Due to go live tomorrow, Strava has announced an update to its global heatmap tool that will allow users to see routes projected onto a 3D map.
The global heatmap on Strava is an interactive data visualisation of over 1-billion activities athletes have taken the world over – a claimed 200,000 years' worth of data – where the more popular a route is the brighter it is on the map.
This latest update follows in the footsteps of personal heatmaps going 3D in April 2021, seeing them change from a 2D line on a 2D map to a line that zig-zags up and down climbs and routes.
Strava says that the update “is great for previewing, planning, or reliving your own adventures”. It can be seen as the latest in recent efforts by Strava to improve its mapping for route planning after overhauling it earlier this year by grouping segments and routes in one place.
Strava also says the 3D global heatmap update is particularly useful for “athletes who frequent mountainous or varied terrain”, which might go without saying – who wants to see a 3D elevation of a pancake-flat ride?
Available across activity types, it won’t just be cyclists who benefit from this new feature, but hikers, trail runners and skiers too.
Unlike the recent update to Strava's progress chart, this update will only be available to subscribers, and will only be available on Strava’s web app. A subscription costs £47.99 / $59.99 for a 12-month membership or £6.99/$7.99 a month.
Subscribers will be able to toggle between their personal heat map in 3D and the global heatmap, for comparison between personal activity and what other athletes are up to.
