2020 Virtual Tour de France by BikeRaceInfo (original) (raw)

July 4 - July 19, 2020

Tour de France database | 2020 Tour de France | About the Virtual Tour de France
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | Stage 6

Sunday, July 19: 6th & Final Stage, Champs Elysees, 42.8 km

Stage 6 profile

Will Clarke wins the final men's stage.

The race: Here is the organizer's summary.

The 6th and final stage of the Virtual Tour de France has seen victories from Will Clarke (Trek-Segafredo) and the wearer of the yellow jersey Lauren Stephens (TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank). The Australian rider, Clarke outsprinted Filippo Ganna (Ineos) and the men's yellow jersey Ryan Gibbons, whose team NTT Pro Cycling dominates the overall standings at the end of this first edition. In the women's race, the American team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank sealed the overall victory.

Hello Paris! The sixth and final stage of the virtual Tour de France brings together 147 riders (63 women and 84 men) for six circuit laps (6.6 km) on the famous Champs-Élysées course, reproduced on the roads of Zwift as part of operations Solidarity Tour de France to raise funds for charitable organizations. Among the participants, Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) has already had success in Paris by winning La Course by Le Tour in 2014.

The women's peloton quickly entered the Parisian roads and immediately imposed great intensity thanks to the intermediate sprints disputed on each lap. Already seen the day before on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Dani Christmas (Lotto Soudal) is also showing its advantage on completely different terrain: the British impose a tempo at more than 5 watts / kg from the first kilometers. It is still there, with a power of more than 8 watts / kg, to lead the last two intermediate sprints.

A group of 23 contenders appears in the last lap, with the prospect of a royal sprint on the Champs. And in this great game, Lauren Stephens (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) does honor to her yellow jersey by winning a prestigious victory, with a peak at 13.1 watts / kg in the final sprint!

This stage victory confirms the domination of the Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank in the general classification. The American team wins the first edition of the virtual Tour de France with 499 points, ahead of Team Twenty20 (306 pts) and Drops Cycling (292 pts).

The men's race follows a similar format, with an increasingly intense rhythm over the laps. The yellow jersey Ryan Gibbons finds himself at the head of the peloton at mid-race, with an average power of 5.4 watts / kg in the first 25 kilometers.

While the quadruple winner of the Tour de France Chris Froome (Ineos) takes part from the heights of the Teide volcano, on the Canary Islands, the Belgian Gijs van Hoecke (CCC Pro Team) stands out in the intermediate sprints. The intensity of the efforts gradually reduces the peloton: they are 34 runners for the last lap.

Bruno Armirail and Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) are trying to get out 1km from the line to surprise the sprinters. They are finally taken up by Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT Pro Cycling Team), regularly placed in the top 5 of the last stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées. But the Norwegian must once again bow, with the victory of Will Clarke (Trek-Segafredo) ahead of Filippo Ganna (Ineos) and Gibbons.

NTT won the men's race.

NTT Pro Cycling Team largely dominates the general classification of this first edition with 500 points. Rally Cycling follows with 267 points and Trek-Segafredo completes the podium (232 points).

Results:

Men's race:

Final GC after stage 6:

Women's race:

Lauren Stephens wins the final stage.

Final GC after stage 6:

Stage 6 profile:

Stage 6 profile

Saturday, July 18: Stage 5, Chalet Reynard, 22.9 km

Stage 5 profile

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio won the fifth stage.

The race: Here's the organizer's stage five summary.

The queen-stage of the Virtual Tour de France has seen Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (CCC-Liv) claim summit victories on Saturday. NTT Pro Cycling placed all four of their riders in the top 7 of the stage to increase their lead on the general classification. In the women’s race, Moolman-Pasio took the win ahead of the wearer of the yellow jersey Sarah Gigante, followed by her teammate Lauren Stephens. Their team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank opens a massive overall gap on the eve of the final stage, on the Champs-Élysées circuit.

French star Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step), American climber Katie Hall (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team), Australian ITT World champion Rohan Dennis (Team Ineos)… 150 riders (88 males and 62 females) are part of the pelotons riding stage 5 of the Virtual Tour de France on Saturday, as part of the solidarity events aiming to raise funds for charity partners. They take on 22.9km with a massive climb replicating on Zwift the slopes of the infamous Mont Ventoux.

The women go first and Kirsten Wild (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team) enjoys the opening flat stretch to show her power, already pushing 628 watts in the intermediate sprint. The Dutch rider then lets the pure climbers steal the show in the final 14 uphill kilometres. The pace is hard from the bottom and the British rider Dani Christmas (Lotto-Soudal) momentarily opens a gap before Sarah Gigante’s Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s CCC-Liv reel her in.

With the support of her husband Carl Pasio (a renowned mountain-biker) to hydrate herself, Moolman-Pasio makes a move inside the last 6km and only Gigante manages to follow her with the yellow jersey on her shoulders. Keeping up with the solid reputation she built on Zwift in the recent weeks, Moolman-Pasio eventually takes the win with a 23” gap to Gigante. Lauren Stephens (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) finishes 3rd, trailing by 1’53”.

With two riders on the podium, Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank tops the overall standings with 409 points on the eve of the final stage. Drops Cycling have 252 points and Canyon//SRAM Racing are third with 247.

Woods vs NTT
The men’s race is also up to a flying start. Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R-La Mondiale) dominates the intermediate sprint. Then it’s up to the best climbers as Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling Team) tears the race into pieces. Riding from their team’s headquarters in Lucca (Italy), Domenico Pozzovivo and Louis Meintjes (NTT Pro Cycling) are the last ones to follow the Canadian rider. Their teammates Stefan De Bod and Ben O’Connor are also in the front positions, alongside Eddie Dunbar (Ineos).

Woods keeps going and his consistant effort around 7 watts/kg is too much for every one. He goes solo in the last 3km to take victory ahead of three NTT riders: Pozzovivo, Meintjes and the youngster Stefan De Bod. Ben O’Connor completes this collective performance with a place of 7th.

NTT’s efforts are rewarded with a strong lead on the general classification: 391 points for the African team, while Rally Cycling have 219. EF Pro Cycling are third with 175 points on the eve of the Champs-Élysées parade.

Results:

Men's race:

Michael Woods on his way to winning stage five.

GC after stage 5:

Women's race:

GC after stage 5:

Stage 5 Profile:

Stage 5 profile

Profile of the final 12.12 kilometers

Sunday, July 12: Stage 4, Casse-Pattes, 45.8 km

Stage 4 profile

April Tacey wins Women's Stage 4

The race: Here is the organizer's stage 4 summary.

Stage 4 of the Virtual Tour de France has seen Zwift experts claim more glory as Freddy Ovett (Israel Start-Up Nation) went one better than his second place on Stage 2, while April Tacey (Drops Cycling) won again after her victory on the opening weekend. The Australian rider outsprinted Nick Schultz (Mitchelton-Scott) and the wearer of the yellow jersey Michael Valgren, whose team NTT Pro Cycling still lead the overall standings. In the women’s race, Lauren Stephens (3rd) and Leah Dixon (4th) increased Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank’s lead ahead of the final weekend of competition.

Cycling stars join from all around the world for stage 4 of the Virtual Tour de France. Dutch rider Chantal Blaak (Boels Dolmans), South-Africa’s Ashleigh Moolman (CCC-Liv) and America’s hot prospect Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) are among the biggest names to watch in the virtual pelotons (64 women and 92 men) lining up for 2 laps of a 22.9km circuit, as part of the solidarity Tour de France events aiming to raise funds for charity partners.

The women tackle the stage first and Jossy Lowden (Drops Cycling) shines with her Polka-dot jersey, summiting ahead of everyone the first two climbs of the day. The pace remains high after the climb and a group of 18 riders manages to slip away. American favorites Alexis Ryan (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Coryn Rivera (Sunweb) are among the main dropped riders, with a 20” delay as the race enters the last 15km.

Sarah Gigante (Tibco-Silicon Valley) accelerates at the bottom of the final climb but Jossy Lowden uses her feather lightweight power-up to move past everyone. Riders from Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank maintain the pressure after the summit but a small group comes back together in the final downhill towards the finish. Already winner of the 1st stage, April Tacey (Drops Cycling) repeats victory ahead of Anna Henderson (Sunweb).

Lauren Stephens (3rd) and Leah Dixon (4th) increase Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank’s overall lead with 277 points ahead of the final weekend of competition. Drops Cycling follow with 219, just ahead of Canyon//Sram Racing (206 points).

All eyes on Israel Start-Up Nation:
Daniel Turek (Israel Start-Up Nation) is the most aggressive rider in the first part of the men’s stage. Two strong accelerations see him claim the most KOM points in the first two climbs of the day as he defends the polka-dot jersey worn by his teammate Freddy Ovett. Turek even hits 897 watts to fend off Nathan Haas (Cofidis).

Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) makes a brave solo move to make the most of the flatter sections of road to break away from the bunch in the last 20km. But NTT Pro Cycling Team, once again riding from the team headquarters in Lucca (Italy), brings things back under control for the wearer of the yellow jersey Michael Valgren.

Heading into the last 300m, William Clarke (Trek-Segafredo) tries to anticipate the final sprint but his move is covered inside the last 50 meters. Michael Valgren appears to be in a perfect position, but Freddy Ovett surges at the last moment to edge everyone. Nick Schultz (Mitchelton-Scott) takes 2nd place ahead of Valgren.

Freddy Ovett wins stage 4

NTT Pro Cycling Team still lead the overall standings with 263 points ahead of the two final stages, next week-end. Rally Cycling are second (188 points), ahead of Trek-Segafredo (162).

Results:

Men's race:

GC after stage 4:

Women's race:

GC after stage 4:

Stage 4 profile:

Saturday, July 11: Stage 3, R.G.V., 48 km

Stage 3 profile

Matteo Dal-Cin takes the third stage of the men's Tour

The race: Here's the organizer's stage 3 summary

Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling), a true Zwift enthusiast, has won stage 3 of the Virtual Tour de France as he outsprinted Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) on Saturday. NTT Pro Cycling Team maintain the overall lead thanks to Ryan Gibbons (5th) and Rasmus Tiller (6th). Earlier in the afternoon, another Zwift expert dominated the women’s race: Tanja Erath (Canyon//Sram Racing), winner of the 2017 Zwift Academy, outsprinted the time-trial World champion Chloe Dygert (Twenty20). Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank maintains the overall lead ahead of Canyon//Sram Racing.

From Zipaquira, Colombian home of the 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (Ineos), to Italy, where NTT Pro Cycling riders set their home-trainers side by side, passing by the Netherlands of the leader of the UCI World ranking leader Lorena Wiebes (Sunweb), 156 riders (64 women and 92 men) participate in stage 3 of the Virtual Tour de France on Saturday. They face two laps of a 24km circuit and offer two thrilling races as part of the solidarity events aiming to raise funds for charity partners

The young British rider April Tacey (Drops Cycling Team) comes back at it a week after her victory in stage 1. She quickly displays her ambitions, pushing above 600 watts in the first intermediate sprint and the first QOM of the day. Her heartrate gets as high as 212 beats per minute during these massive efforts! Poland’s Marta Lach (CCC-Liv) edges her on the second sprint of the day.

About 30 riders are still at the front for the last lap, with CCC-Liv and Drops Cycling Team maintaining a high pressure at the front. With a fast finish lining up after 1 hour of intense racing, Tanja Erath (Canyon//Sram Racing), winner of the 2017 Zwift Academy, musters her experience on the platform to dominate the time-trial World champion Chloe Dygert (Twenty20) and April Tacey in the final sprint.

Tanja Erath takes the women's race.

Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank maintain the overall leadership with 197 points but Canyon//Sram Racing move closer : 174 points. And Drops Cycling is also in the mix with 150 points.

Dal-Cin's skills and NTT's collective efforts
With the support of a proper staff in their team’s headquarters in Lucca (Italy), riders from NTT Pro Cycling are very aggressive from the start of the stage. Alpecin Fenix riders still manage to dominate the climbs, as Alexander Krieger takes the first KOM and Jimmy Janssens the seconds.

A pack of 39 riders tackle the final 5km bunched despite a late attempt from Alex Kirsch (Trek-Segafredo). Thanks to his personal experience on Zwift, the Canadian rider Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling) uses his aero power-up at the perfect moment, with 300m to go, and finds an opening to snatch the victory just ahead of Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ).

NTT Pro Cycling Team still lead the overall standings thanks to their collective performances (5th place for Ryan Gibbons and 6th for Rasmus Tiller). They have 193 points while Rally Cycling follow with 156. Trek-Segafredo are 3rd with 127 points.

The 4th stage, on Sunday, offers more climbing challenges to suit the most explosive riders.

Results:

Men's race:

Men's GC after stage 3:

Women's race:

Women's GC after stage 3:

Stage 3 profile:

Sunday, July 5: Stage 2, Mountain, 29.5 km

Stage 2 profile

The race: Here's the organizer's stage two summary.

The uphill challenges of stage 2 of the Virtual Tour de France offered more thrilling racing as Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) and Lauren Stephens (TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank) dominated their rivals on Sunday. The Frenchman powered to victory ahead of Freddy Ovett (Israel Startup Nation) in the final sprint. NTT Pro Cycling maintain the overall lead with 130 points, ahead of Rally Cycling (90). Earlier in the afternoon, Lauren Stephens outsprinted her rivals in a 5-woman group also featuring her teammate Kristen Faulkner. With a total of 170 points, TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank will defend the yellow jersey on stage 3, next Saturday.

Stage 2 of the Virtual Tour de France brings together some 149 riders (89 men and 60 women) on Sunday afternoon as part of the solidarity events aiming to raise funds for charity partners. The 29.8km course features the Epic QKOM ascent for two thrilling races.

The women go first. Ellen Van Dijk sets a high tempo for Trek-Segafredo at the bottom of the climb and Elise Olsen, wearing the Maillot Jaune for Drops Cycling Team, is quickly struggling off the back. Erica Magnaldi (Ceratizit-WNT) accelerates in the climb to take the QOM points at the summit ahead of the Polka-dot Jersey Jossy Lowden (Drops Cycling Team). Magnaldi keeps going and opens a gap with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) inside the last 10 kilometres.

A group of five riders gets together for the final run-in, as Lowden and two riders from TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank get back: Kristen Faulkner and Lauren Stephens. The latter enjoyed a perfectly timed aero power-up to dominate the sprint with an average speed of 51.4km/h in the final 500m. Lowden was second for Drops, ahead of Magnaldi.

TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank lead the overall classification with 170 points. Drops Cycling Team are second with 111.

The winner of the 2018 Tour de France Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) gets in action from the beginning of the men’s stage. With the Yellow Jersey on his shoulders, Louis Meintjes (NTT Pro Cycling Team) is at the front in the first climb, dominated by James Piccoli (Israel Startup Nation). Riders from EF Education First keep pushing after the summit of the Epic KOM but a strong group gets back together in the downhill, including Trek-Segafredo’s Julien Bernard.

Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) tries to get away with his “burrito” power-up in the last 500m. He quickly opens a gap but Freddy Ovett (Israel Startup Nation) closes on him and looks set to take the win until Bernard edges him right on the line.

NTT Pro Cycling retain the overall leadership with 130 points. Rally Cycling are second with 92. The battle returns on July 11 with stage 3 of the Virtual Tour de France.

Men's race results:

Winning Julien Bernard

GC after stage 2:

1. NTT Pro Cycling: 130 points
2. Rally Cycling: 92 points
3. Alpecin-Fenis: 89 points

Women's race results:

GC after stage 2:

1. Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank: 170 points
2. Drops: 111 points
3. Canyon-SRAM

Stage 2 profile:

Saturday, July 4: Stage 1, Watopia, 36.4 km
Stage 1 profile

The race: Here's the organizer's stage 1 summary:

Ryan Gibbons (NTT Pro Cycling Team) claimed victory in the men’s race of the opening stage of the inaugural Virtual Tour de France on Saturday. The South-African rider made the most of his sprinting abilities and Zwift’s power-ups to edge Pier-André Coté (Rally Cycling). NTT lead the general classification. Earlier in the afternoon, the young British rider, April Tacey outpowered Kristen Faulkner (TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank) in the final sprint to earn her team, Drops Cycling, the overall lead ahead of Stage 2 tomorrow. Drops Cycling leads Tibco-Silicon Valley Banks by 71 points to 70.

A virtual pack of 144 riders took on stage 1 of the Virtual Tour de France on Saturday. Men and women were to cover 4 laps on a 9.1km circuit emulating the outskirts of Nice, where the Tour de France will start on August 29. A perfect ground for intense and thrilling racing as part of the solidarity events aiming to raise funds for charity partners.

Ladies ride first and Erica Magnaldi (Ceratizit-WNT) quickly shows her ambitions with an early move on this hilly route. She scores the first points for the Queen of the Mountain in the first lap. But Joscelin Lowden (Drops) outpowers her in the next two ascents. The two riders battle it out in the final ascent of the day, and Magnaldi pushes 11 watts/kg to edge Lowden right at the summit.

A small group gets back around them in the final 2km, setting a fast and furious run in to the line. The time-trial World champion Chloé Dygert (Twenty20) gets in the mix but she fades while the young British April Tacey (Drops) perfectly times her aero power-up to take victory on the line ahead of Kristen Faulkner (TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank).

With Lowden also finishing inside the top 10 (8th), Drops lead the general classification with 71 points, just ahead of TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (70 pts).

The men’s race starts right afterwards and Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) immediately puts the hammer down to lead the way to the first intermediate sprint. Dan McLay (Arkéa Samsic) and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (NTT Pro Cycling) try to break away one after the other but the bunch doesn’t let anyone go until the final showdown.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT Pro Cycling Team), who had already displayed aggressive intents in the climbs, tries to anticipate the sprint but a raging bunch gets back to him… And his teammate Ryan Gibbons flies to victory, emulating April Tacey with a perfect use of the aero power-up. Nick Schultz (Mitchelton-Scott) finishes third ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix).

With Edvald Boasson Hagen holding on to 6th place, NTT lead the general classification with 80 points, just one more than Rally Cycling. Alpecin-Fenix are third with 72 points.

Men's race results:

NTT's Ryan Gibbons wins men's stage one.

Women's race results:

April Tacey wins the first stage.

Stage 1 profile:

About the 2020 Virtual Tour de France:

In the context of a completely unprecedented health crisis in which most cycling events have been cancelled or postponed, Zwift and Amaury Sport Organisation have decided to do something useful together and create the very first virtual Tour de France. It will be the starting point for a strong solidarity campaign around cycling.

During the first three weekends of July 2020, men’s and women’s professional races will be organised as part of virtual stages of the Tour de France. Continuing on from the major increase in cycling at home in recent months, cycling lovers from all over the world will also have a chance to ride the Virtual l’Étape du Tour de France on the same weekends.

All events are organized in aid of five global charity partners.