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Davis Cathcart (left) and Chris Fortune of Saris display the new PowerTap monitor that one U.S. team is using in the Tour de France. - Mike DeVries/The Capital Times

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Southern Wisconsin has enjoyed a place on the Champs-Elysees for years, thanks to the bikes Waterloo-based Trek Bicycles built for seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

Sharp-eyed observers of this year's Tour can spot another Madison-based element that's helping another contender.

The CycleOps PowerTap system, a product of Madison-based Saris Cycling Group, is getting a good deal of advertising on the bikes of some of the members of Team Garmin-Chipotle. The device, which is built into the rear wheel and connects wirelessly to an onboard computer, measures key cycling performance and body data.

For riders and teams, it provides a way to plan for the long rides during the 23-day Tour which finishes on Sunday, July 27. For Saris, it's a direct link to cycling's biggest event.

"People are very passionate about it," said David Cathcart, Saris' director of marketing. "The conversation turns to cycling quite frequently in July, and it's nice to have a tie into that."

Using the rear wheel device and a chest strap, PowerTap monitors speed, time, distance, pedaling cadence, heart rate, energy expended in watts and GPS location, among other data.

Cathcart said teams use the system to determine pacing strategy in mountain stages and to assess energy management and when riders should eat during the race.

"You can use the device to say, 'Well, I'm just riding in the pack. I could ride in the pack more efficiently to save energy for tomorrow's race,'" Cathcart said. "It's a way to make sure you've got energy left at the end of the day and at the end of the week to make sure that you can fight again tomorrow."

Lemont, Ill., native Christian Vande Velde, a Garmin-Chipotle rider who has ranked as high as third in the overall Tour standings, used PowerTap during training and has had it on his bike in some stages.

Garmin-Chipotle, originally known as Slipstream Sports before the sponsors signed on, approached Saris about five years ago to help develop power-measurement technology as the team got off the ground. Former U.S. Postal Service team rider Jonathan Vaughters, Slipstream's director, saw a need for acquiring that kind of data.

"He couldn't go on the old premise of cycling, which is: Train as hard as you can and then train some more," Cathcart said. "He knew that he really needed to help these guys train the smartest they could. That's where we came in."

With assistance from Allen Lim, a consultant for Saris who works with Garmin-Chipotle, PowerTap was born.

Saris, which also markets bike racks, parking systems and training bikes, also markets PowerTap to the general public with a price tag from $900 to $1,600. The early development, with feedback from pros, helped the company refine the product for common cyclists.

"The learning curve was so steep for us that it could be kind of stressful at times," Cathcart said. "But now it is kind of positive in recent years to enjoy some victories along with them, because we've learned and have improved our product so much."