Trek-Segafredo has partnered with CORE to beat the heat, using the company's advanced performance sports technology for training and racing throughout the 2022 season.
The Team’s staff and riders have invested time with the experts from CORE to deepen their understanding of the relationships between core body temperature and athletic performance and now, the Team can rely on the highly accurate measurement data from the CORE sensor and use these insights to enable each rider to race at the best of their ability.
The CORE sensor is discrete and compact. It clips directly onto a rider’s heart rate monitor strap and delivers real-time core body temperature data on their Wahoo bike computer. After a training session or race, rider data can then be further analysed. Like heart rate or power output, core body temperature is a crucial metric because the ‘hotter you get, the less power you have’.
The temperature behaviour of each person is highly individual so easy access to the training and racing data from each rider is a huge advantage which allows us to optimise the race preparation and race strategy.
What the Team said about the partnership
Performance Manager, Josu Larrazabal
“Body temperature has been defined by science as a performance limiter but only CORE has been able to develop a practical tool that allows us to integrate heat monitoring into our training and collect the values in the same way as other data, such as heart rate and power. This has brought us to a new level of understanding of how core temperature reacts under different stimuli. Regardless of external temperature we can see the impact of clothing choices or how the body reacts indoors vs outdoors. All this together allows us to have better control of heat training and to see how the heat adaptation of riders progresses.
"Ultimately, CORE gives us a better understanding of the athletes’ bodies and allows us to make smarter decisions in racing and training.”
Jasper Stuyven
"For me, the key thing I have learnt from using the CORE sensor is the body temperature at which I begin to lose significant power. As I noticed in races, heat can be a problem for me. From there, I could test which different strategies helped me cool down the fastest way and then implement that into racing. It’s a useful tool to beat the effects of the heat.”
What is the CORE sensor?
The CORE sensor is the first wearable solution that captures highly accurate core body temperature with the convenience of being compact, integrated with sports devices and reusable. Traditionally athletes seeking accurate core body temperature measurements have relied on internal thermometers such as e-pills or rectal thermometers. The CORE sensor has fewer limitations and as it integrates seamlessly, it has the advantages of many of other sports sensors with simplicity and ease-of-use.
During intense and sustained sporting activity, core body temperatures can naturally rise above 39ºC / 102.2ºF. The drop in power output occurs as the body diverts oxygen-rich blood away from the muscles for power generation and to the skin where sweat evaporation helps the body to cool.
With core body temperature monitoring, riders can undertake more effective heat training to condition themselves and improve their performance when they get hot. Real-time data helps riders counteract rising core body temperature and assists in identifying the most effective cooling approaches to help them keep cooler for longer.