Cycling is a sport that is much easier to quantify than the average game. The position, altitude, speed acceleration, heart rate, power and cadence of a rider can tell a lot about the race, and how the rider is faring in it.
Velon, the joint venture that includes 11 of 18 WorldTour teams, will be bringing all of this data to fans in a 10-year partnership with Infront Sports and Media, who will capture the data, interpret it and release it to the media. It is rumored that the first race to be presented with this new data will be the Tour de Suisse in June.
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“Just imagine how great it will be for fans to see the performance of the riders as they follow races on their screens or see them at the race. This is something that has been available in other sports, and now we’re bringing it to cycling so fans can better engage with the riders and get a much better experience,” said CEO of Velon Graham Bartlett.
Velon was initially formed to make the sport of cycling more economically viable for the teams, in addition to introducing new technologies to the sport. Prior to this announcement, Velon helped introduce on-bike cameras to cycling broadcasts for several major events in 2014 and 2015.
Groung-breaking deal between @VelonCC and @infrontsports which brings real-time data to fans https://t.co/cOFYS3hFX5 pic.twitter.com/dLR2gqH1n1
— Tinkoff (@tinkoff_team) February 23, 2016
In recent years, we have seen this type of data processing in broadcast. One comparison would be the MLB’s introduction of Statcast last year. The MLB Advanced Media office developed technology that would create a whole new breed of statistics, releasing the information to broadcasters and fans.
But, this type of deal between Infront and Velon could be the beginning of a revolution for smaller sports. Having this type of data available to the media brings an extra step of professionalism and a new way for fans to become more involved in the sport.