Despite the virtual world, Rally Cycling went all out for its first Tour de France appearance, and the results came in the form of a stage win by Matteo Dalsin on stage 3 of the Virtual Grand Boucle.

Although not on the real Tour de France start list, the virtual version of the race missed several WorldTour riders, paving the way for the US Pro Team to line up in the biggest online event to date.

Rather than make up the numbers, they partnered with the Sarris + The Pro's Closet indoor racing team and made every effort to ensure a competitive edge. In particular, they tapped into the expertise of Holden Kamoo, an American Zwift champion who was ranked #1 in Zwift earlier this year.

"I had run a few Zwift races earlier this year, and when I found out I could participate in the virtual Tour de France, I had Wahoo set up a top-of-the-line trainer and enlisted the members of Saris + The Pro's Closet. [They showed us how to set up things like the internet and connecting to the trainer that would take an inordinate amount of time to figure out on my own, and how to set it up so that I would have the fewest problems. We were given a spreadsheet by our trainer to check off all the boxes.

"The team invested time and money to do that.

It was Sarris + The Pro Closet team that provided the tactical blueprint for Dalsin's victory; Zwift's new R.G.V route for the new French Worlds was only recently released, but the specialists checked it out and found the key to victory.

"We were told to stay near the front on the twisty sections towards the end, as the drafting would come and go. I did so for the last 200-300 meters and powered up." 'I did so for the last 200-300 meters and used the power-up.

With Dalsin's victory, Rally Cycling is now second overall in the Tour de France, 37 points behind leader NTT Pro Cycling. With many big names, including Elia Viviani, out of contention for the win Saturday, Zwift's race was as much about know-how as it was about watts and kilometers, and Dalsin cited Comeau as the driving force behind the team's success so far.

"He is an invaluable resource. We are all new to Zwift and only myself and a couple of other Canadians who live in the snowy mountains have dabbled in it in the winter. He basically shared with us all the tricks and tips he had learned. Without him, I don't think we would have had a chance to win."

The Zwift race left Dalsin and his Rally teammates itching to get back to the real world. Racing will resume this month, but the U.S. teams' calendars are still up in the air as they await confirmation of invitations to specific races. The Volta a Portugal was supposed to be the first race back, but has now been canceled, and it looks like there will be no race until mid-August.

"Being at home has made my training super consistent, whether it's indoors or out. My form is good and I'm motivated," Dalsin said.

"I'm looking forward to getting back to a normal calendar, or something close to it, and when I can. I'm looking forward to throwing the bike out there and racing again."