Team Jumbo-Visma, Canyon//SRAM Partner With Supersapiens to Use Diabetes Technology to Understand Glucose Consumption

In an effort to understand how their athletes’ bodies are consuming energy, pro teams Team Jumbo-Visma and Canyon//SRAM have partnered with Supersapiens to use their platform to get realtime data to help them monitor and adjust fueling strategies on the fly. This is possible using technology that comes from monitoring sugar levels in diabetics.

Atlanta based Supersapiens is a sports technology company “focused on energy management to sustain peak athletic performance.” It was founded by athletes with over 30 years of experience competing at the highest levels of sport. Founder and CEO, Phil Southerland, is also the founder of the all-Type 1 diabetic team, Team Type 1, so it is no coincidence where the connection comes from.

Supersapiens uses the Abbott Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor, which is similar to sensors used by diabetics to monitor their glucose levels in realtime using their app or dedicated device to display the information. For diabtics, this data helps them balance insulin and sugar levels in the blood, but for non-diabetic athletes, it can be used to help understand how their body is consuming the body’s fuel, glucose. A little bit larger than the diameter of a quarter, the sensor is placed on the back of your tricep and can be used for up to 14 days. It continuously transmits data over a Bluetooth signal to either a dedicated reader or an app. One thing to note, the Abbott Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor is NOT for medical use, so it cannot be used in place of other medical-grade sensors like the Abbott Freestyle Libre.

“FreeStyle Libre changed the way millions of people manage their diabetes to get and stay healthier, and now with Libre Sense we’re bringing that same proven technology to empower athletes to help them reach their athletic performance goals,” said Jared Watkin, senior vice president, Diabetes Care, Abbott. “This is just the beginning – our breakthrough sensing technology has the potential to go beyond glucose and provide a lens into what’s happening in the human body that could provide meaningful insights into other conditions, treatments, and ultimately improve health.”

Recently, a study by the American College of Sports Medicine found that an athlete that understands the impact of nutrition on their body has a better chance of performing at peak levels. Click here to read the study.

The Supersapiens app gives users “Insights, Event Analytics and powerful educational resources so athletes can learn exactly how their bodies and performance levels are affected by their fueling strategy.” As of now, it is only available in Europe, but should eventually make its way across the pond.

In the lead up to the Tour de France, riders from Team Jumbo-Visma worked with Supersapiens using the Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor to set baselines for their glucose consumption data. They wore the sensor for several days to collect data on and off the bike to learn more about how their bodies used and replenished energy. It’s not clear if they used this technology during the race itself, but considering it didn’t make headlines, I am guessing they didn’t.

“The better we understand how the body responds to training and nutrition, the more we can optimize training and nutrition,” said Mathieu Heijboer, Head of Performance of Team Jumbo-Visma. “Supersapiens gives us a tool to better understand this response in a way that has not been possible before.”

Canyon//SRAM has also begun using the system to collect data on their athletes to create optimized training and fueling plans for each team member.

“We’re very pleased that Supersapiens has asked to partner with our team and provide our riders with access to such an innovative system. The technology behind the Supersapiens ecosystem and the information we will be able to gain on individual fueling strategies will further assist our riders to reach even greater levels of performance,” said Ronny Lauke, Team Manager of CANYON//SRAM.

For athletes of all kinds, the Supersapiens platform provides a tool that can help refine their training and nutrition plans in ways non-diabetic athletes have yet to fully utilize.

“Supersapiens powered by Abbott Libre Sense will allow me to understand my body in more detail and find the perfect routine for my fueling, instead of just guessing what is best for me,” explained former British National Road Race Champion Hannah Barnes.

For the data driven athlete, Supersapiens could be the next step in their training. Using tools like power meters, heart rate monitors, sleep tracking tools, and now energy consumption data will help provide them with even more data on training, recovery, and nutrition to help them reach their peak performance. Currently, the Supersapiens platform is only available in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the UK. Customers in those countries can preorder the system with products shipping in the coming weeks. We’ll keep you updated on when it is available in the US.