Geraint Thomas has announced he will ride three consecutive 12-hour shifts on his home trainer, mirroring a typical British National Health Service hospital shift work pattern to celebrate the hard work of front line workers and raise money for the NHS.
The 2018 Tour de France winner and Team Ineos rider will begin at 7.30 a.m. (BST) and ride for 12 consecutive hours on Wednesday, April 15, Thursday, April 16, and Friday, April 17.
The so-called 'G's NHS Zwift Shifts' aims to raise funds for the Association of NHS Charities, with Thomas setting an initial goal of £100,000. NHS Charities Together is the national membership organisation that represents 140 member charities who are currently working with the NHS on a COVID-19 appeal.
Thomas will ride on the Zwift platform from his garage in Wales and has invited fans and other cyclists to join him for parts of the ride. The three 12-hour rides will also be streamed live on the Thomas' Facebook page and via and Team Ineos' Facebook pages so people can track his progress, donate and encourage him.
Team Ineos has recently begun to produce a million bottles of hand sanitizer and deliver them to hospitals, while the Team Ineos riders will take part in their first ever eRide and eRace on the Zwift platform on Sunday afternoon.
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"I wanted to help out in any way I could. All I know is bike riding, so I thought to do a charity ride and mirror an NHS's workers shifts," Thomas said in a video message, on his home trainer, announcing his charity fund raising effort.
"Starting Wednesday, 15th of April, I'm going to be here, in my garage, on Zwift, and I'm going to do three, back to back 12-hour shifts. If you want, join me on Zwift, make a small donation and come and ride with me.
"I'm a little nervous because I haven’t ridden that long in a day before, so I'm going to be pretty sore by the end of day one, let alone day 3 but it's all for a great cause. I'll be live streaming everything on my Facebook page, so you can watch me suffer."
