How Velon delivers live rider data from top races
Velon’s live rider data system is unique in professional cycling.
Launched at the Tour de Suisse in 2016, the system has been developed to deliver insights and explanations into how races are won and lost. It creates the world’s most extensive pool of performance data in top-level sport, which is used in live broadcast coverage and online.
How it works:
The Velon tracking device is paired with the power meter on the bike using Bluetooth technology
The device is securely fastened under the saddle inside a lightweight neoprene case
The device connects to the mobile phone network and constantly searches for the strongest provider
Data is sent in real time for Velon’s experts to analyse and work with broadcasters to show on screen and our digital channels
The key data received from the devices is speed, power (expressed in watts) and cadence (pedal revolutions per minute)
The system also plots riders’ positions on a map, which increases safety in races
Multiple Tour de France stage winner Wout Van Aert, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, said: “I think it’s really cool that Velon comes up with this data collection system. They’ve been leading in stuff like this to bring data to life to the spectators and it’s nice to see they are continuing their work.
“I see a lot of people being interested in the watts we push and the speed we manage to hold for quite a while on the bike so I think it’s one of the future things of making cycling more entertaining.
“It’s cool that Velon is showing live data to fans who are interested in things like power meters to see in reality just how hard we are riding”
“Our sport is quite transparent. There are a lot of online possibilities to follow us and to see how we are training, how much work is needed to become a professional cyclist and through Velon it’s also possible to get the data from the races and I think it gives a good view for people from home.
“There’s still quite a difference between our level as a professional and their level on a daily basis so it’s really nice for them to compare.
“It would be great to have all riders on a map so we can see where everybody is especially if there is a bad crash or if somebody is behind because of a bad feeling or bad luck, we can still see where they are and there are still too many stories of people who get lost so it’s a great future.”
Primož Roglič, Red Bull BORA-hansgrohe, said: “It’s cool that Velon is showing live data to fans who are interested in things like power meters to see in reality just how hard we are riding.
“I think that it’s nice and good that we will share the data because at the end, everything is personalised and the fastest one will win the race but just cool definitely especially for the people who are following cycling to see.”
Australian Jay Vine, UAE Team Emirates XRG, said: “You see the live splits and everything like that in motorsport, all the data from how many passes were successful or assists were in football, so I think trying to get as much data as possible out there is always good for the sport.”
Josh Tarling, INEOS Grenadiers, said: “I think it’s cool, I think it’s nice, it makes it more public. I think it’s hard to relate, you know the speed but it’s hard to know what we’re doing.”
The European Time Trial champion added: It’s really interesting, it makes it a bit more like F1 where everyone can enjoy it.”
Team Picnic PostNL’s Romain Bardet, who is in the final year of his professional career, said: “I think it’s nice to make the TV coverage with more interaction with what happens inside the bunch.
“I think we can see the trend that over the years that cycling goes more and more into data and to be able to transmit it with numbers and how we are going harder, how hard is the pace, it helps to get more knowledge about the race and makes the viewer experience more powerful.”
Luke Roberts, Sport Director, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, said: “The data makes it interesting for a lot of general cyclists and I came from an era where it was just beginning, the training with power meters or specific power training.
“The general cyclist is also interested in seeing it and the more data we can gather and analyse then the more we can improve the sport or improve our athletes as well. It’s the future not just of cycling but of all sports.”