The esports competition uses real video footage of the roads in the Tour de Suisse.
Eleven Sports is to broadcast The Digital Swiss 5 cycling series live in Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Italy and Myanmar.
The race, which takes place 22-26 April, features some of the world’s best cyclists, with 16 of the 19 World Tour teams taking part, including Team Ineos, Deceuninck – Quick-Step and Lotto Soudal.
The competition has been created by the organisers of the Tour de Suisse (along with professional cycling teams consortium, Velon) and is being held on the Rouvy Indoor Cycling Reality platform.
The races will take place with real video footage of the roads used in the Tour de Suisse as the backdrop.
Three riders per team, represented by avatars dressed in their team uniforms and riding their familiar team bikes, will take part in The Digital Swiss 5.
Each team’s line-up can change from race to race to reflect the different routes. Some will be in the Swiss mountains, others will be flat.
Danny Menken, Group managing director, Eleven Sports, said: “This exciting initiative will bring the competition of elite racing and some of the beauty of the Tour de Suisse to cycling fans around the world. We are embracing esports to continue to offer our fans the excitement of live competition at this difficult time and this promises to be a strong addition to our offering.”
Graham Bartlett, CEO, Velon, added: “Everyone is looking forward to racing of a different kind but viewers can be certain that the riders won’t be holding anything back because every single one of them wants to win.”