When one thinks about a satellite’s role in this year’s Tour de France, one likely will think about how satellites are doing their part to provide broadcasters around the globe with live and taped video footage as Lance Armstrong seeks his seventh consecutive victory in his final Tour de France appearance. But the European Space Agency is looking for a new role for satellites to play in the cycling world’s premiere annual event. The agency is looking to use navigation satellites to enhance coverage of the event.

ESA, according to information on its Web site, outfitted an undisclosed number of cyclists during the fifth stage of the event, a 183-kilometer trek between Chambord and Montargis on July 6, allowing the agency to determine the exact speed and position of the cyclists during the stage.

It is the second time ESA has trailed a satellite navigation application during the Tour de France. The first was at the 2004 event during an “against the clock” stage at Alpe d’Huez. During that stage, receivers were deployed in vehicles that follow behind riders during the race. For the 2005 trial, cyclists carried receivers that weighed 200 grams.

ESA said it is targeting the 2007 Tour de France as the event in which all riders participating in the race will carry navigation receivers. The agency said that with all riders providing location data throughout the race, the positioning information can be used by a variety of groups involved in the race. For example, race organizers would have immediate knowledge of where all riders are to get a big picture view of how the competition is going. Team managers could use the information to help develop strategies and better understand how individual team members are performing. And race spectators can more closely follow their favorite cyclists with more accurate, up-to-the-minute information.

To track the riders during the 2005 Tour, ESA is using the European Geostationary Navigation Overaly Service (EGNOS). The service consists of three geostationary satellites and a network of 40 ground stations across Europe designed to record, adjust and improve data from the U.S. GPS system. EGNOS augments the U.S. GPS and the Russian GLONASS satellite navigation systems and is the precursor to the European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation system. ESA says EGNOS is accurate to less than 2 meters.