A historic moment in the virtual cycling world unfolded this weekend as teams geared up for the first ever Virtual Tour de France. Both the men’s and women’s pelotons lined up on Saturday, 4th July, for the first of six stages held over the next three consecutive weekends.
The women’s peloton fielded 16 of the top teams with the men’s made up of 23. A maximum of four riders are allowed to enter per team per stage. Of the six races taking place each weekend, men’s teams can select a male rider to compete in a maximum of three races and the women’s team can select a female rider to compete in a maximum of four races.
Jerseys are awarded for GC, K/QOM, Sprint and Young Rider, with the team leading the team classification having yellow markers on their virtual jerseys.
Stage One: Watopia’s Hilly Route (Reverse)
Date: Saturday 4th July
Timings:
Women’s 15:00 CET // 06:00 PDT // 23:00 AUS
Men’s 16:05 CET // 07:05 PDT // 00:05 AUS
On Saturday, the women’s peloton was whittled down to a small group that made it to the line with April Tacey (Drops Cycling) sprinting over first with Kristen Faulkner (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) taking second and Chantal Van Den Broek-Blaak (Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team) rounding out the podium.
The men’s race on Saturday saw the peloton split early on and the lead group riding to the line in a fast sprint finish. Ryan Gibbons (NTT Pro Cycling Team) powered up and went hard taking the stage win with Pier-Andre Cote (Rally Cycling) taking second and Nick Schultz (Mitchelton-Scott) taking third.
Stage Two: Watopia’s Mountain Route
Date: Sunday 5th July
Timings:
Women’s 15:02 CET // 06:02 PDT // 23:02 AUS
Men’s 16:07 CET // 07:07 PDT // 00:07 AUS
On the second stage of the Virtual Tour de France, the women’s peloton saw a seven rider sprint to the finish line – with Lauren Stephens (Team Tibco-Silicon Valley bank) taking the win.
The men’s race saw a photo finish sprint – with Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) narrowly taking the win over Freddy Ovett (Israel Start-Up Nation).
