Celebrate the 14th year of Ride Like King (and its 5th year on Zwift) this weekend with events featuring special contests, product giveaways, and opportunities to get involved with advocacy through World Bicycle Relief, a global charity group that uses bikes to help mobilize people in low-income regions.
What is Ride Like King?
In 2007, at age 73, Giant Group King Liu completed a 15-day, 927km ride around Taiwan. This resulted in a renewed passion for cycling and the benefits it brings to the individual, community, and country. Following this, King traveled to countries and spoke with governments to promote the positive impacts of cycling.
His message resonated within the company as well. ‘Ride Like King’ started in 2009 as a small event within the Giant Group to celebrate their founder’s passion for cycling. But it grew to be an annual event and now is in its 14th edition! Zwift is an active partner and has been hosting the event on its platform since 2018.
Bring On the Buffalos!
To honor 14 years of Ride Like King, Giant has made it easier than every for the community to earn Buffalo Bicycles for World Bicycle Relief by increasing the number of Zwift events to nine and donating a bicycle for every 1,000km ridden collectively (versus every 1,300km from the previous year). Giant will also match the total number of bikes donated by the community, doubling the impact.
Past Performance
Last year nearly 5,000 people participated, accumulating close to 200,000 km and providing 300 bikes to people in need. These purpose-built bikes are engineered for heavy loads, long distances, and rugged terrain. They are manufactured by Giant and assembled by World Bicycle Relief employees in local regions around the world.
Event Schedule and Details
This year there are nine Zwift ride events over three days with open and women’s-only options for each event. The Zwift rides will be supported/led by Giant and Liv pro racers from affiliated teams including Team BikeExchange-Jayco, Liv Racing Xstra, the Giant Factory Off-Road Team and Liv Racing Collective, along with other athletes and ambassadors representing the brands.
Everyone will be assigned RLK14 kits during their rides, unlocking those kits upon completion of a ride. Riders will be assigned Giant TCR Advanced SL Disc bikes for the open rides or Liv Langma Advanced SL bikes for the women’s rides. Alternatively, three of the rides (one per day) will use WBR Buffalo Bicycles for both the open and women’s rides.
There’s a fresh route each day, encouraging riders to complete more than one RLK14 event. Each day features three timeslots, with different times each day for ultimate availability. The route schedule is:
Friday, May 20
Makuri Islands’ Wandering Flats (1 lap)
Total Distance: 25.2 km
Total Elevation: 145 m
Saturday, May 21
France’s R.G.V. (1 lap)
Total Distance: 25 km
Total Elevation: 133 m
Sunday, May 22
Watopia’s Waistband (1 lap)
Total Distance: 27.8 km
Total Elevation: 101 m
Sign up for events at zwift.com/events/tag/ridelikeking
Jersey Unlock and Prize Drawing
Completing one of the events will unlock the RLK14 jersey!
Riders who finish any of the stages are eligible to win IRL prizes. Five randomly-chosen riders from each event will win a limited-edition Ride Like King 14 jersey, signed by King Liu.
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