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Rally’s Rob Britton takes the virtual leap for the Digital Swiss 5

The Canadian pro will compete in the e-racing Tour de Suisse replacement

Following the success of the Virtual Tour of Flanders, Velon, the Tour de Suisse and Rouvy (an Indoor Cycling Reality platform) have partnered to organize the Digital Swiss 5, a five day virtual race. The race will take place Apr. 22-26 and will feature three riders from each team that was originally registered in the physical event.

RELATED: Fifteen WorldTour teams on board for virtual Tour de Suisse

Canadian Rob Britton will compete in the event with his Rally Cycling teammates. Currently located in Victoria, BC, Britton has been racing at a pro level for 10 years but this will be his first real digital race. “I did a couple of races on Zwift when I was living in Calgary a few years ago,” he says, “but I only lasted about 10 or 15 minutes before I was dropped by everyone and ended riding by myself so I changed it to a normal ride.”

 

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Although he spent most of his training indoors when he was living in Calgary, Britton wasn’t using a smart trainer. Fortunately, for the upcoming race, his team has set him up with a Kurt Kinetic smart trainer. “I think this will make the e-racing a lot more enjoyable,” says Britton, “Or at least tolerable?”

RELATED: The pro (and not so pro) trainer setups of the Virtual Tour of Flanders

With riders confined to their homes for an unknown duration, Britton thinks races like these help the cycling industry. “Obviously this is not the same as racing outside,” he says. “But I think it’s really important for the riders, the sponsors and the race organizers to try to do something like this to give everyone a little glimpse of bike racing—to show that we’re all still here trying to make this work.”

“Cycling, just like so many other industries and businesses right now, is having to pivot to make the best of this situation,” he says.

Although e-racing isn’t typically part of a pro contract, Britton doesn’t mind the new challenge. “This is our job at the end of the day,” he says. “If the team asks me to do something like this, I really just say, how high?”

For the race, Rovy will use real video footage of roads used in the Tour de Suisse as the backdrop

Racing the Digital Swiss 5

For the upcoming race Britton already has his setup pretty dialed in, featuring a well positioned fan and his new trainer. The events will be about an hour long and will take place in the morning, in Central European Time. Britton, at home in Victoria, will race at around 11:00 pm PST. “I’m about as far away from central European time as it gets,” he says. He’s pretty confident that he won’t have issues with his internet—a concern for some as heavy local use affects download/upload speeds around the world.

Rob Britton wears the maple leaf at the 2019 national time trials.

Britton’s been safely riding outside in Victoria, so he hasn’t spent much time on the trainer lately. ”There’s a big difference between trainer legs and road legs,” he says, “that difference is quite painful if I recall correctly. But I guess I’ll know soon enough.”