Cycling Weekly launches golf-style handicap app for cyclists

Cycling Weekly has partnered with sports software company Training Diaries to devise and launch the world’s first general performance rating system for amateur road cyclists.

The new Decathlon-sponsored ratings service called RiTMO works much like a golf handicap but for road cyclists, with everyone on the same scale, ranging from zero to 28, zero being the best score.

To get a RiTMO rating, cyclists first sign up for free membership of www.cyclingweekly.cc (Cycling Weekly Cycling Club, the home of RiTMO) then upload rides to the website. Rides are scored using a secret formula which takes into account distance, terrain and speed. Once a user has three or more rides in the system, they are awarded an overall RiTMO rating based on their best recent performances. When a user adds more rides, their RiTMO rating updates automatically.

“Until now, there has been no single way for cyclists to gauge how good they are compared to everyone else and whether they are getting better or worse," said publishing director Keith Foster says. "That’s where RiTMO comes in and that’s why we’re so excited about its potential.”

Ed Marriage, a consultant working with IPC Inspire cycling magazine Cycling Weekly to launch the app, added: “RiTMO gives everyone something to focus on, no matter what level they are at. It’s just like a golf handicap for cyclists and has been made much easier by the increasing popularity of sports GPS devices and smartphone apps that record bike rides. What’s more, a RiTMO rating of nine means the same in Dartford or Dallas so you can compare yourself to anyone, anywhere in the world.”

Cycling Weekly said that after a low key announcement on Twitter, inviting people to try out the Beta version of RiTMO, thousands of cyclists signed up, uploading more than 120,000 bike rides to the site with a combined distance of 4,500,000km.

Julian Downing, co-founder of TrainingDiaries.com, commented: “Trainingdiaries.com has enjoyed collaborating with Cycling Weekly to create a genuinely unique feature in RiTMO Ratings. We are delighted by the fast, early uptake of RiTMO by cyclists from all over the world.”

Decathlon UK Cycles Market manager Peter Lazarus said: “Decathlon is very proud to be the official sponsor of the Cycling Weekly Cycling Club and RiTMO. Decathlon’s purpose is to make the pleasure and benefits of sport accessible to all. By working in partnership with IPC Media on the cycling club we are sure that together we can get more people cycling more often and help cyclists get more out of their ride.”