Dimension Data has unveiled a health and wellness app to be used by Africa’s pro cycling team Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.
Dubbed Phila and developed in partnership with Adelaide-based MIK Health, the app tracks the daily physical and mental performance of the team’s 39 cyclists, tracking quality and quantity of sleep, response to training, muscle soreness, mood, motivation and stress levels.
“It was crucial that we designed an app which was easy to use 365 days a year, and riders could upload their assessment responses in two to three minutes,” Team Dimension Data head of performance sport and medical Dr Carol Austin said.
“Our goal was to keep the questions to a minimum, but extract the maximum data to identify any factors that could jeopardise our rider’s ability to train – even weather conditions and equipment issues.”
The app also tracks geographical location and time zones, and doubles as a communication and data-sharing management tool for the team.
The cyclists are then prompted to complete an assessment via their mobile device, where the information gathered is correlated with existing training data captured by another application called TrainingPeaks.
Phila also helps cyclists share information with the team’s support staff, who can respond to any injuries or illness and adapt rider racing and training schedules.
“The health application is just one component of the collection mechanism for critical data that we’ll feed into the analytics platform we’re building for Team Dimension Data,” said Scott Gibson, Dimension Data digital practice group executive.
“This data will be enhanced with additional datasets, and the implementation of a machine learning solution together with predictive analytics to improve team planning and management performance.”
He added that as title sponsor for the team, the company aimed to develop digital technologies that would assist Team Dimension Data to achieve their vision of winning the Tour de France.
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