Although the real event will have to wait until late August, a virtual Tour de France will take place in July after the race's organizer, ASO, agreed to a deal with online cycling platform Zwift.

Details of the event have yet to be finalized, but a proposal from ASO seen by Cycling News indicates plans for a race consisting of six stages each for men and women.

The race will be held over a three-day weekend from Saturday, July 4 to Sunday, July 19, the Tour's original dates.

Before the season was interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, the Tour was scheduled to start in Nice on June 27 and finish in Paris on July 19. The Tour was scheduled to run from August 29 to September 20.

For the Virtual Tour de France, Zwift will build a new race route that mimics the opening stage in Nice and the traditional Tour de France finale on the cobbled Champs-Elysées circuit in Paris.

All stages, including the mountain stages, will be around one hour in length and will consist of teams of four riders.

According to Cycling News, 15 teams are participating in the event and 10 television channels covering 130 countries have signed up to broadcast the event.

ASO's entry into the virtual cycling world follows similar e-races in recent months by race organizers such as RCS Sport and Flanders Classics.

Last month saw the Digital Switzerland 5 on the Rouvy platform, and in April the Virtual Tour of Flanders took place on Bkool.

Zwift recently hosted the Zwift Tour for All series, as well as internal races and riders for many teams, including Ineos, Jumbo-Visma, and Mitchelton-Scott.

The Zwift platform allows for drafting, allowing riders to maneuver behind other riders to reduce resistance from home trainers.

Tactical and gamified elements add power-ups such as virtual drag reduction.