The world’s top professional cycling teams are preparing to do battle against each other next month in “The Digital Swiss 5” - a series of five individual races on parts of the same parcours planned for the Tour de Suisse 2020.
Velon is working with the organisers of the Tour de Suisse and the ROUVY Indoor Cycling Reality platform to bring racing to fans everywhere whilst respecting the global restrictions on everyday life as a result of the COVID19 pandemic.
Top WorldTour team riders will get on their “smart” trainers for five races over five consecutive days and go all-out over some of the most challenging parts of the Tour de Suisse parcours. The ROUVY platform uses real video footage of the roads and riders are represented by 3D avatars wearing their team kit and riding their own team’s bikes.
Invitations to participate have been sent to all teams who are scheduled to race in this year’s Tour de Suisse, which is due to be held in June.
“It seems like a great way to stay fit and test my condition against other pro riders”
Each team will have three riders and their live data - speed, power and cadence - will be on display, continuing the pioneering work done by Velon in partnership with the world’s biggest race organisers, broadcasters and digital platforms over the past four years. Some of the riders will have webcams on them so viewers can see their faces as they push out the watts.
The riders’ bikes will be connected to “smart” trainers, which have surged in popularity as the COVID19 virus has forced millions of people to stay at home. The trainers pair with the platform and the riders watch the course and their position on their monitor in real-time. As the profile of the course goes uphill and downhill, the trainer automatically applies more or less resistance to the pedals.
The races, each lasting approximately one hour, are scheduled for Wednesday 22nd April - Sunday 26th April. Full details on how fans can watch will be announced soon. Viewers in Switzerland will be able to watch live on the national broadcaster, SRF.
Michael Schär, a former Swiss road champion who rides for CCC Team, said: “I like the idea of ‘The Digital Swiss 5’ as a way for riders to interact with fans. This way of online racing is something new and I’m looking forward to seeing how the stages are raced. I am excited to take part and race on some of my training roads. It will be interesting to feel the difference between road racing and virtual racing. Ever since online training became more popular, I have been participating; mostly to stay fit during the cold Swiss winters but also to ride with recreational riders and help motivate each other.”
Michael Matthews, Team Sunweb, said: “These are difficult times for everyone at the moment and this is a really cool way for us to interact with our fans and race when standard racing is not possible. It gives us something to be motivated to do and be excited for when everything else is so uncertain at the moment. I personally am really looking forward to watching and maybe even racing myself.”
Luke Roberts, Sport Director, Team Sunweb, said: “This is a great e-sports opportunity for us and fans to still engage with racing under circumstances that mean a traditional approach to racing is not possible. For most cycling enthusiasts, riding outside is not permitted and this interactive approach gives professionals and fans alike to still engage with a race in a safe way in the current situation.”
Bauke Mollema, Trek-Segafredo, said: "I have great memories from Tour de Suisse including a stage win in 2013 and a 2nd, 3rd and 5th place in GC. I love riding in the mountains and on Suisse roads. I was looking forward to racing again, but obviously this is uncertain at the moment. To stay in shape and keep competitive form, I am riding a lot of hours on our Saris Smart Trainer but I’ve never actually participated in a virtual race. It seems like a great way to stay fit and test my condition against other pro riders."
Grégory Rast, Sport Director, Trek-Segafredo, said: "I think it’s a great idea for the riders to keep motivated and have a goal that is similar to an actual race. At the present no racing is taking place and in some countries you can’t even ride outside, so many of our riders are training indoors on smart trainers. For our team Tour de Suisse is a great, important race and hopefully this year’s edition will not be cancelled. I’m Swiss so for me it is the best race in the world.”
Swiss rider Stefan Küng, Groupama-FDJ, said: "I love cycling because it takes place outside and in all weathers but in these extraordinary times, when some of my team colleagues can only train in their own homes and all races are cancelled until further notice, such novel digital races are certainly an exciting addition. It is also attractive for our sponsors as it allows them to regain attention.”
Hugh Carthy, EF Pro Cycling, said: “It is very important to remember the fans at home and the hard working people helping to fix the world at this time and try our best to give something back in the form of entertainment, in a safe and responsible way. The digital series will hopefully allow us to do that."
Grischa Niermann, Team Jumbo-Visma coach, said: "During this difficult period where public health is more important than cycling races, we are open to try out new indoor cycling concepts. Online racing is growing rapidly and we are very curious how it will work out to battle with our competitors. Not on the road, but from our own houses this time."
Enrico Poitschke, Head Sport Director, BORA-hansgrohe, said: “We are excited about this new opportunity with Velon, Tour de Suisse and ROUVY. We think this is a step that will also be wholeheartedly welcomed by our riders and fans and we are very curious to see where this leads us.”
About Velon
Velon offers unrivalled access to the best professional cycling teams in the world. Velon is owned by: BORA-hansgrohe; CCC Team; Deceuninck - Quick-Step Team; EF Pro Cycling; Lotto Soudal; Mitchelton-SCOTT; Team INEOS; Team Jumbo-Visma; Team Sunweb; Trek-Segafredo; UAE Team Emirates. Velon - from the teams to the fans.
About ROUVY
The Czech company ROUVY is one of the most popular providers of indoor training software solutions in the cycling community. ROUVY distinguishes itself from other providers thanks to realistic representations of the track simulations. These are based on real video recordings of the routes. Besides a variety of existing routes like the Furka Pass, the Stelvio or other cycling classics, ROUVY also offers a wide range of virtual events for the benefit of its user community.
Key information about The Digital Swiss 5
When?
Wednesday April 22 - Sunday April 26 (start times tbc), one race per day, each race duration approximately 1hr
Participating teams
Full list of teams to be confirmed
Each team will have three riders
Where?
Each race will be on the ROUVY Indoor Cycling Reality platform: https://rouvy.com/en/ and will take place on routes scheduled to be used in the Tour de Suisse 2020: https://www.tourdesuisse.ch/en/
How to watch
Details to follow