New Feature: Set Up and Join Cycling Challenges

Cycling has always been about more than just the ride. It’s about the people you ride with, the goals you set together, and the quiet satisfaction of watching your community grow stronger with every kilometre. Today, we’re excited to introduce the Challenges feature. A new way for clubs, communities and brands to build momentum through competition, connection and shared goals on the bike.

What Are Cycling Challenges and How Do They Work?

Challenges is a new feature available directly from the Cyql main dashboard. It allows club admins to create time-bound, goal-oriented challenges for their community such as “ride 200 km this month,” or “complete five rides in two weeks”. You can also change icons of the challenge and add pictures just to make it more fun. These challenges can be kept exclusive to a club, opened to the public or targeted at specific sub-groups within a larger community.

Every challenge comes with:

• A live leaderboard that updates in real time
• A participation count showing how many riders are actively taking part and
• A  transparent ranking system so every participant knows exactly where they stand
• You Can Create Multiple challenges per club, at the same time, tailored to different groups or moments throughout the season

Strava-Verified Club Leaderboards

Strava-connected challenges (verified performance) – you can create challenges that are only accessible to users who have connected their Strava account. In this case, rides are automatically verified, ensuring fair and reliable competition.

Private vs Public Challenges

Challenges for Clubs and Communities of All Sizes

One of the core design principles behind Challenges is flexibility. Not every cycling club is the same. Some are tight-knit groups of ten riding friends who compete over weekend distances. Others are sprawling communities of hundreds of members, with sub-groups for different disciplines or ability levels. Challenges are built to serve both.

How Club Admins Can Create and Manage Cycling Challenges

Club admins now have a powerful new tool in their engagement toolkit. Creating a challenge is straightforward: 

• Define the goal – distance, elevation, number of rides
• Set the timeframe – start date, end date, duration
• Choose your audience – (members only, specific sub-groups or public) 
• Add custom photo or icon
• Write a short description 

From that moment on, the platform handles everything, tracking each participant’s progress, updating the leader board and surfacing the challenge. 

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How Riders Can Join Cycling Challenges and Track Their Progress

As a rider, Challenges give you something to ride towards and someone to ride against. There’s a significant difference between a month where you ride 200 km without a target and a month where you’re watching your name climb a leader board while your club mates do the same. Members can browse active challenges from the main dashboard, join with a single tap and track their progress in real time. The challenge feed also shows how many of your fellow club members are participating, which in itself is often enough to tip someone into joining.

Cycling Challenges for Brands, Events and Sponsorship Activation

The potential of Challenges extends well beyond individual clubs. For cycling brands, event organisers and sponsors, it represents a direct line to an engaged, active audience. Participants are already logged in, already tracking rides and already motivated. The challenge simply gives them a structured reason to engage with your brand in an organic, activity-first way. What’s more, challenge often can be the first touchpoint for riders to join your club or community.

A brand challenge on Cyql isn’t ad, it´s participation moment with challenges,, such as:

• Shimano “Shifting into Spring” Challenge – 500km in April for a chance to win product
• “Cycling 4 Climate” Challenge – using bikes instead of public transport at all costs
• “Bike Shop Sponsors You” Challenge – local bike shop gives you a challenge and the winner will be sponsored for hers/his  competition/event
• “April Epic Club Rider” – for the one who ride the most kilometers per month