The rise of AI in cycling — After Netcompany INEOS, Visma look to increase use of AI tool

Visma | Lease a Bike has extended its partnership with McKinsey, the team announced on its website. McKinsey has been providing AI services to the Dutch team since 2024, converting complex race data into usable insights. The collaboration has clearly been a success, as it will now continue for an unspecified period of time.

McKinsey has its roots in Formula 1. Since 2015, it has been working there to turn all kinds of race factors into usable data. Visma | Lease a Bike saw the value in that in 2024 and decided to enter into the collaboration. “That gives coaches and riders the right information at the right moment to base decisions on and act on them immediately,” the team says.

QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, is clearly valuable to the Dutch team. “In our sport, small decisions can have a huge impact,” says Richard Plugge, CEO of Visma | Lease a Bike. “By combining our racing knowledge with QuantumBlack and their Formula 1 background, we are creating a new way of racing.”

Marc Reef is also pleased that the partnership is continuing. “Modern cycling is incredibly complex and our goal is to leave nothing to chance when preparing our riders. What makes our collaboration with McKinsey and QuantumBlack so valuable is that they bring a unique combination of strategic problem-solving and deep technological expertise.”

In the chaos of cycling, it is sometimes difficult to analyse exactly what matters and what does not. According to the team director, Visma | Lease a Bike has received important help there. “They help us filter the noise of a race, making it easier for us to determine the right tactics and keep our riders in the best possible position.”

At the end of April 2026, INEOS Grenadiers announced a new €100 million deal with Danish IT company Netcompany. The agreement includes an exclusive licence for the AI platform PULSE — Netcompany's European AI-driven digital system, already deployed in real-time environments at Munich and Heathrow airports. It will now be used in elite sport for the first time.

As part of the deal, Netcompany will not be permitted to licence PULSE to any other WorldTour team for the next five years. The newly rebranded Netcompany INEOS will use the technology in competition for the first time at the Tour de France this summer.