WorldTour<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/The-Formula-1-Effect-GettyImages-2160466416.jpg\")
A lot of number crunching went into Cavendish\u2019s historic Tour de France win. Dario Belingheri \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201c[Saussine] analyses the cycling calendar [and predicts] where we have the highest probability to score points with the riders we have, taking into consideration their characteristics,\u201d DS Dario Cataldo recently told Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Qu\u00e9net.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a certain period of the year, he studies which race we should take part in and with which type of rider. It\u2019s bringing excellent results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saussine\u2019s ability to block out the noise and model clear, applied answers is paying dividends, which is why data scientists are appearing in staff rosters, especially at the top teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say there\u2019s at least one person devoted to model development in the best five or six squads,\u201d says Andrea Zignoli.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other teams, data analysis is still relevant but someone might be doing the job on a part-time basis, or they\u2019re not data analysts or engineers by background and they\u2019ve adapted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zignoli most certainly is a data scientist by trade, with academic palmares including a doctorate in modelling human sport performance from the University of Trento in Italy.<\/p>\n
His professional career has included joining forces with Jumbo-Visma nutritionists when working for blood-glucose monitoring outfit Supersapiens.<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s a data scientist at AI coaching outfit Athletica, alongside an ongoing collaboration with Team VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizan\u00e8, an Italian ProTeam outfit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Bardiani, I model every aspect of cycling \u2013 bioenergetics (how cyclists convert metabolic power into mechanical power), biomechanics (how the cyclist\u2019s legs spin and co-ordinate to transmit mechanical power from the muscles to the pedals) and locomotion (how the rider-bike system moves in space),\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cModelling is primarily for two purposes \u2013 analysis (looking back at data to extract meaning) and simulation (predicting the future). Modelling and simulation are often cheaper than collecting data yourself.<\/p>\n
“Thus, one can appreciate the contribution a new set of tyres can provide, as well as how much a bike change can benefit in the next time trial, without the need for specific data collection or wind-tunnel testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an example, Zignoli might segment the time-trial course into flat, climb and descent, using elevation and gradient data to tag sections that require a rider to dig deeper.<\/p>\n
![\"Katarzyna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/The-Formula-1-Effect-GettyImages-2167295904.jpg\")
Riders are constantly being fed information through the team radio. Alex Broadway \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll estimate the trade-off between pushing hard on the climbs, while easing back on the flats, all the while factoring in the wind (tail vs head) to identify where the greatest gains are to be had and biggest losses to be avoided.<\/p>\n
Historical power data will be thrown into the mix for a pacing plan that can then be uploaded to the rider\u2019s bike computer.<\/p>\n
Zignoli\u2019s role is very much in the background, working with the coaches, who can then disseminate what they feel is relevant to the rider.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis works because sometimes the results of simulations don\u2019t pan out in the real world,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, I might say that a given corner is faster if you hit an early apex, but the rider might refrain from following that advice because there\u2019s no clear visibility of what lies after the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr the model might suggest one tyre will be faster on a given stage, but the rider prefers a different model. At the end of the day, it\u2019s always about the rider. And that\u2019s not perfectly predictable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Italian says modelling can also help the team assess the effect of a training regime, heat, caffeine and much more, including the impact of clothing choice on a rider\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rise of the data scientist Team XDS-Astana use former hour-record holder Alex Dowsett\u2019s know-how. Tom Jenkins \/ Getty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-13197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/The-Formula-1-Effect-GettyImages-1997603796.jpg\")
Team XDS-Astana use former hour-record holder Alex Dowsett\u2019s know-how. Tom Jenkins \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n