During the Tour de France this year, csc.com used Google Earth to provide a terrific birds-eye view of the tour route. The next logical step, short of being there, is seeing where the cyclists are at any given moment.  The best technology to meet this challenge is GPS.  However, without good wireless coverage, how can the GPS data be reported back at any given moment?  Enter new converged devices such as a GPS-cellular device from WorldTrack.  This tiny device lets you track, in real time, the location of whomever or whatever is carrying the device.  The device uses the GSM cellular network to transmit the location data; as in the movie ET, this device “phones home.“  WorldTrack has also created a service that superimposes the location data on Google Earth.

However, a number of questions come to mind.  Will cyclists (or rules) allow such a device to be attached to the bike?  Or, in a less intrusive approach, can the device be used in the pace car to track the overall race rather than individuals?  Certainly, seeing where individual racers are would be more meaningful than only seeing where the leader is or having an aerial view of the route.  Broadly speaking, sponsors like CSC must ask how they can use technology to serve the spectator in a way that creates a win-win for all parties involved: spectators, cyclists and sponsors.  There is a real opportunity to meet various parties’ interests during the down time of such a spread-out and popular sporting event.