Velon and the Tour of Poland (12-18 July) are pleased to announce a collaboration that will see real-time rider performance data being streamed to and combined with the live broadcast TV coverage for each of the race’s seven stages. In addition, the data and broadcast stream will be viewable to all fans via the Velon.cc website and the Velon Pro Cycling app for both iOS and Android.
Each day of the Tour of Poland race, all 11 Velon teams and Movistar Team (who won the 2015 edition with Jon Izagirre), will carry 12 transponders under the saddles of 12 riders, one from each team.
Riders carrying the V-Box transponders will change from stage to stage but will include: Michal Kwiatkowski, Diego Ulissi, Bobby Jungels and Alex Dowsett amongst others; the devices will transmit and record the riders’ speed, power output, heart rate, cadence and acceleration/deceleration, relaying the data to the Polish national broadcaster, TVP, for inclusion in their live race broadcast coverage.
TVP and Velon are also working together to stream the live coverage on Velon.cc so that fans outside of Poland can also watch the action live; cycling enthusiasts will also be able to follow all 12 riders in real time on the road and see all their performance data by downloading the Velon Pro Cycling app. The app can be downloaded for iOS from here and Android here.
The announcement of live streaming of performance data has been welcomed by the Tour of Poland riders, said Team Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski:
“The possibility to share live our data with fans is really exciting and I believe is a step forward for the future of cycling.
“The Tour of Poland presents interesting stages every day and I’m sure fans will enjoy our performance.”
Diego Ulissi of Lampre-Merida commented:
“One of the first goals of cycling is to involve as many fans as possible in the competition, especially the young ones. I feel that the Tour of Poland is one of the most dynamic and pleasant races, so I’m very happy that we’ll all have the opportunity to share with the fans the data about our performance during this competition.
“Checking and comparing the data about the riders’ performances, their speed, their heart rate and their power will be very interesting for everyone and it will promote discussion amongst the fans.
“I will share my data in the key stage of Bukovina, the 6th one, where in the 2015 edition I was 2nd: I’ll aim to do even better and to show the fans how I fight for a victory.”
Primož Roglič of Team LottoNL-Jumbo said:
“For sure, streaming live rider performance data is as exciting for us riders as the fans.
“For me as a rider, I’m searching to see what’s possible – I want to get as much out of myself as I can so for fans to be able to see how hard I’m going as I race is amazing.
“It helps tell a whole new, individual story as well as the big race story and I think that this is just the beginning. It’s a really, really exciting time.”
Velon’s unique live rider performance transmission system was first debuted to great success and a very positive fan reception at the Tour of Switzerland.
Tour of Poland Race Director and CEO Czeslaw Lang said:
“We believe that this is a great initiative. The Tour of Poland has always been very concerned about and attentive to rider safety, but we also embrace new technology that can contribute to improving the narrative behind bicycle races, providing more information to enthusiasts who follow cycling.
“Our race has always been open to serving as a testing field for all those innovations that can contribute to making cycling even more spectacular and exciting. The latest cutting edge technologies can really become very interesting to fans following the race from home.
“The aim is to transmit the most precise emotions but also the technical details that allow everyone, even those less experienced, to discover how a rider lives and interprets the race.”
Velon CEO Graham Bartlett said:
“I am delighted to have seen such a positive response from fans, riders and teams following the transmission of our live data.
“The Tour of Poland has given us a great chance to show the fans more of the riders’ abilities and we’re looking forward to promoting this historic race with them.”
Visit http://tourdepologne.pl/en/ for more information.
