US national champion hopefuls can soon pre-ride championship race courses from home

Cyclists preparing for national events will soon be able to pre-ride championship courses without leaving home. TrainingPeaks today announced a four-year partnership with USA Cycling, establishing TrainingPeaks Virtual as the governing body’s official esports platform through 2028, replacing MyWhoosh.

The collaboration debuts September 18, 2025, when athletes can use the platform’s GPXplore feature to preview the 31-mile USA Cycling Gravel Nationals route virtually. Riders will be able to familiarise themselves with all the climbs, corners and terrain ahead of the in-person race in La Crescent, Minnesota, on September 20.

Other virtual platforms also offer real-world course simulations. Rouvy and Bkool allow riders to upload GPX files to train on their chosen courses, while Zwift has built replicas of select World Championship circuits such as Richmond (2015) and Innsbruck (2018). But those efforts were either athlete-driven or one-off recreations. USA Cycling’s integration with TrainingPeaks Virtual marks the first time a governing body has tied its official national championship events directly to a virtual pre-ride experience.

TrainingPeaks revealed that upcoming features like My Routes will extend this capability to everyday training, letting any rider import their own GPX files into the virtual environment, bridging the worlds between esports and real-life cycling.

The Esports National Race Calendar

Due to this partnership, the Echelon Racing League, a long-running virtual race series endorsed by the UCI Continental Project Echelon team, will now also be held on TrainingPeaks Virtual.

Dubbed the 'eSports National Race Calendar,' the league’s sixth season will run from November 1, 2025, to February 1, 2026. The season will conclude with the USA Cycling Esports National Championships held on January 31 and February 1, 2026.

TrainingPeaks acquired indieVelo in 2024, and rebranded it as TrainingPeaks Virtual, thereby expanding the company’s footprint from training and performance management into esports racing.

IndieVelo was originally founded by Dr. George Gilbert, the former chair of Cycling Esports at Zwift, and Bjoern Ossenbrink, who previously led Zwift’s Accuracy and Data Analysis (ZADA) team. Their goal was to build a platform that prioritised credibility and realism in virtual cycling.

The platform’s racing engine replicates outdoor dynamics such as drafting, cornering and braking, while syncing directly with structured TrainingPeaks workouts.

To race in the Echelon Racing League, athletes will need a TrainingPeaks Premium account. Participation in the USA Cycling Esports National Championships also requires an active USA Cycling license and the completion of at least one Echelon Racing League event.