Should You Measure Your Every Move?

Can wearable devices really make you a fitter, healthier cyclist? Deena Blacking straps on a plethora of gadgets and endeavours to find out

Ducks weren’t the only new thing being worn by Education First pro cyclists last year. On 31 August 2020, Whoop was announced as the team’s official fitness wearable. Less than a month later, Canyon-SR AM and Team Jumbo-Visma started sticking Supersapiens glucose biosensors to their triceps. Forever seeking a performance advantage, pro teams are turning to wearable technology to track their every move. But is the juice worth the squeeze? Are these devices destined to improve performance? Or are they just more noise in the ever-intensifying data-storm of modern life?

For the average cyclist without a support team, making sense of all the tech – never mind the data they deliver – can be bamboozling. In an effort to help CW readers understand what all the fuss is about, we decided to find out more.

Wearable technology is any kind of sensor or computing device small and flexible enough to be worn. It is often used to measure markers of health, such as resting heart rate and sleep patterns, from which algorithms predict the athlete’s state of recovery and fitness.

Getting fitter and faster in road cycling – one of the world’s most physiologically demanding sports – requires good management of training load.