Organizers Flanders Classics got together with Kiswe, Bkool, and Sporza to find an innovative solution to continue the 104-year tradition of the Tour of Flanders.
Can a global pandemic stop one of the most prestigious one-day events in all of sports? Despite the challenges, the Tour of Flanders decided to get creative and carry on. Instead of going completely dark as we’ve seen the fate of other sporting events around the world, organizers Flanders Classics got together with Kiswe, Bkool, and Sporza to find an innovative solution to continue the 104-year tradition.
In less than two weeks, the team created a virtual version of the event, the De Ronde 2020: The Lockdown Edition, inspired by the rising trend of indoor cycling programs. Using cycling simulator Bkool and Kiswe’s remote broadcasting platform CloudCast, 13 world-class professional cyclists will be competing over the last 32 km of the Tour of Flanders on their bicycles at home.
This unique collaboration started when Kiswe reached out to the CEO of Flanders Classics, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, with the idea of keeping the event alive by turning it into a virtual race. Kiswe’s cloud technology could deliver on a radical vision of this live event even with many complex variables. Next, Sporza came as the official broadcaster of the event and Bkool’s new wave of exciting virtual cycling technologies made sense to tie everything together. It was the right team to execute a first-of-its-kind virtual cycling event.
“The Officially Unbelievable Ronde van Vlaanderen will transport cycling fans to an era of unwritten, thrilling cycling history — just as if you were listening to the commentary to a genuine, live cycling race,” stated Flanders Classics in a press release. “Get ready for a story with some incredible plot twists, featuring cameo appearances by heroes from one hundred years of cycling history such as Eddy Merckx, Johan Museeuw, Fabian Cancellara, Mario Cipollini, Briek Schotte, Bradley Wiggins, Fausto Coppi and the Van der Poel family. Thanks to Kiswe we will be able to watch the riders tackle a virtual Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg in real-time on the Bkool platform.”
"Part of the motivation for me starting Kiswe as a company was to create a different way for producing and consuming live cycling races," said Wim Sweldens, co-founder of Kiswe and cycling enthusiast. "So in a way, this is a dream come true."
“The four companies involved--Flanders Classic, Bkool, Sporza and Kiswe--worked as a virtual team out of their homes for 14 consecutive days (and nights) to create a unique experience for cycling fans around the world,” shared Jorre Belpaire, Head of Kiswe Europe.
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