Article
How our nutrition prediction model optimises Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s performance
3/4/2025
min read
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Article
How our nutrition prediction model optimises Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s performance

At Visma, we're continuously pushing the boundaries of what's possible with technology, and one exciting area we do this is in professional cycling. As the first title sponsor of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, we don’t just support the team but combine our innovative solutions with their exceptional performance to create value. And, with the help of Visma company SureSync, we leverage machine learning to enhance the team’s performance through The Athlete’s FoodCoach app.
The importance of nutrition in professional cycling
According to the team, Tour de France cyclists burn an average of 6,000–10,000 calories daily. Proper nutrition is vital to ensure athletes have the right energy before, during, and after every race. For Grand Tours – including Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España – that can last up to three weeks, nutrition is a top priority.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike credits excellent nutrition prediction as a key factor in making them one of best cycling teams in the world. In other words, they rely heavily on precise calorie burn estimates to guide their nutritional intake – a process supported by our advanced nutrition prediction model integrated with The Athlete’s FoodCoach app.
Did you know? During Grand Tours, Team Visma | Lease a Bike travels with a dedicated cook, nutritionist and a specially outfitted bus to stock necessary ingredients. During these big races, riders typically eat breakfast, snacks throughout the race, two recovery meals, dinner, an evening snack, and sometimes even a pre-race meal, as well!

Revolutionising calorie predictions with machine learning
In the world of professional cycling, where every second counts and unpredictable elements can impact the race, having accurate and timely nutrition data is vital. In the past, preparing riders’ calorie estimates was a cumbersome, manual task requiring recalibrations due to unforeseen conditions like weather changes and tactical shifts affecting riders’ energy expenditure on race days. We decided to address this challenge and simplify the lives of both coaches and pro cyclists. This is where we called on the SureSync by Visma team, specialists in data exchange, to innovate and improve the process with automation.
Together, we developed an advanced machine learning solution that fundamentally transformed energy need assessments. Our focus centred on enhancing the precision of these estimates, making the process more efficient and less of a burden for the team. The nutrition prediction model – which won the Data & AI Innovator of the Year 2024 at the Dutch IT Channel Awards – is redefining what’s possible in professional cycling.
At the heart of this innovation is the precise estimation of the total wattage required during races. Wattage, in this context, refers to the power output that cyclists produce, measured in watts. It’s a critical indicator of the energy exerted by an athlete and is essential for determining their overall energy needs throughout each race day. For instance, during a steep climb, a cyclist might need to sustain a wattage of 400 watts to maintain competitive speed, whereas on flat terrain, the same cyclist might only need 250 watts. Understanding these fluctuations is crucial for tailoring nutrition and energy strategies. So, we set out to develop a system to achieve highly accurate wattage estimates.
How does the model work?
Bicycles are equipped with performance tracking devices that log key metrics such as distance travelled and elevation gain. Crank-based power metres provide precise measurements of the wattage, allowing for accurate calories-burned calculations. TCX files, which format data exchange between fitness devices, contain GPS coordinates that give insights into the race's profile, including distance and climb specifics.
External factors, like weather conditions, are critical components that influence rider performance. The system integrates GPS data with weather forecasts to assess wind conditions, distinguishing between assisting tailwinds and challenging headwinds. These wind factors can significantly impact a rider's energy usage.
The data is processed and visualised using an advanced analytics platform. Pre-processing removes noise, like unintended device data, ensuring accuracy. Key variables (including power, energy, and elevation) are adjusted for easy comparison. A supervised learning model based on a random forest algorithm, chosen for handling complex data, provides accurate wattage estimates for riders.
This model forecasts the calorie needs of the cyclists with a 90% accuracy, which is a significant improvement over traditional manual estimation methods which had an accuracy of 52%. Using the model, coaches can access results in a split second, saving them time and enhancing performance strategies significantly.
How we help the team to keep on winning!
The high-accuracy predictions from our machine learning model are integrated into The Athlete’s FoodCoach app, which transforms raw data into tailored nutritional plans for athletes. It aligns food intake with energy needs, considering athlete profiles, race-day demands, and conditions to optimise performance and recovery. Each meal plan is customised to the cyclist's needs, ensuring the right balance for energy replenishment and performance.
This data-driven approach enables coaches and athletes to focus on strategy over manual adjustments. The Athlete’s FoodCoach app facilitates continual improvement, which is crucial for staying competitive in professional cycling. And that’s how we help the team to keep on winning!
Hear from Jonas Vingegaard on how data-driven insights fuel his performance via The Athlete’s FoodCoach app.
Are you interested in improving your nutrition? The Athlete’s FoodCoach app is also available for you in the Apple App Store and Google Play, and can help you get started with performance nutrition, lose weight while maintaining energy, or develop tailored nutrition strategies for personal fitness goals or big races.
→ Read more about the Athlete’s FoodCoach
→ Learn more about our sponsorship of Team Visma | Lease a Bike
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