This article was written when Visma was co-sponsor of Team Jumbo-Visma. Today, Visma is first title sponsor of Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
The answer: Social riding!
Together with Team Jumbo-Visma, we invited cycling fans and Visma employees to join a social ride with the Norwegian National Road Race Champion and Team Jumbo-Visma member Amund Grøndahl Jansen. Driven by the cycling training app Zwift, the social ride allows people from all over the world to watch live or compete with riders on the same track through a variety of different landscapes.
Participants attach their bicycle to a smart home trainer that simulates real-life ride physics, including resistance, cadence, and elevation changes. The trainer connects to a mobile device or television via Bluetooth so that riders can watch their own avatar in the Team Jumbo-Visma outfit alongside other competitors on the virtual track. It is one of the best ways to maintain the social aspect of cycling when getting out on the road in groups just isn’t possible.
The event was a huge success, drawing over 600 riders to attend in addition to many viewers on the live YouTube stream. Attendees also had the opportunity to ask Amund questions along the way, making it an even more social experience.
Amund has not been the only Team Jumbo-Visma member leading social rides. Many others on the team have participated, including Steven Kruijswijk, Robert Gesink, George Bennett, Sepp Kuss, and Tobias Foss, with more to come. The schedule will be continually updated as long as social distancing measures are in place. Whether you are participating or just watching, virtual cycle training can be a great way to stay active and connected to Team Jumbo-Visma.
The social riding events have garnered quite a bit of attention on Instagram. Social media is a great way to share social riding setups so people can see who they are competing against! It is also fun for our Visma employees to be involved by encouraging them to use the hashtag #VismaActive and follow their colleagues. As you can see from the photos, some prefer inside, and some outside, but the bottom line is that through these creative activities, we can #staysafe, #stayactive and #staysocial.
See Team Jumbo-Visma riders in action
