WHOOP Named Official Fitness Wearable of EF Pro Cycling

WHOOP and EF Pro Cycling Launch Partnership at Tour de France.

WHOOP is now the Official Fitness Wearable of American WorldTour team EF Pro Cycling, and all riders and team staff will have access to unparalleled WHOOP technology starting at the Tour de France. “Cycling is one of the most measured and managed professional sports, but we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible when riders understand their inner potential,” said Antonio Bertone, WHOOP Chief Marketing Officer. “EF Pro Cycling is well known for their forward-thinking pursuit of performance and we’re thrilled to leverage WHOOP to unlock the next level of success for their team.” EF Pro Cycling will incorporate new data-driven insights and actionable feedback into their work by tapping into personalized biometrics like heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate, and sleep performance. EF Pro Cycling riders and staff will wear custom EF WHOOP kits designed in collaboration with team partner Rapha.

“Our partnership with WHOOP brings valuable insight into both the health and performance of our riders and staff. In cycling, we have a long history of gathering training and competitive data on our athletes. We look at heart rate, power, speed, aerodynamics, training load, and performance on index workouts and at annual events,” said Kevin Sprouse, EF Pro Cycling Head of Medicine. “Each day though, we are missing the data from the 18-20 hours when our athletes are not training or competing. With WHOOP, we can evaluate the full 24 hours and have objective data around sleep and recovery. Certain individual riders and staff on our team have used WHOOP for the past few years, and we have seen the benefit of gaining this insight. We look forward to bringing this advantage to all of our riders through this partnership and setting a new standard in World Tour cycling.” This partnership comes at a critical time on cycling’s biggest stage to support a safe and healthy return to sport while also empowering athletes with knowledge of how everything they do off the bike impacts their performance with the help of WHOOP recovery, strain, and sleep. WHOOP will also integrate into a variety of team training tools, including Training Peaks, and play a key role in research to explore new protocols in a highly scientific sport. “I have been using WHOOP for over three years now, and the information it gives me is invaluable. Being able to track trends in resting heart rate and heart rate variability helps me adapt how I train myself for races like the Tour de France,” said EF Pro Cycling's Neilson Powless on the eve of his first Tour. “Stage races are all about recovery, and I have been able to use the data WHOOP gives me to improve my sleep which is one of the biggest factors in day to day and long-term recovery during a stage race. Throughout the Tour de France, EF Pro Cycling’s medical team will collaborate with WHOOP data science to monitor rider well-being. The two teams will share exclusive #WHOOPLive content highlighting riders on social media at @WHOOP and @EFProCycling. -- In 2018, WHOOP followed EF team member Lawson Craddock's epic Tour de France ride, sharing his biometric data each day as he completed the race despite fracturing his collar bone in the very first stage. Last year, WHOOP chronicled the daily strain, sleep, recovery, heart rate variability and resting heart rate of Tayler Wiles through the Giro Rosa.  

EF EDUCATION FIRST

EF Education First is the world's leading international education company which focuses on academics, travel and cultural experiences. Founded in 1965, EF has 600 offices and schools in over 50 countries. Moved by the powerful way cycling unites people of diverse backgrounds in a peaceful, fun, and friendly way to achieve extraordinary athletic feats, EF entered professional cycling in 2018 to help spread its mission of “opening the world through education.” The products and services of WHOOP are not medical devices, are not intended to diagnose COVID-19, the flu or any other disease, and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content available through the products and services of WHOOP is for general informational purposes only.