Zwift Launches New Virtual Course on the eve of Prudential RideLondon

(London, England – July 28, 2016) The iconic roads of central London and the Surrey Hills will remain traffic-free and open to cyclists on a year-round basis, thanks to Zwift’s collaboration with Prudential RideLondon. From today, thousands of cyclists will ride together in Zwift’s newly launched London 3D virtual world, by connecting online and powering their bikes on turbo trainers at home, in all corners of the globe.

The Zwift community will have two courses to choose from. A bold 14.8km (9.2mile) ‘gamified’ loop which connects the urban roads of London to the beauty of the Surrey countryside and Box Hill. The second course is a like-for-like representation of the iconic Prudential RideLondon 5.5km (4.3 mile) ‘Classique’ route, which stars as the next stop of the UCI Women’s World Tour, this Saturday. Both courses extensively feature London’s famous architectural landmarks and extensions of the London world are planned for future release.

“UK cycling is going from strength to strength, so it’s fantastic to invite the world’s cyclists to our Prudential RideLondon course to feel part of this scene,” says Eric Min, Zwift co-founder and CEO. “85% of our community are from outside of the UK and I’m looking forward to riding together with them up Box Hill. As a longtime Londoner, I’ve ridden out to Box Hill on many occasions. My time up that climb is about to get some serious competition!”

“Prudential RideLondon is the world’s greatest cycling festival and showcases one of the great cycling cities and one of the most beautiful English counties,” says Prudential Ride London Event Director Hugh Brasher. “These new Zwift courses will give cyclists of all abilities from all around the world the chance to experience this incredible event every day.”

Zwift’s partnership with Prudential RideLondon builds on its strategy to develop year round programming with event owners, to create extra participation and engagement with the global cycling community.

This weekend Zwift will host several ‘in-game’ events which tie in with this weekend’s Prudential RideLondon real world schedule, including

Prudential RideLondon Classique Group Ride
Saturday, July 30
9am PDT (California) / 12pm EDT (New York) / 5pm BST (London)

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 Group Ride
Sunday, July 31
8am AEST (Australia) / 8am BST (London)

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 Group Ride
Sunday, July 31
8pm AEST (Australia) and 7pm BST (London)

About Zwift

Built on a long-standing passion for the sport of cycling, Zwift is a company of dedicated cyclists that also happen to be experienced software and video game developers. Combining that passion and deep understanding of the cycling world, Zwift is the first company to use massive multiplayer gaming technology to bring the outdoor cycling experience indoors. Athletes from around the globe can ride with each other in rich, 3D-generated worlds simply by connecting their existing devices (e.g. trainers, power meters, heart rate monitors, etc) wirelessly via open industry standard ANT+ and BLE.

From friendly competition to casual group rides & structured training programs, Zwift is building a community of like-minded athletes united in the pursuit of a better social cycling experience. Zwift rides can be uploaded to 3rd party fitness apps such as Strava, TrainingPeaks, and Today’s Plan

About RideLondon

Prudential RideLondon is the world’s greatest festival of cycling with more than 100,000 riders expected to participate this year. The 2016 event takes place over the weekend of 30-31 July. Find out more at http://ift.tt/14nbao3
Prudential RideLondon was developed by the Mayor of London, Transport for London and London & Partners in partnership with Surrey County Council and is sponsored by Prudential. The event is managed by the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership.
Prudential RideLondon has won a total of 11 major awards to date:

European Sport Tourism Event of the Year (2014)
London Cycling Awards Event of the Year (2014)
BT Sport Industry Awards: Participation Event of the Year (2013 and 2014)
UK Event Awards: Large Event of the Year (2013) and Sports Event of the Year (2013 and 2014)
2013 Cyclosport Industry Award, given for an outstanding contribution to the cycling industry
Most Innovative Cycling Event and Favourite British Cyclo-Sportive in the Cycling Weekly readers’ annual poll
UK Cycling Event of the Year in the Total Women’s Cycling readers’ awards

For further information, please contact:

Penny Dain | Head of Communications | Prudential RideLondon | pennyd@ridelondon.co.uk | 07799 170433

Visit: http://ift.tt/14nbao3

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