Zurich, Switzerland / November 18, 2021 - Who is riding with whom? Where in the world can you watch elite male and female cyclists and triathletes competing against each other in the same race? The Digital Swiss 5 brings you exactly that on ROUVY! Learn everything about the race format, the most prominent male and female competitors and where you can follow the races live.
PRO RACE FORMAT
Athletes will compete in five digital races of about one hour each (the first four being lapped races) in Swiss cities. Each team is named by the respective host cities of Lucerne, Lugano, Lausanne, Basel and Zurich. With a maximum of six members, the teams consist of both male and female professional cyclists from various cycling disciplines and triathletes. Three riders from each of the teams will ride in the Saalsporthalle stadium (Zurich) on site. The others will race at home, spread all across the globe. One male and one female winner will be crowned per race. The overall ranking is awarded per team, whereby the fastest times of the first two males and the fastest female per team are combined in each race. Points are also up for grabs in KOM and intermediate sprint prizes, making for a well-rounded and exciting race format.
Athletes
A number of top professional cyclists and triathletes will be lining up at the start. Marlen Reusser, Jason Osborne, Mauro Schmid and Hermann Pernsteiner, who were announced a week ago, will be joined by other well-known athletes. Following is an overview of these prominent names:
Male Pros
Jason Osborne, DE – UCI eSports World Champion 2021
Gino Mäder, CH – Stage Winner Giro d‘Italia, 5th GC Vuelta a España 2021
Mauro Schmid, CH – Stage Winner Giro d‘Italia 2021
Hermann Pernsteiner, AT – 10th GC Giro d’Italia 2020
Female Pros
Marlen Reusser, CH – ITT European Champion 2021, Olympic Silver Medallist ITT Tokyo, 2nd ITT World Championship 2021, 6th UCI World Ranking
Marta Bastianelli, IT – Winner 2nd Stage Tour de Suisse Women 2021, 5th Paris-Roubaix
Mavi Garcia, SP – 1st Strade Bianche 2020, 1st Giro Emilia 2021
Triathletes
Hayden Wilde, NZE – Olympic Bronze Medallist Triathlon Tokyo
Marten van Riel, BE – 4th Olympic Triathlon Tokyo
Nina Derron, CH – 27th Ironman Hawaii 2019, 2nd Chur-Arosa 2020
*The complete line-up as well as the team breakdown can be found at https://www.digital-swiss-5.ch/pro-race/
Most of all, the spirit of competition is present, as Marten van Riel says leading up to his first digital cycling event: "I love competing and I think that digital races are part of the future. My goal is to make the race exciting. I don't want to wait for a final sprint. I will give everything from the start". Hermann Pernsteiner is of the same opinion: "Of course I'll give everything, even though it might hurt a lot after the training break".
Open Races for Global Community
Parallel to the races in the Saalsporthalle, the open format amateur races will also take place digitally, where anyone around the globe is welcome to watch the inspirational efforts of the pros and enjoy the motivating vibe of the community.
LIVE BROADCAST DETAILS
The races will be broadcast on TV - SRF.CH/Sport (Switzerland only) and the following Youtube Channels online to watch for free:
- Tour de Suisse
- Velon (+ FB)
- TDS5 website
Following is the schedule for the entire weekend:
Race 1: LUCERNE | Fri - 19 Nov | 20h-21h CET
Race 2: LUGANO | Sat - 20 Nov | 13h-14h CET
Race 3: LAUSANNE | Sat - 20 Nov | 19h-20h CET
Race 4: BASEL | Sun - 21 Nov | 11:30-12:30 CET
Race 5: ZURICH | Sun - 21 Nov | 16h-17h CET
About The Digital Swiss 5
Over the three days, five digital races will be held in five Swiss cities. From each team, three members will compete in the digital races in the Saalsporthalle Zurich, thanks to the support of the Zurich Sports Office, complete with Presenter, DJ and spectators! The races will be held on interactive indoor training rollers connected to the "ROUVY" platform. Amateur athletes can compete against the Pros in the Fan Races, held before the professional races. Further information at www.digital-swiss-5.ch
For enquiries:
Media Relations The Digital Swiss 5 Ueli Anken, media@tds.ch, +41 79 638 18 18
More press images here.