Cameron Jeffers completes virtual Everest challenge on Zwift

The latest edition to the catalogue of crazy virtual rides comes from Britain’s Cameron Jeffers, who has completed the Everest challenge on Zwift.

Jeffers, 23, set off on the enormous task on Wednesday (April 1) and spent a full 10 hours in the saddle, as he climbed the height of Mount Everest on his indoor trainer.

Taking on the brutal Alpe du Zwift climb, Jeffers covered 221 virtual kilometres during the challenge, in which riders must climb 8,848metres while riding up and down the same climb.

Jeffers, a YouTuber and racer whose name might ring bells after he was stripped of the first ever British e-racing title, climbed the 12km-long Alpe du Zwift eight and a half times to complete the virtual Everest challenge.

He also live-streamed the event on his YouTube channel and posted the ride on Strava and the stats reveal he averaged 207w for the duration and burnt 7,500 calories during the event.

We’ve seen some enormous rides on Zwift since the global lockdown – last month, Astana’s Laurens De Vreese racked up a 368km, 11-hour session on Zwift to one-up his compatriot Oliver Naesen, who rode the same distance out on the road.

Dutch pro Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) also put in a long shift as he spent seven hours in the saddle on Zwift to put in 250km on Sunday, March 22.

He averaged 252w for the effort, while riding around the Zwift world of Watopia.

With no racing on the horizon, the pros have been forced to rethink their plans for 2020, with virtual riding and racing helping to fill void.

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This weekend, a handful of pro riders will take on a virtual edition of the Tour of Flanders, with the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert racing.

The real life edition of the cobbled Monument has been cancelled, but that won’t stop these riders fighting it out in the virtual world.