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Indoor cycling app Rouvy, and events producer Life Time, have announced a sponsorship which signals a move towards some of the world’s premier off-road cycling events being made available to ride virtually.
Marking Rouvy’s “intent to better serve the gravel cycling community”, six of Life Time’s iconic athletic events – Sea Otter Classic, Unbound Gravel, Big Sugar Gravel, Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Crusher in the Tushar and The Rad Dirt Fest – are incorporated into the sponsorship.
Virtual gravel as a training tool
Participants in these six races will benefit from a series of digital activations, providing opportunities to better prepare ahead of taking to the race start line.
Rouvy users will be able to ride the real race routes virtually, as they are recorded and published on Rouvy throughout the season, giving everyone the opportunity to experience riding Life Time’s world-renowned gravel events.
Connecting IRL and virtual worlds
With many Life Time race participants eager to record and share their own onboard video footage, this new partnership also offers the gravel community a chance to add to Rouvy’s planned library of virtual gravel routes.
The platform will soon offer users a cutting-edge AI Route Creator tool – set to launch publicly in the coming months – providing riders the opportunity to help develop more gravel content, as well as enabling riders globally to sample the US gravel scene and Life Time’s iconic races.
Of the news, Petr Samek, co-founder and CEO of Rouvy, comments: “We’re continuously looking for new ways to provide engaging indoor riding adventures for our users. Whilst the outdoor gravel scene has exploded in the past years, this hasn’t been well supported by the indoor cycling space, until now.
“With this exciting new sponsorship, we’re looking to encapsulate the joy and excitement of Life Time’s incredible, genre-defining events within our realistic high-quality full-screen video. Full-screen virtual routes, allowing everyone the chance to experience what it’s like to ride some of the world’s most loved gravel races.”
