Team Ineos will hold a second virtual race on the Zwift platform on Saturday June 6, with the WorldTour team's riders expected to compete for bragging rights on Zwift’s Yorkshire course, a recreation of the finishing circuit in Harrogate used the 2019 UCI Road World Championships.
Team Ineos held their first so-called eRace on April 12, with Rohan Dennis winning alone on the Alpe d'Zwift mountain finish. He used his world championship-winning time trial skills to power away from his teammates early on the climb and was never seen again. Eddie Dunbar was second after trying to mount a chase, with Michal Kwiatkowski third.
Team Ineos suggested the rolling Yorkshire course should create "an opportunity for a dynamic, attacking race where team tactics could prove vital".
The race will start at 6pm CET on June 6 and be shown live via the team's Facebook and YouTube channels, with Rob Hatch and Matt Stephens providing the commentary and interviews.
Virtually all the Team Ineos roster raced in April. The team said they would give more details on the length of the race and the full rider line-up in the days before Saturday's race.
It will be interesting to see if Chris Froome will compete against his Tour de France team leadership rivals Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas after their recent comments and the Cyclingnews report that Froome is in discussions with other teams about a possible mid-season transfer as he tries to secure his future beyond his current contract with Team Ineos.
Froome and Thomas are currently training outdoors in the South of France, while Bernal is training at home at altitude in Colombia.
Last Thursday, French newspaper L'Equipe played down Froome's chances of changing teams before the rescheduled Tour de France in September, claiming Team Ineos boss Dave Brailsford had promised sole leadership separately to all three riders, only for them to find out they weren't alone.
In a statement to Cyclingnews on Thursday, the team clarified their position.
"In a team with three previous winners of the Tour, all have shown they are capable of leading the team and all are encouraged to prepare to do so," said a spokesperson for the team.
"We know a lot changes in our sport and a final decision on roles will be made closer to the time when more information is available about each rider’s form, fitness and which best fits the overall team strategy.
"Given the strength of this year’s opposition we know that it is the collective strength, unity and experience of our team which will optimise our chances of winning."
