Compare
Grimpa vs TrainingPeaks Virtual
TrainingPeaks Virtual, once indieVelo, comes with a TrainingPeaks Premium subscription: races, group rides, a detailed draft and your TrainingPeaks workouts, synced. Grimpa is free and runs in your browser: famous climbs and your own GPX roads, built from the real road and drawn in pixel art, with no racing.
Free · Chrome or Edge, on a computer or Android
Side by side
| Grimpa | TrainingPeaks Virtual | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | GrimpaYes: Free; map packs €4.99 each, kept for good | TrainingPeaks VirtualNo: Included with TrainingPeaks Premium: $19.95 a month or $134.99 a year; 14 days free for new athletes |
| Where you ride | GrimpaYes: 12 real roads in Provence, Flanders, the Alps and Mallorca: Mont Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez, the Stelvio, Sa Calobra, the Arenberg and more, every one open every day | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: 3D worlds, and 14 World Routes on real roads, among them the Stelvio, Alpe d'Huez, Sa Calobra and the Koppenberg |
| What you see | GrimpaA pixel-art world built from the real road: official elevation for every gradient, aerial photos and open map data for the forests, fields and villages | TrainingPeaks Virtual3D-generated worlds |
| Your own route from a GPX | GrimpaYes: Upload a GPX and Grimpa builds the whole road as a world in about a minute: up to 150 km, in 28 countries | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: GPXplore: import a GPX and ride any route |
| Other riders and drafting | GrimpaYes: Riders on the same route at the same moment pass you on the road, and you can sit on their wheel | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Group rides, teams, and a detailed draft where your position matters |
| Races and leaderboards | GrimpaNo: None, by design: no races, no rankings, nobody to keep up with | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Races in any format you set up, and bots to race any time |
| Structured workouts | GrimpaYes: 112 sessions in ERG, ridden on any road, your own included | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Your TrainingPeaks workouts, synced, in ERG |
| Training plans | GrimpaYes: With Watt4, the coach that makes Grimpa: each day's session opens in Grimpa | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Your TrainingPeaks calendar, plan or coach |
| Where your rides go | GrimpaPartly: Strava, by itself, as a virtual ride; a .fit file to download for anything else | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Back to TrainingPeaks, and to Garmin Connect, by themselves |
| Where it runs | GrimpaPartly: Chrome or Edge on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook and Android, with nothing to install. Not on iPhone, iPad or Apple TV yet | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Apps for computers, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV |
| Trainers | GrimpaPartly: Bluetooth smart trainers (FTMS: Wahoo, Elite, Tacx, Zwift Hub and more) or a Bluetooth power meter. No ANT+ | TrainingPeaks VirtualYes: Bluetooth FTMS, ANT+ and Wi-Fi trainers |
TrainingPeaks Virtual's details checked on 21 October 2026 on its own website: its pricing, help and news pages. Apps change: see trainingpeaks.com/virtual for the latest. Grimpa's column says what it does today.
Which one fits you
Grimpa is the better pick if
- you don't pay for TrainingPeaks Premium and don't want another subscription
- you want each climb drawn in its own landscape: Ventoux's white top, Flanders' brick villages, Mallorca's stone houses
- you'd rather not race, but like meeting someone on the road
- you train with Watt4, or want nothing to install
TrainingPeaks Virtual is the better pick if
- you already pay for TrainingPeaks Premium, or your coach plans your training in TrainingPeaks
- you want to race, or to tune your position in a bunch
- you want your rides in Garmin Connect by themselves
- you ride on an iPhone, an iPad or an Apple TV
Part of a subscription, or free
TrainingPeaks bought indieVelo in October 2024 and renamed it TrainingPeaks Virtual; since July 2026 TrainingPeaks belongs to Garmin. Virtual comes with TrainingPeaks Premium, $19.95 a month or $134.99 a year, and new athletes ride free for 14 days. If you already pay for Premium, it costs nothing more.
Grimpa is free, with no subscription.
Real roads, and yours
Both ride famous roads and your own. TrainingPeaks Virtual has 3D worlds and 14 World Routes on real roads, among them the Stelvio, Alpe d'Huez, Sa Calobra and the Koppenberg, and GPXplore rides any GPX you import.
Grimpa builds every road, its own and yours, from the real one: official elevation for every gradient, aerial photos and open map data for the land around it, drawn in pixel art in the region's own look, from Provence's stone villages to Flanders' brick farms. A GPX becomes such a world in about a minute, up to 150 km.
Company without racing
TrainingPeaks Virtual is built for racing and riding in a group: races in any format, bots to race any time, teams, and a detailed draft where positioning and tactics matter. Grimpa has no races and no leaderboards, on purpose: riders on the same route at the same moment pass you on the road and you can draft them, and the only rivals are your own ghosts and a pacer bot.
Training
If your plan lives in TrainingPeaks, Virtual is the natural fit: your workouts, FTP and zones sync in, and your rides go back to TrainingPeaks and on to Garmin Connect. Grimpa doesn't read TrainingPeaks. It has its own library of classic sessions in ERG, sends the rides you keep to Strava, and works with Watt4, the coach that makes it, whose sessions open in Grimpa with one click.
Devices
TrainingPeaks Virtual has apps for computers, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, and works with Bluetooth FTMS, ANT+ and Wi-Fi trainers. Grimpa runs in Chrome or Edge on a computer or an Android phone or tablet, with nothing to install, and drives Bluetooth smart trainers that speak FTMS. It doesn't run on iPhone, iPad or Apple TV yet.
Questions
Is TrainingPeaks Virtual the same as indieVelo?
Yes. TrainingPeaks bought indieVelo in October 2024 and renamed it TrainingPeaks Virtual. It is included with a TrainingPeaks Premium subscription.
Is Grimpa free?
Riding Grimpa is free, with no subscription. TrainingPeaks Virtual comes with TrainingPeaks Premium, $19.95 a month or $134.99 a year.
Can I ride my TrainingPeaks workouts in Grimpa?
Not directly: Grimpa doesn't read your TrainingPeaks calendar. It has its own library of sessions in ERG, and opens Watt4's sessions with one click. If your coach plans in TrainingPeaks, TrainingPeaks Virtual is the simpler choice.
Can I ride my own GPX route?
In both. TrainingPeaks Virtual's GPXplore rides any GPX you import. Grimpa builds your GPX into a pixel-art world with its roads, villages and hills in about a minute, up to 150 km.
Which devices does Grimpa run on?
Chrome or Edge on Windows, Mac, Linux, a Chromebook or Android, with a Bluetooth smart trainer or power meter. Not on iPhone or iPad yet: their browsers have no Bluetooth.
Try Grimpa next to what you ride now
Free. Sign in, pair your trainer over Bluetooth and ride Mont Ventoux tonight, in Chrome or Edge.
TrainingPeaks Virtual is a trademark of its owner. Grimpa is not affiliated with or endorsed by TrainingPeaks Virtual.