‘why do you cycle?’

Many riders will respond with references to exploring the great outdoors, freedom, adventure, but Indoor cycling can be boring. However, sometimes the weather, the  time constraints or your event training plan means a turbo trainer is a must.

you’re feeling competitive and want to be the first over the finish line or the fastest on the clock.

Indoor cycling has its benefits:

• Its comfortable, the rides can be realistic!
• It’s possible to push harder since there’s no need to worry about traffic
• It’s warm and dry – you can’t slip on ice on the turbo trainer (without great difficulty)

The downside? Well, you’re pedalling away indoors, but some awesome apps to keep you entertained.

Zwift indoor training - Cycling

Explore a selection of virtual worlds on Zwift

Best for: Riding and racing with (or against) others

The key feature of Zwift is that it allows indoor cyclists to join group rides where they can measure themselves against others in the comfort of their own homes.

Join a group ride, and if you put more power through the pedals you’ll ride away from people, struggle to hold the watts steady and you could drop off the back. You can even message other riders in the virtual world (most recommended during warm-ups/cool downs).

Rides take place over a series of courses in a variety of ‘worlds’ – Watopia (which also includes the challenging Mayan Jungle), London and Richmond.

“The community however, is really what makes Zwift unique. We are lucky to have a highly engaged community on Zwift and it’s this community that brings the virtual environment to life.

“Our community runs the majority of events on Zwift including social rides, training rides, races and even fondo events.

“Indeed it’s largely thanks to our community informally organising these events in game during the early stages of our development that we now have official events pages.”

For those who want to train with others, without direct competition, there are ‘group workouts’ – during which all riders will complete intervals at the same percentage of their FTP, which means no one gets dropped from the group session.

It’s not all about indoor bike enabled socialising either – there are solo workouts for those looking to increase their fitness without the distraction of peers.

“Zwift undoubtedly makes indoor training more fun. Fun however, doesn’t necessarily mean less structured,” Snook told us.

“Structured workouts form a big part of Zwift – whether performing one of our many pre-designed workouts, importing workouts from a coaching program, designing custom workouts or taking part in our unique group workouts. This is a big part of Zwift’s appeal for serious riders from club level to WorldTour Pro.”

“Who is Zwift for? It’s for anyone with a goal – whether that’s to loose weight, maintain fitness over winter, train for a sportive or, if you’re Mat Hayman; win Paris-Roubaix!”

Zwift costs £12.99 a month