Pushing boundaries to create the world's largest connected stadium
The Tour de France is the most challenging bicycle race in the world. Billions of fans from around the globe watch this iconic event. Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) works with NTT to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
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A.S.O. was looking to revolutionize the fan experience and optimize the race operations to ensure the continued success of the Tour de France.
Read The Case Study"Supporting a race as complex as the Tour de France is a real challenge. Our partnership with NTT has allowed us to continually look for ways to innovate, using technology to advance our objectives."
— Pascal Queirel, Chief Technology Officer, A.S.O.
Challenge:
A.S.O. organizes some of the most grueling competitions in the world, including the Tour de France, the Dakar Rally and the Tour Voile yachting race. Just as the teams riding the Tour de France are always looking for ways to improve their performance, A.S.O. looks for constant innovation. The organization has been working with NTT for seven years to fully digitally transform the Tour de France, create new fan experiences, and help their team make faster and more informed decisions. Since 2015, riders have been tracked, providing real-time data for broadcasters. This, alongside additional data such as historical race results, route information and real-time weather, provides the basis for rich storytelling and insights for social media and television. Using this data NTT and A.S.O. looked to explore ways that it could be used to digitally connect the entire race.
Solution:
In 2021, A.S.O. and NTT turned the racing roads of France into the world's largest connected stadium. An augmented reality application shows fans a real-time view of where racers are, along with comprehensive statistics and data. NTT Media walls are placed at arrival and departure locations, which brings data analytics to life, creating a powerful experience for fans. Alongside this, a digital twin provides race organizers with real-time information on the race. The twin comprises an accurate representation of the entire 3,400km (2100 miles) race, allowing communication and data to flow freely, even in the rugged scenery where network coverage was likely to be lower.
Result:
The connected stadium provides an unprecedented look into the racer's position, condition, and terrain. This built upon years of innovation, seeing millions of impressions on social media, website visits, and more and more people signing up to the Tour de France fantasy game. The fan experience is in constant improvement.
The 2021 edition provides an ever-better experience, allowing anyone to be a part of the race, no matter where they were in the world. The digital twin helped improve operational efficiencies based on the tremendous amount of real-time data provided. In the seven years that A.S.O. and NTT have worked together, the scope of solutions provided has increased five-fold, while the cost of delivering these services has halved. Both companies are looking to the future with even innovation and providing unbeatable fan experiences and increased operational efficiency.
