In the context of a completely unprecedented health crisis in which most cycling events have been cancelled or postponed, Zwift and Amaury Sport Organisation have decided to do something useful together and create the very first virtual Tour de France. It will be the starting point for a strong solidarity campaign around cycling.
During the first three weekends of July 2020, men’s and women’s professional races will be organised as part of virtual stages of the Tour de France.
Today, the second stage, was a mountain stage. The winner of today’s women’s race was Lauren Stephens from the USA. The winner of the men’s race was Julien Bernard from France.
🎙 @JulienBernard17 « Je ne pensais pas pouvoir remporter l’étape car j’ai commencé mon sprint vraiment tard ! (…) Cela fait des mois que l'on a pas accroché de dossard, une victoire est toujours bonne à prendre »#TDFvirtuel#GoZwiftpic.twitter.com/gYsRSZEz4A
The Virtual Tour de France is coming to Zwift. The top men’s and women’s teams from across the world will compete for the ultimate prize. With Virtual L’Etape du Tour rides on new courses and high octane pro races to watch, this is cycling history in the making. #TDFVirtual
Watch the world’s best Zwift racers take on some ‘first-ever’ courses in the new France and Paris maps. Women and men pros are racing on Saturday and Sunday for three consecutive weekends beginning July 4th.
23 men’s teams and 17 women’s teams will participate.
Among the male participants will be former Tour de France winners Chris Froome, Egan Bernal, and Geraint Thomas. Greg Van Avermaet, Olympic champion and online Tour of Flanders victor this year, will also participate. Among the women, there will be Marianne Vos, Kirsten Wild, Olympic champion and 2018 world champion Anna van der Breggen, all from the Netherlands; and Chloé Dygert-Owen, from the USA, track cycling pursuit world champion.
The cyclists will ride on their home trainers at home. So, no coronavirus risk.
It's nice to have cycling event again in slovenia. But it would also be appropriate to take at least some safety measures….there were none
This virtual Tour de France will be six races, during the next three weekends. The start will be on 4 July: first the ladies, then the gentlemen. Both on a virtual hilly landscape based on the surroundings of Nice city in southern France.
The fifth stage will be climbing the famous Mont Ventoux mountain.
The sixth and final stage will be on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Alé BTC Ljubljana
Team Arkéa
Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team
CANYON//SRAM Racing
CCC-Liv Team
Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling
Drops
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
Lotto Soudal Ladies
Parkhotel Valkenburg
Rally Cycling
TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank
Trek-Segafredo Women
TWENTY20 Pro Cycling
Team Sunweb
Valcar Travel & Service
Men
AG2R La Mondiale
Arkéa Samsic
Alpecin-Fenix
Astana Pro Team
B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
Team Bahrain McLaren
Bora Hansgrohe
CCC Team
Team Cofidis
Circus-Wanty Gobert
Deceuninck – Quick-Step
EF Education First Pro Cycling
Groupama-FDJ
Israel Start-Up Nation
Team INEOS
Team Jumbo-Visma
Lotto-Soudal
Mitchelton-SCOTT
NTT Pro Cycling
Rally Cycling
Team Sunweb
TOTAL Direct Énergie
Trek-Segafredo
1. Nicolas Roche (Ireland-Sunweb) in 1u12’11”
2. Ilnur Zakarin (Russia-CCC) op 1’10”
3. Larry Warbasse (USA-AG2R) 1’17”
4. Chris Hamilton (Australia-Sunweb) 1’40”
5. James Whelan (Australia-Education First) 1’51”
6. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland-Ineos) 2’05”
7. Hermann Pernsteiner (Australia-Bahrain) 2’31”
8. Louis Meintjes (South Africa-NTT) 2’54”
9. Rein Taaramae (Estonia-Total) 3’08”
10. Gavin Mannion (USA-Rally) 3’25”
Don’t miss the second trial: 32.7 km on a hilly course from Linaro to Sogliano al Rubicone, part of the route of the Corsa Rosa’s Stage 12, Cesenatico-Cesenatico (Nove Colli).
1. Gloria Rodriguez (Spain) 1.10.23
2. Elisa Longo Borghini + 5.25
3. Lucina Brand + 10.25
4. Katrine Aalerud + 11.10
5. Elena Cecchini + 11.36
6. Marta Cavalli + 27.23
7. Katia Ragusa same time
8. Lizbeth Yareli Salazar Vázquez same time
Mexican cyclist Lizbeth Yareli Salazar Vázquez had said that she did not expect to win, as it was a mountainous stage and she is not good at mountains, being a track specialist. Also, for her it was 2:30 in the night, Mexican time. However, she was very happy to participate, as the money raised will go to the Italian Red Cross to fight the coronavirus crisis.
The Digital Swiss 5 is a five-day stage race emulating the 2020 Tour de Suisse. It begins on Wednesday, April 22nd and will be streamed live and on demand on FloBikes for viewers in North America.
After stage 10, in the Giro Virtual by Enel Pink Race, the General Classification is led by Trek-Segafredo (combined time of 2h10’04”), thanks to the performances of Elisa Longo Borghini (the stage’s fastest finisher at 1h01’02) and Lizzie Deignan. Trek-Segafredo finished 4’18” ahead of the Italian national team in second place (represented by Maria Giulia Confalonieri and Arianna Fidanza). Movistar Team Women is third at 11’03”.
This 19 April 2020 Dutch language video shows today’s virtual cycling race by 29 Jumbo-Visma team riders.
Because of the coronavirus crisis, they rode from their home trainers at their homes, on a computer-simulated animation of the mountainous world championship roads in Innsbruck, Austria.
Sepp Kuss from the USA won, beating his teammates. Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark had managed to stay with Sepp Kuss for a long time, but finished second.
Over the next three days, other professional male and female cyclists, and veterans and amateurs as well, will ride this first stage. Then, onward to the second stage.
This 17 April 2020 video from Italy says about itself:
Giro d’italia and a host of cycling legends launch indoor riding fundraiser in aid of the Italian Red Cross against CoronaVirus.
Donations will be collected until May 10th via the Rete del Dono giving portal, available at www.retedeldono.it/giro. The Giro d’Italia Legends – the “prologue” to the Giro d’Italia Virtual – follow the final 37.4km of stage 9 of the original 2020 Giro route, offering fans and ex-professionals alike a new digital experience created in collaboration with Garmin Edge.
The Giro d’Italia Virtual will join stars of the current peloton with past Italian cycling icons and amateurs from all over to race the finales of select stages of this year’s Giro from the comfort of the (interactive smart) trainers, via GPX files from Garmin Connect uploaded to their bike computers.
Elia Viviani (Cofidis), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), and Trek-Segafredo’s Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini are a handful of the current stars set to participate, with Ivan Basso, Alessandro Ballan, Claudio Chiappucci, and Andrea Tafi among the veterans slated to start in the “Legends” race.
The event will kick off with the final stretch of the 10th stage of the Giro, with racing starting on Saturday, April 18, and staying open until Tuesday, April 21. From there, riders will take on stages 12, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 21, with the event concluding on May 10.
The pro men and women will compete for team classification titles, with Astana, Bahrain-McLaren, Movistar, Jumbo-Visma, Bardiani CSF, and an Italian national squad contesting the men’s event and Trek-Segafredo, Movistar, Astana, and an Italian national squad in the mix for the women’s event. Amateurs, meanwhile, will race for individual general classification honors on both the men’s and women’s side.
A fundraiser to support the Italian Red Cross is being run in conjunction with the event with the aim of helping the organization “continue working at the front line of the Covid-19 emergency, offering first responder aid, virus screening and psychological and logistical support, amongst other vitally important activities in the fight against the epidemic.”
Dear Kitty. Some blog 