2007 Amgen Tour of California Web Site Brings Live Race Action to Desktops Across America
LOS ANGELES, February 15, 2007 – This year, watching the Amgen Tour of California live will not require a ticket to the west coast. For fans unable to attend the premier U.S. professional cycling event in person, race presenters AEG will provide an unprecedented virtual race experience to get long-distance fans closer to the action than ever before. From February 18-25 at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com, enthusiasts across the world will have the opportunity to watch the race live in full-screen format from their desktops, track leading riders by GPS, listen in on insider race commentary and view detailed information about the race and its 144 elite riders.As 18 of the world’s top professional teams compete on a demanding 650-mile course from San Francisco to Long Beach, Calif., Web site visitors will get a rider’s eye view of the race, a team member's vantage point through "Day in the Life" logs from a Jelly Belly rider, and live and archived close-up race footage. Cycling fans will find complete team and rider information, intricate turn-by-turn course detail, daily polls and the Herbalife "Tech 'N Training" area, which provides insight about cycling technology, tips and training. Race visitors will be able to map out their trips with stage and city information, including best viewing and interest points provided by California Tourism.
Launching Feb. 18, the site's Tour Tracker 2.0, designed specifically for the Amgen Tour of California, will employ the latest technology from founding partners CSC and Adobe to provide the ultimate viewing experience for cycling fanatics and casual observers alike. Tour Tracker 2.0 is a lightweight Flash-based application built using Adobe Flex technology that is pioneering a new generation of rich Internet applications. Tour Tracker 2.0 requires Adobe Flash Player, which is installed on more than 700 million personal computers worldwide. Some of the features will include:
- Full-screen capable live video stream of each stage from start to finish (provided by Adobe)
- Enhanced user interface featuring elevation, route, rider and peloton positions, and text race commentary (provided by Adobe)
- Archived stage video clips
- GPS photography for each stage that pinpoints highlights along the route (provided by Adobe and CSC)
- GPS tracking for top riders and official vehicles (provided by CSC)
- GPS data will provide first-hand knowledge of the top rider positions along the route and overall peloton location, as well as elevation information, general speed and overall miles from the finish
- Minute-by-minute textual race commentary exclusively reported by VeloNews
- Two audio channels, including live audio commentary from sports journalist JoE Silva and former cyclists Robbie Ventura and Chris Gutowsky, and an official radio tour stream that lets listeners hear what race officials hear
- Mobile (WAP) site for information and text updates for each stage so fans on the go can access race information from mobile phones and devices
