02 May 2015
IAM Cycling
If you do not move forward, you fall behind. This popular adage is certainly true in cycling. IAM Cycling is committed to contributing to enhancing how cycling can be consumed by the fans, helping to bring them closer to the on-the-road exploits of their heroes. Consequently, IAM Cycling has volunteered to perform a real-time test during the Tour of Romandie with GPST or Geo Positioning Swiss Technology. In agreement with the Chassot Concept, the company that organizes one of the two Swiss events on the UCI WorldTour calendar, the IAM Cycling team will be testing a geolocation or GPS system.
Keen to be among the innovators in the peloton, the Swiss professional team will have all eight of its riders wearing a GPS receiver for the stages of the Tour of Romandie.
Attached to the seat tube, these receivers or tracking devices will allow the fans, spectators, and the media to follow live, meter by meter, the IAM Cycling racers.
To participate and follow the IAM riders today
http://live.gpst.ch
Or download the GPST Android application
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.TogoSys.gpst
Convinced that these sorts of initiatives will improve the dissemination and popularization of the sport, IAM Cycling sincerely hopes that the lessons learned from this test will contribute to the advancement of this technology for future use.
Excited by their initial trials, Michel Thétaz, the General Manager of IAM Cycling, welcomes this initiative and emphasizes the need to offer the public more and better information to encourage greater interest in watching the races.
IAM Cycling is faithful to the values of performance and research in order to continue to improve our sport and increase access. Therefore, IAM Cycling looks forward to participating actively in any enterprise that provides added value for fans and spectators. We would like to thank the UCI, the organizers of the Tour of Romandie, and the GPST, whose work will hopefully contribute to the technological progress on these issues that are essential for the development of professional cycling, Thétaz explained.
Commenting on this initiative, the UCI President Brian Cookson said: I congratulate IAM Cycling on this initiative, which is taking great strides towards improving the appeal of our sport to the general public who seek to have more information real-time. We hope that this will soon be generally available to the fans so they can enjoy this important innovation in the future of cycling.
GPST (Geo Positioning Swiss Technology) is a Swiss company specializing in technological innovations for sport. Aimed at the geo-positioning in cycling events in particular, the GPST system can cover the different needs of all involved, including the organizers, athletes, teams, and media, by communicating information relating to the race in real-time.