Five Ways Fulgaz Can Prepare You for a Big Ride

The virtual riding platform can set you up for success on real roads

The Fulgaz training platform can take you on routes around the world. It’s a great way to experience the roads of Italy or Australia from your trainer. But it’s more than a means for virtual cyclo-tourism. Fulgaz can get you ready for a big ride on real roads. Here are five ways the platform helps you indoors for the outdoors.

Giving your legs exactly what they need

The creators of Fulgaz designed the platform to simulate actual roads. Not only do you get a handlebar’s-eye view of the Zoncolan or the Furka Pass, but Fulgaz patches in the efforts required to get up those climbs right into your smart trainer. The watts you have to crank out in front of the 4k video are the same watts you’ll have to put out irl.

A course reconnaissance from home

While getting your legs ready for a ride is important, so is preparing your mind. You can no doubt think of a ride you’ve been on with a challenging climb, one during which you lost track of the distance to the top. Like a child on a long trip, you probably asked yourself over and over if you were almost there yet. When would things ease up? With Fulgaz, you can do a virtual reconnaissance of the climb. Then, when you are out on the road and passing through a village with a fountain on the left, for example, you’ll know you’re halfway to the top of the climb. You can settle in and keep spinning your cranks as you know exactly where you are.

Perfecting your strategy

Another advantage of previewing a route with Fulgaz is that the reconnaissance can help you plan your ride or race strategies, just like the pros. You probably don’t have a Worldteam’s budget to ride stages months in advance. But, let’s say you're doing an Haute Route event. Using Fulgaz, you can head over to key climbs in France or Italy to see where they twist and kick up to their steepest ramps. Maybe there’s an incline that you know will knock you back a few positions in the bunch. Well, you can plan to hit it early and sag through the group knowing you won’t lose too much ground.

Targeted coaching

Are you working with someone who’s going to get you fit for your big ride? Great. If your coach has access to Fulgaz, the expert can upload workouts to the platform. There are other tools for coaches, too. They can monitor the cadence and power output of their athletes as they are out on their virtual rides. Don’t have a coach? Well, you can chase a rabbit named Bernard. Actually, Bernard is a virtual training partner who is a lot like you (once you adjust his settings). You can gauge your efforts off of Bernard on climbs and along the flats.

Honing in on the most challenging sections

You can really dial in your training on a specific segment of road. Let’s say you have a trip to Mallorca planned. You know you and your group will be tackling the Puig Major climb. You also know that there are some sections of that climb that you find really tough. With Fulgaz, you can target specific segments. Then, you can track your performance on these sections over time.