London, UK – In a move that will delight cycling fans across the globe, Hammer Series, the ground-breaking pro cycling series officially announces today that all three races taking place this year will be streamed live on social media, with Facebook, Twitter and DailyMotion the first platforms announced. This means that, unlike other pro-cycling races, fans anywhere in the world will be able to watch the Hammer Series live, on any device, for free.
Along with watching the action, having the races streamed on social media will allow viewers to comment and debate every pedal stroke from Hammer Stavanger, Hammer Limburg and Hammer Hong Kong as they happen.
Hammer Series was designed to give fans the chance to see the best teams in the world race up-close, and unlike traditional stage-based races, the action is provided in an innovative team-versus-team format. Instead of individual riders aiming to make the podium, Hammer Series pits squads of five riders against each other over extremely testing courses to determine the best team. Last year, over three million cycling fans watched the racing online, including 1.4 million on Facebook in the inaugural event live from Limburg.
Graham Bartlett, CEO Velon, said: "In everything we do we want to bring more of the race excitement to the fans. For them to get more of the action. We're delighted to announce all of the races for the series will be seen live everywhere because Hammer is about the fans and delivering the very best action to them is our goal."
Mark Buttermann, Director of Summer Sports at Infront, said: "After a very successful digital-all approach for the inaugural race in 2017; being able to live stream all three races of the Hammer Series in 2018 across the leading social platforms represents a major milestone for us and perfectly reflects the digital essence of Infront's and Velon's project. This will enable Hammer Series to engage with even more fans and provide them with live thrilling content and data for free on any device, anywhere and at any time."
Infront is responsible for media and sponsorship sales for the Hammer Series on an international basis. Furthermore, it is handling together with Velon the event - as well as the brand management for the entire event series. An integral part of this joint collaboration was also the strategic concept and development of the Hammer Series with its new and attractive race format.