When the Giro d'Italia 2019 begins on Saturday, 11 May 2019, every racing cyclist in possession of an indoor trainer will be able to ride the 8.2-kilometre course in Bologna at the same time as the pros. After the World Cup course 2018 in Innsbruck has developed the virtual training platform Zwift also recreated the opening time trial of the 102nd Tour of Italy. The time trial course runs over six flat kilometres before a final climb with an average gradient of 9.7 percent and a length of 2.1 kilometres.
On Thursday, 11 May 2019, professionals from the four wildcard teams will take part in a show race before Ivan Basso, among others, takes on the virtual course on Saturday, 11 May 2019. Interested cyclists can emulate the best times of the pros near the start area.
However, the combination of virtual training and the real courses of the WorldTour professionals is nothing new: in spring 2019, the Spanish manufacturer Bkool The sponsorships include the Movistar Virtual Cycling Challenge during the Tour of Catalonia. There are also sponsorship partnerships with Road Grand Tours and Virtu Go.
