Yes, We've launched a cycling race team. It started off as a few friends who wanted to do a bit of riding together, but then lockdown happened and we all jumped on Zwift to keep things interesting. A year later we've got 18 Squads, around 200 active riders, and grand plans for the future.
If you want to be part of it, read on!
Zwift allows you to ride at home, on a trainer, without getting bored out of your mind or resorting to spin classes on youtube. It's used by everyone from total amateurs all the way up to Tour De France riders, and puts you in a huge virtual world where you can compete, train or just potter around a bunch of real and imaginary routes.
If you want a better explanation, the team at Zwift have laid it all out here: ZWIFT.com
In terms of equipment, you'll need a few things:
1) a road bike
2) a smart trainer
3) a heart rate monitor (HRM)
4) a zwift account (Monthly subscription)
5) A zwiftpower account (Free)
If you've even read this far, it's safe to assume you've got a road bike. There are a bunch of options when it comes to smart trainers — Zwift have a great tool that will help you find one (here). Equally, there are plenty of heart rate monitors out there, just make sure it works with your trainer / zwift.
The Zwift account is the easy bit — just head to zwift.com and sign up. The same goes for Zwiftpower.com — it basically keeps track of all your rides and races, and also helps stop cheating in competitions.
This launched in October 2020, and involves thousands of riders from around the world, competing online in a series of regional leagues. Each league is based on your race category, which ranges from A+ to D, depending on how strong a rider you are. We aim to field at least one team of between 4-6 riders in each category.
Every week, a route is announced for each category, and we race. Points are allocated for finishing positions, which determine individual and team positions in the league for the season. Simple.
On top of being part of a professionally-managed, multi-squad structure across all race categories, you'll have access to our discord server for in-race comms, be provided with results sheets for every race, and have the opportunity to become a valued member of Team Electric.
We also have custom, real-life race kit made by pactimo, and exclusive, branded merch that's only available to team members. as well as that, there's performance and participation bonuses in the form of electric spirit co. discounts and products.