Ever since 1903, the Tour de France has gained popularity by being one of the world’s most prominent cycling competitions each year. Cyclists all over the globe look forward to this event to prove to the cycling world why they are the best at the grueling sport. Though this community is rich with talent, fans typically do not understand what it takes for these competitors to perform so well. So this year Dimension Data tracked many interesting data points to help audiences understand just what the athletes are accomplishing and enduring on the Tour.
Dimension Data essentially transformed the way the Tour de France’s race data was analyzed while also delivering this compiled data across social and conventional media platforms for fans and cycling enthusiasts. Their technology forgoes the classic chalkboard estimations and instead utilizes live-tracking GPS on digital screens.
“The Tour de France project is a great example of teamwork and what the Dimension Data organization can do,” a Dimension Data representative explained. “Bringing together people from all around the world to work onsite here and also being supported by their colleagues in the regions real time as the race is actually evolving. It’s a great experience and it’s almost like we’ve become a family.”
This is the first time real-time tracking has been used to gather data on competing cyclists. Users could identify the distance between riders, location of individual riders, and composition of groups all live. This information was available to race commentators, television broadcasters, digital platforms, and race teams, all of which encompass over 1.3 million engagements with the data across all platforms.
None of this would be possible without Dimension Data’s cloud-based infrastructure which enables the company to seamlessly share their collected data to many fans. The Amaury Sport Organization (A.S.O.) ensured Dimension Data’s digital infrastructure was capable of reaching broader audiences in unique ways, even if it meant traveling on a big data truck throughout all stages of the race.
In the 360° video above, the people behind Dimension Data are using multiple communication and collaboration tools to facilitate an enhanced viewing experience of the Tour de France. The big data truck allows these employees to have 24-hour access to the race, making sure they can document every important racing aspect live.
“It’s a fabulous project to be involved in and is extremely hard work,” continued the Dimension Data representative. “I am so proud of everybody and what we achieved at this year’s Tour de France.”
The hard work seemed to pay off, as fans enjoyed having the technology available to use. If this is planned to be implemented once again in next years tour, Dimension Data will have the opportunity to reach this market of cycling fans more significantly than ever before.
From cyclists to CEOs, technology gives you the competitive advantage. Find out how: https://t.co/D7ax8GrAjQ pic.twitter.com/YGbwdnAxQh
— Dimension Data Sport (@DiDataSport) July 9, 2016
Below is an in-depth overview of some very interesting data points that Dimension Data gathered from this year’s Tour de France.
