Rouvy’s rise to become the second-largest brand in the indoor cycling market is part of its CEO’s ambition to make indoor training a natural part of every rider’s life.
courtesy Rouvy
The virtual cycling platform Rouvy might not even be on your radar in a space that’s dominated by first-to-market unicorn Zwift. But make no mistake: Rouvy is a big deal. Take the following factoid:
In December, MyWhoosh hosted a Cafe Ride with Tadej Pogačar, in which he answered questions and interacted in real time through a video feed using the platform’s live coaching feature. The group event drew a few fans shy of the 300-rider limit. Zwift followed in February with a post-Cyclocross Worlds Celebration Ride for Mathieu van der Poel – 1,200 people showed. Then, in April, Remco Evenepoel appeared on Bkool in one of his first public appearances after being doored last December, and around 200 riders joined him.
But, in January, Wout van Aert rode on Rouvy, and 6,500 people rocked up. That’s not just a blip, and neither is this revelation Rouvy co-founder and CEO Petr Samek shared in an interview with Escape Collective:
“We’re profitable, and while it might not be widely known, we’re now the clear number two in the indoor cycling market, behind only Zwift, and the leader in the indoor cycling reality category,” the Czechian tech entrepreneur reveals. “We currently have 250,000 subscribers and aspire to reach one million. With growth of 40% annually, I think it’s realistic to reach our goal, possibly by 2028.”
(Samek may not have heard of Peloton, which per its latest (Q3 2025) quarterly report claims three million paid subscribers and a quarterly revenue of US$718 million, making it much bigger than any of the cycling-specific apps, including Zwift. But Peloton is more accurately classified as part of the larger connected home fitness genre, compared to cycling-focused brands like Zwift and Rouvy.)
According to Samek, Rouvy’s internal market assessment estimates that the virtual cycling space is growing at a rate of 7-10% per year. Reports indicate that Rouvy experienced a 50% growth in 2024, with total annual revenue exceeding 400 million Czech koruna (~US$17.2 million).
But size isn’t the only metric that matters. In her story on what’s next for virtual cycling, Escape’s Suvi Loponen reported that Peloton and Zwift “have not had a profitable year yet” and that Zwift CEO Eric Min’s hopes to get to 10 million subscribers and take the company public “came off the back of an over £600 million investment that brought the company’s market value to nearly £1 billion in 2023.”
Though Zwift doesn’t disclose exact user numbers, estimates place its subscriber base at around one million. In January 2021, it reached a peak concurrent user record of 49,114 riders, which has since consistently declined to approximately 37,000 users at peak times as of 2025.
Why crack open the books in an industry that traditionally holds those tightly guarded secrets close to the vest?
Wout van Aert’s virtual appearance on Rouvy outdrew similar events on other platforms featuring the sport’s stars.Transparency as a growth strategy
“To reach our growth goals, we need to ensure Rouvy’s long-term future,” Samek explains. “Transparency is a key part of that. Whether it’s our feature roadmap, pricing changes like the one we just introduced, the size of our user base, or our overall ambitions, we want people to see that Rouvy has a strong, ambitious future ahead.”
Samek also needs to justify the value. In July, the platform raised the monthly subscription price to US$19.99 / €19.99 / £17.99, which aligns with Zwift’s pricing. Rouvy offers duo, group, and annual plans, as well as the option to pause your subscription for up to six months, along with loyalty discounts, which are not available on other platforms. (Zwift allows pauses up to eight weeks.)
Samek explains the rationale behind the unpopular price increase, which took him and his team over a year to implement.
This post is for paying subscribers only
Subscribe now
Already have an account? Sign in
Did we do a good job with this story?
👍Yep
👎Nope