Riders and Mobile Health solutions put to the test as Grand Tour enters Phase Two

The first leg of the 2015 mHealth Grand Tour has come to a close, and after a day of rest in Paris, riders from Team GSMA have now embarked upon the journey from Paris to Belfort. During the respite, we caught up with riders from the team to find out how the mobile health solutions impacted their performance.
Despite the various degrees of fatigue experienced by our riders, all found the overall mobile health solution to be useful and effective. Gavin, who has experienced his first hypo of the tour, has found that the live feedback on his weight and heartrate is helping him to understand his own fitness, whilst the Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), is assisting him in the management of his condition.
CGM is an integral part of the overall solution and has helped ensure that cyclists with diabetes are able to participate safely and more efficiently throughout this epic bike ride. Indeed, CGM opens up a world of opportunity for aspiring athletes with diabetes. According to Simon, ‘Whenever I’ve done rides or other endurance events before without a CGM you’re always having to stop and check your blood sugar levels, with CGM you can carry on without having to stop because you know it will alert you to any issues. A CGM is really unobtrusive, you can glance down on your bike and see what is happening with your blood levels. It’s convenient and simple, allowing you to manage your diabetes on the move’.
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For riders without diabetes such as Pete, the solution was still a significant factor in enhancing performance: ‘Although I do not have diabetes, I have been using a number of the technology products provided to the riders with diabetes such as, blood pressure, weight, heart rate and Orange My Grand Tour health app – all of which have helped me to understand my own limits’.
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Team GSMA has now set off on stage two of the Tour – the journey from Paris to Belfort. Here our riders will stop off at Troyes described in the Lonely Planet guide as ‘one of the finest ensembles of half-timbered houses and Gothic churches in France’. From there they will ride through a mixture of lakes, forests and open countryside to the hill fort town of Langres, before beginning the downhill ride to Belfort.
Stage two will test the steel of our riders over a massive 533Km – the longest leg of the event. As planned, Kate Ford is now being substituted by the GSMA’s Carl Wichman, who will ride for Team GSMA for the remainder of the Tour.
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For more information on how the Tour’s mobile health solution is improving our riders’ endurance, and greater examination of how other devices and apps are performing, visit Connected Living throughout the Tour, where we will be providing live updates as the Tour progresses.