Picture this: a high-tech minibus packed with state-of-the-art technology, designed to collect, visualise, and communicate race data in seconds. That’s the Control Room.
The Control Room is the nerve centre for Team Visma | Lease a Bike during the Tour de France – and the first-ever command centre in cycling. It provides real-time race data and helps the team make faster, smarter tactical decisions. By centralising all crucial race data, the Control Room offers lightning-fast insights during every stage, meaning that directors in the sports director’s car can now tweak tactics on the fly and anticipate key race moments like never before.
“This innovation is a new step in the modernisation of cycling. It is in the DNA of Team Visma | Lease a Bike to continually seek improvements,” explains Mathieu Heijboer, Head of Performance at Team Visma | Lease a Bike and project leader. “The Control Room is a great example of how we operate as a team.”
How the Control Room came to life
The lightbulb moment for the Control Room happened late last year, during the team’s season evaluation. The performance and coaching staff realised the data going into the sports director’s car during big races was often lacking. And something had to change.
Now, if you’re familiar with the Tour de France – or cycling races in general – you know that things can change on a dime. Equipment issues, crashes, sudden weather changes, fatigue, breakaways, and even unexpected road conditions can all impact a race.
And with those constantly changing conditions, there’s a lot of data to collect and analyse in a very short amount of time… usually mere seconds. So, the first challenge was how to centralise the data collection and visualisation so that the team has everything at their fingertips.
The second challenge was how to get that information to the sports director’s car. Having great data is one thing. Getting that data into the right hands at the exact right moment is another. And, in the past, that has been a hurdle.
Our expertise in action
This is where we came in. Leveraging our extensive experience in data collection and visualisation, we helped the team integrate various data sources into a single, cohesive system. And we helped ensure that it’s not only powerful but user-friendly, making it easy for the coach and the data analyst to interpret and use the information effectively.
Before we began, we ran strategic design sprints with the team’s key stakeholders. These sessions were crucial in pinpointing the essential data and determining the best ways to present it. Our approach ensured that all critical information was included and displayed clearly and accessibly, making it easy for the performance coach and the analytics team to deliver key insights seamlessly to everyone.
“Together, we are breaking new ground in elite-level cycling, demonstrating the power of digital solutions to support decision-making and improve performance, not just for business and society, but also in the world of sport.”
Merete Hverven, CEO of Visma
So what does the Control Room actually do?
Glad you asked, because it does a lot! The Control Room collects real-time, generally available information, like live TV footage, weather forecasts, and race radio, all in one place. With all of that aggregated data, the performance manager then has a complete overview of race conditions and can quickly pass along the most important information to the sports director’s car, allowing them to make the right decision in seconds.
“In the chaos of the Tour de France, the Control Room allows us to provide more oversight to the team leaders in the car,” says Coach Maarten Wynants. “In certain situations, the information we receive via the race radio is not sufficient. Losing overview happens quickly. The Control Room gives us a more complete picture of the race situation.”
And if you’re imagining a huge, cumbersome setup – it’s actually quite the opposite. It’s one van, six screens, one race coach, and one data analyst. Simple. Streamlined.
A huge impact in the Tour so far
The Control Room was unveiled for this year’s Tour de France, and the team is already seeing the immense value that it adds.
Avoiding disaster on Stage 9
Stage 9 was notoriously difficult this year because of the gravel conditions. “In the live race images, it quickly became clear to us in the Control Room that Jonas Vingegaard had a mechanical problem,” recalls race coach Maarten Wynants. “We could quickly pass this information to the sports director’s car, where our sports director Grischa Niermann informed the riders about the situation. This allowed Jan Tratnik to immediately give his bike to Jonas, who could continue his way without losing too much time. In a gravel stage, different groups are often formed. Thanks to the images in the Control Room, it was much easier for us to identify all the riders immediately.”
Bringing home the win on Stage 11
One of the biggest challenges on race days is the lack of TV signal in the sports director’s car. And that was the reality on Stage 11 of this Tour. Despite the signal issues, the Control Room was able to provide the sports director with critical information, such as time gaps between Jonas and Tadej, all the way to the finish line. This proved invaluable for Jonas, who battled fiercely for every second and ultimately brought home the stage win!
Our support continues to deepen
We’re incredibly proud to be the first title sponsor of Team Visma | Lease a Bike – not just to have our name on their jersey, but to put our expertise to good use in helping them win and in inspiring others to perform their best. (Although, seeing “Visma” on those jerseys is a huge point of pride for all of us!) From our AI-based solution for nutrition prediction that the riders use to our mission-critical business software that the teams behind-the-scenes rely on, we’re all-in. And now, with the new Control Room, we’re expanding our tech leadership support even more.
“This is a great result of our collaboration with Visma. The software expertise that Visma shares with us is of enormous value.”
Mathieu Heijboer, Head of Performance at Team Visma | Lease a Bike
We can’t wait to see how we can further innovate on the road ahead.
Stay tuned for more insights into the Control Room and our Team Visma | Lease a Bike sponsorship.