Among all the new objects that were hooked to the web this year as part of the rush to pervasive connectivity, one in particular stood out: endurance cycling champion Dave Haase, who IBM wired with sensors for the most recent Race Across America bicycle ultramarathon to show off the potential of its analytics technology.

The results speak for themselves. By using biometric data to help keep his body heat at optimal levels and tracking the temperatures throughout the race’s 3,000-mile track with forecasts from its partnership with The Weather Company, Big Blue was able to shave a full day off Haase’s previous record and take him to the finish line within eight days and 20 hours, the fastest completion time for an American participant in nearly two decades.

Watch Haase and IBM’s Doug Barton lay out the full details of how this feat of endurance was achieved in the interview at Insight 2015 below. And be sure to check out theCUBE’s other coverage of the event for more inside stories. 

Photo via theCUBE