There may be no racing for a few months, but Mark Cavendish (Bahrain McLaren) will have a good base of fitness when the sport finally resumes after a coronavirus shutdown.

The Manxman spent 10 hours, 37 minutes, and 32 seconds in the virtual world of Zwift to complete the "Everesting" challenge, running 8,848 meters, the equivalent height of Mount Everest, in the same ascent.

Cavendish said on Twitter that he and Luke Rowe (Team Ineos) completed the 211 km virtual run.

They are not the first two professional cyclists to challenge themselves on an indoor trainer: Trek-Segafredo's Giulio Ciccone rode 237 km on Zwift last month, climbing 10,000 meters.

James Piccoli (Israel Start-Up Nation) will be taking on the challenge in Mont-Royal, Montreal, to raise funds to provide COVID-19 protective clothing to frontline workers.