help aspiring female cyclists rise to the top.

US-based Men’s road team Elevate KHS is our longest-running sponsorship. They have two Canadian riders, James Piccoli and Jordan Cheyne.

Canyon Topeak Racing Team is an endurance mountain bike team of men and women that stars three national champions and three-time and current UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champion Alban Lakata.

The teams will be riding a variety of 4iiii products including PRECISION PRO dual and PRECISION single-side powermeters. Coaching staff and riders will have the tools and metrics required to optimize their training and race performance. Dual ANT+ and Bluetooth options provide broad device compatibility.

4iiii is also releasing a new product this year with PRECISION Podiiiium. “We’re taking 3D powermeter technology to a another level and introducing it to other cycling disciplines including mountain biking,” says Mike Mercer, Director of Engineering. “Our new PRECISION-based Podiiiium is rechargeable and compatible with all of the most popular cranks.”

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Cycling Canada Partnership

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4iiii Innovations announces official partnership with Cycling Canada

4iiii Innovations and Cycling Canada have formed an exclusive sponsor and supplier relationship that will provide 4iiii PRECISION Powermeters and Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitors to national team athletes in all Olympic and Paralympic cycling categories.

The partnership, which extends through the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, brings together two proudly Canadian organizations dedicated to helping home-grown cyclists top the podium at major events around the world.

“We welcome the opportunity to display our leadership in powermeter technology with the home team,” said 4iiii Innovations CEO Kip Fyfe. “Our involvement will include supplying PRECISION Powermeters and Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitors together with the same high-level technical support we provide to the World Tour and other professional teams we sponsor.”

The 4iiii partnership with Cycling Canada will benefit athletes at both the elite and grassroots levels by providing affordable, world-class technology to a wide variety of disciplines and training programs.

“Power and heart rate are the foundations of our training and racing,” said Cycling Canada Mountain Bike Head Coach Dan Proulx. “To deliver podium results, it is essential to gather and analyze this data to help optimize strengths and counter weaknesses.”

“My 4iiii PRECISION Powermeter provides accurate and consistent data, giving me confidence day in and day out,” said recently crowned individual pursuit national champion Kinley Gibson.

“We are thrilled to welcome another best-in-class Canadian brand into our growing family of performance and marketing partners,” said Matthew Jeffries, Director of Marketing for Cycling Canada. “Our world-leading athletes are Canadian-made and we are proud to say the same thing about the organizations, products and technologies that support them.”

4iiii will also collaborate with other Cycling Canada performance partners including Lexus, Argon 18, Louis Garneau and Barista to support and elevate major cycling events across the country.

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4iiii Innovations is a leading Canadian sports technology company based in Cochrane, Alberta. 4iiii is a sponsor and product supplier to WordTour teams Quick-Step Floors and Bora-hansgrohe, Canadian Women’s Team Cyclery-4iiii as well as yachting’s America’s Cup Team Oracle USA.

Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages high performance programs, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Reach for the Podiiiium

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4iiii Innovations is again shaking up the increasingly competitive powermeter market with the launch of PRECISION Podiiiium; a rechargeable, low profile crank-based powermeter designed to be compatible with a wide range of cranksets.PRECISION Podiiiium is a major step forward based on the same patent pending PRECISION 3-D strain gauge technology that powers pro cycling teams Quick-Step Floors and BORA-hansgrohe to dominance on the UCI World Tour.

PRECISION Podiiiium is designed to support a full suite of dual compatibility not presently available from any other manufacturer. The PRECISION dual configuration is unique in it’s ability to switch to a single-side powermeter on the fly, providing an inherent backup system.

Cyclists will be able to enjoy PRECISION Podiiiium Ride Ready dual options starting with Shimano FC-R9100 and FC-R8000. Extensive Factory Install crank compatibility offers the choice of single or dual-side for these models and FC-R6800. Additional models are scheduled to be released in the new year. PRECISION Podiiiium carries forward the well-known PRECISION quality for durable, lightweight and waterproof design that delivers extreme accuracy in all temperatures.

An attractive price point puts PRECISION Podiiiium well within reach of those with dual-side aspirations and a single-side budget.

• Factory Install options for Non-Drive Side start at $399, and Dual Factory Installs are priced starting at $749.
• Ride Ready Dual Options start at $999 including crankset.
• For a limited time, eligible FC-R6800 4iiii customers have the option to upgrade their current single-side PRECISION to PRECISION Podiiiium Dual for only $349.

PRECISION Podiiiium will be officially launched on September 20-22 at Interbike 2017 in Las Vegas with market availability to be announced Q1 2018.

Putting data in the saddle: How analytics drive innovation in pro cycling

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SAS teams with sport performance power measurement provider 4iiii Innovations and high end bike manufacturer Argon 18 to raise the game for a UCI women’s cycling team.

By: Sylvie Tache, Marketing Manager SAS Canada

There are few spectacles in sport as riveting as a sprint finish in a road cycling race. Dozens or hundreds of kilometers come down to a 200-metre dash reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h, as many as eight or 10 riders pushing the boundaries of physical exertion. It’s not a matter of inches, but fractions of seconds—a perfectly timed half-crank of a pedal, a literal “throw” of the chassis—that make the difference between a stage win and a “same time.”

But road cycling is also a team sport, a sport of specialists playing their roles with split-second timing in support of an overall strategy for a stage, a tour, even a season. Climbers force the issue on hilly stages, exhausting competitors who try to keep touch; domestiques, junior riders, create a draft to minimize the effort of the star finishers (or you can use leader), dropping back to fetch water bottles and even giving up their bikes to senior riders with a flat or mechanical issue; all-rounders (“rouleurs”, in French, the language of cycling) chase down opponents’ breakaways, set up sprinters for the final mad dash, and serve as on-course captains when quick tactical decisions have to be made. Each specialty rewards different riding styles, different performance metrics, even different physiques. Collecting and analyzing this data can help a team fit together the pieces of the strategic puzzle in a way that optimizes the use of team resources for a competitive edge.

That’s exactly the approach taken by SAS-MAGOCEP-ACQUISIO (SMA), the only professional Canadian women’s team with a license to race internationally, on the UCI Women’s World Tour.  SMA is using state-of-the-art sensors and analytics software to fuel its rise though international (UCI) cycling ranks, with eyes fixed firmly on the coming 2020 Olympic Games.

Three years ago, the team embarked on a path to performance optimization built around three pillars:

  • Ultra-lightweight Gallium-Pro and E-118 Next bicycles from Montreal-based Argon 18, incorporating design innovations that deliver maximum aerodynamic performance, stiffness and precise handling;
  • PRECISION powermeters, a Bluetooth and ANT+ wireless sensor that transmits power data to a handlebar-mounted computer by Polar, which incorporates physiological data from wearable technology like heart-rate monitors and GPS geographical to paint a picture of athlete performance while adding only nine grams of weight to the bicycle—a critical consideration given the goal of barely exceeding the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) minimum weight of 6.8 kg;
  • Sports analytics software from SAS, which collects extensive data on rider performance, physiological and psychological data, and more, allowing coaches, trainers and the athletes themselves to discover patterns and connections to develop training plans and support strategic decisions.

“Most of the decisions by the team management, coaches and athletes were based on feelings and sensations… with all of the sophisticated sensors, technology, and knowledge, today’s analytics is way more sophisticated than it used to be. For a cycling team, this is gold.” Pascal Hervé, Mentor of the team, retired French professional rider.

Getting athletes and coaches to share that sensitive data for analysis by an outside firm like SAS can be difficult, says Martin Lesauteur, who collects, cleans and preps data for analytics for the team.

“If you look at the Tour de France, nobody’s sharing anything,” Lesauteur says. Data can be used as a weapon—collect enough of it and you can reverse-engineer the athlete, probing weaknesses to be exploited. SAS’s relationship with SMA—it’s the team’s biggest sponsor in terms of technology and cash investment—provides a level of comfort for everyone involved.

A self-described “obsessive-compulsive cyclist” — “I’m so scared that when I die, my wife is going to sell my bikes for what I told her I paid for them,” he grimaces—Lesauteur has been collecting and analyzing data about his own cycling performance for years. He brings a wealth of self-taught expertise to the sophisticated tools on offer from SAS and 4iiii (as well as roadside mechanical expertise at some races).

Correlating performance data, physiological data, and profiles of upcoming races can optimize a rider’s training plan. It can also help ward of the insidious threat of overtraining—athletes can drive themselves beyond the point where their muscles and aerobic systems can recover for upcoming races. One SMA rider’s overtraining pattern cost her a month on wheels, and several months until full recovery. The data was pointing to overtraining, but the athlete didn’t feel it physically until it was too late.

“That’s an example of measuring an athlete on an individual basis, but the impact on the team was huge because she was one of our best athletes, and we lost her for three weeks to a month,” says Lesauteur.

And the program is about the team as much as it’s about individual racers. Data can help the team make roster decisions for a given race to give the team the best chance to win. Power output, revolutions per minute, heart rate, GPS data, fatigue, pedaling cadence, watt-to-weight ratio—all this data and more is poured into training profiles and race-day decisions, says rider Emma Bedard.

“If you have a specific type of race, for instance if you know it’s a hilly race versus a flat race, or whether it’s an endurance event versus a shorter punchy race, it helps select the type of athletes that are perhaps better-suited than others for certain courses,” says Bedard, a former triathlete who switched to full-time cycling because of a nagging hip injury.

Data can match the right racer to the right terrain with the right fatigue curve, helping determine the role of each athlete within an overall race strategy, says SMA coach David Duluth. For example, the data can pick out a racer capable of endurance riding, but not at peak speed, and pair her as a “leadout” rider for a sprinter, pulling her teammate to that crucial juncture where she can take over the race. On the other hand, data can identify that top-speed rider to put at the end of the leadout train.

Data can also help guide recruitment efforts, says Lesauteur. It can identify riders to fill specific roles—a sprinter, a climber, a junior rider to be groomed for a starring role while serving as a domestique. The team can then focus on promising additions to add depth or complement other riders and the team as a whole.

It’s a far cry from 20 years ago, says Pascal Hervé, a retired French professional rider who serves as a mentor to the team. Hervé has an impressive European road racing resume, with multiple appearances in the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia, along with the 1992 Summer Olympics. In the 1990s and early 2000s, teams relied on hospital tests for maximum oxygen capacity (VO2 max) and lactate buildup. It could take days or weeks for test results to be returned, and they were analyzed by people who “did not have a clue” about cycling, Hervé says.

“Most of the decisions by the team management, coaches and athletes were based on feelings and sensations,” Hervé says. “With all of the sophisticated sensors, technology, and knowledge, today’s analytics is way more sophisticated than it used to be. For a cycling team, this is gold.”

Data touches virtually every element of a cycling team’s corporate strategy. On race day, though, it comes down to the riders. And while technology can provide feedback on a huge range of performance and physiological factors, one element still eludes measurement in real-time: the athlete’s psyche, how she reacts psychologically to fatigue, stress, race conditions, etc. Being able to quantify and monitor such information and overlay it on the data already collected could be a critical differentiator.

“One day, we’ll have a little device we can attach to the helmet,” says Lesauteur. “We’re not there yet.”

Full article found on www.sas.com