TrainingPeaks Virtual was previously named IndieVelo, but purchased by TrainingPeaks in August 2024. It represents the indoor training offering from the dominant force in online training and data analysis platforms. 

What differentiates this from the likes of MyWhoosh and Zwift virtual world training platforms is the huge host of data metrics that can be synced. Yes, you can send workouts from TrainingPeaks to those apps, but you can’t record additional data metrics such as torque. 

It’s not quite as sharp on the graphics as many indoor training apps, but is ever-evolving, and although a similar price it features a far broader training and data analysis platform. It is also heavily investing in the racing scene as Zwift scales that back, including features such as cross winds. 

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TrainingPeaks Virtual key features 

Virtual Hub app allows for app control 

Multiple race modes for more variety 

Seamlessly links to TrainingPeaks web app 

TrainingPeaks Premium included for data analysis and workout library 

Crosswind function in game for tactical race elements 

Low participation races get bot racers to boost numbers 

Zen and Focus modes for distraction-free training 

Large virtual world with many route options 

Social riding, pace bots, and in-game messaging social elements 

Customisable kit and equipment 

TrainingPeaks Virtual is available on most platforms: iOS/Android/Mac/Windows.

System requirements are: 

Windows: 10 or higher 

Mobile: Any with 3.5Gb RAM recommended minimum 

MacOS: macOS 11 Big Sur or later 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Setup 

You can launch TrainingPeaks virtual in two different ways. There is a dedicated mobile app, as well as an Apple TV app, or you can use the desktop web app which is part of the TrainingPeaks webpage. As TrainingPeaks Virtual is part of TrainingPeaks Premium, all you need is a TrainingPeaks account to be able to get started and logged in. 

Once logged in you can set up your profile with exported metrics from TrainingPeaks, or input them for the first time into Virtual. This is also the point at which you can customise your avatar with custom kit and bike colour options. There are not as many options or unlockables as the likes of Zwift or MyWhoosh, but the focus is training and racing rather than adding gamification elements. 

Once you enter the main page, you can select the type of ride that you want to do. Home has a summary of workouts of the day, routes to explore, races, pace groups, and recent routes ridden. From there, the top bar features Workouts, Routes, Pacers, Events, and Challenges to choose from. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Routes 

TrainingPeaks Virtual features one standard ‘world’, similar to Watopia in Zwift. It features a mix of different routes within this virtual world, with around 83 route variations in total. These vary in distance from 600m in the Velodrome, to 77.1km for a big loop of both islands within the app. Elevation also varies from the flat velodrome, to 2,013m climbing over 72.5km covering the virtual climbs within the app. Each route shows an elevation profile with gradient colour coding to give you an idea of what challenges you will face on the route. 

An additional feature of TrainingPeaks Virtual is GPXplore. This is a system of uploading a GPX route file into TrainingPeaks Virtual, creating an event, and then being able to ride that route topographically. For this, the visuals are limited to a standard world route with a bunch of virtual riders for company. The route will then follow the exact gradients of your GPX file in this ‘playground’ style virtual world.

If you use simulation mode for gearing where gradients are tackled as they would be in real life, this can be a useful way to do event routes or key climbs and prepare for them in advance. I like it as a useful feature as, for example, if you want to ride the Maratona dles Dolomites and work out gearing for the Passo Giau, you can ride it virtually and work out if you need to get a larger cassette or even smaller chainrings. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Visuals 

Visually, TrainingPeaks Virtual is not quite as engaging as the likes of Zwift or MyWhoosh for me personally. The graphics are not as smooth, nor are the animations, but they work well enough and that’s really the key with this. Personally I am almost always watching or listening to something while on the indoor trainer, and the visuals are very much secondary. I actually turned the graphics quality down on Virtual, as it offers that functionality, to try and reduce the battery usage while using it. 

The only graphics gripe I have is the water texture. It can default to just providing a bright shining white and slightly shimmering overlay on the water to try and show reflections of the sun or moon. I found that somewhat distracting, but this is nitpicking. I will say though that aside from that, I have zero complaints about the graphics, and they allowed me to do all the training or racing I wanted to do on Virtual. 

One issue is the rate at which battery percentage drops, but this depends on the number of other users in the server I have found, with more users equalling faster battery depletion. Dropping the graphics settings down can combat this somewhat, but moving into Focus or Zen mode delay this even further. It appears to be a slightly faster battery drain than Zwift, but similar to MyWhoosh. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Gamification 

Gamification is not the focus of TrainingPeaks Virtual, and I’m okay with that. Much like IcTrainer, the focus is on training and data. There are elements of the avatar customisation that give an element of gamification, with different frames and wheels being able to be used.

The thing I like most here are the custom elements of the design. Shoes, jerseys, helmets and the likes can have custom colours used in different patterns. It gives enough variation and variety for you to make your avatar your own, if anything a little more so than Zwift. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Cycling Workouts 

In total there are 46 workouts on the TrainingPeaks Virtual app itself, but this only tells part of the story. When looking at just the app offering, this is somewhat limited. However, when paired with the desktop TrainingPeaks app, there are another 316 cycling workouts in the Default Library. Added to that, you can make any custom workouts you might like as part of TrainingPeaks Premium. 

Of course you can create virtual workouts using Zwift or MyWhoosh, with the MyWhoosh in-app version being my favourite. TrainingPeaks Virtual relies on the desktop Premium webapp to be able to really make use of the customised training sessions. These do however still need to be scheduled for the day to be able to access them within the Virtual app. 

An element of Virtual that I really like is that when you select the workout to view it gives you a very detailed breakdown of the timings, intensity distribution, and efforts along with description. The workout screen when riding is also very effective, with gates showing the start and end of blocks, a breakdown of the blocks to the left, total workout time remaining, and intensity graphics at the base for the entire workout, not just a rolling 10 minutes like Zwift. 

There is also another feature I quite like, which is Zen mode. Rather than being in the virtual world with other riders present, you ride in-world solo with no other riders. You can take this a step further to reduce distractions by using Focus mode. This removes the map and virtual world entirely giving you just a data screen to focus on your efforts. I like having the virtual world in the background, and also having riders to chase, but these modes make the training more suitable for a wider range of riders who may want more solitary suffering. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual Hub app

As Zwift and MyWhoosh both have companion apps, so too does Virtual, with the Virtual Hub app. This works in much the same way that others do in being a control board for the app from your phone. It’s especially useful if you have a setup with AppleTV or a tablet set just out of reach. You can control everything within the Virtual app from your phone such as directions, workouts controls, gestures, and in-ride chats. 

You can also enter events and group rides from the Hub app, you just need to ensure both apps are running off the same Wi-Fi network to work together. It is a fairly simple app that does what it says on the tin, so to speak, and is certainly useful if you don’t want to be leaning over to press a screen or using an AppleTV setup. 

I did unfortunately have difficulty with this App during testing. Even with both the Virtual app and Hub apps updated, I was not able to properly connect the Hub app to do chats or control my avatar. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Social elements 

There are still social considerations when it comes to Virtual, even with it being a training and racing focussed app primarily. You can do text chat within the app while working out, while the Pacer groups allow you to ride with other riders of a similar riding ability which can help to pass the time while doing longer indoor sessions. 

You can’t do the group meet-up style of rides as you can on Zwift or MyWhoosh, but it reminds me more of real world bike racing socials. There is a bit of chit chat and friendly banter, before the intensity ramps up and everyone goes quiet. I like it, and it’s fun. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Racing 

Racing is one of the key areas of focus for TrainingPeaks Virtual. Whereas the likes of Zwift and MyWhoosh have various races available to compete in, Virtual has a few distinct differences as it aims to become a key eRacing app. 

Firstly, there are a variety of different race formats rather than your traditional ‘first across the line’ scratch race style. Along with that, there are time trials, elimination races, points races, team points, team scratch, and custom events. I am personally a big fan of this, as it takes away the formulaic approach where the greatest threshold power tends to win or the highest W/kg, and broadens the field somewhat as sprinters and riders with better repeated efforts come to the fore.  

You are also entered into races based on ability. To start with, your weight and FTP are used to categorise you. After that it is race results rather than just those metrics, aimed to pit you against riders who will represent a challenge. In the event that a race field is low on numbers, virtual race bots are added with similar abilities to the real riders to boost the numbers and give more variation.

Having done 50km bunch races with 4 people, those get incredibly boring. Adding some robo racers makes things a lot less predictable and more fun. Another element to spice things up is the inclusion of wind directions. For those with steering, you can position yourself on the other side of crosswinds to save some energy, or you can attack before a tailwind section to make it harder for a bunch to chase you down. It adds a proper tactical element to the eRaces that I really like. 

There are also higher level events, and for these you are required to do the usual verification processes mandatory on other platforms such as proving weight and power, as well as submitting your national governing body racing licence. To add another element of interest, there is a DS option as well. A team DS can spectate the race and riders in live time, and they can then send team chats to the riders to direct them on what is happening. Again, this is a neat feature that I really like, as I think it works well to encourage a real team environment even if a rider can’t actively race themselves for certain events. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual: Value 

With the likes of Zwift being $19.99/€19.99/£17.99 monthly or $199.99/€199.99/£179.99 annually, the monthly cost of TrainingPeaks makes it a more expensive option on the market. However the annual cost is significantly discounted. Of course IcTrainer is far cheaper, while MyWhoosh is free to use, so compared to those Virtual does suffer when it comes to value. 

A lot of the value that this subscription brings though is also the TrainingPeaks Premium access, giving you greater data analysis and tracking features for fitness and training, far more than any of the other indoor training apps feature natively. I know a lot of riders who have TrainingPeaks Premium even though they are active users on other indoor training platforms, such is the value they find in the subscription price just for the web app alone. Add Virtual on to that for no added cost and it’s a rather good value total offering and something unique from other indoor training apps. 

It’s also worth bearing in mind though, that all payments are done in US Dollars, so ideally use a card that has no foreign transaction fees to save a bit of money. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual training app review verdict 

Indoor training apps will always have an element of subjective preference attached around them. For example I generally prefer a more gamified training app for a lot of my riding, but then for intervals having a far more focused platform is also highly useful. 

TrainingPeaks Virtual does not feel like it is trying to be other virtual world cycling apps. Instead it feels like a rather dedicated and focused training and racing app. It maintains social and fun aspects, but they complement the main focal points rather than trying to be them themselves. 

Races are far more varied and feature a greater amount of tactical racing to compete in. It’s not just about brute power, but how you use it and make the most of environmental situations. You can also do races to suit your strengths, with different race modes that may suit different rider types better. 

It’s not perfect though. To get the most out of the workouts in the app, you need to use the desktop TrainingPeaks app to get full workout library access or make your own custom sessions more effectively. However the combination makes for a superb training app with greater data analysis than Zwift or MyWhoosh. For example left/right power data can be captured on Virtual, but not on the other apps mentioned which is a big plus for me. 

It’s also one of the more expensive indoor training platforms, but does feature TrainingPeaks Premium web app in that price. But battery life on tablets and overall visuals quality are also not quite up to scratch with the big hitters in this market. However, from IndieVelo to TrainingPeaks Virtual, the app has come on in leaps and bounds in a relatively short space of time, and I am excited to see how it continues to develop and grow.Â