Simon: Our friends at the Global Triathlon Network, and yes, they are friends even if
they sometimes forget to wear socks, are a very talented bunch of athletes. Annoyingly
good not just at one sport but three. What's worse though is they're actually really fast
at riding bikes. There, I've said it. Now, to see just how fast, I am going to carry
the mantle and represent road riders the world over, taking on triathlete extraordinaire
Mark "The Shark" Threlfall. That sounds like a lot of pressure's on the
shoulders of one very weedy rider, so I also need your help. You can race myself, and Mark
too, because not only are we racing in the real world, we're also racing in the augmented
reality of Rouvy on the very same stretch of road no less. Anyone with an indoor trainer
can take part from anywhere in the world and Rouvy are kindly offering a 14-day free trial
as well. Anyway, more on that later. Hello. Morning, mate.
Mark: Hello. How are you doing Simon: I'm all right, mate. How are you?
Mark: Good. You ready? Simon: I'm ready. Our race today is going
to be a short one. A climb of Cheddar Gorge here in the UK. Now, it's not the world's
hardest climb but it's suitably dramatic. Mark: Yes, it's just 5.4 kilometers but an
averaging gradient of 4%, so it is going to be fast.
Simon: What bike have you brought? Mark: I've got the brand new Canyon Speedmax.
Simon: Look at that. Mark: Before you ask, no, it's not UCI legal
but it is super aero, so it's perfect for today.
Simon: Yes, that does look fast, doesn't it? Mark: It is going to be aero bike versus TT
bike. Which one climbs faster? Simon: Well, good point. On this climb actually,
the bottom section is really steep so I'm going to need to press home my advantage on
this, the lighter bike, but then once the gradient eases off a little bit, you're just
going to be able to keep winding it up. Mark: It really does towards the top so you've
got to hang on to my wheel there, hopefully. Simon: As we said earlier, this is going to
be a two-part race. Firstly, here in the real world and then secondly, on Rouvy, which uses
real-world video,then lays augmented reality over the top.
Mark: There is an exact replica of Cheddar Gorge that you can ride anywhere in the world,
anytime you like. Racing either Si's time or my faster time, of course.
Simon: Set me on there, mate. Now, what's also going to be interesting, I think, is
that we'll be able to compare our times from the real world directly into Rouvy. They say
that realism is their top priority so we're going to be able to see exactly how it stacks
up. It's coming, mate. Mark: I can't say that. I did beat you earlier
this year. Simon: Yes, you did but then the first time
we raced, I beat you. Mark: Hang on. I was running and you were
on a bike that time, remember? Simon: Yes, that makes it sound worse than
it was. It was a really hard course. Mark: Good God.
[laughter] Male speaker: That might approved it as well.
Simon: Did you get that in? Yes, there we go.
[music] Simon: You don't get beeps in the triathlon
world, do you? Mark: No, it's just the start gun.
Simon: Okay, join me today then. Mark: All right.
Simon: Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Let Mark just take the pace to start with mainly because
I'm already doing 400 watts on this wheel. [unintelligible 00:03:37] [chuckles]
[music] Simon: Yes, there you go. [unintelligible
00:04:08] hang in there. [unintelligible 00:04:12]. Is this a sign of weakness? No, he's just
going harder. [music]
Mark: All right, it is rematch time. There was barely anything to separate us out there
so now we've come inside into the studio to take
[00:05:00] things virtual. We're going to be setting
our times for you guys to beat. Simon: That's right. Now as you saw, we chose
Cheddar Gorge because it's local to us. We can ride it outdoors and now indoors as well,
but there are stacks of routes to choose from already on Rouvy. You can even record and
then upload your own that they can certify so that you and others can also enjoy it too.
Mark: All right, should we get a warm-up in then?
Simon: I think it's probably wise. Mark: What about the socks?
Simon: Well, I just wanted to make you feel at home.
Mark: That's a very good thing to do. Simon: I forgot.
Mark: Here we go. We have our race setter, which any Rouvy user has the ability to do
and then invite their friends into that race or their closest rivals.
Simon: That's right. Mark, as you can see, is rocking the TT bike again, both here in
real life and also in Rouvy as well where they say they have mimicked the exact same
advantages in here that you would get in real life.
Mark: Don't forget also the disadvantages. Simon: Well, yes, we clearly just saw that
you had lots of advantage going up there but got it. Nice outfit by the way.
Mark: Thank you, you too. Rouvy have also built-in drafting to their platform so although
we're not a full-blown pelican here it's just the two of us, we will still experience that
drafting. We're still going to go head-to-head or time trial format?
Simon: I think we should keep it head-to-head personally. What do you think?
Mark: Yes, I'm up for that, let's do this. Simon: All right.
[music] Simon: Less than one minute to go now. It's
fair to say the tension is palpable in here, isn't it, you could cut it with a knife. Everything
to play for after the near dead heat of last time. I'm also slightly nervous, Mark, about
the fact that everyone can come and beat us. This is a public challenge. Are we going to
go all out from the start, we're going to pace this? As in work together to try and
beat everyone else? Speaker 3: That's the plan.
Simon: No, I'm going to do that. Speaker 3: Five seconds.
[music] Speaker 3: Go.
[music] Simon: Oh my God, you've just got already?
Mark: He's got a gap. Simon: You've got me already.
[music] Simon: My feet feel horrible, I don't know
how you do it. Mark: It takes a bit of training getting used
to it. Simon: You're an animal.
[music] Simon: Check it out.
Mark: [unintelligible 00:07:43] GCN banners. [music] [heavy breathing]
Simon: Incoming. Mark: Mate.
Simon: Not having socks feels amazing, this is the future.
Mark: My feet were overheating. How many watts compared to real life?
Simon: Well, I went a little bit harder that time, so that was 389 watts versus about 335
because I was sat on a wheel. I did go a lot harder. Time's really interesting, so I was
quicker in Rouvy but obviously given that I put out nearly an extra 50 watts that's
about right. There was only what 20--. Mark: 25 seconds.
Simon: 25 seconds, that sounds about right. Pretty close.
Mark: I was 342 in real life and then 371, so a little bit more so for 20 watts more
I was about 15 seconds quicker. Just dipped onto the 12 minutes 11:50 I think on Rouvy.
Simon: That's pretty blooming close. Real-life versus augmented reality.
Mark: There we go, as we said at the start, Rouvy are offering a free trial so you can
come and give us a hard time, go and set your times up Cheddar Gorge who is going to be
the quickest, roadies or triathletes? Simon: Whilst you've got your 14-day free
trial, you might as well take a good look around as well because there are so many routes
to choose from. Not all of them have that augmented reality but basically, you could
travel the world riding the most beautiful roads in the globe from the comfort of your
own pain cave. That's not a contradiction intend.
Mark: As well as a ton of collaborations between Rouvy and some big event organizers the likes
of Ironman. Simon: You had to get that in there didn't
you Mark? Mark: Also the Welter.
Simon: Yes, now we're talking the Welter. Mark: Also you can train from home and prepare
for events which to be honest I think is huge particularly for triathletes. You can train
on the likes of the New Yorker 70.3 course or get involved in challenges.
Simon: Nice one. Come on then, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Come and have a go and
see whether you can beat us, quite frankly we'll see how much you can beat us by probably
more to the point. Mark: The link for that free trial to get
involved you can find that in the description just down below this video.
Simon: Mark thank you so much for coming and having a bit of a tear up. Of course, you
can see Mark and all the amazing triathlon videos over on GTN as well. Do make sure you
head over and check that out. Otherwise, give this video a big thumbs up.
[00:10:53] [END OF AUDIO]