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@Sainsburys_Ed
so saw this on the cycling show and thought I'd give it a go.
I have a fairly basic set up with a standard turbo but I do have a power meter without which I think it might be a little pointless.
I gave it a quick spin yesterday and then had it on while I did a proper training sessions this morning.
Essentially it uses an ANT dongle to connect to the software and takes your power and any other data you choose to share (HR/Cadence/Speed) and applies relatively realistic real world speeds over the 9.5km loop of road they have created, if you have a smart trainer, it increases resistance but without this, it applies your power to the gradient and gives you a resulting speed.
all the time there are the other users on the course, as well as a number of "bots" you can ride with (you do get a benefit from drafting) and against.
there are a number of live segments on the course including a short hill (about 2.5 minutes climb) and short sprint section (about 30 seconds) and the whole 9.5km loop.
interestingly when you upload the file to strava it says you have been riding the loop in the Solomon Islands and gives a real world set of statistics for the ride including elevation, speed, etc etc.
the good
it adds an interactive element to riding the turbo
you earn points as you ride which I believe allow you to upgrade your bike etc
you can ride with mates and make it even more interesting that way
the bad
its a bit distracting, I ended up getting sucked into sprinting the sprints and putting in extra efforts in the climb rather than doing the session exactly as I had planned
there is only one 9.5km route so it is fairly limited, although you can ride it in both directions - I guess larger customisable courses are some where in the future.
there are some nutters on there who give you kudos afterwards and others who are riding 400km in one go!
Overall not a bad addition to the armoury, and once I get over the distraction bit, gives some better context to my turbo sessions which I find are better for the type of racing I do (TTs and Triathlons) and the occasional bit of fun/competitiveness.
I think there are other programmes out there that are better simulation wise, but worse social interfaces, so I guess I need to look at those.