Dimension Data equips Tour de France with Big Data analytics and digital delivery platform
The company said, in a statement, that this will deliver real-time information on individual riders for the first time in the history of professional cycling.
Dimension Data has partnered with tour organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which will extract data from the 22 teams participating in the 2015 Tour de France .
As cycling fans tune in to the famous race, they will be able to follow their favourite riders in real-time, track the speed at which each cyclist is riding, know their exact position in the race in relation to other cyclists, and the distance between each rider in detail.
The 198 riders in 22 teams will generate 42,000 geospatial points and 75 million GPS readings. In addition, the live tracking website is built to support 17 million viewers and 2000 page requests per second. Data on riders will be processed in Dimension Data's Cloud platform across five continents consuming over 350 million cpu cycles per second.
Highly accurate data will be collected through the use of live trackers under the saddle of each rider. Dimension Data will then process and analyse the data, and make it available to cycling fans, commentators, broadcasters and the media.
In addition, a beta live tracking website optimised for a range of devices including computers, tablets and mobile phones, will be made available.
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The real time analytics solution will take the data provided by a third party geo localisation transmission component, undertake data cleansing and analysis, and provide access to this data as both a real-time data stream, and a historical archive.
Dimension Data Group CEO, Brett Dawson, said there are multiple layers to the innovation required to deliver the solution for ASO.
"We needed to implement cutting edge technology in the form of advanced real time analytics and a highly contemporary digital platform that's able to provide innovative insights into the race that have never been available before.
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"Dimension Data is bringing a new level of technical capability to the Tour de France in areas that will transform the technology landscape, including Internet of Things, real time Big Data analytics, elastic Cloud Infrastructure, contemporary digital platforms, advanced collaboration technologies, and agile development practices," he said.
According to Tour de France director, Christian Prudhomme, this technological development will enable a better analysis of the race, highlight the race tactics, and also show how essential each rider's role is within his team.
"It will now be possible to understand how to prepare for a sprint finish in the last few kilometres of a stage, feel the wind's impact on the rider's speed, and so much more. Our efforts combined with those of Dimension Data will permanently change the way we follow cycling and the Tour de France," Prudhomme added.
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ASO and Dimension Data will also work together to extend and enhance the platform to deliver a range of innovative end-user experiences by 2020.