EXCLUSIVE Tadej Pogacar wrapped up his fifth Tour de France on Sunday – and Daily Star Sport has a closer look at the virtual platform that lets riders ‘Train like Tadej’
“What surprised me most when he visited was what interested him,” Matt Smithson admitted, when speaking about five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar.
Pogacar, 27, ripped up the record books across three weeks in France – rolling across the finish line on Sunday evening to breathe in the same rarified air as a small number of Tour greats.
And as the Superstar Slovenian raised his hand in celebration on the Champs-Élysées, after an enthralling race alongside eventual stage winner Mathieu van der Poel, he did so with the MyWhoosh logo on his jersey.
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MyWhoosh, a sponsor of UAE Team Emirates XRG, is a virtual platform that allows cycling fanatics to race or train around virtual worlds from the comfort of their own home.
But when Pogacar visited the company’s headquarters, Smithson quickly realised the sport’s biggest star wasn’t there to talk about watts, training plans or race tactics.
“He wanted to understand how the platform was built,” Smithson explained. “He spent time with the artists and engineers asking how everything worked.
“He even gave feedback on how the avatar stands up and sits down on the bike because he didn’t think it looked quite right!”
Smithson explained how MyWhoosh had first been launched as an online racing platform, but a “significant number of people” were using it for structured training.
It now has “around 1,000 workouts,” as Smithson continued: “We introduced the ability for riders to create their own workouts, either with a coach or by designing them themselves.
“Then we developed complete training plans, from beginner level right through to programmes suitable for professionals. Eventually we asked ourselves, ‘Why don’t we work directly with WorldTour teams?’”
“The obvious next step was speaking to Tadej Pogačar’s coaching staff and seeing whether we could bring some of that expertise to everyday cyclists.
“The goal wasn’t to recreate Pogacar’s exact training because that simply wouldn’t be realistic. Instead, we took the core concepts behind those sessions and made them achievable for amateur riders.
“Pogacar might do 12 or even 18 efforts in a session. Ours might have six. But the thresholds, recovery periods and physiological objectives are all based on the same principles used by UAE!”
Those principles aren’t just theoretical either. Smithson said MyWhoosh works closely with UAE Team Emirates XRG to continually refine the platform.
“UAE are obviously one of the biggest organisations in cycling, so they’re incredibly busy,” he explained. “But we regularly speak with the team about ways we can improve the platform.”
While most professionals still spend the vast majority of their time riding outdoors, indoor training continues to play an important role.
“You have riders like Jay Vine [Pogacar’s UAE team-mate],” Smithson said. “Who uses indoor training a lot because it’s such a controlled environment.
“Some riders will ride outdoors for a few hours before coming home to complete a structured session indoors. Others will do those efforts outside.”
That philosophy has also filtered down to amateur riders: “One thing I’ve always loved about cycling is that once you’re on a bike, everyone’s equal,” Smithson added.
“Sure, some people are stronger than others, but whenever we’ve approached coaches about contributing sessions, the attitude has been the same: if it helps someone ride more, they’re happy to help.”
For Smithson, though, accessibility remains MyWhoosh’s biggest achievement: “Virtual riding removes so many barriers. You don’t have to join a club immediately. You don’t have to learn bunch etiquette before improving your fitness.
“Indoor cycling lets you focus purely on your engine. You don’t have to worry about traffic, corners, riding in the rain or sitting on someone’s wheel. You can just get fitter.”
Smithson added that MyWhoosh has a progression route: riders might start with easy rides, before moving into group rides, structured training, racing, verified racing and eventually compete for prize money.
Over the summer, the eSports giants offered an eye-watering $1million (£750k) prize pot for the MyWhoosh Championship. Riders competed for the prize pot from the comfort of their own home.
“I genuinely believe virtual cycling is going to become the racing scene for a huge number of people over the next ten years,” Smithson said.
“The Tour de France and the WorldTour will always exist, but below that level I think more and more racing will move online because it’s simply more accessible.”