Chris Froome confirms he will take part in Team Ineos Zwift ride

Chris Froome has confirmed he will be jumping in on the upcoming Team Ineos Zwift group ride and race event.

The four-time Tour de France winner announced on Twitter he will be joining his team-mates in riding with fans on the indoor training platform.

British WorldTour Team Ineos has announced its first ever Zwift events, scheduled to take place on April 12 .

The first event will be a group ride with the pros, open to all abilities and taking between 40 minutes and one hour, before the Ineos riders will then go head-to-head in a Zwift race.

While the team has not yet confirmed the full line up, Froome said on Twitter: “If you’ve asked me to join you for a ride on Zwift, here’s your opportunity.

“What a better way to burn off those Easter eggs? See you on Sunday.”

The event kicks off at 3pm (BST) on Sunday with the group ride, then at 5pm the Team Ineos riders will take on their own race, which will be broadcast live with commentary from Rob Hatch and Matt Stephens.

Team Ineos will be announcing the rest of the riders taking part in the coming days.

Pro teams have been looking for opportunities to stay in contact with the fans and gain exposure for their sponsors as all cycling has been suspended.

Last weekend, the first ever virtual Tour of Flanders was held online, with Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) taking the victory there.

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Cycling data organisation Velon and the organisers of the Tour de Suisse have since announced their own new five-race series taking place later this month, with a selection of WorldTeams taking part, including Team Ineos.

Zwift has also been host to dozens of events, group rides and races featuring pro riders in the last month, including Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal), Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix).