Doesn't look like this is a ping[0]! Which is good. Rather it is a socket stream connecting over tcp/443. Ping (ICMP) would be a poor metric.
[0] https://github.com/mda590/cloudping.co/blob/8918ee8d7e632765...
[0] https://github.com/mda590/cloudping.co/blob/8918ee8d7e632765...
but you're right
ICMP ECHO would be a bad choice as it is deprioritized by routers[0].
[0] https://archive.nanog.org/sites/default/files/traceroute-201...