USAC Pro Road Tour comes to Zwift

Project Echelon Racing, in conjunction with USA Cycling, is excited to create an opportunity for North American domestic elite and professional teams to connect during the coronavirus pandemic.

In collaboration with Zwift Community Live, Project Echelon will be hosting a virtual Redlands Bicycle Classic on May 1st and 3rd.

The first event in the series will be a Friday night criterium on May 1st, and a Sunday morning road race on May 3rd. The May 1st event will feature a 25-mile criterium, while the May 3rd event will see riders compete over the course of a 40-mile road race. Each of the events is stand-alone, allowing riders to compete in one or both events over the course of the weekend.

All races will be professionally broadcasted and live-streamed.

• Friday’s criterium will start at 8p CST, 25 laps of the 1.9km Dolphin Loop Crit City course
• Sunday’s road race will start at 11a CST, 3 laps of Greater London Loop

Rules

• Maximum of 8 riders per team (subject to change based on team interest)
• Riders must include their team name in their Zwift profile.
• The use of TT bikes and Zwift Concept (“Tron”) bikes is prohibited.
• The use of power-ups will be disallowed.
• Riders must submit a weigh-in photo along with their finishing results from Stage 1.
• Riders must create a ZwiftPower profile prior to the event. (see instructions)

The Project Echelon Racing Team is a domestic elite team that races on the North American PRT circuit. The team’s mission is to educate, equip, and empower veterans through physical activity and self-discovery.

Eric Hill, the team’s director and co-founder of the non-profit organization, says “The organization is excited to create an opportunity for North American domestic elite and professional teams to connect during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, we hope the events will offer a unique opportunity for teams and athletes to create authentic content for their sponsors so that they may continue to support them during these difficult times.”

Project Echelon has hosted two 3-stage stage race events over the past month, on the Zwift platform, using the game’s meet-up function. The events drew in fields of 50 riders — the maximum allowed by meet-ups at the time — and as many as 11 teams, including 5 professional teams and some of the top domestic elite teams from across the country.

Project Echelon is currently working on the details and specific dates for the virtual Tour of Gila, and virtual Joe Martin Stage Race.