THE CHALLENGE OF STARS: WHERE TO WATCH THE EVENT ON TV
On Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May, 16 riders – eight sprinters and eight climbers – will compete in a knockout tournament to elect the winners in the two categories, on the BKOOL platform. 

Join PRO to watch The Challenge of Stars live and on demand on FloBikes!

Vincenzo Nibali, said: "The Challenge of Stars format, with its one-on-one knockout matches, is something innovative and unpredictable among the virtual races seen so far. While we are waiting for real races, on the road, I think this format is a nice way to give fans a show and create a challenge between great champions."

Milan, 21 May 2020 - On Saturday 23 May, starting at 16.30 CEST, the challenge between many of the world’s best sprinters will take place (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final), as the first scoreboard of The Challenge of Stars is dedicated to the fastest wheels of the peloton, with the head-to-head pairings made according to their UCI rankings.

The first virtual knockout tournament between pro riders organized by RCS Sport in collaboration with BKOOL and with partners Tissot and Enel, will start with the quarterfinals of the sprinters’ tournament:

Sprinters - Saturday May 23rd

• Pascal Ackermann (BORA-Hansgrohe) vs Nacer Bouhanni (Team Arkéa Samsic)
• Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck - Quick Step) vs Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo)
• Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) vs Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix)
• Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) vs Filippo Ganna (Team Ineos)

The sprinters will race a 1.2km course in the Tuscan countryside, with an average gradient of 0.97% and a maximum of 2.53%.

Climbers - Sunday May 24th

On the next day, Sunday 24 May, it will be time for the climbers to take on the challenge: a 2.9km ascent on the Stelvio climb, with an average gradient of 8.69% that peaks at 12.75%. These are the matches for the climbers’ quarterfinals:

• Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) vs Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo)
• Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) vs Simon Geschke (CCC Team)
• Rafał Majka (BORA-Hansgrohe) vs Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal)
• Chris Froome (Team Ineos) vs Warren Barguil (Team Arkéa Samsic)

Chris Froome said: “At a time like this when we are unable to race it’s great to be able to use technology to put on an event like The Challenge of Stars and bring entertainment to the cycling fans. I’m looking forward to taking on this new type of challenge against some of the top riders in the sport.”