‘It entails competitive advantages we’re seeking for the Olympics’: Research collaborations the thin edge of a wedge for AusCycling

The margins between success and failure in many cycling disciples can be a matter of tiny gains that add up to substantial differences by the time our athletes reach the starting line.

Innovations in areas such as equipment, data analysis, and athlete preparation can give Australian cyclists a critical edge over our opponents, but given the time, resources, and investment needed, achieving such innovations within the sport alone is often prohibitive.

In this context, and with major events such as Paris 2024 and the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships on the horizon, AusCycling has entered a series of innovation collaborations, aimed at achieving gains beyond what is available to competition, as AusCycling Executive General Manager of Performance Jesse Korf explained.

“So, what we’ve done is set up a new functional area called Engineering Excellence, and we’ve said, ‘right, where are some opportunities that if we learn a bit more about this, it could really help us perform.’ And also, what are some of the challenges that we’re facing, looking at the capacity that we have, whether that is human resource, financial resource, and so on,” Korf said.

“The opportunity to learn, to do research, to tap into knowledge and resource; it makes sense to do a number of those things through partnership rather than just in-house.”

Accordingly, AusCycling has entered three collaborations with world-leading research institutes: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Griffith University, and University of Queensland (UQ).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Data and engineering research and validation

The MIT collaboration is aimed at making gains in a very discipline-specific area: BMX Freestyle. Given MIT’s pedigree, these collaborations are geared towards technology innovations in equipment and data, with the goal of optimising runs and tricks to get the best possible scores in Paris.

“There’s very little research that has ever been done in BMX Freestyle, and the research also requires some technology that just doesn’t exist yet to measure a lot of the elements that we would like to measure,” Korf said.

“I can’t really speak to specifics about it, because it entails competitive advantages that we’re seeking to get for the Olympics, but it’s a very exciting space.”

2022 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup, Gold Coast (Photo: @collectif_theagency / @FISE)

Griffith University: Athlete digital twin development

Digital twin development is the process of creating an online replica of a physical object, and together with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and several other sports, Griffith University is developing the Digital Athlete project, where athletes are recreated in a virtual environment to measure strains on their body.

In the case of AusCycling, this data is overlapped with an aerodynamics digital twin, creating a richer model than what is currently possible available to inform training prescriptions.

“An athlete only has ‘x’ amount of time, which means that the amount of work that you can do is very limited. However, if you can create a digital copy and simulate it, we can run thousands of simulations with different set ups and different types of equipment without having the athlete involved, which means you can find more and better solutions,” revealed Korf.

University of Queensland: Research elements across sport science, engineering, and data science

The collaboration with UQ captures a shared interest in Brisbane 2032, and encompasses a range of areas, from high performance research and data analysis to aerodynamic and equipment innovation. However, as Korf explained, UQ values align with those of AusCycling, setting the scene for a collaboration that grows beyond its current remit to achieve beneficial outcomes for the community.

“With UQ, what we’re leaning into is performance research, but also some roles that sit largely in the aerodynamic and paralympic equipment development space. And then there’s research going on in data engineering, and let’s call it the STEM components of sports science,” Korf said.

“It’s also looking at, ‘OK, how can we grow sport community engagement and the joy of riding,’ possibly through this platform. They’ve got a lot of similarities in terms of their community objectives as we do around sport, health, and engagement. So, there’s a lot of overlap there.”

Jesse Korf (left) at the 2022 UCI MTB World Championships (Photo: Peter Hosking)

While there are clear benefits for AusCycling through the collaborations, research institutes benefit by getting access to high-quality data and elite athletes and their equipment, while research in novel areas such as digital twinning and equipment innovation are also very valuable for the research outputs and reputation of the institution.

Korf also believes that any innovations realised through the collaborations have the potential to trickle down to the consumer level, saying manufacturers are interested in partnering with Olympic and UCI WorldTour teams to capture their innovation so they achieve commercial viability.

“I think if you look at something like Strava and you have a power meter, you can now upload your power in a ride, and so on. I think in a number of years down the line, what you’ll find will be pretty normal is to actually see your wind resistance as well, or what is called your CdA, which is your co-efficient of drag. That would be available at the consumer level,” Korf said.

Similarly, Korf felt that while the partnerships might initially be on achieving high-performance outcomes, the underlying goal of these AusCycling collaborations is much broader in its focus.

“The main point of emphasis is for us and all Australians to be the best possible self that they can be on a bike,” Korf said.

“And so, while those projects and relationships might be towards a Paris outcome or they might have a lens on 2032, we see it more as a sustainable partnership or sustainable collaboration which can have more spin-offs than what they currently do.”

Main image: Con Chronis