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Castelli Podcast

Objective: inform and engage people to join the Castelli Zwift series

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0. SHOW INTRO

OVERALL SHOW INTRO

Soren

1. INTRO

PERSONAL INTROS

Perhaps we should kick off with a bit about who we are and our cycling background?

Great, and what about your connection with Castelli?

Both

Background: e.g. where we live

Cycling history and preference (e.g. road, gravel, MTB)

How we got involved with Castelli, and our current roles

LB first

HOW WE MET

And a bit about how we crossed paths...

Both

Close friends, though only met twice IRL

Maratona 2018 and 2022, as part of Castelli family

WHAT ARE ESPORTS?

Being fully aware that many of our listeners may not be familiar with eSports, shall we a a bit about what it is

Both

RL: The official definition of eSports is:

“multiplayer video games played competitively for spectators”, though the indoor cycling world goes well beyond this definition

LB: Indoor cycling can be split roughly in to categories:

LB: Pure Training

e.g. TrainerRoad

for example, a 6 month workout plan with workout sessions to follow on software

RL: All Fitness

e.g. Wahoo X

combines workout plans, Sufferfest, with other elements such as cyclist-specific yoga, mental strength, mobility

LB: Remote Fitness Solutions

e.g. Peloton

similar to doing an instructor-lead spin class remotely

RL: Simulation / Gamification

e.g. Zwift, Rouvy, bKool and myWhoosh

virtual worlds with elements of cycling simulation and gamification, where you have the option to ride solo or with a group. Usually incorporates the following activities:

free rides / exploring

races

structured workouts

social rides

Gamification can include things such as route/badge hunting and power-ups such as aero, or lightweight boost

virtual worlds are:

fictional creations or

recreated from the real world either as a game or from video footage

LB: Explosion in popularity during the Covid lockdowns

LB: Some free, some paid for

2. ZWIFT

WHAT IS ZWIFT?

With Zwift being the main home for Castelli eSport activities, should we do a quick intro to Zwift?

Multiplayer virtual cycling platform

11 worlds, some fictional, some real world recreations such as Alpe du Zwift

Combination of cycling simulation and gamification

Explore, Train, Compete

free riding, structured workouts, racing

WHO IS IT FOR?

So who joins Zwift to ride?

Anybody looking to:

have a home for their indoor cycling

maintain or increase fitness

become part of a friendly online cycling community

compete in races

Pros using them as a serious training tool

2/3 of last year’s Tour de France start-list are Zwift users

Ashleigh Moolman Passio trained hard on zwift during Covid lockdown then took the QOM on Rocacorba in May 2020, by some margin too, some 4 or 5 minutes

and Matt Hayman trained on Zwift with a broken arm rested on a stepladder before going on to win Paris Roubaix in 2016 (can you believe that was 7 years ago!?)

Cav - Tour of Watopia

HOW TO GET STARTED

What kind of equipment would somebody need to get started?

Download the app to a device such as an iPad, Apple TV, Android or a computer

Need to connect cycling equipment, which can be

a bike and an indoor trainer

a smart bike

bike speed and power sensors

Other useful items include a fan (or two) and a stand for laptop/tablet

New stuff

Zwift Play

Virtual gearing

ZWIFT STATS

Lars, I know you love your research, do you have any Zwift statistics for us?

3 million accounts created (according to a Bloomberg interview with CEO Eric Min)

75% are doing structured workouts

25% are regularly doing events

Over 100,000 users each day

Peak Zwift was 49,114 concurrent users, in January 2021 (during covid lockdown)

An average session is 28km, so something like 45-60 minutes

3. CASTELLI ON ZWIFT

BRIEF HISTORY

How did Castelli’s presence develop on Zwift?

We’ve been running events on Zwift since 2017

At the time I was running a separate community on Zwift, originally launched for my local club, which grew in popularity

Zwift began becoming more popular with some brands from the cycling world. Som combining the Castelli connection I had, with the experience of leading a Zwift community, we launched a new Castelli event series called the Rosso Corsa ride, at that time with myself organising and leading rides

HOW DID WE GET HERE

How did the community and rides evolve from there?

Is there anything you think has made the community grow?

Since that time, the community has grown, as has the leadership team and number of rides on offer

we are currently running 6 rides per week

with 15 ride leaders from around the world

some are employees,

some ambassadors

and some are enthusiastic, long-standing community members who have become fantastic ride leaders

we average something like a thousand to 1,500 riders per week across all events

the rewarding aspect is that we have many returning regulars which really adds to the community feel

we make an effort be very welcoming during events, especially to newcomers, as the rides can be quite chatty

OBJECTIVES

Do we have any particular goals for our rides and community?

Our main objectives are:

1. Help participants with toward their fitness goals 2. Build and engage with our online community 3. Have fun while doing it!

SCHEDULE / RIDES

And how are those objectives reflected in our event offerings, what’s a typical weekly schedule?

As mentioned we currently run 6 events per week, these include:

A weekly workout series, called Squadra Castelli

for this, we’ve just launched a a 6 month training plan between October and March, focused around endurance events, broken down in to 3 workouts per week

A weekly social social ride, called Roll with Castelli

this is usually a relaxed pace chatty ride with a race effort to finish for fun

we also run a monthly ‘Epic’ edition,

where we offer a prize, usually in the way of some Castelli gear

and usually an interesting story from the cycling world, narrated by your fine self

Then, we have a weekly women’s social ride, called Castelli Donne

for that we have a fantastic team of 4 ladies leading the rides

And finally, we just launched our first race series, called Castelli Competizione

this runs each Friday, structured in to 5-week seasons

Lars stories, Epic rides - prizes

SPECIAL EVENTS & GUESTS

Do we have any special events or guests worth mentioning?

Guests

Sure, in terms of guests, we’ve had a number of pro cyclists, triathletes and other names from the cycling world, some arranged with a Q&A format, some have simply shown up on the rides, which is the beauty of Zwift. To name a few, we’ve had Q&A rides:

Luke Rowe

Salvatore Puccio

Cameron Wurf

Laura Phillip

Jason Osborne

which have been fantastic, great engagement from participants and our guests

We’ve also had people such as:

Sir David Brailsford

Sir Chris Hoy

Dame Sarah Storey

Fausto Pinarello

Cristiano De Rosa

Events

In terms of special events, in the past we’ve had:

the Giro di Castelli multi stage events

single event eFondos - which is a long distance ride

and, of particular note, we had the ‘Ride with Reggie’ event in 2021 with ex NBA basketball legend, Reggie Miller, to raise awareness and funds for diversity in sport

Coming up in Spring, we’ll run another eFondo event with a special prize on offer, so, one to look out for

KITS

Do we have Castelli assets in game? and how to they link with real life?

We currently have 7 Castelli kits for use on our events:

4 are based on Aero Race and Climber’s real life jerseys

We have a special edition kit that was designed specially for the Ride with Reggie event

Then we have the distinctive PinkWave kit, which is the first designed specifically for Zwift. Though, after some demand, that has now changed, with the Pinkwave available to in the real world also

We rotate kits between events and are usually unlockable for participants

We also have the Castelli Maglia Rosa kit, though as this is a grand tour leader’s jersey from the Giro d’Italia, this isn’t available for unlock

4. CHIT CHAT

GAMIFICATION

Do you have a preference for the gamification vs simulation aspect of Zwift? Using power-ups in races for example

Both

pure simulation vs gamification

OTHER PLATFORMS

It’s worth mentioning that we are always considering other cycling platforms to enhance our community activities

We recently had a weekly ride on the Wahoo RGT platform, hosted by former Tour de France yellow jersey weaerer, Alex Stieda. Sadly, Wahoo RGT recently ceased operations

we may also try the myWhoosh platform, who are beginning to offer community rides, and also worth noting that that is currently a free option, with no subscription necessary

we also provide support for the virtual Giro d’Italia on the bKool platform

UCI ESPORTS WORLDS

On the subject of other platforms, any thoughts regarding the UCI eSports World Championships from Zwift to the MyWhoosh platform?

UCI eSports zwift → mywhoosh

dont mention money of UCI eSports, though will be interesting to see how its delivered.

INDOOR vs OUTDOORS

what’s your rough split between indoor / outdoor cycling during the winter months?

Both

5. INSIDER GEAR

INSIDER GEAR

In terms of real life kit for use indoors is there anything specific that Castelli is offerring?

Insider Jersey with sleeveless options

Insider shorts with the Progetto X2 Air Skin care layer (without the Cushioning Layer)

Accessories (towel, sweatbands)

6. COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY

How can our listeners get involved with the Castelli community?

We try to keep it simple using the ‘Squadra Castelli’ label, to which there is

the ‘Squadra Castelli’ Zwift club

the ‘Squadra Castelli’ Zwiftpower Race team

and last, but certainly not least, is our ‘Squadra Castelli’ Strava club

this is really the hub of our cycling news for the eSports world as well as much of our other social content

then, of course, there are our Strava Challenges, which are well worth getting involved with

STRAVA CHALLENGES

Would you like to elaborate about the Strava Challenges?

Sure,

Strava challenges are a form of gamification, where participants are challenged to ride a certain distance or duration over a set period, say, a couple of weeks, for example

everybody who completes the challenge is rewarded with a discount to use on the Castelli Cycling website and usually there are prizes to be won also

We’ve had 6 challenges over the last few years. We first ran a series based on the cycling Monuments, coinciding with the real world races and most recently we just finished our Castelli Keep It Up challenge.

It’s a fantastic way of engaging with participants, while doing the thing we love. And, for example, we had over 300,000 people join the recent Keep It Up Challlenge

ANYTHING ELSE

Anything else worth mentioning before we sign off

For those looking for some motivating tunes for your workouts, we have our Squadra Castelli Spotify playlist on Spotify, which has become quite an eclectic mix and is open for people to add to

Then of course we have the Castelli Podcast, covering a wide range of topics from the Castelli cycling world

And, for anybody wishing to join our Castelli rides on Zwift, we’ll leave a link in the episode show notes

7. OUTRO

OUTRO

That seems like a good place to call things a wrap...

Encourage to join the community (Strava, Zwift club, Zwift rides)

Thanks for listening

Welcome feedback

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Links

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Freedom day Rocacorba ride | Strava Freedom day Rocacorba assault ... it felt so good to ride outside today! | Strava www.strava.com⁠

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Zwift Zwift is virtual training for running and cycling. Smash your goals and compete with others around the world. With structured workouts and social group rides. iOS and Android compatible. Trusted by the pros. Try free for 14 days. www.zwift.com⁠

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Fonzaso, Belluno, Italy | Squadra Castelli Just as Castelli produces high technical performance cycling apparel for all levels of cyclists, Squadra Castelli welcomes all types of athletes, from the professional Grand Tour winner to the local sportive rider. Join our club. Ride your bike. Get on the leader board. ------- Rides: www.strava.com/athletes/castelli-cycling Stories: https://castellicycling.exposure.co/ Zwift Events: https://www.zwift.com/events/tag/rollwithcastelli Zwift Club: https://www.zwift.com/eu/clubs/squadracastelli/join ZwiftPower Team: https://zwiftpower.com/team.php?id=12707 www.strava.com⁠

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