Leicester Tigers partner with Wattbike to maximise power, precision and performance

Leicester Tigers RFC are the latest professional sports team to announce an official partnership with Wattbike to optimise players' fitness, power and performance.

Steve Borthwick, Head Coach Leicester Tigers, explains:

"The Wattbike is a go-to, power-based training tool suitable for all the players, regardless of position and it will be playing an important role in keeping the team fit throughout the season. The reliability, consistency and accuracy of the Wattbike training data is vital for our sport and position-specific training. For the players, it's them versus the numbers and there's no hiding from that. Rugby is all about repeat power outputs and holding that until the last minute of a game, so the Wattbike is perfect to replicate this off the field."

As part of the partnership, Wattbike have installed five of the new Wattbike Nucleus into the Leicester Tigers Training & Academy Centre whilst also loaning bikes into the homes of players who are having to train at home during Covid-19 restrictions.

The Wattbike has already formed a crucial part of the elite conditioning training programme for more than a decade now, playing a key role in keeping players and athletes fit during the usual season and the off season, and now during the altered dates to the match programme and training season due to lockdown conditions.

Aled Walters, Head of Physical Performance at Leicester Tigers, comments: "We’re on a journey with the team, working to maximise the physical capability and capacity of each player across the first team and academy squads. The Wattbike will play an invaluable role in developing qualities across the spectrum from power to endurance, which will ultimately translate to best on-field performance.

In Rugby, players experience a high level of physical stress in matches and during training. We must take this stress into account when we devise and assign training to the players. The ‘off-feet’ conditioning which the Wattbike provides gives us the opportunity to train continually by reducing the external impact stress on joints and muscles.”

By linking to the Wattbike Hub app, players can access the wide range of training data, testing results and health parameters measured whilst the coaches can analyse and track individual performance data at the touch of a button, wherever they may be. This is incredibly valuable for coaches right now as face-to-face training has become incredibly limited due to Covid-19 restrictions.

"The Wattbike makes the players accountable to themselves, their coaches and teammates" explains Geordan Murphy, Director of Rugby at Leicester Tigers. "The consistency and reliability of the data means there is no hiding behind the numbers, making it the perfect tool to ensure the best team is selected for each game."

Richard Baker, Wattbike CEO, adds: "For over a decade we have worked with top rugby teams around the world at both club and international level, perfecting the best ways the Wattbike can be used to enhance player performance and we are excited to work with Leicester Tigers on this.

We work with the world's best sport scientists and engineers to continually evolve and shape our offering. By doing this, our products deliver actionable insights to athletes and coaches in real time, that's why we are proud that champions across all sports are using Wattbike to train smarter, push harder, and improve performance."

Find out more about Leicester Tigers