The snowdrops are flowering which can mean only thing: the Vélobici Spring Classics Challenge is about to commence! With over £1000 of Vélobici kit up for grabs this is just the incentive you need to get yourself clocking up the miles in preparation for summer. The format is the same as last year with 50 days available for you to rack up as much distance as you can with a goal of completing the equivalent distance of as many of the Spring Classics as possible. The more classics you complete the better the prize you’ll have a chance to win. Many bonus prizes also available including furthest distance covered on a steel framed bike and also a separate country leaderboard to see which nation has the most hard-core riders. View the leaderboard on VeloViewer.
Update: If joining the challenge after the start date…
If you’ve joined the challenge after the start date then make sure you view the leaderboard page whilst being logged in (clicking the “Connect with Strava” button) then it will automatically go and get your historical data from the start of the challenge but it may take 10 seconds or so to do so, after which your details will automatically update in the leaderboard and it’ll let you know that missing rides have been added in.
The automatic updating of the leaderboard happens every half hour during the day but the Strava API limits the data I can get for the club to the last 200 activities so the above method is the only way I can get data previous to that if you join late.
Vélobici have described in detail the challenge and the various prizes up for grabs so I’ll just talk you through some of the leaderboard itself to help you make the most of it. Do make sure you have a browse of the Vélobici shop while you’re there though. I can honestly say I’ve not worn any better quality kit than that from Vélobici. My wife even commented on the how much better the lycra felt to her kit… maybe she was dropping me a hint?
Main leaderboard
As shown above (note: there is no way I’ll actually ever be leading it!). Once you’ve joined the challenge and logged some rides you’ll appear automatically in the leaderboard. Thanks to the new Strava API this is a far more joined up experience to those who remember last year’s leaderboard! Your key stats are shown at the top of the page with a large progress bar beneath the elevation profiles of the 7 Classics (yes they are to scale). You can also click the “View your position in the list” link to automatically scroll down to your place in the leaderboard.
The challenge is based around distance but for fun I’m also showing elevation climbed, rides logged and achievements, erm, achieved! Clicking on the headers orders the data as you’d expect so you can see how you are doing for some of the other prizes.
Filtering is also available to limit the riders by gender.
Country leaderboard
To spice things up a little this year if you look below the race descriptions on the right side you’ll find a country leaderboard showing total distance and elevation covered for each nation. Hovering your mouse over the flags and totals will give you the number of riders per country along with the average distance and elevation covered. From my test data from the last few days it does seem the Germans are leading the way by some margin for the average distance covered!
Steel is Real!
Along with leaderboards for longest and hilliest rides we also have a leaderboard for those of you on Steel steeds. Now this requires a little more input (and honesty) from your part to qualify for the special Steel is Real prize. If you ride a steel bike then get yourself over to the My Gear section on the Strava setting page and add the word “Steel” to the end of your bike name e.g. 1987 Raleigh Elan – Steel
Next time you visit the leaderboard your bike names will be noted automatically and the rides you’ve linked to that bike will then have you appearing in the Steel is Real leaderboard.
Knog Nightrider League
For a ride to qualify for the Knog Nightrider League you must have started the ride before 6am or finished after 9pm (note the finish time is calculated from start time plus moving time to stop people just leaving their device recording once they get home) local time. For the hardcore early or late riders only!
Have fun
Lets hope that the spring weather is kinder to us than last year and that we all clock up shed loads of distance and climbing. Stay safe and have fun out there!
Gareth Baines says:
Is there a lag between uploading and showing on the leaderboard?
Ben says:
It auto-updates itself every half hour (25 and 55 past the hour) through the busiest part of the day, every hour over night (GMT). I need to add a check to get the logged in athlete’s latest ride if you’ve just uploaded to Strava and head straight to the page before next weekend to avoid the “where’s my ride?” question!
Ben says:
Is there a way to see the total number of riders per country or to filter riders by country?
Ben says:
Yep, just hover your mouse over the flags in the country leaderboard. Average distance and elevation per ride available hovering over the values in that table too. Obviously a bit tricky to do if using a tablet!