The top twenty riders from the September 6th semi-final will represent their countries at the live event final in Abu Dhabi on October 26th for a chance at the rainbow bands.
The day that cycling esports athletes and enthusiasts have eagerly anticipated finally arrived! The 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship semi-finals took place on September 6th.
The anticipation had been building since August 17th, 2023, when the UCI announced that MyWhoosh would host the next three UCI Cycling Esports World Championships editions.
The athletes prepared diligently for this momentous chance to represent their countries at the live event final in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 26th. However, they first needed to tackle the two-stage semi-final points race format’s demanding courses and secure a top twenty finish to advance to the finals arena.
Whether selected by their federations or having earned the esteemed privilege through the MyWhoosh Open Qualifier public pathway, over 100 female and 120 male athletes faced the challenge set before them by the UCI and MyWhoosh, competing for the iconic rainbow bands.
First up was the Women’s race, followed by the Men’s.
2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Women’s Semi-Final Stage 1
Women’s race recap by Jon Wakefield
The excitement built as the one hundred-six riders from twenty-six nations jumped into the pen for Race 1. Sweden was the most represented nation with 13 riders in total, followed by Australia, Germany, and the USA, all with seven riders.
“The Strategist” might be a short route, but it is full of challenges that force, as the name suggests, plenty of strategic decisions to be made by the riders.
The ladies gave us a very fast out of the gate, rolling quickly through the downhill and rolling section towards the sprint banner at 2.1km. The pace was so ferocious in those first two kilometers that some riders were already distanced before the sprint banner.
Jacqueline Godbe (USA) was leading the charge on the front into the sprint, with the bunch kicking between the 400m and 300m to go markers.
An impressive sprint by Anna Svärdström (Sweden) saw her crossing the line first, picking up 20 points, followed by fellow countrywoman Lisa Harmansson (Sweden) and Kate Trdin (Australia).
The top 10 after the first sprint included 4 Swedish riders, 2 Australian, 2 German, and one USA and Canadian.
While Svärdström then eased up for the climb, USA riders Godbe and Kristen Kulchinsky pushed the pace on the front, chased by Kathrin Fuhrer (Switzerland), Mary Kate McCarthy (New Zealand), and Mika Söderström (Sweden)
A strong effort by Merle Brunnee (Germany) and Lou Bates (Great Britain) saw both riders catch the front of the race with 500m to go until the climb arch checkpoint. A savage 8wkg attack from Bates with 200m to go catapulted her to the front, which she held to take maximum points, followed by Söderström and Brunnee.
The field was so stretched out, with many riders still tackling the steep gradients of the climb while the front of the race was already picking up speed on the descent.
After the descent, the leading group of 6 riders consisting of Mary Kate McCarthy (New Zealand), Mika Söderström (Sweden), Kristen Kulchinsky (USA), Merle Brunnee (Germany), Kathrin Fuhrer (Switzerland) and Lou Bates (Great Britain) where being chased by Gabriela Guerra (Brazil) who found herself solo in 7th place in-between groups.
Fuhrer dropped back from the leading pack through the final rolling sections of the course, still chased by the solo Guerra and a strong chase pack.
As the leading group came closer to the finish, the afterburners were lit with 400m to go, with Söderström laying down the power to secure the win in stage 1, ahead of Brunnee and Bates.
While Brunnee crossed the line in second place, in the overall standings, it was Brunnee in first place with 68 points, followed by Söderström (59) and McCarthy (58).
The provisional results (pending performance verification) are below.
2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Women’s Semi-Final Stage 2
After a short period of recovery, it was time for race 2. Four laps of the “All Out” circuit—a 4km loop, with points on offer at the top of a punchy 500m climb cresting at 12%, marking the lap banner.
The bunch rolled out of the pen, accelerating up to speed quickly. The mini kicker, which was positioned midway around the lap, was fast approaching. After this kicker, the field stretched out, with multiple groups forming before reaching the main kicker of lap one.
Mollie Weston (New Zealand) launched early into the base of the kicker. However, the group pushed on, and it was Bates, followed by Ellexi Snover (USA) and Fuhrer, who went over the line first to mop up the first set of points in the race.
Overall: Bates (76), Brunnee (68), and Fuhrer (65)
Lap two saw Emma Belforth (Sweden) launch an early attack before the main climb, she was swamped as the pack ramped up the pace into the climb. Bates once again grabbed maximum points through the banner, followed by Fuhrer and Guerra on this occasion.
During lap three, it unfolded that we had a lead group of 9 riders and a chase group of 11. So, 20 riders were all motivated to keep the pace high to secure points at the end of the lap.
A big effort from Taneal Otto (South Africa) saw her able to just make contact with the chase group at the base of the third climb, increasing numbers to 12 in that group.
It was once again the dominant trio of Bates, Guerra, and Fuhrer grabbing the points through the banner, with damage being done and groups increasingly fragmenting going into the crucial final lap where double points were available at the finish line.
As we reached the final key moments of the race, eight riders went into the final climb, with a 12-second gap from a large chase group.
Fuhrer kicked first, with Guerra holding her wheel. It was Fuhrer who was able to cross the line first to take the double points (40) ahead of Guerra (38) and McCarthy (36)
With points from all four laps totaled up, it was Fuhrer (95), Bates (88), and Maria Holdcroft (Great Britain) (83) taking the top 3 spots, closely followed by Guerra (82). An impressive performance by Hao Zhang (China) saw her grab 8th overall for the race, followed by Söderström and Marlene Bjarehed (Sweden), who rounded out the top ten.
With results from this stage combined with the points scored in the previous stage, the top 20 riders secured their place to compete in the live event final in Abu Dhabi.
Sweden highlighted their strength and depth as a leading cycling esports nation, placing six riders within the top 20, followed by the USA (3) and both Great Britain and Germany (2). Notably, China’s Zhang is the only rider to advance to the final which secured entry to the sem-finals via the MyWhoosh Public Pathway Qualifiers.
Congratulations to all the riders who are progressing to the Finals!
The complete UCI-Verified Women’s semi-final results list is here.
2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Women’s Qualifiers by Nation
Next up was the Men’s race.
Men’s race recap by Christopher Schwenker
2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Men’s Semi-Final Stage 1
A who’s who of cycling esports’s top talent filled the pen for stage one of the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships Semi-Final. One hundred twenty-two men from 27 countries, a combination of national federation selections and MyWhoosh public qualifiers, including past World Champions and current National Champions, were primed and ready to attack “The Strategist,” a 9km circuit featuring a steep and sharp 1.5km climb.
Like a shot from a cannon, the racers blasted the downhill dash to the first sprint point, marking the base of the climb at 2.1km. The eleven-deep Danish squad took to the front in service of the defending champion, Bjørn Andreassen.
French National Esports Champion Geoffrey Millour’s (France) push propelled him across the line for maximum points, followed by Ross Fawcett (Great Britain) and Bradley Gouveris (South Africa).
The cream rose to the top on the initial meters of the climb, led by Lionel Vujasin (Belgium), Ollie Jones (New Zealand), and Stefan van Aelst (Belgium). The Danish train launched Andreassen’s chase, accompanied by 2020 World Champion Jason Osborne (Germany), Hayden Pucker (USA), and Martin Maertens (Germany).
Stefan van Aelst crossed the climb checkpoint first after an all-out effort, followed closely by Jones and Pucker.
The select group of three hit the gas to distance themselves from a charging chase group that added Joshua Harris (Australia), Michal Kaminski (Poland), Michael Knudsen (Denmark), and Vidar Mehl (Norway).
Pucker attacked the rolling hills of the final kilometers to put some daylight between himself, Jones, and van Aelst. His victory put him first overall with 58 points, followed closely by Jones (57), who came across the line in second, and van Aelst (56), who was third overall at the end of stage one.
The provisional results (pending performance verification) are below.
2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Men’s Semi-Final Stage 2
The exciting finish set the scene for stage two. “All Out” consists of four laps of a 4km circuit (14 km and 280m), with points on offer at the top of a punchy 500m climb cresting at 12%, marking the lap banner. Following a twenty-minute recovery, the racers hit the course for lap one of four.
Despite the blistering pace, a large group went over the climb, signifying the finish of lap one led by Vujasin, Thomas Thrall (Canada), and Jasper Paridaens (Belgium).
Overall: Jones (71), van Aelst (67), and Pucker (64).
Arne Jacobs (Netherlands) and Tomoaki Takasugi (Japan) attacked a large group of around 25 riders as they approached the base of the climb for the second time. The valiant effort was for naught, as Andreassen crossed for first, followed by Kasper Borremans (Finland), and Paridaens.
Overall: Jones (87), van Aelst (86), and Pucker (79).
Following a post-climb lull in the action, the group swelled to forty riders. Coming into lap three on the outside of the points looking in, Johan Noren (Sweden) and James Barnes (South Africa) took matters into their own hands, attacking the group and crossing first and second, respectively, followed by Neal Fryett (USA).
Overall: Jones (100), van Aelst (97), and Paridaens (91). Noren’s heroics moved him to 15th (41), Barnes to 26th (19), and Fryett to 18th (38).
The blistering gallop to the top shattered the group, and they began the run-in for double points at the finish. Sensing that the repeated all-out effort softened the legs of the other riders, Jones and Pucker attacked the mid-lap climb with reckless abandon.
All the while, the drama unfolded in the group behind. With a qualifying position still not secured, Barnes jumped from the group again, bringing Noren and Ruben Dhondt (Belgium). Pucker outsprinted Jones for the win. Fryett finished in third place, and Barnes held on for fifth, punching their tickets to the live event final in Abu Dhabi.
The complete UCI-verified Men’s Semi-Final results list is here.
Congratulations to all the racers honored with the opportunity to represent their countries in the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships and a chance at the coveted Rainbow Jersey.
Full Speed Events’ Matt Payne and Emma Martin (co-host of the Virtual Velo Podcast) called all the action! Tune in to MyWhoosh on YouTube and MyWhooshLive on Twitch to see how it played out!
2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Men’s Qualifiers by Nation
In this special 50th edition of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Emma and Chris break down the thrilling action with Matt Smithson, MyWhoosh’s Esports and Events Manager.
Total Number of Qualifiers Per National Federation
- Sweden—8 (6 Women and 2 Men)
- Belgium—4 Men
- USA—6 (3 Women and 3 Men)
- Germany—4 (2 Women and 2 Men)
- Great Britain—2 Women
- Denmark—2 Men
- New Zealand—2 (1 Woman and 1 Man)
- Norway—2 (1 Woman and 1 Man)
- South Africa—2 (1 Woman and 1 Man)
- Finland—2 (1 Woman and 1 Man)
- Australia—1 Man
- Poland—1 Man
- Canada—1 Man
- Brazil—1 Woman
- China—1 Woman
- Switzerland—1 Woman
The live event final on October 26th in Abu Dhabi will feature the top twenty riders from the semi-final and up to four wild cards. The three-stage format will introduce “The Sprint,” where riders will have 15 minutes to set the fastest time on a 300-meter segment. Good luck!
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
Jon is a passionate and dedicated member of the cycling esports community, known for his refreshing positive mindset and a wealth of experience as the principle of Team CLS and partner to an elite-level racer. His commitment and dedication to the development and growth of cycling esports—at all levels—are evident.
The Zommunique is thrilled to have him join its contributor team. His analytical skills, forward-thinking approach, and empathy promise to offer valuable insights and a comprehensive perspective on the sport’s future.
