Google hopes Tour de France will help it take the lead in the social media peloton

Google has unveiled its official coverage of the 2013 Tour de France, spanning a number of the company’s platforms, in a bid to increase its share of an increasingly competitive social media market.

The coverage centres on a website called YourTour, which uses Google Maps and Street View to replicate the journey of a tour cyclist.

Aside from the website, the company’s coverage also includes an official Android app through Google Play, YouTube channel and Google+ page.

“This year, the Tour de France is celebrating its 100th edition with a special route, from Corsica to Les Champs-Elysées. [Google is] giving people around the world the chance to admire beautiful sights as well as amazing athletic feats,” Google consumer marketing director Raphaël Goumain states.

While YouTube remains the dominant social video website in the US, with around 154.5 million unique viewers watching 13.9 billion videos per month, and Android’s smartphone marketshare in Australia stands at around 62.2%, Google+ has struggled to gain as much traction in the marketplace as key rivals such as Twitter and Facebook.