Skip to main content
UploadLanguage (EN)Support
BusinessMobileSocial MediaMarketingTechnologyArt & PhotosCareerDesignEducationPresentations & Public SpeakingGovernment & NonprofitHealthcareInternetLawLeadership & ManagementAutomotiveEngineeringSoftwareRecruiting & HRRetailSalesServicesScienceSmall Business & EntrepreneurshipFoodEnvironmentEconomy & FinanceData & AnalyticsInvestor RelationsSportsSpiritualNews & PoliticsTravelSelf ImprovementReal EstateEntertainment & HumorHealth & MedicineDevices & HardwareLifestyle
Uploaded byjessejcu
PPTX, PDF308 views

Science & Cycling keynote: Building environments that make excellence inevitable by Jesse Korf, Executive General Manager of Performance at AusCycling

Building Environments That Make Excellence Inevitable — Keynote, Science & Cycling 2026, Barcelona How does a national sporting organization build a high-performance system where excellence becomes the natural outcome rather than the exception? This keynote, presented at the 11th Science & Cycling Conference in Barcelona during the 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ week, shares the beliefs and operating concepts behind AusCycling's approach to people development, innovation, and performance systems design across six Olympic and Paralympic disciplines: track, road, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, mountain bike, and para-cycling. Topics covered include high-performance culture and leadership, coach and staff development, talent pathways, innovation systems, and the organizational architecture behind Australia's rebuild from five cycles of decline to its second-best combined Olympic and Paralympic cycling result in history at Paris 2024, and the world's leading elite World Championship medal count across the seasons since. Presented by Jesse Korf, Executive General Manager of Performance at AusCycling, ahead of the LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic cycles. This is one program's honest attempt, shared as a work in progress rather than a finished answer. Feedback is genuinely welcome: what resonates, what misses, and what we can do better. Keywords: high performance sport, sports science, cycling, performance systems, talent development, leadership, coaching, innovation, Olympic sport, Paralympic sport, AusCycling, Science and Cycling conference

Sports◦
Downloaded 35 times
SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 Building environments that make excellence inevitable Why winning the next race will depend less on what you know — and more on the environments, people, and learning you design. Jesse Korf, PHD Executive GM Performance, AusCycling
To win at the Olympics (or the Tour), you must perform at a level no one has ever performed at before. Which means — by definition — you cannot do what has already been done. Excellence is, structurally, an obligation to discover. SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 2 01 THE PROBLEM
A country far, far away quietly leading the world 36 Gold medals across Olympics, Paralympics & World Championships World #1 by gold 2024-2026 €0.37M Cost per gold medal — the most efficient National HP cycling system on earth vs €0.46M to €11M at peers 74 Total medals between Paris 2024 and summer 2026 across Olympic & Paralympic cycling Track · Road · BMX · MTB (World #2 by total medals) Source: AusCycling Performance, Global Medal Rankings 2024–26 (verified Olympic, Paralympic & UCI World Championship results). 02 THE EVIDENCE 3 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING
SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 4
SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 5 Innovation is people
SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 6
The 3 Imperatives for becoming a great leader Linda Hill's framework Manage yourself Management isn't about doing. It's about accomplishing things through others. Hill, L. A. — Being the Boss · Collective Genius · Genius at Scale (Harvard Business School) SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 7 INNOVATION IS PEOPLE Manage a network Understand power and influence. Build mutually beneficial relationships across the system. Manage a team Forge a high-performing "we" out of all the "I"s who report to you. And ensure that the “I”s become the best version of themselves 1 2 3
Four propositions TODAYS TALK SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 8 TEAM Cultural and philosophical commitments come BEFORE the sciences. They decide which evidence is relevant. Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (1787) P1 NETWORK High-performance environments are complex adaptive systems. They cannot really be managed — only enabled. Uhl-Bien, Marion & McKelvey (2007) P2 TEAM Adults in HP learn through effortful exploration, guided discovery and intrinsic motivation — not instruction. Staff development is andragogical, not pedagogical. Knowles (1980); Kolb (1984) P3 TOPICAL Because AI is displacing the knowledge layer, the relational and cultural layer becomes the decisive site of competitive advantage. P4
Philosophy before science Categorical imperatives in sport What we commit to before the data Values · purpose · team philosophy What we learn from the data. What it takes to win – athlete progression - growing capacity Kant, I. (1787). Critique of Pure Reason. P1 TEAM · PHILOSOPHY FIRST A PRIORI A POSTERIOR SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 9
Stable Core. Disruptive Edges. Hold the centre. Burn the edges. Organisations that have outperformed their peers for over a century share one trait: a fixed core of values and purpose, surrounded by an outer ring that is deliberately, constantly disturbed (Hill, 2023). In HP cycling, the core is non-negotiable. The edges are where the new performance comes from. P1 TEAM · PHILOSOPHY FIRST SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 10
High Support. High Challenge. Care fiercely. Push relentlessly. Refuse the trade-off. World-champion cultures don't choose between care and demand — they install both, at maximum intensity, at the same time. The literature on motivational climate in elite sport (Hodge, Henry & Smith, 2014; Cruickshank & Collins, 2012) is unambiguous on this point. P1 TEAM · PHILOSOPHY FIRST SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 11
Growth mindset — as an organisational property Not a personal virtue. An operating principle. Hire, retain and fire — for learning. P1 TEAM · PHILOSOPHY FIRST SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 12 Hire for behaviors and attitudes, not credentials Curiosity, humility and capacity to update are the predictors. CVs are floors, not ceilings. Design for failure as curriculum If your team can't tell you when you're wrong, the environment is the obstacle (Edmondson, 2018; Uhl-Bien et al., 2007). Wrongful retention is as costly as wrongful selection. Loyalty without learning is decay. Move on when the fit ends 1 2 3
Pick One to maximise Or pick none and be caught in no-man's land. Wins Olympic, Paralympic & World Championship medals. Stakeholder value Sponsors, federations, partners — value compounding over cycles. Community impact Pathways, participation, the public legitimacy that funds everything else. NETWORK · COMPLEX SYSTEMS P2 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 13
Governance · High Performance · Community — each plays its own game, but actions diffuse across all three. Inspired by: Gómez et al. (2013), Phys. Rev. Lett. · J.Korf operating fitness-network model. Torres – Hugas et al., 2024 SUPRA-LAPLACIAN DIFUSION 14 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING Cycling as three coupled layers THE SYSTEM AS A NETWORK P2
Pol, R., Balagué, N., Ric, A., Torrents, C., Kiely, J., & Hristovski, R. (2020). Training or synergizing? Complex systems principles change the understanding of sport processes. Performance lives across timescales TIMESCALES P2 15 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING
Get the right people. Develop them. Build the team. The athletes can't be a million miles ahead of the people developing them. P3 TEAM · HOW ADULTS LEARN SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 16
Person–environment fit Behaviour stems from the interplay between the person and their environment. Get the fit right and growth follows. Get it wrong and stress follows. P–O FIT Person–Organisation Alignment between the individual's values, skills and goals — and the values, culture and goals of the organisation. P–J FIT P–G FIT Edwards (2008); Edwards et al. (2006); Kristof-Brown & Guay (2011). In sport: Terwiel et al. (2021); Woods et al. (2020). HOW WE OPERATE · THE THEORETICAL ANCHOR P3 17 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING Person–Job Match between the individual's skills, abilities and preferences — and the requirements of the specific role. Person–Group Compatibility with the team — boosts communication, cooperation and group performance.
The Coach Avatar Knowledge and Skills can be developed. Attitudes and Behaviours are the gate. Hill (2023); Dweck (2015); Grant (2021). We hire on Attitudes/Behaviours; we develop Knowledge/Skills. P3 HOW WE OPERATE · WHAT WE HIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 18 • Expert (PhD-like) sport knowledge • How people learn • Human and athlete development • Training environment design • Physiological & psychological demands SKILLS • Effective learning & training environments • Driving IAPPs in the DPE • Tech & data interpretation • Leadership and coaching • Emotional intelligence ATTITUDES • Curious. Engaged. Invested. • Respectful. Disciplined. • Commitment to people • Chases excellence • Humble BEHAVIOURS • Displays a growth mindset • Initiative in communication and knowledge sharing • Takes ownership • Acts with integrity • Willing to fail to move forward
Two lenses, held at the same time HUMAN DESIGN Every dimension of the human, designed. Skill development Psychology Peer & social support Financial support Career transition Alumni Physiology Belonging FIRST PRINCIPLES DESIGN Athlete-as-system — propulsion and decision, modelled. Power demands Drag Rolling resistance Metabolic needs System Efficiencies Weight Race & pace strategy Inertia Australia's edge: refuse to choose. Grow coaches fluent in both. Explore Summits (2025); Wylleman & Reints (2010); Henriksen et al. (2020). HOW WE OPERATE P2 19 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING
What we actually do Design world-class environments that promote growth for everyone — athletes, coaches, staff — and positively impact performance at the Games and World Championships. HOW WE OPERATE · CORE ACTIVITIES P3 20 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING All coaches and staff members have a professional development plan 1 Head Coaches and other senior leaders have a mentor 2 Cross-fertilise by design Acceleration & Action (BMX R, BMX FS, Track Sprint) & Endurance (Road, Track Endurance, MTB) 3 Explore sessions Multi-day coach & scientist innovation off-sites 4 Expert immersions Several weeks to months where an international domain experts joins the environment 5
Why this works on adult brains r d r d r E r r I r . What is happening in the oom — an in the b ain — u ing an xplo e session o mme sion NOVELTY The adult brain rewires only when input exceeds the current capacity envelope. Familiar maintains. Unfamiliar adapts. → DISRUPTIVE EDGES EFFORT + SAFETY Effortful, focused attention drives BDNF and synaptic change — but only in learning mode. Threat shuts plasticity down. → HIGH SUPPORT / HIGH CHALLENGE AGENCY + BELIEF Adults rewire when they direct their own learning (Knowles) and when they believe ability is developable (Dweck). → GROWTH MINDSET REFLECTION Consolidation happens in the gaps — sleep, writing, the Kolb cycle. The wiring sets after the session, not during. → ANDRAGOGY · KOLB T E r r r r d d r . he xplo e sessions a e a neu oplasticity p otocol isguise as a wo kshop Kleim & Jones (2008); Lövdén et al. (2010); Knowles (1980); Kolb (1984); Doidge (2007). IN PRACTICE P3 21 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING
Cycling 1.0 → 2.0 → 3.0 1.0 Tradition Experience, mileage, intuition. The coach as oracle. 2.0 Science Physiology, nutrition, pacing, equipment. The lab as oracle. 3.0 AI & Beyond Knowledge becomes commoditised. The model knows the dose-response — instantly, everywhere. Extending Zabala, M. (2025). From Cycling 1.0 and 2.0 to Cycling 3.0. Journal of Science and Cycling, 14(1), Art. 14. THE INFLECTION P4 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 22
The next competitive advantage will be paradoxically more human — because of AI • Individualised dose-response training • Personalised nutrition and recovery • Real-time race pacing strategy • Load management and injury prediction • Data pattern recognition at scale Relationship Trust that makes athletes act on the information Translation Turning data into insight that lands, with this athlete, now Better questions Knowing what to ask AI — and what to ask the athlete Ecosystem activation Connecting the right people, tools and ideas at the right moment Learning velocity How fast your people — staff AND athletes — adapt and grow The team that deploys this well, first, wins. Those who don't evolve will lose — quickly. A PERSONAL BELIEF P4 WHAT AI WILL ABSORB WHAT REMAINS HUMAN 23 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING
Three questions to take home About your environment, your people, and your edge. Q1 Does your environment drive curiosity — or protect comfort? Are your coaches and staff developed as rigorously as your athletes? If AI quietly absorbed half your sports-science department tomorrow, what would still make your team faster than the rest? Q2 Q3 THE INVITATION SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING 24
Head fake Back to Linda Hill's first imperative: manage yourself. Q1 Are YOU driving yourself and those around you to be obsessively curious? Are YOU planning your ongoing development as rigorously as your athletes? If AI quietly absorbed half your sports-science department tomorrow, what would YOU DO to make your team faster than the rest? Q2 Q3 THE INVITATION 25 SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026 JESSE KORF, AUSCYCLING
Excellence is not an outcome. It is an environment. Design it. Defend it. Stay obsessed with disturbing it. Thank you. · Jesse Korf · AusCycling
Theoretical and empirical anchors • Cruickshank, A., & Collins, D. (2012). Culture change in elite sport performance teams. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 24(3), 338–355. • Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself. Viking. • Dweck, C. S. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the 'growth mindset.' Education Week. • Edmondson, A. (2018). The Fearless Organization. Wiley. • Edwards, J. R. (2008). Person–environment fit in organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1). • Glazier, P. S. (2017). Towards a grand unified theory of sports performance. Human Movement Science, 56, 139–156. • Gómez, S., et al. (2013). Diffusion dynamics on multiplex networks. Physical Review Letters, 110(2). • Henriksen, K., et al. (2020). A holistic ecological approach to sport and study. Routledge. • Hill, A. (2023). Strategy of the Centennials. Harvard Business School / Centennials Research. • Hill, L. A. (2003). How new managers become great leaders. Harvard Business Press. • Hodge, K., Henry, G., & Smith, W. (2014). A case study of excellence in elite sport. The Sport Psychologist, 28(1), 60–74. • Kant, I. (1787). Critique of Pure Reason. • Kleim, J. A., & Jones, T. A. (2008). Principles of experience-dependent neural plasticity. JSLHR, 51(1), S225–S239. • Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Cambridge. • Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning. Prentice Hall. • Kristof-Brown, A., & Guay, R. (2011). Person–environment fit. APA Handbook of I/O Psychology. • Lövdén, M., et al. (2010). A theoretical framework for the study of adult cognitive plasticity. Psychological Bulletin, 136(4), 659–676. • Otte, F. W., et al. (2024). The role of skill acquisition specialists within sports. Journal of Expertise, 7(3). • Pol, R., et al. (2020). Training or synergizing? Complex systems and sport. Sports Medicine, 50, 1605–1616. • Terwiel, S., et al. (2021). Person–environment fit and subjective well-being in athletes. • Torres-Hugas, et al. (2024). Structural prediction of super-diffusion in multiplex networks. • Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., & McKelvey, B. (2007). Complexity Leadership Theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(4), 298– 318. • Williams, A. M., & Hodges, N. J. (2023). Skill Acquisition for Excellence (SAFE) Framework. • Woods, C. T., et al. (2020). Wayfinding: ecological perspectives on dynamic environments and skill acquisition. • Wylleman, P., & Reints, A. (2010). A lifespan perspective on the career of talented and elite athletes. • Zabala, M. (2025). From Cycling 1.0 and 2.0 to Cycling 3.0. Journal of Science and Cycling, 14(1), Art. 14. REFERENCES