The Supersapiens glucose sensor changes the rules of the game

The worst moment for a cyclist is when they hit the wall. Suddenly, everything falls apart and there's no way to avoid it. Now, a device aims to prevent it.

Avoiding hitting the wall in cycling thanks to science against diabetes

There are critical, gruesome images where a myth as big as a Tour de France Champion dissolves in the middle of an ascent like a sugar cube. We all have mythical hitting the wall moments in our memory. And we have all, at some point, experienced firsthand what it's like to not have the energy to pedal anymore.

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That feeling of exhaustion, commonly known in cycling jargon as hitting the wall, has always been one of the key points to avoid, both in terms of wear and tear and intake. But it's not easy to measure hitting the wall and know when it will happen.

Now, a new device aims to achieve that. It's called Supersapiens, although there are other brands, and basically it's a blood glucose monitor that you just have to place in a not very bothersome place on the arm, in the triceps area. In fact, you've probably seen it on many athletes: a kind of patch on the back of the arm that Kipchoge made very popular. We'll tell you more about it.

Supersapiens: the glucose monitor used by professional cyclists

If you have a diabetic friend and talk to them, they will surely know about these patches to monitor glucose. They are expensive, but they are fantastic. A kind of sports glucose biosensors that send information to a mobile app. Simple.

The patch itself includes a small medical thread, a tiny needle we could say, that is inserted under the skin and monitors interstitial fluid to send glucose data to an app.

The important thing about using technology designed for diabetic people in sports like cycling or mountain biking is that you can know your glucose levels, know what you have done right or wrong, and know your absence or excess of glucose at a specific moment.

The first professional cycling team to wear these patches was Ineos Grenadiers. In fact, they partnered with that brand we mentioned, Supersapiens, super wise, developed by Abbott, a sports medicine company. Something designed to keep glucose stable and improve the quality of life for a diabetic person is also useful for measuring a cyclist's blood glucose, both in training and in competition, and managing glucose as much as possible to avoid hitting the wall in the middle of a race due to hitting the wall.

Regarding these patches, we already saw a similar prototype, but to be used as a heart rate monitor. After Ineos, Jumbo-Visma and Canyon-SRAM followed, so the professionalization and technology in glucose monitoring to, fundamentally, avoid hitting the wall in cycling is established in the professional field. For now, the Supersapiens is out of stock and the only thing you can do is join a waiting list. We will wait then.