David Millar, Jon Cassat
David Millar and Garmin’s Vice President of Communications Jon Cassat.

Today was a day of firsts for Jon Cassat, Garmin’s vice president of communications. Not only was it his first time at the Tour de France, he also got to spend this first stage in the first team car on the course. Team Garmin-Chipotle won the draw and was the number one car on today.

“Being in the lead car was great. We were up front and personal with all of today’s action,” said Jon. “It’s great to see all the interaction with the riders and also impressive to see how they move through all the motorcycles, cars and other cyclists on what are to me very narrow roads.”

“It’s bumper to bumper, shoulder to shoulder traffic going extremely fast through roads lined with hundreds of spectators. It’s what you might think would be a formula for disaster, but it all works,” he continued.

Though Jon has attended the two biggest North American cycling events - the Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia - today was his first european cycling event. The scale, he said, was not comparable.

“The number of fans here is unbelievable. In the U.S., you see most of the crowds at the starts and finishes, but today the roads were lined with fans all along the course,” said Jon. “And you see these really charming Norman Rockwell scenes. These families in the middle of nowhere with makeshift tables and chairs and full picnics. Though they only see the riders for a few minutes, they are there to make a day of it.”

Jon was also focused on seeing Garmin’s technology at work, while also seeking new ways to help the athletes rider smarter, better.

“Garmin is pretty proud to be here at the Tour de France, to have our technology working to give our riders an edge. We’re one of the few companies taking such a lead role” he continued. “All our riders have the stages preloaded on their Edge 705s, so they have all the information they need. It’s more than just power, speed and cadence. They can see what is coming up, where the turns are, what the next climb looks like.”

“All of a sudden, this technology is helping our cyclists ride smarter, more strategically,” he continued. Jon has also been involved in several ‘what if’ conversations with the staff and riders to find out how to get even more out of Garmin’s technology.

“This team is always pushing the envelope and we’re part of that. When JV, Allen and Matt say ‘what if we could do this?’, we’re here to listen and find out how.”