Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed his son comes home from school and jumps on Zwift rather than playing other hugely popular console games.
Wiggins, Britain’s first Tour de France winner, has shared his thoughts on the online training platform as his team took part in the first virtual race for professionals.
The 38-year-old compared the blossoming technology with his younger days spent on a turbo trainer listening to a Walkman.
His son Ben is hoping to turn pro, and uses Zwift to ride and socialise with friends.
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Wiggins said: “My son for example, wants to be professional.
“He comes home from school and rather than go and play Fortnite until 3am, he goes on Zwift now.
“We’re happy because he doesn’t have to go out in the dark.
“It’s also the connections they make – one of his best mates lives in London and they hook up and meet each other to go riding, which is amazing really.”
Wiggins was speaking at the launch of the first virtual race for professional riders, the KISS Super League, which uses the Zwift platform to pit Pro Continental and Continental teams against each other.
During the league’s launch at the Pinarello store in central London on Wednesday night (January 23), Wiggins added: “Sometimes we don’t realise how lucky we are – when I was 13 living in central London, my mum didn’t want me to go out –on the bike in the evenings.
“I used to sit on the turbo trainer and listen to my Walkman.
“It’s transformed how cycling has moved on in the last 20 years.
“I don’t think my son’s generation appreciate just how important that is or how amazing it is.”
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Team Wiggins – Le Col, the continental outfit backed by Sir Bradley, were in the Pinarello store to compete in round one of the Super League on Wednesday night, with the other teams scattered across the globe.
The 10-race series will see 15 teams, including Cofidis, Israel Cycling Academy and Madison-Genesis, compete in hour-long virtual races.
Wiggins added: “I hate technology. I hate computers, Facebook, social media – I love this.”
