INSIDE

with Senior Data Consultant Emma Kapetanovic

A day on the road with Netcompany INEOS at the Giro d’Italia

Emma Kapetanovic joined Netcompany in March 2022 with a background in communication, organisation and IT, and a clear ambition to become more technical and work closer to code.

Today, she is a Senior Data Consultant and Discovery Team Lead. Her work focuses on understanding how the Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team operates during a race, from morning tactics and in-race decisions to post-stage debriefs, and where PULSE can help turn observations into stronger digital support.

For Emma, Discovery is about getting close to the reality behind performance. Seeing decisions unfold in real time, understanding the people behind the processes, and identifying where technology can support the team without slowing them down.

This is one day inside the Giro, seen from the Recon car.

07:00 AM

Wake up and get ready

I wake up in Limbiate, around 30 minutes from Milan airport.

The first thing I do is get ready and made sure to wear the team t-shirt I received (the team wears Netcompany Ineos cycling gear when on race).

Before leaving my room, I check the Daily Plan. Every evening, the team receives the plan for the next day, with timeslots, locations, vehicles and responsibilities.

For me, the plan is also where the Discovery work starts. I know I will be in the Recon car with two coaches, so I look through our notes and prepare what I want to focus on.

When you only have a few days on-site, you have to be intentional. There are people I want to speak to, things I need to observe, and moments we may not be able to recreate later.

07:35 AM

Breakfast

Had breakfast: cappuccino and croissants. 

08:30 AM

Integrated Performance meeting

I join the Integrated Performance meeting on the bus. 

This is a weekly meeting where performance staff share updates, knowledge and rider-specific information.  

From a Discovery perspective, the meeting helps us understand how information moves. What is important? Who contributes? Where does knowledge sit? How is it shared? 

09:40 AM

Leave suitcases for pick-up

Since we go directly from the hotel to the race, suitcases are picked up and driven to the next hotel by staff. 

Every stage starts somewhere new, so during the three weeks of the Giro, staff and riders leave for a new hotel every day. 

09:45 AM

Depart the hotel

We leave the hotel for the race start location. 

I am placed in the Recon car with coaches Adrian Lopez and Dario Cioni. The Recon car drives ahead of the riders to observe the route, road conditions, obstacles and weather before the riders arrive. 

In the car, we quickly got into a conversation about what it means to live “on the road” several days a year as staff members of a cycling team – it is a lifestyle. 

10:55 AM

Arrive at the race start area

When we arrive, I get my first real sense of how much Italians love cycling –There are fans everywhere. 

11:00 AM

Bus presentation 

Before the riders leave the bus, they receive the race tactics presentation. 

The Sport Director goes through the route, points out obstacles, explains tactical positions and highlights focus points for the stage.  

Right now, creating these presentations involves a lot of manual work. It is not a process the team can skip, because it plays an important tactical role. But if PULSE can help reduce the time spent gathering and preparing information, the Sport Directors can spend more time on the riders and the tactical decisions 

11:45 AM

Head out in the Recon car 

The coaches monitor the route ahead of the riders. They observe obstacles, weather and road conditions, and share relevant information through the route map or by radio. 

My colleague Rasmus is in one of the feed cars, so we are observing different parts of the same operation. Later, we will bring those observations together. 

In the Recon car, my observations were focused on the two coaches communicating with each other, their teammates, and how they escalate and react when weather conditions or planned feed activities change. 

One thing becomes clear: they are efficient, but there are many manual steps. They may need one tool for the map, another for weather, another for communication. There are many clicks and switches in situations where speed and focus matter. 

That is where Discovery becomes exciting. You are not in solution mode yet, but you start seeing where a digital lift could create value. 

12:35 PM

First pause 

Coffee and croissants. Very important when in Italy. 

The pause is also a good moment to exchange observations from the morning and ask follow-up questions. 

2:35 PM

Second pause 

Lunch. 

By now, I already have a lot of notes on my phone. 

The most important thing is to capture as much as possible while it is still fresh. Later, we can sort, analyse and connect the observations.

4:54 PM

Help out in one of the feed zones 

As we were near the finish line, it was decided that we pass the finish line and find an alternative route back to the last feed zones. The goal was to make sure riders were fueled up before reaching the finish line. 

This was not originally planned, so it gave me strong observation time: I saw them resaddle and make quick decisions in-race. 

The two coaches prepped the feeds and I was responsible for moving the car if we were told it was in the way. Thankfully, everything was fine – the riders were fueled, and I got to see them pass on close hold. 

5:10 PM

Arrive at the bus parking area 

Arrival at the bus area, where riders arrive after they cross the finish line. Again, it was filled with fans from all over the world.  

After arriving at the bus parking area, we board the team bus and watch the final part of the stage together with the rest of the staff.

5:50 PM

Travel to the next hotel

9:00 PM

Performance meeting  

In the evening, I observe the race debrief. 

Sport Directors, coaches, the doctor and the nutritionist share updates on individual riders, discuss how the day went and look ahead to upcoming stages. There is a lot of valuable knowledge in the room. 

From a Discovery perspective, it raises an important question: how do we capture that knowledge and turn it into learning loops? 

If insights from debriefs could be structured and reused, they could support future race strategy, next-season planning and tactical decisions. The value is already there. The question is how to make it easier to learn from it over time.

9:30 PM

Dinner with the staff 

Dinner with the staff – pasta, a glass of wine, and of course Dario’s homemade olive oil (I told him he needs to export these to Denmark!). 

11:00 PM

Goodnight 

This is the first time all day that I am by myself. 

Before sleeping, I start converting my notes into a more consolidated format.  

Once we are back in Denmark, we can compare findings across the team, prepare better follow-up interviews and understand which topics need more attention. 

The next step is to look across the capabilities we have identified. Where are the digital gaps? Where could PULSE help? Where would streamlining a workflow create value, and where does the current process already work well? 

This project is different from many others. The goal is not business value in the traditional sense. It is race performance. 

How can digital tools help the team make better decisions, learn faster and focus their time where it matters most? 

That is what makes the project exciting. We have a shared goal with INEOS, and we are working with one of Netcompany’s own platforms in a completely different industry from what I have worked with before. 

I did not know much about cycling before this project. Now I feel like I have to follow it. 

But for tonight, I text my family goodnight and go to sleep. 

Emma Kapetanovic

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