PGA Tour

McIlroy, Felix among made-for-TV stationary bike riders

2020-05-26 18:49

World number one golfer Rory McIlroy, NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward and six-time Olympic track champion Allyson Felix are among the sports stars set for a made-for-television spinning class to air Saturday.

The Pro Athlete All-Star Ride, the latest bid to attract sports viewers with events shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, will feature a 20-minute men's and equally long women's stationary bicycle ride among athletes who are also Peloton members.

Each race will feature eight riders and the one with the highest output number - a combination of cadence and resistance - in each race will be declared the winner.

NBA players conducting a shooting contest from their backyards for TV and prime-time shows of mini-golf, obstacle course and tag competitions are among the other unique TV lures attempted for sport-hungry viewers.

The move comes two days after golf stars Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson combined with NFL Super Bowl champion quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to produce a Sunday ratings blockbuster for an 18-hole golf event, the 5.8 million viewers being US cable's largest-ever golf audience.

Top-ranked golfer McIlroy, set to resume the US PGA Tour season in two weeks at Colonial, drew 2.35 million US viewers for a charity Skins Game with three other tour players the weekend before.

McIlroy will be joined in the men's bike race by fourth-ranked Justin Thomas and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Boston Celtics forward Hayward, NFL Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph and US six-time Olympic swim medalist Matt Grevers.

Felix, the 2012 Olympic 200m champion and a five-time US gold-medal relay runner, will pedal in the women's race against two-time Australian Open tennis champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, reigning Olympic tennis champion Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel and Olympic champion gymnast Kyla Ross.

 

Read more on:    rory mcilroy  |  allyson felix  |  coronavirus  |  golf

 

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