How we became Official Technology Partner to one of professional cycling's most successful teams, delivering GPS tracking for Tour de France champions.
Client: BSkyB (Sky Corporation)
Partnership: 2010-2015
Platform: iOS (iPhone & Android)
Overview
In March 2010, Tinderhouse was commissioned by BSkyB to serve as Official Technology Partner to Team Sky, professional cycling's newest and most ambitious team. Over five years, we built GPS tracking systems that powered both professional rider training and the official fan engagement app.
This partnership positioned us as one of only a handful of British technology companies working with Team Sky, a team that went on to win multiple Tour de France titles with riders including Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.
The Partnership
Team Sky launched in 2010 with a clear objective to become the world's best professional cycling team within five years. They approached this goal with unprecedented attention to marginal gains and performance technology.
Map My Tracks, our GPS tracking platform launched in 2008, had already established itself within the cycling community. Our F1-style performance telemetry and real-time tracking capabilities aligned perfectly with Team Sky's data-driven approach to training and performance.
The partnership saw Map My Tracks technology become part of Team Sky's racing and training infrastructure, enabling professional riders to track their performance and share training activities with coaches and fans.
"We are looking forward to working closely with the team's performance coaches and riders to provide real-time performance tracking solutions that will help the team achieve their goal of becoming one of the world's leading cycling teams."
– Nick Tatt, Founder, Tinderhouse
What We Built
We delivered two interconnected systems that served different audiences whilst sharing the same technical foundation.
GPS Tracking for Pro Riders
Professional-grade GPS tracking integrated with Map My Tracks, providing Team Sky riders with detailed performance telemetry. Riders could track training sessions and races, with data accessible to performance coaches for analysis.
Chris Froome was among the Team Sky riders who used the system, uploading training rides to Map My Tracks throughout the partnership.
Official Team Sky Fan App
A comprehensive iPhone app that gave cycling fans unprecedented access to the team. This was the first app of its kind to include live pro rider tracking, allowing fans to follow their favourite riders in real time during training sessions.
The app combined race news from Sky Sports with rider profiles, photo galleries, and upcoming Sky Ride event details.
Key Features
The Team Sky app represented a significant technical achievement, combining consumer-facing features with professional-grade tracking capabilities.
Live Pro Rider Tracking
The first app to offer real-time GPS tracking of professional cyclists. Fans could watch riders' progress during training sessions, with integrated Twitter and Facebook notifications when riders went live.
Race & Rider Content
Comprehensive team and rider profiles with up-to-date news, race reports including the Vuelta a España, standings, photo galleries, and race guides. Integration with Sky Sports provided immediate access to cycling news.
Training Tools
Embedded OutFront GPS tracking technology, our comprehensive training and tracking system. This gave everyday cyclists access to the same performance telemetry used by Team Sky professionals.
Performance Telemetry
F1-style performance data including speed, distance, pace, calories burned, elevation gain, and detailed course mapping. All accessible through Map My Tracks' web platform for deeper analysis.
Social Integration
Full Twitter and Facebook integration allowed riders to notify followers when starting rides, enabling fans to follow the action as it happened rather than reviewing it afterwards.
Sky Ride Events
Integration with Sky Ride events held on closed roads around the country, allowing mass participation event tracking using the same technology powering professional riders.
Technical Delivery
Platform Architecture
The official Team Sky app was built for iPhone and Android, with GPS tracking features available on iPhone 3, 3G, and 4 models. The app was distributed free through the Apple App Store, with training tools available as a one-off £2.99 purchase.
We embedded our OutFront GPS tracking technology within the Team Sky app, creating the first instance of a professional team's app featuring live tracking capabilities. This required careful integration between the Team Sky brand experience and Map My Tracks' technical infrastructure.
Real-Time Performance
The system provided real-time GPS tracking with detailed performance statistics during rides. Data was transmitted live to the Map My Tracks platform, where it could be viewed by followers on the web or through the app.
This real-time capability was technically challenging given the network coverage limitations in many training locations, particularly in mountainous regions frequented by professional cyclists. The system included offline tracking functionality to ensure data capture even without network coverage.
Web Platform Integration
All rides tracked through the app were accessible via the Map My Tracks website, which provided comprehensive analysis tools, activity replay functionality, and access to thousands of routes from the cycling community.
This created a complete ecosystem where professional riders, amateur cyclists, and fans could all engage with the same platform and technology.
The Outcome
The five-year partnership established Tinderhouse as capable of delivering technology solutions for elite-level sport and FTSE 100 corporations. Working alongside Team Sky during their most successful period demonstrated our ability to handle high-profile projects with demanding performance requirements.
The partnership showcased our expertise in GPS technology, real-time data processing, mobile app development, and social platform integration. It proved we could build systems that worked for both professional athletes and mass-market consumers, handling the technical demands of each whilst maintaining a unified platform.
Team Sky's success, including Tour de France victories and Olympic gold medals, was built on marginal gains across every aspect of their operation. Being selected as Official Technology Partner validated our technical capabilities and positioned us alongside other suppliers contributing to their performance infrastructure.
The technology we developed for Team Sky informed our continued work in sports tracking and performance analysis. The lessons learned from building systems for professional cyclists at the highest level continue to influence our approach to GPS tracking, real-time data processing, and mobile app development.
What This Demonstrates
This case study illustrates Tinderhouse's capability to:
- Deliver technology solutions for FTSE 100 corporations and elite-level professional sport
- Build real-time GPS tracking systems that perform reliably under demanding conditions
- Create consumer applications that handle both professional and mass-market requirements
- Integrate social platforms and news feeds within native mobile applications
- Develop first-of-their-kind features in competitive markets
- Maintain long-term partnerships with high-profile clients over multiple years
- Work within the performance constraints of mobile devices and variable network coverage
Technologies Used
- Native iOS and Android development
- Real-time GPS tracking and performance telemetry
- Web platform integration with Map My Tracks
- Social media API integration (Twitter & Facebook)
- Sky Sports news feed integration
- Offline data capture and synchronisation
- Performance data visualisation and analysis tools
Want to Build Something Exceptional?
If you're working on a project that requires reliable GPS tracking, real-time data processing, or mobile app development for demanding environments, we'd like to hear from you.
Our experience building systems for elite-level sport and major corporations means we understand the technical requirements of high-performance applications and the importance of reliability when it matters most.
Get in touch to discuss your project.
Or call us on 01227 811771 to speak with our team.