Online cycle training platform, ROUVY, in a joint effort with bike trainer brand Saris, has sought to help Italian regions badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
All athletes training at home with a bike trainer could participate in the recent #RideforItaly Cycling Challenge. ROUVY offered free access and four simulated Italian routes to ride, and, in-turn, aimed to support regions in difficulty.
Over €14,000 was raised for the Veneto region in Italy. With participation of over 14,000 riders during the challenge, ROUVY and Saris donated €1 for everyone who participated. Those who completed all four routes also unlocked a special branded jersey for their avatars on the ROUVY platform.
Saris, a US-based producer of smart trainers, bike racks and bike infrastructure, and one of ROUVY’s partners in the USA, joined this charitable initiative. Helping to extend the challenge period by 14 days, Saris donated half of the sum, €7,000.
The donation of €14,000 has been sent to an open account of the Veneto region to be used to finance measures taken by that region to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Veneto is the fourth most affected region in Italy, and doctors have registered over 16,000 infected people. It encompasses not only the city of Venice, but also, the seaside tourist centres of Jesolo and Caorle, the cities of Verona, Treviso and Padua, and the Alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Veneto is one of the busiest regions for tourism in Italy and the measures taken to seize the spread of Covid-19 has hit its inhabitants hard.
ROUVY’s Italian ambassador, Emidio Terra, said “I think it was an initiative that brought out the best in us, everyone did their part as a great team. It is a challenge that we realized together, in which I was able to become part of a great project. I feel happy that this initiative was carried out through a platform like ROUVY.
“This allowed us to train on the one hand (also providing us with free access to the platform, helping to brighten our quarantine days), and on the other, to be able to do something influential for our country while respecting the rules imposed by the lockdown.”
