Over the course of an eight-day, 750-mile race, a cyclist processes countless pieces of information. In the Amgen Tour of California last month, cyclist Travis McCabe was able to track his heart rate, calories burned, elevation and UV exposure, among others, with the Microsoft Band 2.
Despite the breadth of information the band relays during a ride, the Holowesko-Citadel racing team rider and second-year Tour of California participant said he found the band particularly valuable off the bike.
“What I liked the most was the ability to monitor my sleep and my sleeping patterns,” McCabe said. “When you’re doing such a big race like [the Amgen Tour of California] with a heavy training and stress load, recovery is key”
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With the band, McCabe was able to see exactly how long it took him to fall asleep, how many times he woke up throughout the night, his hours of restful sleep and the Microsoft Band’s determination of how restorative his slumber was. It even had the ability to wake him up in the morning.
The partnership between the Amgen Tour of California and Microsoft to outfit cyclists with the lifestyle band gave riders and fans a fresh perspective on cycling analytics and the determination and physical ability it takes to participate in a tour that spans from San Diego to Santa Rosa.
“To see what it takes for these riders, in terms of looking at their biometric data, their speed and their elevation, really makes [fans] appreciate the amount of talent that each of these riders has,” said Kristin Klein, President of the Amgen Tour of California and Executive Vice President of AEG Sports.
Fans were able to follow the race online by accessing deep analytical information on the Tour’s website. A “Microsoft Band 2 Blog” detailed and put the statistics in context, making them easily accessible to interested spectators.
“This is the 11th year of the Amgen Tour of California, and we’ve never gone this deep from a metrics perspective” said Russell Silvers, Senior Vice President of AEG Global Partnerships.
Silvers, a Microsoft Band user himself, saw the race as an opportunity to seamlessly incorporate Microsoft technology into the event. Because of the differing terrain during the course of both the men’s tour and women’s tour, “there’s no better athlete to put these on then a cyclist,” Silvers said.
McCabe kept his band from the Amgen Tour of California and has been implementing it periodically into his lifestyle since.
“It is definitely something that I would use throughout the year,” McCabe said. “Having all that data there is nice, it’s not overwhelming, because it correlates with what I’m already looking at with my bike computers.”
Klein, who also sits on the board of USA Cycling, plans on further implementing and increasing the role of this technology in next year’s Tour of California. “I definitely would consider it cutting edge,” Klein said.