Trek Segafredo announced Monday that it is partnering with HeadCheck Health to launch a new team concussion protocol. The company's concussion assessment tool, HeadCheck, will allow team medical staff to assess concussions and track injured athletes' recovery.

"This is a very powerful tool," Trek Segafredo head physician Nino Daniele said in a team press release. It allows us to easily and accurately measure when it is safe for a rider with a concussion to continue a ride."

Trek-Segafredo held a training camp last month at Trek's global office in Waterloo, Wisconsin, where four members of the team's medical staff used HeadCheck to evaluate all the riders on the men's World Tour and women's World Team. The initial evaluation provided baseline data for comparison to post-injury evaluations.

The information obtained from the initial assessment will help the team's medical staff respond to head trauma sustained during racing or training by accessing HeadCheck on their cell phones. The medical staff can assess the rider's reaction level and compare the results to baseline data.

Trek Segafredo pointed to a 2018 study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness showing that more than one in five cyclists experience a sports-related concussion.

"Trek Segafredo believes that athletes deserve top-level protection for their health, which is why we currently use HeadCheck for our men's and women's teams," the press release stated.

The HeadCheck assessment tool is not just for use by medical staff. The tool tracks and self-reports symptoms from the rider's own mobile device to support safe post-injury recovery.

Trek also sponsors teams in off-road competitions such as downhill, cross-country, and enduro, and these teams also use HeadCheck's smartphone technology.

"Trek continues to show great leadership in the cycling community by taking a proactive approach to rider health and wellness." The addition of the Trek Segafredo Road Cycling Team to HeadCheck is an important step in working together to advance concussion management practices in the sport."