Team Sportforum has one mission: to become the best amateur cycling team in Germany. Head of Performance, Luke Derksen, shares how they use INSCYD for talent identification, progress monitoring, predicting future performances and deciding on race strategies.

Image: INSCYD Partner Team Sportforum
Image: INSCYD Partner Team Sportforum

About Team Sportforum

Our mission is to become the best amateur cycling team in Germany. We want to give young riders an alternative to continental level racing. In our opinion there is enough you can achieve as an amateur.

The team’s success started with winning the Belgium Interclub Opener Gent-Staden after a thrilling solo attack. Soon after, we became first, second and fourth in the Bundesliga race Schweigen, which was a result of a perfectly executed team tactic.

“Thanks to INSCYD, we now have an advantage over our opponents.”
Luke Derksen - Head of Performance
Luke Derksen
Head of Performance at Team Sportforum

Learn directly from the champions! Join our exclusive webinar with Luke Derksen, Head of Performance at Team Sportforum, as he shares the secrets behind their success in the ‘Rad-Bundesliga’ opener in Schweigen. Gain valuable insights into talent development, progress monitoring, and race strategies. Don’t miss this opportunity to train like a champion. Spots are limited, so be sure to register now to secure your place!

Talent identification and monitoring

I knew INSCYD for a long time and saw World Tour Teams using it for years. In 2020 I did a power-only INSCYD test and realized that I got more useful information from it than from an expensive and time-consuming diagnostic lab test.

Teams and Federations using INSCYD

Soon, I convinced my athletes to do regular INSCYD testing too.

The Power-Performance Decoder test itself is the biggest added value for the riders. With the 3-minute, 6-minute and 12-minute test, they have reference points not only for their tests but for race-deciding interval durations. For example, your 3-minute power can be crucial for race-deciding moments.

With the test results, we can show our riders their progress between tests in a well illustrated way. We can also show why races may not yet turn out the way they wanted. With all the charts and tables, we are able to show smaller gains compared to when you would only focus on metrics like VO2max. This generates an ongoing feeling of motivation throughout the year.

Example: how test data translates to changes in training

I had one really punchy rider and we were training based on the polarized training model. With INSCYD we found out that his VLaMax was a bit too high. We changed the training plan to a more centralized way of training and soon saw that performance increased seriously.

The metabolic test report of INSCYD results in a full 360 degree physiological performance profile of an athlete. The report includes all the INSCYD metrics like: body composition, metabolic capacities, load characteristics, metabolic fingerprint, performance development and training zones.

INSCYD 360 Profile

Impressed by how Team Sportforum uses INSCYD for talent identification, progress monitoring, and deciding on winning race strategies? If you’re a coach or lab and wish to tap into the power of INSCYD and give your athletes the edge, schedule a FREE call with our INSCYD team. Learn how you too can leverage INSCYD’s Power-Performance Decoder test and comprehensive metabolic analysis to elevate your athletes’ performances.

If you’re an athlete, you can to find a certified INSCYD coach or lab near you and start unlocking your full potential today!

Find INSCYD Coach or Lab
Book Free Call

Predict future performance

With the INSCYD Performance Projection, we create virtual tests of how an ideal future performance would look like. This helps to show athletes how our approach in training will affect performance. We are now able to simulate certain changes in our riders performance projection to try to maximize every rider’s abilities.

With a performance projection, you can show your athletes how the different metrics interact with each other. We found out that it is easier to show visualized charts than to explain it on a scientific basis.

We are now able to predict our riders’ performances quite precisely.

Example: how this knowledge can improve performance immediately

Nowadays nearly every athlete knows how many watts they can push, but we saw a knowledge gap on how many carbohydrates you burn at a certain power.

INSCYD Performance projection
Example of a performance projection. The solid lines show the current status of the athlete. The dashed lines show how the performance of the athlete would look like, when VO2max increases by 1% and VLamax decreases by 2% (i.e.).

In my opinion, every rider should be able to understand what his body needs to maintain a certain power.

One of our riders did not eat and drink enough during the races. As a result, he was not able to show his real capabilities. With the INSCYD carbohydrate combustion graph, we could predict how far he would last into the race before he would run out of energy. We showed him this calculation, which was accurate within 5 minutes. Since then, he eats more and achieves better results.

With an INSCYD performance projection, you can show your athletes exactly how much their FTP (or any other parameter) changes when they increase their VO2max (or any other parameter) by say 5%. In our experience, athletes who know what they are working on and how much this will benefit their performance, are way better at staying motivated.

The Performance Projection also allows to answer very specific questions like:

Interested in harnessing the power of INSCYD’s Performance Projection feature, just like Team Sportforum? Want to have the ability to visually demonstrate to your athletes how adjustments to their training will directly impact their performance? Maybe you wish to offer detailed guidance on nutrition and energy consumption to optimize results. Coaches and labs book a FREE call with our INSCYD team to discover how this game-changing tool can aid in predicting your athletes’ performance, and in turn, significantly elevate their performance and your business. 

Find INSCYD Coach or Lab
Book Free Call

Race strategy and selection criteria

INSCYD raises our Performance Management to another level. We can now compare the performance metrics of all our riders, because they are all tested the same way. This leads to a new understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.

We compare the strength and weakness profile of our riders to the needs of a certain race, to use the capabilities of every rider in the team’s best interest. This helps us to understand how they can work together to maximize the team result.

It also helps to manage the selection procedure when you’re able to compose a team based on performance metrics. This gives both the athlete and the coach a clear and understandable target.

The INSCYD Strength & Weakness profile visually quantifies performance metrics, ranked against a peer comparison group. This enables you to quickly identify differences between your athletes, on a detailed metabolic level.

INSCYD’s Metabolic Fingerprint, showing a strength & weakness profile ranked against a peer comparison group.
INSCYD’s Metabolic Fingerprint, showing a strength & weakness profile ranked against a peer comparison group.

How to start implementing INSCYD

My advice to other teams or coaches considering INSCYD? Go get it! It is totally worth it.

When we started we got a deep instruction by INSCYD and learned a lot of additional stuff in the INSCYD College. After that, we retested some old test files to see how the PPD works and to discover how it’s different from tests we’ve done in the past.

Curious how you can start implementing INSCYD into your team or coaching business? Reach out for a quick video call so we can get to know you and your organization. We are happy to answer all your questions and discuss any doubts.

Watch webinar with Luke Derksen, Head of Performance, to delve even deeper into their methods. Take the first step towards unlocking your cycling potential. Spots are limited, so be sure to register now to secure your place!

Continue reading another success story: 3 actionable tips from one-man coach Toll Tollmahawk, who more than doubled his athlete coaching and testing business in just 4 months.

Want to learn more from other INSCYD coaches and their success? Check out:

Are you an INSCYD user with a success story to share? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us (media@inscyd.com) and share your experience, and we’ll be sure to write back.

For coaches and labs

Watch Inscyd in action

Create highly personalized training programs with lab-level performance insights anywhere anytime to analyze, optimize and improve performance faster, save cost and get a strategic edge.

✅ Test remotely  ✅ No Special Equipment  ✅ Full Insights from a Single Test  ✅ Right fit for each sport

Other coaches and labs are already leveling up their coaching strategies. Can you afford to be left behind? Don’t Miss Out! Our Free Demo Spots Are Filling Up Fast—Secure Yours Now and Transform Your Coaching Forever.

Free Demo
Luke Derksen - Head of Performance
Luke Derksen

Luke is the Head of Performance at Team Sportforum, a title he's held since October 2021, after joining as a rider in 2018. He co-founded the performance coaching structure alongside Dr. Lasse Langner, which was further solidified by the addition of coach Thomas Koep. Throughout his time in Team Sportforum, the team has risen to become the best amateur cycling team in Germany, and now competes at a level comparable to continental teams from Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Related Posts

View allArticleUser StoriesWebinarWhitepaper
Aya Sinay testing triathlete

3 Tips For Triathlon Coaches – From an IRONMAN Kona Coach

Aya Sinay has raced as a triathlete in IRONMAN Kona (Hawaii) twice and has been a successful triathlete coach for over 10 years. In this article, she shares 3 important tips that all triathlete coaches should read. Get ready to boost your athletes’ performance and your coaching business. Spread the knowledge! Share this article with…

Read more

Breaking 7 at “La Marmotte” – with INSCYD

,

Henrik Kraglund on his way to break the 7-hour mark at La Marmotte 2019 There are several badges of honour in the world of endurance sports. For some, it is running a marathon in less than three hours, or qualifying for the Ironman World Championships. For pure cyclists, on the other hand, it can be…

Read more

Measuring Energy Demand in Swimming using simple Pool Tests

In this webinar we show how to measure the energy cost at a given swimming speed, using simple testing in the pool. About the webinar The energy cost at a given speed is decisive for the race performance in swimming. The methods shown in this webinar are all based on peer reviewed scientific publications. We…

Read more