It\u2019s now official: Ineos Greandiers will become Netcompany Ineos in May..<\/p>\n
While the news has guaranteed the British squad a stable financial inflow for the next five years, the team\u2019s new co-sponsor is insistent on bringing its own expertise to the table. Yes, instead of signing up a big name like Tadej Poga\u010dar, Paul Seixas or even Jonas Vingegaard, who hails from Netcompany\u2019s home nation of Denmark, the team are vying to enter a new age of marginal gains led by its new sponsor\u2019s own AI technology.<\/p>\n
In the words of Netcompany\u2019s CEO Andr\u00e9 Rogaczewski, the team will be relying on an \u2018AI platform that will unify rider, conditions, environment, equipment and tactics into one\u2019. The Danish company\u2019s involvement marks one of the boldest statements in AI usage within the pro peloton, with team boss Sir Dave Brailsford describing the race for AI supremacy as the sport\u2019s \u2018Holy Grail\u2019.<\/p>\n
That AI-driven edge will guide the team in its new ambition to win the Tour de France within the next five years, set out in Tuesday\u2019s partnership announcement. Not only that, Netcompany says it wants to win the Tour de France \u2018intelligently\u2019 with AI-driven thinking.<\/p>\n
Cyclist <\/em>heard from three of the team\u2019s leading figures about the involvement of this AI platform at the sponsorship announcement in London.<\/p>\n Netcompany had been long rumoured to be working on a deal with Ineos Grenadiers, a squad in need of some extra financial backers. A software company with annual revenue well above \u00a3100m, Netcompany\u2019s main focus is now on AI technology, with its Pulse platform to be put to use by the team in due course.<\/p>\n ‘This is the sport where we can responsibly show that AI really matters,’ says Netcompany CEO Rogaczewski. ‘Every cycling team needs to put more effort into using data. AI is becoming a very important source of information, and the difference between winning and losing is very small. I think the technology fits very well for this sport, so it’s going to be exciting to develop the platform together with the team. We share high ambitions, and we also have five years to show for it.’<\/p>\n When asked how the platform will help the team on a day-to-day basis, Rogaczewski says the effects will be felt quickly by both the team’s staff and riders: ‘It’s the simple things that will see the benefits first. I’m not talking about real-time race decisions, but simple things like logistics. For example, how we get riders from A to B. It lets us act faster than if you have everything in a spreadsheet.’<\/p>\n Pulse is already in use at several international airports, including London Heathrow, and in Norway’s national railway network. The technology has been sold to firms across different sectors, but Netcompany is confident its capabilities will be suited to cycling, despite a lack of experience in sport.<\/p>\n ‘We could more quickly identify a piece of equipment that doesn’t fit, or that a sock that is too small. We will register everything about the riders, and we will know exactly where everything is,’ he says. ‘It’s the same thing for the riders’ condition. We will register everything about the riders on the same platform [and monitor any irregularities].<\/p>\n ‘Cycling is all about margins. We’re talking about seconds. These small things could occur during the race itself, but also during training.’<\/p>\n Once the pioneer of the marginal gains philosophy behind Team Sky and British Cycling’s wave of success in the 2010s, Dave Brailsford steps back into the team officially as team principal. Still hoping to find those gains in the modern sport, Brailsford sees AI as a way to further personalise the sport to its athletes.<\/p>\n ‘We’ve got specialists coming out of our ears now in sport,’ Brailsford says. ‘With every specialist comes data. That data tends to be stored in different places and in different formats. These folks [Netcompany] give us the ability to orchestrate all that data into a single, aligned format that’ll help us sift out the signal from the noise. We’ve got a blizzard of information, but the opportunity lies in the ability to take that information and look at the predictive value of it.<\/p>\n ‘The next big step in the human side of endurance sports is individualisation: nutrition, training, recovery. It’s at our fingertips at the minute, but most teams are grappling with how to be the first team to look at how AI predictive data can allow that individualisation to take place. It’s the Holy Grail.’<\/p>\n Ineos are far from the first team to use AI, although they’ve certainly been the loudest so far about doing so. Visma-Lease a Bike have publicised their use of AI-generated diet plans and this year announced its own partnership with Mistral AI, and Lidl-Trek have their own AI partner too in ServiceNow. But Ineos believe they’ll be one step ahead of the game in their quest to win the Tour de France ‘intelligently’.<\/p>\n ‘We’re going to have a complete society full of data,’ Rogaczewski says. ‘In cycling, there are so many things you can measure. We’re going to collate data from our own riders, from other riders and even young guys at home on their trainer.’<\/p>\n The question now arises over whether AI will fully dictate the team’s tactics on the road. Rogaczewski believes Pulse will be able to read race situations through prediction.<\/p>\n ‘This is where AI is so interesting,’ he says. ‘If you have enough information about all the races and you have information about what’s going on \u2013 the weather conditions and so on \u2013 you have your historical data. You can then start predicting, or at least calculating, whether it is worthwhile attacking now or not.<\/p>\n ‘It can also try to explain why we won or why we lost.’<\/p>\n Dave Brailsford isn’t quite as confident about the complete computerisation of cycling tactics. He’s keen to underline the importance of some human input into these key race decisions.<\/p>\n ‘Ultimately, decisions are taken by humans,’ Brailsford says. ‘Riders see things and pick things up. It’s like a sort of sixth sense \u2013 and they can often see what’s about to happen before it does. If you can combine that with the validation of data decision-making, that puts us in a very powerful place.’<\/p>\n Former rider and now director of racing Geraint Thomas says the team is still in a ‘discovery phase’ with the technology, however he remains pragmatic about its use.<\/p>\n ‘It’s just a different world these days,’ he says. ‘Young kids now are a lot more informed about AI and how to use it compared to someone like me. The main thing is that you still need the human side. You still need to get all the information as clear and as concise as possible, and then you can make a proper decision. If AI means we make more correct decisions, that’s what it’s all about.’<\/p>\n The team will be looking to develop the technology alongside Netcompany over the course of the next five years, the duration of this new big-money contract. And while the company’s CEO is adamant on the ambitious vision of winning the Tour de France ‘intelligently’, Thomas knows well that the sport can’t be solved by a simple algorithm.<\/p>\n ‘As we know, bike racing isn’t just about numbers. Cavendish would have never turned pro if it were just based on numbers. It’s about how you ride, the racecraft and the consistency at home as well. You know, these super-talented riders might not have the mentality. It’s not as simple as partnering with an AI platform to make everything easy. No, it’s still a whole jungle out there’.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\u2018Artificial intelligence, human performance\u2019<\/h2>\n
A new age for marginal gains<\/h2>\n
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AI tactics to win the Tour de France?<\/h2>\n
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‘Bike racing isn’t just about numbers’<\/h2>\n
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