Team Dimension Data Partner Deloitte Rolls Out Real-Time Analytics Apps For Tour De France

Deloitte and Team Dimension Data have partnered up to develop a pair of live analytics application for Tour de France and are promoting them via an integrated, multi-platform campaign led by online video.

Working in harness with partner Team Dimension Data and African bike charity Qhubeka, Deloitte has created a pair of apps – Deloitte Smart Map and Deloitte Race Monitor – with the aim of helping the riders make critical decisions during real-time racing and enabling fans to understand the factors behind in-race strategic decision making.

Both apps collate and analyse 100 of sets of open source data – including athlete performance, course and weather conditions and rival tactics – which are then displayed on a visually appealing front end platform that can be accessed by the UCI team’s sporting director using a mobile, tablet or laptop.

The ‘Race Monitor’ tracks the evolution of the race in-stage: analyzing factors such as breakaways and accidents, as well as offering an all-round status review of each rider to identify those with ‘a potential competitive advantage’ in order to help team directors understand the overall situation in real-time and to make informed mid-race decisions.

While Deloitte’s ‘Smart Map’ is essentially a mapping visualization application that charts the route and highlights features (from climbs to hairpins) that necessitate fast tactical decisions.

The apps were initially beta tested by the team at the Tour de Yorkshire and the Critérium du Dauphiné, before being fully launched for Team Dimension Data (for Qhubeka) during the 2017 Tour de France (1 to 23 July).

The campaign promoting the partnership and the apps launched just ahead of the Tour and runs across both the team and the professional services giant’s digital and social platforms – including Twitter

.@Deloitte has created 2 apps that use real-time performance analytics to give @TeamDiData the edge at the #TDF17 https://t.co/xkcSckyTSK pic.twitter.com/sPDimnXNaV

— Deloitte Athletes (@DeloitteAthlete) July 2, 2017

and YouTube

(linked by the sponsor’s tagline hashtag #DeloitteImpact).
Deloitte is also leveraging its partnership through the race itself with stage-relevant real-time and low latency social pieces across its own channels

Who are the faces of @TeamDiData? Get the know the team before #TDF2017 kicks off this Saturday. https://t.co/lWgoz0ysyN pic.twitter.com/WETOcOeH6a

— Deloitte (@Deloitte) June 29, 2017

and the initiative dovetails with Deloitte’s umbrella ‘ahead of the technology race’ positioning.

What are you doing to stay ahead of the #technology race?
https://t.co/DnqTPQojvN #DeloitteDo pic.twitter.com/CAatCchcH0

— Deloitte UK (@DeloitteUK) June 29, 2017

“Deloitte shares a common vision with Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka to advance the sport of cycling through technology innovation,” said Deloitte managing partner of global consulting Jim Moffatt.

“Deloitte is thrilled to provide leading digital capabilities to help the team both train and race smarter, while gaining competitive advantage through the use of advanced analytics. I have no doubt Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka will accomplish great things this year. Deloitte looks forward to the continued partnership while supporting Qhubeka’s social impact mission.”

“Professional sports teams have long been using data to make incremental gains in performance. The challenge, across all sports disciplines, is how to obtain and analyze live data in real-time, as this is the step change required to make strategic decisions during a race or competitive match,” adds Mike Manby, lead partner for performance analytics in Deloitte UK.

“This challenge is most pronounced in competitive cycling, where teams have to contend with varying terrain and demanding environments over long distances. Deloitte’s real-time analytics platform is truly unique and a potential game-changer for professional sport. It will provide team directors with critical information to make informed strategic decisions mid-race, and this could be the difference between winning and losing.”

“I have been so impressed by the capabilities that Deloitte has brought to our team. We have already seen the positive impact it has had on our training and race performance,” continues Doug Ryder, team principal of Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.

“We truly believe that Deloitte’s ability to deliver a real-time solution enabled by cutting-edge technology will contribute greatly to our success as we continue to build a world-class team.”

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