A new Wahoo Fitness app opens up the globe's three million Strava segments to competition from anyone with an iPad and a Wahoo KICKR turbo trainer.
The new Wahoo Fitness app called Segments is available from the App Store for £20.99. It lets users compete against any rider on any Strava segment, which are downloaded to the user's iPad and used to control the KICKR trainer's resistance according to the segment's gradients and profile via Bluetooth. The trainer has a built-in power meter to provide live power data. The completed segment can then be uploaded to Strava as an indoor file.
Click to download Wahoo Fitness Segments App for iPad
ArrayWith the KICKR trainer and the Segments app, you can 'ride' any Strava segment in the world
"By integrating Strava into the KICKR Power Trainer with Segments, we have created the single best indoor riding experience a cyclist could ever ask for," said Chip Hawkins, CEO of US company Wahoo Fitness. "There is no other indoor bike trainer, no other app and no other cycling experience that can compare to the thrill of racing your friend head-to-head on your favourite route, while they are potentially on the other side of the planet."
You can race any Strava segment and post your time, but you can't take a KOM on the Strava leaderboards unless you actually ride it outside
Strava are onboard, too. "Strava’s mission is to serve, motivate and entertain the global community of athletes and we are excited to team up with Wahoo to provide cyclists around the world with a new option for their indoor training," said Jordan Kobert, Strava's head of business development.
Wahoo Fitness have been ploughing a successful furrow in the smartphone app and hardware market. Last year the company launched the RFLKT bike computer, which displays data captured by a smartphone that is safely stowed in a rider's back pocket.
King of the Mountains holders who have actually gone outside need not worry their titles are about to be swiped by some ringer on the other side of the planet who's downloaded the app – the session is noted as an indoor workout, and KOMs can't be taken inside. But it does raise the intriguing possibility of an alternative indoor Strava community developing. So who's up for a race to the top of the virtual indoor Alpe d'Huez?
After completing a segment, you can upload to Strava (where it will be noted as a KICKR file) or share your file elsewhere