Replacement for cancelled professional race: The virtual Tour of Flanders
Konstantin Rohé
· 03.04.2020
Many professional racing cyclists have been working towards this date: The first Sunday of the month is traditionally reserved for the Tour of Flanders. The anticipation of fans, riders, officials and sponsors came to an abrupt end in mid-March when all spring classics were cancelled for the time being. The salvation for everyone with cycling withdrawal: eRacing competitions! Around the "Ronde van Vlaanderen" there are several professional events online, including live broadcasts. The live stream starts at 3.30 pm.
The race in the live stream
"Tour of Flanders" on Bkool
13 professional cyclists on the last 32 kilometres of the Tour of Flanders - the perfect scenario for an exciting finale. This is the constellation that was presented on Sunday on the training platform Bkool youngster Remco Evenepoel, Het Nieuwsblad winner Jasper Stuyven, all-rounder Thomas de Gendt and ten other classics specialists. The pros will compete in a race on the virtually recreated finale of the Tour of Flanders, which will be broadcast live on the internet.
The Spanish company Bkool, known not only for its own software but also for the production of smart trainers, was able to win over the race organisers Flanders Classics and the Belgian multimedia brand Sporza, partner of the Tour of Flanders, for the official event. As part of the "Flanders Classics" event series Bkool also offers reconstructed sections of other spring classics such as Dwars Door Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, the Scheldepreis and the Arrow of Brabant.
The video trailer reveals more details about the route:
Ronde van Zwift
After the Australian racing team Mitchelton-Scott already offered several rides on Zwift in mid-March, the ProConti team Alpecin-Fenix is now also entering the virtual business. The pros around Mathieu van der Poel will duel as part of the "Ronde van Zwift" as a replacement for the cancelled Tour of Flanders. After a joint ride with other Zwift users on Wednesday evening, 1 April, the internal team race will take place on Sunday at 11.00 a.m. - broadcast live and commented on by Matt Stephens on YouTube and Facebook.
The race in the live stream
