Specialized launches new racing app to coincide with Tour de France via GS&P San Francisco

To coincide with the world’s toughest and most prestigious cycling race, Specialized has launched an app called Thumbs of Glory via Goodby, Silverstein & Partners San Francisco.

Aussie expat Tim Green was the copywriter and art director on the project.

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The app is available for download starting today, July 2, from iTunes and Google Play.

Like the big race, Thumbs of Glory will take place over 21 days, starting on July 5. The app will take brave contestants 3,664 kilometers on the exact course of this year’s Tour de France, with every thumb stroke taking riders one pedal stroke closer to Paris.

Says Rich Silverstein, co-chairman of Goodby Silverstein & Partners: “The Tour is the hardest three-week sporting event in the world. We wanted the app to be just as hard.”

Contestants will be expected to spend up to three hours a day on the game, “riding” all 21 stages. The winner will earn a Specialized S-Works Tarmac (a $9,500 racing bicycle). There are other prizes for stage winners as well as for winners of shorter sprints and climbs.

Using telemetry from the actual course, the game mimics the Tour’s twists and turns, its inclines and descents; it makes climbing hills harder and even allows for freewheeling on the downhill sections.

Says Green: “It may be impossible to finish the app course. But it’s a good approximation of how grueling the actual race is for the riders. And if somebody does finish and win, there’s a pretty sweet prize at the end.”

The app was developed by Cookie in collaboration with GS&P’s in-house developers, the BETA Group.

Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Head of Brand Strategy: Andy Grayson