South Africa's Willie Smit (Burgos-BH) completed a 1,000 km continuous ride on Zwift to raise funds to support the development of cycling through the South African Cycling Federation, covering the virtual distance in 37 hours.

Smit's ride is the latest in a series of long rides by athletes in captivity. Geraint Thomas is using Zwift in his garage in Wales for a 12-hour continuous ride in support of the UK's National Health Service. Other riders have ridden thousands of kilometers and are climbing up the Pro Rider Zwift leaderboard.

Smit live-broadcast a lengthy portion of the ride on his YouTube channel and posted the final data on Instagram. According to the report, he climbed a virtual 8,150 meters and burned 17,081 calories. He began his grueling ride at midnight on Tuesday and hit 1,000 km on Thursday morning.

Smit's ride was more challenging because it took place in the highlands of Andorra, Europe. He rode in the dark, often with others, at a steady pace of between 150 and 200 watts, standardizing at 157 watts; as he passed the 100 km mark, he symbolically raised his hands to celebrate his victory.

Smit ran for the Katusha-Alpecin team in 2018 and 2019 before joining the Spanish professional team Burgos-BH, whose COVID-19 pandemic led to a blockade across Europe and even the microstate of Andorra.

Smit said before the race: "We're running at 2,000 meters above sea level, and on indoor trainers. It will be a grueling two days on the bike."

Smit said: "It's going to be a tough two days on the bike.

Smit hopes to race on the road once the COVID-19 epidemic subsides, and his next goal is to compete again at the Vuelta a España.