Scientific Symposium Québec

Frédéric Grappe

Frederic Grappe is Director of Innovations and Performance for the Groupama FDJ UNITED professional cycling team and a distinguished sports science researcher with over two decades of experience in the cycling industry and sports science. He holds a PhD and HDR, working as a university lecturer-researcher on secondment. Frédéric has authored 5 university textbooks, published 75 articles in international scientific journals, and supervised 10 PhD theses. He bridges academic rigor with practical sports performance, combining deep scientific knowledge with cutting-edge technology to advance professional cycling performance.

Topic covered:
From the neural adjustments in the brain to the muscles to produce efficient power output.

Richard Ferguson

Richard is a Reader in Human and Exercise Physiology. He has broad research interests, with a particular focus on human performance and developing a greater understanding of the underpinning mechanisms of training adaptation. Richard has a specific interest in the effects of blood flow restricted (BFR) exercise on skeletal muscle adaptations and performance. Current work is also investigating the physiological and skeletal muscle morphological determinants of the power-duration relationship and how it relates to cycling performance.

Topic covered:
Blood flow restriction for recovery in high performance endurance cycling.

Vanessa Zoras

Vanessa Zoras, RD, MSc, is Head of Nutrition for the UCI WorldTour team NSN Cycling, where she leads high-performance nutrition strategy and athlete support. She has nearly a decade of experience working across para and able-bodied high-performance programs in multiple sport disciplines. Vanessa earned her MSc from the University of Victoria in 2025, focusing on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), and is currently pursuing a PhD investigating carbohydrate fueling strategies to optimize elite endurance performance. In 2025, she supported athletes at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda.

Topic covered (with Chris Rozdilsky):
Case Study of a World Champion: Aligning Health and Fueling to Optimize Performance Across an Elite Cycling Career.

Chris Rozdilsky

Chris Rozdilsky is an elite endurance coach and exercise physiologist with more than 20 years of experience working with professional and Olympic-level athletes. He currently supports high-performance cycling programs including the UCI WorldTour team NSN Cycling. Chris holds a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Human Performance and specializes in long-term athlete development for elite endurance performance. He has coached Magdeleine Vallieres, the current Elite Women’s Road Race World Champion, since she was a first-year junior.

Topic covered (with Vanessa Zoras):
Case Study of a World Champion: Aligning Health and Fueling to Optimize Performance Across an Elite Cycling Career.

Bent Ronnestad

Bent is a Professor at the Section for Health and Exercise Physiology, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norway). Since June 2025 he has had a part time position in the Road Cycling team Pinarello–Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team as Head of Exercise Physiology. Prof. Rønnestad has published ~150 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Key contributions include advancing the understanding of interval training, heat training, training periodization and impact of strength training on endurance performance.

Topic covered :
Effects of shorter blocks of threshold intervals and (vs.) high-intensity intervals in well-trained endurance athletes

Myriam Paquette

Myriam Paquette holds a doctorate in exercise physiology. Myriam has been a sports physiologist at INS Québec since 2015, where she has worked primarily with the para-swimming, para-cycling, and canoe-kayak teams. Since 2017, she has been the physiologist and lead of the integrated support team for the national para-cycling team. Her research focuses on interval training, muscle oxygenation, and the specific physiological characteristics of Paralympic athletes. She is constantly seeking to deepen her understanding of athletes’ physiological profiles and to better document their responses to various training stimuli.

Topic covered (with François Raymond):
The gold is in the process: the Canadian Paracycling Team approach. Training plans designed from the gap analysis to the choice of the intervention or tool, and the tracking of its effects.

François Raymond

François Raymond, who holds a master’s degree in kinesiology, has been a strength and conditioning coach at INS Québec since 2014. In addition to his work in physical conditioning, he also undertakes training and knowledge dissemination mandates related to the science of training. Currently responsible for supporting the Canadian para-cycling and boxing teams, François has lent his expertise to a wide range of sports over the past decade: mountain and road cycling, para-swimming, canoe-kayak, judo, and goalball. Throughout these roles, he has distinguished himself through his focus on individualized training, the importance he places on interpersonal relationships, and the cohesion of the multidisciplinary teams he works with. Competition and performance remain part of his daily life in sports, though he can’t imagine competing with the athletes he has the pleasure of coaching!

Topic covered (with Myriam Paquette):
The gold is in the process: the Canadian Paracycling Team approach. Training plans designed from the gap analysis to the choice of the intervention or tool, and the tracking of its effects.

Robert Moskovitch

Robert Moskovitch is a faculty member of Computer and Information Science at Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), Israel, where he directs the Complex Data Analytics Lab and serves as the Vice Dean for Industry and International Relations. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Department of Population Health Science and Policy at Ichan Medical School at Mount Sinai, NYC, USA. Before his postdoc fellowship at the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University in NYC, he headed several R&D projects in Information Security at the Deutsche Telekom Innovation Laboratories.

He is an Associate Editor at the ACM Transactions on Knowledge Discovery from Data (TKDD) journal, Big Data journal, and was Academic Editor at PLOS ONE. He is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Biomedical
Informatics (JBI) and is the elected Vice Chair of the Board of the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIME) Society. His lab focuses mainly on temporal data analytics and generally data mining and machine learning, as well as their use and applications in biomedical, cybersecurity, sports, and other domains.

Topic covered:
Modelling Team Skills and Roster Selection to Predict Cycling Race Outcomes

Paul-Antoine Girard

Paul-Antoine Girard is the CEO and co-founder of Vekta, where he is shaping the future of AI in endurance training and coaching platforms. Vekta collaborates with multiple WorldTour teams, including Lidl – Trek, Decathlon CMA CGM Team, and FDJ United – SUEZ. A former high-level cross-country skier, Paul-Antoine has a background in mathematics, economics, and data science. Originally from France, he studied at Paris Dauphine University before completing an MSc in Data Science for Business at HEC Paris and École Polytechnique. In 2020, he was a founding Machine Learning Engineer at SeeYou.ai, a New York-based startup developing AI solutions for personalized skincare.

Topic covered (with Lieselot Decroix):
How AI Is Unlocking New Insights in Women’s Cycling.

Lieselot Decroix

Lieselot Decroix is performance director at FDJ-UNITED SUEZ, one of the best female cycling teams in the world. In this role, she focuses on optimizing athletes performance, health and recovery in an evidence-informed way and oversees the performance structure. She is a former professional cyclist herself, who represented Belgium at the 2008 Olympic games and competed during 10 years at international level, and earned a PhD in sports sciences and physiotherapy at the Free University of Brussels, specializing in exercise physiology and performance.

Topic covered (with Paul-Antoine Girard):
How AI Is Unlocking New Insights in Women’s Cycling.

Jonathan Tremblay

Jonathan Tremblay, Ph.D., is a full professor at the School of Kinesiology and Exercise Science (EKSAP) at the University of Montreal and an affiliated researcher at the Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Applied Bioenergetics (LPEBA) at the Montreal Heart Institute. His work focuses on exercise bioenergetics, the oxidation of energy substrates, and the modeling of endurance performance, particularly using indirect calorimetry and ¹³C isotope tracing. He collaborates with several high-performance sports groups in various disciplines and was the first scientific director of the National Institute of Sport of Quebec (INS Québec).

Topic covered (with Jérémy Briand):
From the molecule to the road: bioenergetic approaches and modeling to push the limits of cycling.

Jérémy Briand

Jérémy Briand, a sports and science enthusiast, is a former member of the national triathlon team. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in physics from McGill University in 2019, he applied his skills in data analysis and modeling to research projects at the Institut National du Sport du Québec. These experiences sparked a genuine passion for research and led him to pursue a master’s and PhD in exercise science at the Université de Montréal. His current work focuses on modeling locomotion performance, with the goal of better understanding and identifying its bioenergetic determinants. By pinpointing these key factors, performance can be optimized through targeted interventions, such as training programs. In his free time, Jérémy remains an avid cyclist, runner, and outdoor enthusiast.

Topic covered (with Jonathan Tremblay):
From the molecule to the road: bioenergetic approaches and modeling to push the limits of cycling.

Stephen Cheung

Dr. Stephen Cheung is a Distinguished Professor and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Kinesiology and directs the Environmental Ergonomics Lab. His research ranges from the effects of heat stress on the brain’s ability to recruit muscles through to the blood flow of fingers in the cold and its effect on frostbite risk and marine survival. He has partnered with the Toronto Fire Service to improve heat exposure guidelines and recovery protocols, the Search & Rescue Secretariat to improve survival models in the North Atlantic and the Arctic, various occupational and athletic clothing manufacturers on developing more thermally efficient and comfortable clothing, and Olympic teams and World Champion athletes to optimize performance. Cheung authored Advanced Environmental Exercise Physiology, the primary graduate text in the field, along with two books on the science of cycling. Dr. Cheung obtained his M.Sc. from Simon Fraser University, his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and an Honours diploma from the International Space University. Cheung has a deep love for cycling, rockclimbing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, and pretty much all forms of physical activity.

Topic covered:
Optimizing cycling performance in hot environments.

Markus Rummel

Markus Rummel holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics and is the founder of AI Endurance, an AI-powered training platform for endurance athletes. His work focuses on how everyday workout data can be used to determine exercise thresholds, readiness to train, durability, and optimal training plans, turning consumer wearable and power-meter data into actionable physiological insight. Before founding AI Endurance, he spent years in theoretical physics research, and he now applies that modeling background to endurance sport.

Topic covered:
Measuring Durability in the Wild: Quantifying Physiological Drift from Real-World Cycling Data Using Heart Rate, Respiration Frequency, and DFA Alpha 1

Erick Auger

With 36 years in the cycling industry, Erick Auger has been a central contributor to the technological evolution that shapes modern performance cycling. For the past 15 years at Faction Bike Studio, he has partnered with leading brands—ranging from emerging innovators to global OEMs—to advance product development and elevate real-world rider performance. His expertise extends to high-performance sport, having collaborated with Olympic federations on track bikes engineered purely to win, pushing beyond commercial constraints to expand the limits of what is possible. Combining deep technical knowledge with practical experience across multiple cycling disciplines, including a second-place finish at the 2009 24-Hour World Championships, he brings a rare, dual perspective to the future of cycling technology and human performance.

Topic covered:
A case study in track cycling design : performance Engineering Through Data-Driven Product Optimization.

Benjamin Pageaux

Benjamin Pageaux is an Associate Professor at the School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences (EKSAP) at the University of Montreal. He is also a researcher at the Research Centre of the Montreal Geriatric Institute (CRIUGM).
Benjamin’s research aims to understand the neurophysiological mechanisms that influence the perception of effort, with the goal of improving health and performance. He is particularly interested in the interaction between effort, pain, and fatigue. He uses a multidisciplinary approach that integrates knowledge from physiology, psychology, and neuroscience. His work contributes to a better understanding of how the brain regulates performance, with a particular focus on endurance performance.

Topic covered:
Dissociation between perceptions of effort, pain and fatigue: why does it matter for endurance performance?

James Sadauckas

James Sadauckas, PhD, is Principal Engineer of Vehicle Dynamics in the Trek Performance Research (TPR) group for Trek Bicycle Corporation. A lifelong bicyclist across multiple disciplines with twenty years in motorcycle development and over five studying bicycle dynamics, he has authored one engineering book and numerous scientific papers. His primary research is in vehicle handling and stability with a focus on tire characterization and modelling as well as suspension dynamics related to vehicle ride quality and performance. James studied mechanical engineering at Marquette University and earned his PhD from the University of Padua, Italy. He works remotely to support Trek product research & development as well as collaborating with Lidl-Trek and Trek-Unbroken professional racing teams. James is proud to work alongside his esteemed TPR colleagues, experts in biomechanical, experimentation, structural, aerodynamics, and ride test, to bring a foundational, science-based approach to Trek and the broader bicycle industry. TPR’s goal is to provide a conduit of knowledge between stakeholders, academic partners, and the cycling public to get more people on bikes.

Topic covered:
Predicting Virtual Mountain Bike Tire Force & Moment Data for a New Combination of Tire Diameter and Width

Hilkka Kontro

Hilkka Kontro completed a PhD in Exercise Physiology in 2024 at the University of Calgary, where she currently works as a post-doctoral associate in Dr. Martin MacInnis’s lab. She also holds MSc degrees in Biochemistry from University of Helsinki and Exercise Physiology from University of Jyväskylä (Finland), and has also published research from her work at the University of Limerick (Ireland). Her research spans both basic and applied exercise physiology, with a particular focus on the determinants of endurance performance. Her PhD research focused on how changes in oxygen delivery affects the maximal metabolic steady state and durability. More recently, her work has centered on modeling acute cycling performance and training adaptations, including power-duration relationships, critical power, and fatigue modeling in cyclists.

Topic covered:
Modeling fatigue during severe-intensity exercise by maximum power available.

Delphine Périé-Curnier

Delphine Perie-Curnier is a full Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal since 2008. Her main research area involves understanding and quantifying the cardiac behavior under stress conditions through new imaging protocols and modeling technologies. Her most important contributions vary from image analysis, mechanical testing, and numerical modeling to clinical applications in cardiomyopathy, knee arthroplasty and scoliosis. She even took her triathlon passion, having completed thirteen Ironman races, including the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona twice, and more than forty Ironman 70.3 races all around the world, so far as to incorporate it into one of her research projects on cycling positioning for highest performance. Her expertise allows her to optimize the cyclist position from both a parameterized finite element model of the cyclist for computer fluid dynamics simulation to electromyographic, biomechanical and metabolic measurements.

Topic covered :
Aero handlebar positions effects on muscle activity, kinematics of the lower limb, oxygen uptake and aerodynamics.

Pénélope Paradis-Deschênes

Pénélope Paradis-Deschênes is a professor at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and a member of the Biomechanical and Neurophysiological Research Laboratory in Neuro-Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation (Lab BioNR). She holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Kinesiology (Université Laval). Her research focuses on the application of ischemic preconditioning in various contexts (altitude, recovery, competition, and training), exercise physiology, sex differences, and the optimization of athletic performance.

Topic covered:
Adaptations to HIIT in athletes with sex-based analyses: a scoping review

Jules Cusson-Fradet

Jules Cusson-Fradet is a PhD candidate and university lecturer in sport and exercise science at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). His research focuses on the longitudinal monitoring of cycling performance and the development of practical field-based assessment tools. His applied work bridges research and practice through collaborations with athletes, coaches, and sport organizations, including the Bromont National Cycling Centre, where he has contributed to the development of performance-testing protocols and automated reporting tools. He also conducts bike-fit assessments at Posivelo, a Montreal-based cycling biomechanics and performance studio, and on-track aerodynamic testing at the Bromont velodrome.

Topic covered:
Longitudinal Monitoring and Sensitivity to Change of an 8-Minute Self-Paced Submaximal Cycling Test

Veronica Furno

Veronica Furno is a PhD student in biological sciences and holder of a master’s in exercise science, Veronica joined the Quebec National Institute of Sport in 2020. She’s interested in optimizing athletes’ training and is looking to develop new methods to enhance physiological responses to exercise. Currently, she works with the para-swimming and short-track speed skating teams as an exercise physiologist and researcher. Veronica has also been part of the teaching staff for the kinesiology undergraduate programs at UQAM and Concordia University.

Topic covered:
The effects of two 3-week concurrent training mesocycles with the inclusion of ischemic preconditioning in short track speeds skaters

Antoine Groleau

Antoine Groleau is an undergraduate nursing student and research assistant at the University of Sherbrooke. His research interests include pain and endurance sport, with a particular focus on the biopsychosocial factors involved in pain experience and management among endurance athletes. He is currently contributing to an ongoing scoping review on this topic.

Topic covered (with Maelli Fernandez-Gendron):
Biopsychosocial Mechanisms of Pain Modulation and effort perception in endurance cyclists: A scoping review

Maëlli Fernandez-Gendron

Maëlli Fernandez-Gendron is an emergency nurse with a master’s degree and a growing research interest in pain science in sport. Her clinical experience and involvement in research have shaped her interest in pain modulation, with a particular focus on endurance athletes. She is preparing to begin doctoral studies to further develop this line of research.

Topic covered (avec Antoine Groleau):
Biopsychosocial Mechanisms of Pain Modulation and effort perception in endurance cyclists: A scoping review

Anthony Dumais

Anthony Dumais is a master’s student in biomedical sciences at the University of Montreal, supervised by Prof. Daniel Gagnon at the Montreal Heart Institute. His work focuses on human physiology, especially physiological responses to heat, with a particular interest in analyzing biomedical data. He also has training in kinesiology, psychology, and computer science.

Topic covered:
Comparison of Two Heat Adaptation Protocols on Physiology and Performance: A Secondary Analysis of A Meta-Analysis

Laura Girard-Côté

Laura Girard-Cote is a physiotherapist and PhD candidate in biology at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. She divides her time between clinical practice in physiotherapy and research. Following a master’s degree in Clinical and Biomedical Sciences focused on the effects of strength training in women with myotonic dystrophy type 1, she is now pursuing her doctoral research under the supervision of Pénélope Paradis-Deschênes and Marie-Claude Sincennes. Her doctoral project explores the effects of the menstrual cycle and ischemic preconditioning on sports performance, while allowing her to further develop her knowledge of female physiology.

Topic covered:
Effect of ischemic preconditioning and menstrual cycle on maximal cycling effort