‘I’m riding Le Tour in my spare room’: the indoor cycling revolution
The boom in virtual riding systems like Peloton and Zwift has got people swapping the road for a room at home. Are they worth it?
On a blustery Saturday morning, I am about to climb Alpe d’Huez near Grenoble. I have waited years for the chance. For followers of the Tour de France, this is hallowed asphalt – a mountainous ribbon of road where mortals have pedalled into legend. The race I have entered finishes at the summit. My thighs already crackle with heat when the going gets steep.
After 21 hairpin bends, eight miles and a final sprint against a Dane called Arne, I cross the line in 44th place. As I slump over my handlebars, my beard dispensing sweat like a full sponge, I receive a text message: “Can you come and do this nappy?” I get off my bike, turn off my iPad and hobble downstairs. Perhaps Arne is doing the same.