It has been announced that TrainingPeaks has purchased the cycling app indieVelo.
indieVelo has been developed by George Gilbert over the last two years, which according to their website “sees itself as a partner and service provider – creating the online cycling infrastructure that gives you the autonomy to do what you do best.” This is done “Through a fully integrated esports platform, the world’s leading performance verification system, fully configurable / brandable events & results systems, custom team kit and team management tools, streaming and broadcast modes, skinnable UIs, graphics and maps, and so much more, we are defining the future of virtual sport.”
The news concerning the acquisition was announced via multiple media channels but having signed up to indieVelo, I got the update via e-mail, which read:
“From day one, indieVelo was created to serve the needs of athletes, coaches and event organisers – a community of people who share a vision of what online cycling and esports could be if their priorities were put first. With its community-friendly features, realistic racing physics, and a focus on credibility, it rapidly became the number one choice for those committed to training and racing.
The core values of trust and authentic achievement are something that both indieVelo and TrainingPeaks share, and together we are doubling-down on that focus in the future. Joining forces brings both the investment and the expertise needed to take it to the next level – creating a fully integrated seamless training and racing platform, both indoors and out.
Effective today, indieVelo will become “TrainingPeaks Virtual”. Please see https://www.trainingpeaks.com/virtual for more details and how to download the new application. Note that it is fully forwards and backwards compatible with indieVelo, and all your ride history, race results, rankings and achievements etc are all preserved.
TrainingPeaks Virtual will remain completely free for anyone to use throughout the upcoming (Northern Hemisphere) Winter season. Thereafter, it will continue to be free to use as part of a TrainingPeaks Premium membership.
The option to join the indieVelo Founders Club however is now closed. Existing members will receive a separate email about how their benefits will transfer to TrainingPeaks. The ability to wear your own custom team kit while you ride in the virtual world is now freely available to everyone.
Over the coming weeks and months ahead, we will be updating TrainingPeaks Virtual together to combine the best of TrainingPeaks and indieVelo into a seamless online and offline training and racing experience. Starting immediately, you can now log in using either your TrainingPeaks Username/password, or your existing indieVelo account. Shortly, we will also add full synchronization of your data – training zones, training plans, calendars, FTP, height, weight etc etc – making it as easy as possible for you and your coach to help you achieve your goals with a one-stop-shop under a single TrainingPeaks account.
This is an incredibly exciting time, and I’m really looking forward to working closely with the TrainingPeaks team to transform what’s possible with an online cycling platform, and the benefits it can bring to athletes and coaches. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed their support, ideas and suggestions along the way – the strength of the indieVelo community has been central to its success so far, and I have no doubt that will continue under the TrainingPeaks Virtual banner as well. Please do keep your thoughts coming as to what you would like to see next, as we continue to define the future of virtual sport.”
What does this mean?
There certainly is a lot of information to digest, so what are the key takeaways? For me these are:
- indieVelo is now TrainingPeaks Virtual.
- TrainingPeaks Premium Subscription members will have access to TrainingPeaks Virtual, which can be downloaded here.
- If you are not a TrainingPeaks Premium member and use indieVelo, you will still have access to the rebranded TrainingPeaks Virtual, but only until March 2025, after which a TrainingPeaks Premium Subscription will be required.
- You can now use your custom jerseys in-game, where previously you had to be a member of the Founders Club to have use of this functionality. The Mountain Massif jersey can now be used in-game.
- It’s founder and sole employee, George Gilbert, will now be an employee of TrainingPeaks. Having built this platform from the ground up, he will now have a team to support the development of this platform.
- TrainingPeaks will need to leverage their new platform. If you subscribe to Zwift and use the platform to tackle interval-based training sessions (that are pulled from TrainingPeaks), is there any need to pay a subscription to Zwift if you can achieve your training goals using TrainingPeaks virtual?
What’s next?
I’ve reached out to both TrainingPeaks and George at indieVelo and will look forward to getting a more substantive update. Until then, watch this space.
