As Tour of the Gila prepares for the 2025 race, the organization reflects on what went right in 2024. The live coverage of all five stages of the men’s and women’s UCI races was made technically possible by Lyman Communications, a company that assists organizations meet their remote communication needs. With experience in disaster relief, Lyman Communications brought their expertise in cell and internet connectivity to sport. Road cycling by nature is difficult to cover, as stages are drawn out over many hours and over countless miles.

“Since the race is always on the move, you need a reliable service for media, race officials, and emergency services,” says Jay Ottesen of Lyman Communications.

The challenge of bringing fans along for the ride is only augmented in rural southwest New Mexico, where some of the world’s best road cycling routes lead into the heart of the nation’s first wilderness area. Even the stretches bordered by private land are minimally populated, so cell service isn’t typically available.

“We plan before we head out,” says the representative of the Utah-based company, which provided internet to workers on the nearby Black Fire in 2022. “But the biggest challenge we’ve had so far is figuring out how to get media coverage throughout the whole race.”

After a wildfire in the Mogollon mountain range a decade ago, a cell tower was erected near the finish line of the Silver City to Mogollon Road Race, improving cellular connectivity. But given the area’s topography, service remains spotty on that course. On the Inner Loop and Gila Monster Road Race courses, cell service is available only at the very beginning and the very end. Even in the community of Tyrone, where the individual time trial starts and finishes, service proves spotty.

With Lyman Communications managing multiple cellular network extenders and Starlink receivers at key points along the course plus in the race caravan, Tour of the Gila was able to keep fans connected to the excitement as it played out.

“We use Starlink for our internet services. They’re good for in motion as well as stationary use. We couple that with our own proprietary software and hardware,” Ottesen says.

Below, he shares more about the technology employed at Tour of the Gila in 2024.