A new path to glory: Could virtual bicycle racing revitalize an old sport?
Fifty-two cyclists assembled at the starting line for a 40-kilometer road race under a perfect blue sky. In the distance, beyond an Italian village loomed the active volcano they would climb in the brutal mountain-top finish.
Forty-four of the competitors were professional racers on teams like Cofidis and Hagens Berman Axeon, certified by the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling's 118-year-old governing body.
The remaining eight racers were just really good at "Zwift" - the multiplayer cycling video game hosting this virtual race.
In garages, gyms and rumpus rooms around the world, the racers started pedaling furiously on carbon fiber road bikes bolted into stationary trainers. Team Wiggins Le Col set up in a high-end bike shop in London, clad in skin-tight Lycra even though aerodynamics are of little import when pedaling in place.
On screens beyond their handlebars and in a web stream available around the world, the racers' avatars launched off the line and formed a tight group - the classic peloton formation of road racing. What might be the
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