Heijboer's position says it all: “I am responsible for everything related to race preparation. We are constantly working on training, innovation, nutrition, aerodynamics and everything else that ensures top performance during races. So I am mainly present at training camps. And because that's where my heart and specialty lies as a former rider, I'm often involved in time trials. Because especially in time trials you can of course prepare very well and the riders are usually less dependent on external factors."

Innovation meets performance

INUTEQ and Team Visma | Lease a Bike, previously known as Team Jumbo-Visma, have been working together for a long period of time. 

While warming up you use the INUTEQ vests to cool down, when you would think: warming up is just warming up. Can you please explain?

"The warm-up has two purposes: to activate the heart and lung system and to warm up the muscles. The risk with the latter is that you definitely drive up the rider's core temperature in hot conditions, and that leads to performance loss. These cooling vests allow us to keep the core temperature close to the desired 37.5 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). The scientific studies show that it works and the riders themselves also say that they find it very pleasant. Cooling is really a very important part."

When they start, they change vests again, why is that?

"Such a 6.5C pre-cool vest works for about half an hour, so then you just need a new one faster. You'd be amazed how much heat a body produces during exercise and thus during preparation. In addition, the Touring calendar is becoming more and more international and we have to race more and more in warm climate conditions. In the winter we are in Australiaë, where it is summer at that time and therefore, of course, sometimes very hot."

After the finish, is there a vest what to use?

"Definitely. Not the 6.5C precool vest that you literally pull out of the freezer before the race, but a so-called Bodycool Xtreme vest that is so small that you can take it anywhere. After the finish line is hectic and you don't walk around with freezers of course, so such a small package is very practical. It allows the body to cool down faster, which promotes recovery processes in the body. That recovery is at its best at normal core temperature. This Body Extreme vest is made from the same materials that we put in the goodie bag, the cooling-towel, which you can put on your neck, for example, as an extra cooling touch. Just look on the Internet, you can see Steven Kruijswijk after such a difficult stage with such a shirt. Recovery is very important during the Tours."

"During cycling everything is about total control over the body. Science is moving fast, everything is getting better and more efficient. Partly because of the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo, where it will be very hot, we need to prepare for that. That is why I am very happy with INUTEQ, which is continuously developing and designing new products that will definitely help us with this. There is almost no sport in which athletes have to perform in the heat for as long as a cyclist. Some riders can naturally cope better with heat than others, there's nothing you can do about that, but oh well, performing in hot conditions is certainly trainable and cooling down helps, of course."

Do you really see that this type of preparation can make the difference between winning or losing?

"Definitely. In the first week of the Vuelta, we used a very intensive cooling protocol as a team. With the cooling vests, with cold water jugs, ice cubes. The riders all said, "We were really able to make a difference with our competitors." We had prepared that whole picture very well. That was very nice to get that positive feedback, also because we were performing so well at the time."