Team Ineos have announced their first virtual ride and race on the Zwift platform for Sunday April 12, with riders joining different category of hour-long rides before racing against each other on one of Zwift's toughest climbs.
Team Ineos is the latest team to hold virtual rides and races with fans during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Mitchelton-Scott where amongst the first, creating a series lead by their different riders, with other teams tasking to different digital platform to connect and entertain their fans.
Last Sunday Flanders Classics organised a 'Ronde2020 Lockdown edition', with the likes of Greg van Avermaet (CCC Team), Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and 2019 Tour of Flanders winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Pro Cycling) racing on the BKool digital platform. Van Avermaet went on to win with a solo attack, with the race attracting a reported 600,000 viewers on Belgian television and thousands of other views globally on different platforms.
Zwift are hosting a number of races and rides during the CVOVID-19 lockdown, including the Pro/AM Zwift Classics, which are held on their different courses.
Velon has announced the Swiss 5 race series on the Rouvy platform, with 15 leading men's WorldTour teams confirming they will race daily between April 22-26 on the route of stages of the Tour de Suisse.
Team Ineos didn't confirm the names of the riders taking part but the race could see 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal go up against teammate and 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas. The Classics riders could also be in action on the day when Paris-Roubaix was scheduled to be held before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic sparked the cancellation and postponement of races.
"The eRide is an opportunity for everyone to join a group ride with the Team’s riders and staff, with a route suitable for all abilities. The riders will then take centre stage as they battle it to be crowned the Team’s first eRace winner, with everyone able to watch the action via Team INEOS’ social media channel," Team Ineos announced.
The ride is scheduled for 3pm (BST), an hour behind CET, with a Team Ineos rider leading each group on the Watopia Flat course. The riders will be named on the day of rider. There will be three group rides in total, each with four different pace categories. Participants will get a chance to wear the orange Team Ineos training colours and ride a team issue Pinarello F12 bike.
The inaugural 'Team Ineos eRace' will start at 5pm (BST) and shown live on the team's Facebook and YouTube channels. Eurosport’s Rob Hatch and Matt Stephens will provide the commentary and carry out rider interviews.
Click here to sign-up to the Team Ineos eRide and eRace on Zwift
