Celebrity Zwift racing on Sky Sports… against Chris Froome

While many (most?!) of you will have been missing real world racing in recent months, that has most certainly been the case for television companies who have been starved of live sport to broadcast.

While it is certainly not the first time – the British eRacing Championships was broadcast on BT Sport last year for example – Zwift will feature this Sunday, 7 June, on Sky Sports. ‘The Race‘ will feature a group of celebrities athletes from other sports, taking on four-time Tour de France winner, Chris Froome, for charity.

CHRIS FROOME & KEVIN PIETERSEN JOIN FORCES TO DONATE 1,000 BIKES TO NHS KEY WORKERS

The Race: Wheels For Heroes will see other celebrities take on Four Times Tour de France Winner, Chris Froome in charity race on the virtual platform, Zwift

Zwift, the global online training platform has teamed up with multiple Ashes Series winner Kevin Pietersen and four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome to host a celebrity cycling challenge to raise money in aid of Wheels for Heroes this Sunday.

The race will be broadcast across Sky Sports Main Event, Arena and Mix, as well as Zwift’s YouTube channel, on Sunday 7 June at 7.30pm BST. Chris Froome and Kevin Pietersen will be joined by a mix of celebrity friends. Confirmed for the battle are Mel C, Olly Murs, Ryan Giggs, Andrew Flintoff, Lee Westwood, Maro Itoje, Steph Houghton, Darren Gough and Kirsty Gallacher. The coverage will be hosted by Laura Woods, Romesh Ranganathan and Matt Stephens.

“I’m really happy that we’re in a position to be able to provide help to our key workers during this tough period, and what a way to do it,” says Kevin Pietersen. “As well as providing funds to donate 1,000 bikes via Wheels for Heroes, we’re also looking to provide some fun. We’ve got a great bunch of celebrities looking to beat Chris on Sunday. I’m looking forward to providing an upset!” 

‘The Race’ will be hosted on the virtual fitness platform, Zwift. Celebrity guests and Kevin Pietersen will all be connecting via the online platform in a race on Zwift’s fantasy island on the Volcano circuit. The race will see Kevin Pietersen and all celebrity guests gridded at the start with each rider to set off at intervals based on their fitness ability. All competitors will have to complete a gruelling FTP test in advance of the race to provide an accurate assessment of ability. 

Chris Froome, professional cycling for Team Ineos and four-time winner of the Tour de France, will be setting off last in pursuit of all ahead of him on board his Wahoo Kickr. This will be a hard-fought battle for all, but could see any one of our celebrity guests take the win.

“Kevin actually made the suggestion to do a charity event on Zwift back in April, so I’m really glad we have managed to get this off the ground,” says Chris Froome. “Our NHS workers have been truly inspiring, but with travel restrictions, it’s still difficult for them to travel to and from their place of work. These new bikes will truly make a difference and provide a safe means for our NHS workers to travel safely during COVID-19.”

“I’m looking forward to watching the race and seeing how all these athletes compete on the bike,” adds Eric Min, CEO & Co-Founder of Zwift. “It’s been fantastic to see how many people have come together to use the platform to raise money for great causes and Wheels for Heroes is another example of a great cause our community is supporting.”