In an interview given to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team) shared a deep reflection on the evolution of modern Cycling and the growing impact of technology and data on the practice of this sport. “Today’s runners have little feeling”says the Italian. “I've seen so many who train alone, their eyes glued to their computer. You spend hours locked in an area, isolated… People talk to each other less and less.”
Video – Alberto Bettiol, winner of Milan-Turin 2024
“I have never used a heart rate monitor while running…”
The winner of the Tour of Flanders 2019 criticizes a growing obsession with data which, according to him, stifles the human and collective dimension of cycling. “There is too much focus on numbers, data, watts… It often becomes an obsession.”
Bettiol confides that he made a radical choice in his career: to limit the use of technological tools during competitions. “I’ve never used a heart rate monitor while running, and when I could, I didn’t even take a power meter”he explains. “When you're studying for an exam, you need books and a calculator. But on exam day – which, for me, is the race – you need to know how to answer for yourself. The tools no longer have to be necessary.”
Related News :