Ride BKOOL’s official Giro d'Italia Virtual 2024 with Froome and Contador next Monday, November 25 at 17.30GMT

Indoor cycling innovator BKOOL recently unveiled its virtual edition of the 2024 Giro d’Italia – an officially licensed facsimile of the real thing, open to cyclists who wouldn’t necessarily make a World Tour squad. But there's even more exciting news: next Monday (November 25th) at 18.30CET / 17.30GMT, BKOOL users will able to take part in the Virtual Giro alongside cycling heroes Chris Froome and Alberto Contador.  

The duel that marked an era in modern cycling will be revived thanks to virtual cycling, bringing the two legends together in a special race on the BKOOL simulator. However, this time the stars will not be accompanied by their respective professional teams; instead, the peloton will be made up of hundreds of amateur cyclists.

Anyone can take part in this historic group ride from home using a smart bike or smart trainer and signing on to the BKOOL virtual cycling platform. In fact, participation is completely free thanks to the 30-day trial available at www.bkool.com.

Ultra realism

But if you can't make this unique event on Monday, don't worry: the magic of the 2024 Giro d'Italia is available to access any time. 

Thanks to BKOOL, the Giro d'Italia Virtual 2024 is a unique opportunity to enjoy all the adrenaline and magic of the ‘Corsa Rosa’ as an actual competitor. The event brings together all the race’s real stages, recorded during the last edition of the Giro d'Italia and rendered via super-realistic immersive simulation technology. 

Imagine taking on the challenge of the Mortirolo, wearing the pink jersey, while rivals try to drop you on the mountain’s fearsome slopes. Or sprinting through the streets of Naples, fighting to reach the line first, with thousands of fans cheering you on from the pavement. And all without leaving home.

To take part in the Giro d'Italia Virtual 2024, all riders need is a smart cycling trainer or a smart bike and a subscription to the BKOOL indoor cycling platform. Any cyclist is able to try the virtual experience for free thanks to the 30-day trial available at www.girovirtual.com.

The Giro d’Italia Virtual will release a new stage every 15 days until next May 2025 and will end with a great prize draw for all participants, including pink jersey, exclusive experiences during the next edition of the Giro d'Italia and many other surprises.

Special events

And it’s not just the sights and sounds of famous races that you can experience. With BKOOL’s unique special events you also get to virtually ride alongside the famous faces of cycling as well. 

Recently, BKOOL users were able to take part in a BKOOL Group Ride event with Soudal Quick Step pro rider – and the winner of the opening stage of this year’s Tour of Britain – Paul Magnier.

Over the coming weeks, BKOOL has five further special Group Ride events planned, led by special guests like Remco Evenepoel or Mikel Landa. And there’ll be other special events with BKOOL ambassadors like Oscar Freire (pictured above, enjoying BKOOL) before the end of the year, too.

Getting started

So what is BKOOL, and how do you get racing? 

BKOOL is a virtual cycling app that allows you to get as close as possible to the full experience of riding and racing at different venues across the world. Essentially, it’s a great value alternative to some of the more famous cycling simulators, such as Zwift.

Simply connect a compatible smart bike or smart trainer and suitable device and screen – BKOOL is compatible with PC, Mac, Android tablets, iPads and smartphones.

And there’s far more than just the Giro to enjoy – with BKOOL you can be instantly transported to a road or trail virtually anywhere. 

Routes

By using BKOOL’s search option, you can choose from millions of rides around the world. Whether it’s tackling the most iconic mountain passes beloved by road cyclists, such as Alpe d’Huez; enjoying off-road excursions in some of the most exotic and far flung locations; or simply enjoying a leisurely ride through a popular sight-seeing destination, such as a New York’s Central Park, literally a whole world of choice is at your fingertips. 

BKOOL has MTB and gravel routes, and only with BKOOL can you take part in the official virtual editions of Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, Milano-Torino, Il Lombardia, Tirreno Adriatico or the Deutschland Tour. BKOOL offers you the opportunity to ride on the real stages of these amazing events, and, as with everything BKOOL does, you can customise the entire experience to get exactly what you want.

BKOOL also allows you to upload your own routes in video and 3D to the BKOOL community. With the Video Route Editor application, you can turn your weekend rides into virtual routes and share them with thousands of cyclists around the world. All you need is a GPX file and the route video. 

Watch this video to learn more about BKOOL routes.

Perfect training

BKOOL offers a choice of four viewpoint options – the unrivalled immersion of 3D Video; 3D simulation, ideal for racing; Video, bringing you first-person perspectives from around the globe; or Map, where you can follow your virtual progress on real routes in real time.

With BKOOL’s Real Weather facility adding an extra element of realism, and in-depth analysis of your performance available after your ride, BKOOL really does offer all the important elements you need to train effectively. And to really take your training to the next level, it is even possible to use BKOOL with a heart rate sensor or a potentiometer.

More options, more cycling

And there’s more! If you fancy have a go in the velodrome, that possible, too, thanks to BKOOL’s virtual track racing. As well as rider-v-rider competition, you can attempt the Hour Record or Kilometre Record, in one of three different real velodromes – including London’s 2012 Olympic velodrome. 

Of course, we can’t think of static cycling without thinking of spin classes, and BKOOL has a wealth of options on tap. Classes are led by some of the world’s best professional instructors, so you get the benefits of all of their encouragement and expertise. But you choose the length and intensity -–you can even choose the language they speak in. 

BKOOL also has its own BKOOL Spin Studio standalone app that you can use as part of your BKOOL Premium subscription, and which is available for your smartphone, tablet, computer, Android TV, Apple TV or Apple Watch.

Finally, there are workouts. BKOOL is the only cycling simulator that allows you to create your own workouts, or enjoy workouts designed by cycling experts designed to target all six levels of intensity, from active recovery all the way to improving your anaerobic threshold and aerobic capacity. Every week there is a new training plan designed by the experts from Watts Lab, featuring different types of goals. 

Compatibility

BKOOL is compatible with most smart trainers, smart bikes and training sensors on the market. You can also connect it to your favourite cycling apps such as Strava, Garmin Connect and Training Peaks. BKOOL Spin Studio app is also compatible with Apple Health and Google Fit.

Better with friends

Don’t think BKOOL has to be a solitary experience. The BKOOL community is made up of thousands of cyclists from more than 150 different countries and the platform is becoming more and more social. There’s even a new Friends functionality, which allows you to easily and quickly find out which route your friends are training on BKOOL so that you can join them.

You can even ride with new friends like BKOOL ambassadors Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, Oscar Freire, the Soudal Quick-Step team including Time Trial World Champion Remco Evenepoel, or the Polti Kometa Team who performed so well at the actual Giro d’Italia. It’s almost as sociable as getting out on a club café ride

Have your first month free!

In terms of cost, BKOOL is €11 on a month-by-month basis, or if you subscribe for a full year you’ll pay just €110. Best of all, new riders can sign up for 30 days entirely for free here.

BKOOL also has a Family Plan that is designed so that other members of your household (using the same IP connection) can share a BKOOL Premium Subscription for €129/year or just €43/year per person. 

Taking into account the huge variety of content and training possibilities, it all adds up to BKOOL being one of the best value training purchases you will ever make!

So the possibilities are endless. But don’t be overwhelmed; it all starts with hooking up to BKOOL and simply turning a pedal. Then you can start to explore a whole new world of cycling – or race at one of the greatest Grand Tours – without even leaving home! 

To claim your 30-day free trial or to simply find out more about BKOOL’s range of possibilities, visit bkool.com.