{"id":1489916,"date":"2021-09-23T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.bkool.com\/?p=1489916"},"modified":"2021-09-24T14:57:56","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T12:57:56","slug":"what-is-the-future-of-e-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.bkool.com\/en\/2021\/09\/23\/what-is-the-future-of-e-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the future of e-cycling?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In 2007, few visionaries could have imagined a future in which cyclists would train in their living rooms as they do outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combining a world as physical as cycling with one as digital as the internet? Our dear Fernando Garc\u00eda Checa saw that it was possible, and he set about shaping it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“People have limited time: either they dedicate it to one thing or the other, and the internet is winning<\/strong>“, he said at the time in an interview in El Pa\u00eds<\/a>. “Either we manage to combine them or sport is going to be the loser in this battle”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fourteen years have passed since that original BKOOL idea became a reality and we created a new sporting category, online cycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today we have all grasped it as a means of training, entertainment and above all health: online cycling has transcended beyond the amateur cyclist<\/strong> and allows fitness classes, competitions and even World Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have the great fortune of facing an expanding sector: according to AMBE data, 1.565.233 bicycles were sold in Spain in 2020<\/a>; smart trainers increased their sales by 400%, according to data from David Mart\u00edn, CEO of TradeInn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what’s next? We wanted to get the opinions of industry peers, roller manufacturers and journalists, to ask them how they see ecycling over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ten years from now there will be a different reality: indoor cycling will continue to grow, the number of consumers of virtual cycling will be much higher”, says I\u00f1aki Argote, CEO of Oreka Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From his point of view, the future lies in two aspects: improving competitions, which are still in their infancy, and the user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Online competitions are going to grow<\/strong>“, explains the head of the Gipuzkoa-based company. “And both the industry and the federations are going to have to get serious about regulating fair-play<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The head of Marketing at Zycle, Pablo Villabona, adds to this new concept of online competitions, revealing that “there are rumours and news that e-cycling is going to become more professional with competitive leagues at a professional level in Europe<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However,\u00a0as well as improving\u00a0meetings, events and competitions, it is necessary to add how the user deals with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the next decade, from I\u00f1aki’s point of view, the future of e-cycling lies in augmented reality and proposing a more immersive experience: “Glasses that allow you to experience that you are in the peloton”. From his point of view, it is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow will online cycling change\u00a0over\u00a0the next ten years?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n