Wahoo Fitness has entered the smartwatch market with the launch of the new ELEMNT RIVAL GPS multi-sport watch.
Priced £349.99, Wahoo say the ELEMNT Rival brings the same performance and ease of use as its cycling computers in watch form for multisport athletes.
The RIVAL has already been put through its paces by Olympic triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, and features Touchless Transition technology that allows "multisport athletes to seamlessly switch from swim to ride to run without touching their watch."
"The real magic of RIVAL is that we were able to take everything we did with the ELEMNT bike computer and create a perfect parallel, giving triathletes and runners the same ease of use that cyclists have had access to since 2016," said Chip Hawkins, founder of Wahoo.
"A key design concern was making a watch with looks to match its performance. This is a stylish, high-performance multi-sport watch that should be the choice of any athlete looking for a lightweight GPS watch with an unbelievable battery life to track the longest races."
Wahoo claim the ELEMNT RIVAL is the first sport GPS device to innovate the way data follows an athlete through the stages of a multi-sport event. Wahoo's proprietary Touchless Transition technology, developed for RIVAL, allows users to seamlessly transition from swim to ride to run without touching their watch.
As you might expect, the RIVAL slots into the Wahoo ecosystem. Multisport Handover mode allows the RIVAL to interact with ELEMNT GPS cycling computers to transition race data from the watch to a cycling computer during the bike leg of a multi-sport activity such as a triathlon, ensuring that race data is always easy to see allowing athletes to focus solely on their race.
The RIVAL features a ceramic bezel and an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the backlight. The 240x240px colour display is protected by a gorilla glass screen, beneath which is packed a barometric altimeter, an optical heart rate sensor, and live tracking capability.
Wahoo claim a battery life of 14 days in watch mode, or 24 hours in GPS mode.
Fans of Wahoo's ELEMNT cycling computers will be pleased to hear the RIVAL uses the same easy-to-set up, easy-to-use platform and mobile app, and can also pair with the WAHOO TICKR heart ratye monitor.
Activity data is available in the Wahoo companion app and can be automatically uploaded to third-party platforms like TrainingPeaks and Strava. RIVAL also connects with ANT+ and Bluetooth sensors and can control Wahoo KICKR smart trainers.
So what do the Brownlees make of the new watch?
Two-time Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee said: "Jonny and I are both really fond of Wahoo's gear and have been using some of their products for a number of years now. Being able to rely on your equipment is completely essential for training and racing at the highest level.
"When preparing for the big races, you've got to be able to focus on what you're doing one hundred percent and not worry about your kit. The ELEMNT RIVAL helps me track all my metrics during a training session without distracting me from performing to the best of my ability - be that in the water, on the bike or when running."
ELEMNT RIVAL is available today priced £349.99 at WahooFitness.com.
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