VN tech ticker: Ashleigh Moolman Pasio launches Rocacorba Collective, Anna van der Breggen co-hosts Thanksgiving Zwift ride
Here's what's making cycling tech headlines on Tuesday, November 16.
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Ashleigh Moolman Pasio launches Rocacorba Collective
2021 UCI esports world cycling champion and team SD Worx climber Ashleigh Moolman Pasio last week launched the Rocacorba Collective.
Rocacorba Collective’s mission is to modernize indoor cycling for women by launching a women’s premier league team, offering women’s only rides and mixed social rides, providing weekly workouts and training plans, yoga and pilates classes, exclusive product discounts, Rocacorba Cycling training camps in Banyoles, Spain, and more.
The professional team will facilitate a competition to give women Zwifters a chance to race on the same team as the current world esports champion.
Selected women will then have an opportunity to compete on the Rocacorba Collective Premier League Team and will receive equipment and apparel from such sponsors as Garmin/Tacx NEO 2T smart trainers, Edge cycling computers, Forerunner GPS wearables, heart rate monitors, Rally power meter pedals, team bottles, and more. Specialized will provide Rocacroba Collective team members with bikes, wheels, saddles, accessories, and more.
“Women’s cycling has gained huge momentum through the COVID pandemic with Zwift prioritizing equality, and I believe this momentum has the potential to revolutionize cycling in general,” said Moolman Pasio. “My vision with the Rocacorba Collective is to connect the dots in the cycling world, and in doing so transform the model to offset the sponsorship requirement of pro teams, grow female participation and build community all at the same time.
“At Rocacorba Collective — women are our purpose, the community is our power and collaboration is our strength,” Moolman Pasio added.
Rocacorba Collective’s membership model avoids the transitional sports sponsorship model with sponsorship obligations and aims to focus on community members.
Partners Specialized and Garmin/Tacx are on board with the Rocacorba Collective and have committed resources to team members and subscribers.
“Specialized is excited to partner with Ashleigh and the Rocacorba Collective. We believe her vision will create a community of female riders that eliminates many of the traditional barriers to entry into cycling. From encouraging new indoor riders, to inspiring them to get outside on the road, gravel or in the mountains, we believe the Rocacorba Collective will get more women on the bike, and build the community to keep them riding to help us all Pedal the Planet Forward,” said Specialized’s Kelly Henningsen.
After spending much of 2020 on a trainer, Moolman Pasio won the inaugural UCI esports world cycling championships — “Zwift worlds” — in December 2020. Her experiences impacted her in such a way that she wanted to share them with women cyclists worldwide. She worked with several of SD Worx partners to bring them to the Rocacorba Collective.
For more information about requirements and how to become a member, visit the Rocacorba Collective website.
Anna van der Breggen co-hosts Thanksgiving Zwift ride
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Recently retired pro cyclist Anna van der Breggen is co-hosting a Zwift ride at 11 a.m. EST on Thanksgiving day.
You can sign up for the Zwift Thanksgiving Day ride with “AVDB” on the Zwift website, or use the Zwift Companion app to register for the ride.
The ride will last 60 minutes at a pace of 2.5-3.1 watts/kilogram.
Zwift CEO Eric Min will also be along to co-host the ride, which in years past had thousands of participants.
Riders can also listen to the multi-time world champion’s podcast in which she discusses the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
The Dutch rider has previously hosted events on Zwift, such as the Fun is Fast last summer.
Van der Breggen concluded her professional cycling career at the end of this past road season, but she did not ride away from the sport. She immediately got behind the steering wheel of SD Worx’s team car as a director sportif.
Rapha challenge targets 1 million kilometers on Strava on Black Friday, November 26
The Rapha Foundation pledged $150,000 for each of the next three years to support World Bicycle Relief’s Communities on the Move program, in Kasungu, Malawi.
The foundation is again taking on the goal of hitting 1 million kilometers combined from all riders who participate in the Strava challenge.
Those who sign up for the November 26 challenge are encouraged to help this charitable effort.
Every kilometer recorded in Strava will be added to our global total, and will Rapha donate as many bikes — nearly 2,000 — as possible.
Rapha will host dedicated rides from its 20 clubhouses, as well as grant time off to employees who plan to ride and contribute to the challenge.
In 2020, the ride was successful in hitting the 1 million km mark and raised in excess of $160,000 for World Bicycle Relief. Riders recorded more than 2.5 million kilometers in a single day.
Affordable transportation options are unavailable in the region, the school enrollment rate in Kasungu is nearly 33 percent, and the reach of community health workers is limited. Bikes can make partially minimize these challenges.
RGT Cycling streamlines user experience
RGT Cycling consolidated its mobile and performance apps into a single app for Windows, Android, Apple TV, Mac, and iOS.
While RGT Cycling users will still have an option to use a remote app, it is no longer a requirement. However, laptop/desktop users can connect the RGT mobile app via Bluetooth to bridge devices.
Previously, RGT Cycling users were required to have the performance application (cycling screen) and mobile app running concurrently. With the recent update, this is no longer a requirement for using the free indoor cycling virtual environment.
“The launch of the single app marks a huge change in the usability and future development of the RGT platform, bringing us in line with the ease of use expectations of our users,” said RGT Cycling’s head of brand and marketing James Vickers. “We’d like to take the opportunity to thank each of our users, whose valuable feedback has helped fuel the vision for a better, more streamlined virtual cycling experience.”
