At first glance, it looks like a cycling video game from the 2000s, with its sketchy landscapes, its little detailed runners, and its pixels, many pixels. But on Sunday, it was not a video game simulation that invited itself on the screens of European bicycle fans: the organizer of the Tour of Flanders 2020, faced with the postponement of the race due to the coronavirus, came up from scratch a virtual race, which took place on Sunday.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Monday April 6
At the start of this new kind of Round (the nickname for the race), there were thirteen professional runners, who raced the last 32 km of the original course from their living room, attic or balcony. All on training bikes, mounted on rollers and connected to the Internet. If Belgian viewers were watching a race like a video game, the runners were filmed.
"It was super hard"
It almost seemed like it: "It was super hard," said Tim Wellens, one of the runners. "The problem is that there is never any recovery, it's always very hard. In real racing, you get into the wheel. In a descent, you stop pedaling. On the rollers , it’s not possible. It’s pretty much the same as a time trial, maybe a stress test in training but I never usually train that hard . " One of the participants, the Australian Michael Matthews, even had to give up due to a bug.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> How long are healthy carriers contagious?
> What are the side effects of chloroquine?
> Adulterated tests, false calls for donations ...: watch out for scams linked to the coronavirus
> Reading, board games ... How to stimulate your brain during confinement?
> How to avoid gaining pounds during confinement?
You can review the race here:
If this race was attractive, it may be that it occurs in a complicated period for cycling, like other sports: the winner of this virtual race, Greg van Avermaet, saw his salary drop by 80% in because of the difficulties experienced by its Polish sponsor, the shoe manufacturer CCC.