June 2026
Train.Red and Cofidis Are Ready for the Tour de France
Muscle oxygen monitoring shapes a team's preparation for cycling's hardest race
Less than a month out from the Grand Départ in Barcelona, we're proud to announce that Team Cofidis have been training with Train.Red FYER 2.0 Muscle Oxygen Sensors since January 2026 and everything they've learned is going to the Tour de France with them. The sensors won't be on the riders during the race itself, that's not what they're for. What they did was shape the months of training, warm-ups, cool-downs, and preparation that got the team to the start line in the best possible condition. That work is already done. Now it races.
What the FYER 2.0 brought to their preparation
Train.Red sensors measure muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) in real time. Heart rate and power numbers only tell part of the story. What's happening inside the muscle, how it responds to load, how fast it recovers, when it's truly ready to perform, that's what SmO2 reveals. And critically, it reveals it as it's happening, not after the damage is done.
That insight shaped how Cofidis approached training load throughout the season. Coaches could see whether a rider was genuinely recovering between sessions or just appearing to, and adjust accordingly. Over weeks and months, that kind of precision adds up.
It also changed warm-up. Instead of following a generic protocol, coaches could see exactly when each rider's muscles were physiologically primed to go, fully personalized, based on what the body was actually doing that day. Before a hard training block or a race simulation, knowing that moment precisely is the difference between a session that builds and one that breaks. And in cool-down, SmO2 data gave the performance staff a real window into how each rider's muscles were flushing and recovering after effort, informing recovery decisions with something more than feel and habit.All of that feeds directly into how the team will race in July. Pacing decisions, effort management across three weeks, knowing each rider's true limits, that knowledge was built in training. The Tour de France is where it gets used.
This year's race will test every bit of it. The 2026 edition crosses five mountain ranges, the Pyrenees from Stage 3, the Massif Central, Jura, Vosges, and a brutal final week in the Alps, closing with back-to-back summit finishes at Alpe d'Huez on Stages 19 and 20. Three weeks of relentless racing where managing effort intelligently separates the riders who arrive in Paris strong from those who just survive.
In their own words
"The Tour de France is three weeks of the hardest racing in the world, and the riders who make it to Paris with something left in the tank are the ones who truly know themselves — their pace, their limits, how their body responds on day 18 versus day 3. That's exactly where Train.Red can give you your edge." — Wout Kregting, CEO, Train.Red
"Since the start of the season, Train.Red has been supporting us in our constant pursuit of performance. Having a clear and precise view of what's happening inside the muscle allows us to optimize training load by combining central and peripheral load in the best possible way." — Matthieu Defontaine, Coach, Team Cofidis
A historic Tour for Cofidis
This year marks Cofidis' 30th season as a professional team, and they're spending it at the Tour de France, where they belong. The team earned their place on merit, qualifying directly as one of the three highest-ranked ProTeams despite losing WorldTour status at the end of 2025. No wildcard. No favors. Earned. With Ion Izagirre, ,Alex Aranburu, (Announced: Milan Fretin, Hugo Page, Benjamin Thomas) among the eight riders heading to Barcelona, Cofidis arrives with a clear performance agenda and the preparation to back it up. We're proud to be part of it.
About Train.Red
Train.Red is a Dutch sports technology company building wearable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) sensors for real-time muscle oxygen monitoring. Grounded in over 20 years of scientific research through partner company Artinis Medical Systems B.V., our sensors are used by elite athletes, coaches, and sports scientists around the world. The FYER 2.0 and PLUS 2.0 integrate with Garmin, Wahoo, Suunto, and other leading platforms. More at train.red.
About Team Cofidis
Founded in 1997, Cofidis is one of the longest-standing professional road cycling teams in the world. Managed by Raphaël JEUNE and sponsored by French consumer credit company Cofidis, the team competes at the highest international level riding Look bikes with Campagnolo groupsets, with a stated goal of returning to UCI WorldTour status.
