4iiii Innovations Incorporated (4iiii) has announced another partnership to support a pro cycling team.
In partnership with ARGON18, a high-end bicycle manufacturer, and SAS, a leader in business analytics software and services, 4iiii will be supporting SAS – Macogep – Acquisio, a women’s pro cycling team based out of Quebec for the 2016 cycling season.
A Cochrane-based company, 4iiii specializes in sport monitoring technology and will be providing the team’s eight riders with its PRECISION power meters. The meters are lightweight, wireless pods, installed on the bicycle’s crank, designed to measure cyclists’ wattage output as well as other cycling performance metrics.
“This partnership is a closer connection for us on the women’s side, which is a big cycling market opportunity – it’s a growing piece of the sector. And to have a team of this caliber is really exciting,” said Marie-Helene Thibeault with 4iiii.
Thibeault explained ARGON18 approached 4iiii to initiate the partnership.
“They are on a mission to develop the most sophisticated, high-tech, smart bike. So, obviously, we’re a good solution because of all the technology we’re providing. Through discussions with ARGON18, we opened the door to the team and we are very excited they chose us.”
In 2015, 4iiii announced its partnership with Specialized Bicycle Components to become the official supplier of power measurement for Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (Etixx) out of Belgium.
Thibeualt explained this second partnership is a huge step for the company because it means “another bike manufacturer sees (them) as a leading product”.
4iiii’s power meter technology has helped advance the way cyclists assess their exertion.
“At the beginning, everyone was just using heart rate monitors to assess how much effort they were putting into their workout. But what we’ve realized is that’s actually not enough,” Thibeault explained.
She said a person’s heart rate can be affected by factors such as your health and hormones. The data collected from their power meters are “objective and predictive.”
“The riders really need to add more layers of information and data if they want to improve their performance, and this is what this partnership is really about because they’ve layered on the data they’ll be receiving from the power meter and feeding it into a database software, which is SAS’ component of the partnership.”
This information, along with other factors such as the riders’ body composition and weight, will help assess where they are in their training. It can tell them whether they need to rest, if they should change their nutrition, or if they are at their peak performance.
“It’s really to improve and to maximize the athlete’s full potential,” Thibeault summarized.
The partnership will also prove to be symbiotic for 4iiii as the riders will provide comprehensive feedback to the company about how the power meters are working. During the 2016 season, the SAS – Macogep – Acquisio team will be racing all over North America, with a few stops in Europe, ensuring the PRECISION power meters will be tested in extreme conditions.
“They ride their bikes thousands and thousands of kilometers per year and they ride through snow, rain, rocks, and sand. That allows us to make sure that we can pull that information back into future product development so that our users will have the best possible products,” Thibeault said.
Although the team has already started its season, the first big race the SAS – Macogep – Acquisio team will be participating in takes place in California in early April.
“The Etixx one was a global partnership and now we’re entering more into the women’s market and also the North American market. Sponsorships are a great way for us to demonstrate that our products have credibility.”
