One of the great features of the BKOOL cycling simulator is the ability to join leagues. These virtual stage races give you the opportunity ride with and against cyclists from around the globe, and do it on your own schedule.
BKOOL’s USA-based leagues include new stages every week. Each league has a different focus.
The Tour of America league features a route in a different state each week — so that by the end of a year, you’ve ridden in all 50 states, plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. The chosen ones to start the year will be Alabama, Alaska, Arizona and Arkansas. And we have group pre-rides plenty of days the week before each stage goes live.
The Hump Day Hillclimb league was created to liven up your Wednesdays with a different featured climb from somewhere on the planet each week. Though the group pre-rides for this league are on Wednesdays (a.k.a. “Hump Day”), the stages can be ridden on your own any day of the week when they’re live.
The BKOOL USA Downhill Challenge league is just like the Hump Day Hillclimbs league, but it features descents! The group pre-rides for this league are on Fridays.
And finally, we have the Recon Rides league. This unique league selects a different upcoming US-based event each week, and we ride part of the event’s route using the BKOOL simulator’s exclusive 3D World simulation technology. Group pre-rides for this league are every Sunday, the week before each stage goes live.
All BKOOL USA Group Pre-Rides are easy to find in the simulator, as they will be highlighted on your home screen. Now, these group pre-rides won’t count toward your league standings, since they are scheduled the week before each stage is active. These are pre-rides, to help you get familiar with the courses before racing on them during the next week.
Once a league stage goes live, you will find it in the leagues folder as you scroll down on the simulator’s home screen – assuming you’ve joined the groups associated with each league. Those groups are:
USA-league participation is open to all cyclists no matter where they are in the world. Once you join the group(s) for each league, any time you ride a live stage from one of these leagues, your results appear in the rankings as soon as they’re validated. The rankings also show information about your time in any previous stages, the difference to first place, total kilometers ridden in the league, and much more.
The following dates are the dates when the next Group Rides of this league will take place. Please note that on each of the following dates there will be Group Rides scheduled according to the following timetable:
- 6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 EST
- 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30, 00:30, 03:30 CET
The first stages for March’s Tour of America Group Pre-Rides will be as follows:
- Tues., May 24 and Sat., May 28: Michigan
- Tues., May 31 and Sat., June 4: Minnesota
- Tues., June 7 and Sat., June 11: Mississippi
- Tues., June 14 and Sat., June 18: Missouri
- Tues., June 21 and Sat., June 25: Montana
For the Hump Day Hillclimbs Group Pre-Rides:
- Wed., May 25: el Triunfo a la Victoria Colombia
- Wed., June 1: Da Rionero al Monte Vulture
- Wed., June 8: Picón Blanco
- Wed., June 15: Subida Higa Monreal
- Wed., June 22: Col Joux
Downhill Challenge Group Pre-Rides:
- Friday, May 27: Whiteface descent to ski area
- Friday, June 3: Gambarie d’Aspromonte to Reggio Calabria
- Friday, June 10: Descenso Sierra Nevada
- Friday, June 17: Descenso Alto del 14 por ciento – Córdoba
- Friday, June 24: Rakitna descent to Brezovica SLO
Group Pre-Rides for Recon Rides will be:
- Sunday, May 29: Tour De Donut – New Wilmington, PA
- Sunday, June 5: Tour of North Georgia road race
- Sunday, June 12: 2022 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championship U23 TT Course
- Sunday, June 19: 2022 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championship Road Race 37.4K Loop
- Sunday, June 26: 2022 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championship Road Race 37.4K Loop
Remember: these are pre-rides and not the league stages. As such, they won’t count toward your league standings. For the league competition, you must join the associated group first, then select the league’s current live stage from under Leagues on your simulator’s home screen to ride it.
Keep an eye on our social media posts if you don’t want to miss any of these events. Also, in the leagues, you can share participation invitations with your BKOOLers friends. This way you can enjoy a healthy competition together to see who has the best time, so get involved!
