NFT prizes and a new para-cycling series for RGT’s Echelon Racing League
NFT prizes and a new para-cycling series for RGT's Echelon Racing League
RGT, the free virtual cycling platform, has announced that the upcoming Echelon Racing League will feature non-fungible token (NFT) prizes for the winners of each series. RGT and Project Echelon Racing will present each of the winners with the NFTs represented by one-of-a-kind digital artwork. Pointing to its peloton dynamics, “magic roads”, and a “real physics model”, RGT claims to be “the world’s most realistic indoor cycling simulation app” and says, “pioneering the minting of NFTs as competition prizes was a logical progression.”
NFTs have been the head-scratcher of the year for many in the cycling world, and RGT believes this is the first-ever blockchain prize for a sports competition. NFTs are unique, non-replicable, difficult to corrupt, units of data stored on a digital ledger known as a blockchain representing real-world ownership of items such as art, music, and even bike frames. Colnago was perhaps the first to bring NFTs to the consciousness of most cyclists, first with its ultra-lightweight bike no one could ride, and then with a more practical blockchain tagged, ice and fire themed frame for Tadej Pogačar.
RGT suggests the NFT prizes will have both monetary and intrinsic value. Only time will tell if the time and training investment required to win an RGT Echelon Racing League NFT will prove a profitable venture for the lucky few.
James Vickers, Head of Brand and Marketing at RGT said, ‘the concept of NFT’s and blockchain technology is exciting and although there may be many other ways for us to utilise this technology, these prizes help us combine our belief in virtual racing and our commitment to pushing the boundaries of virtual cycling’.
RGT announced this most 2021ish of prizes alongside the news of a new para-cycling race series. Developed in collaboration with the Paralysed Veterans of America and USA Paracycling, the para-cycling series features a unique set of rules and regulations, plus adaptive bikes and avatars representative of the para community.
The Echelon Racing Leagues feature men’s, women’s, hand cycling, and community virtual race series and gets underway on November 20th. The eight-round series will see 240 riders from 40 teams race on courses emulating races from the real-world Echelon events. The organisers will also host a “community combine”, offering amateur riders the chance to earn a place in the pro league through a series of talent events.
For more information, visit www.rgtcycling.com
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