From: Podium Cafe

Training videos come in a lot of shapes and sizes. There are videos of coaches barking at you from their indoor studio. There are videos of coaches outside on the bike, explaining how to do a climbing interval. There are country vistas inviting you to pretend you are someplace else. Like Italy…

Global Ride is expanding the video trainer montage world to horizons that cycling fans (who hit the trainer) might care about. For example, Speed and Power in Italy starts in Liguria, heads inland to the Bassano del Grappa region, and ends with a climb near Rocca (Abruzzo?). The video shows a few riders out on the road, but mostly points forward, giving you the sensation of being at the head of a long climb, occasionally peering back at your mates… who are either passing on tips about the climb or emitting up-tempo techno music to drive you onward. Another Italy disc, named “Climbing Suffrage,” actually starts with a section of the Cinque Terre time trial from last year’s Giro, as well as some other uphill drags in la Bella Campania.

More on the flip…