Among the lessons of the health crisis, it is obvious: it is difficult to combine competition and distance.
For a year, whether in the fun or serious mode, many events have left the realm of reality for the virtual field.
The simulator meetings have enabled the pilots to make up for the absence of an automobile Grand Prix, cycling now has two official world champions (female and male) sacred to on their home trainer thanks to the Zwift application, the Festival International of Extreme Sports (Fise) has judged the arabesques of the kings of skateboarding, rollerblading or BMX through the sending of videos and more than 2,600 tricolor rowers have just competed for the hexagonal rowing title sitting in their club, their garage or their living room ...
In short, the movement was already underway before the arrival of the Covid-19 but we must now rely on a new way of understanding sport.
“Some federations or disciplines have initiated the digital transition for several years, observes Nicolas Besombes teacher-researcher and vice-president of France E-sport, which brings together players in electronic sports.
And they clearly benefit from high visibility today.
F1, Nascar, cycling, sailing and football have taken on both e-sport and video games in the broad sense.
They could be mocked or aroused skepticism, but the containment and crisis showed their strategy was not foolish.
They were at least able to offer virtual content when the traditional could no longer… ”
Towards a mixed calendar?
A trend that is part of the new modes of consumption.
"Virtual races were extremely popular during the period when the competitions ceased, and we really believe in the potential of esports to help increase the practice of our sport", explained David Lappartient, president of the Union Cycliste Internationale. (UCI), before launching the Worlds online.
During the season, amateurs and pros of the peloton competed through interposed screens.
"It's a good waiting solution even if it will never be worth a good Tour de France with the folklore, the atmosphere, the emotions," observes Boris Pourreau, founder of Sport Heroes, specializing in the creation and animation of sports communities.
The virtual is not going to replace the physical, but there is a balance to be found between the two.
I strongly believe in a mixed calendar which would also be part of a sustainable development issue.
How long are we going to fly every three days?
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In the months or years to come, we will have to reinvent ourselves.
"The federations can no longer understand things as they did 50 years ago," continues Nicolas Besombes.
Relevant alternatives must be proposed.
We see it for example with 3x3 basketball, breakdance or speed climbing at the Olympic Games… We must also think of average athletes no longer as licensees but as practitioners, communities whose existence is facilitated by tools digital.
There is both a technological evolution and the need to adapt the offer to the reality of our society.
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In sailing, even if it's still fun, it's been fifteen years that you don't even have to get wet to go to sea. With Virtual Regatta, the only storm is to spill your glass on your keyboard.
Six federations, including France, issue a national title at the end of a championship taking place on the simulation.
More than a million virtual skippers took part in the recent Vendée Globe, where Tigrou26120 took almost twelve days less than the real sailor Yannick Bestaven to reach Les Sables-d'Olonne!
Thank you Zwift for making this possible.
Living far away from the real
Mont Ventoux i was finally able to quash my PR!
That's my PR from 25 years ago 👍🏼😂
Amazing experience! #RideOn #GoZwift @GoZwift @werkdodger #VirtualTour #TDFVirtual #TDF #Cycling #Zwift #MontVentoux pic.twitter.com/VAX9Ny0HJ2
- Harry Canary (@Fluitetuit) July 13, 2020
With the precision conferred by the speed of data transfer, one can imagine mixed real / virtual or simultaneous events on a planetary scale.
Run the Paris Marathon on your treadmill when others roam the asphalt of the capital or swim the same competition in Los Angeles and Shanghai.
For everyone, including professionals.
"We are only at the beginning of digital experiences"
“We are only at the beginning of digital experiences, breathes Boris Pourreau.
Imagine optimizing the life of an athlete, whose planning is a puzzle.
They could impose the constraint of traveling only for the Games or Worlds and save fatigue, prepare optimally by confronting their rivals from a distance the rest of the year.
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If you need proof of the rise of the virtual in sport ... it's that cheating is also present! Last spring, a Formula E driver was dismissed by his “real” team after being replaced by a professional gamer during an official virtual race. A few days ago, two cyclists were suspended six months by the Zwift platform for digital doping, the two women having submitted in competition much higher power values than those originally recorded ...