Heartbeat of Tour de France cyclists live online

London, UK – July 06 2007 – Polar, a leading provider of electronic equipment to improve amateur and professional sporting performance, has developed an online tool in conjunction with managed hosting company NetBenefit to provide up to the minute race statistics of cyclists taking part in the Tour de France. Sports fans will be able to access live race data online and follow cyclists competing in the 2,206 miles of the 21 stage Tour de France. 

Cyclists will be fitted with Polar heartbeat monitors  and the site will then enable visitors to view the altitude, speed and heart rate of competitors as they battle it out for the legendary yellow jerseys in the world’s biggest annual sporting event.  Visitors to the Polar Live Race Data website can also subscribe to a feed that provides frequently updated cycling data on some of the world’s greatest pro-riders as they cycle through a route that includes 6 mountain stages with altitudes in excess of 2000 metres.

The 2007 Tour de France kicks off in London for the first time this weekend.  Saturday will start with a prologue time trial with riders reaching speeds of up to 44mph. The first stage will see 189 riders clocking up 126 miles as they cycle from central London, through Greenwich and into Kent.  Over 2 billion people are expected to watch the race, which will be broadcast in 185 countries around the world.

Joona Laukka, cycling segment manager at Polar, comments: “Polar works with athletes across a wide range of disciplines to help them achieve their very best performance. To be able to provide cycling fans around the world with live data monitoring the heartbeat and location of their sporting heroes taking part in one of the most famous sporting events in the world is really exciting for us.  NetBenefit is a long term partner for Polar and were really important in making this happen."

Colin Bell, sales and marketing director NetBenefit, comments: “Polar is a high quality and well respected brand in the sporting world.  At NetBenefit, we pride ourselves on understanding much more than just our client’s managed hosting requirements. Our partnership demonstrates what can be achieved in the online world with mission critical hosting."

- Ends -

For further information about this release or any other press enquiries, please email netbenefit@furlongpr.com or contact Ross Furlong on 0845 053 6855

Notes to Editors:

About Polar

Founded in 1977, Polar Electro Ltd. is the leading brand in improving health and well-being through the understanding of human physiology and the environment. Since launching the world’s first heart rate monitor for sports professionals and athletes in 1982, the company consistently leads the field in the innovation, development, production and marketing of sports instruments and heart rate monitoring equipment. Polar delivers state of the art solutions for all active people whether the goal is to improve general health or compete at championship level.

Headquartered near Oulu in Finland, Polar operates internationally in over 80 countries, employing more than 1200 people worldwide. For more information please visit www.polar.fi.

About NetBenefit

NetBenefit is part of London listed Group NBT Ltd (LSE: NBT.).  Established in 1995, NetBenefit is an experienced provider of Managed Hosting services in the UK, with a range of services to suit every level of business.   Its world-class network infrastructure allows it to guarantee resilient, available and secure Managed Hosting for businesses that need a hosting provider they can depend upon.

Group NBT Ltd is a leading provider of domain name management and Internet-related services through the three trading brands, NetNames, NetBenefit and Easily.co.uk. Group NBT has over 200 employees and is based in London with offices in Copenhagen, New York, Nice, Frankfurt, Munich and Madrid.