MyWhoosh and supertri are expanding their reach by adding the supertri E Triathlon World Championship alongside the UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
The 2023 edition of the digital discipline aired on 15 broadcasters across 135 countries and reached 25.4 million households. Global estimates indicate that there were over 151 million triathletes and fans worldwide at the 2016 peak. Although triathlon participation in the US has declined over the past decade to 3.1 million, supertri expanded its reach to become the leading provider of triathlon content on YouTube, amassing 75 million views in 2023.
USA’s Chase McQueen and British triathlon star Beth Potter swam, biked, and ran to victory in 2024. The packed London Aquatics Center crowd saw the duo crowned 2024 supertri E World Triathlon Champions, each securing a portion of the $57,000 prize purse and Olympic qualifying points.
Following a series of qualifying heats featuring Olympic medalists and World Champions, the ten best male and female triathletes lined up for the final. The 2024 World Championship race unfolded in three stages using the supertri E format, which includes a 200m pool swim, a 4km stationary bike, and a 1km run on a self-propelled treadmill. The final stage featured a pursuit start, where athletes began based on the time differences accumulated over the first two stages, with the fastest athlete starting first.
Launched in 2020 as the Arena Games Triathlon, supertri E evolved to keep professional triathlon competitions alive behind closed doors during the global COVID-19 pandemic. This innovative and disruptive format has garnered several awards and international recognition for its thrilling, viewer-friendly events.
The list of previous host cities includes Rotterdam, Montreal, Munich, and Singapore.
In 2021, supertri E and World Triathlon partnered to host the first E Triathlon World Championship, providing ranked athletes and national federations the chance to compete for an official World Championship title. Each year, in collaboration with World Triathlon, supertri E crowns both a male and a female esport world champion.
On August 13, 2024, supertri announced in a statement that ”MyWhoosh becomes the Presenting Partner of supertri E and will help develop the multi-award winning and IOC Olympic Esports Week featured format into the next evolution of its incredible journey. It is also the Official Partner and Virtual Training Partner of supertri, supertri League, supertri E, and mass participation events, including Chicago Triathlon and Long Beach Legacy Triathlon.”
In all previous editions of the event, the virtual platform Zwift hosted the bike and run segments of the program.
The platform’s refrain echoed the sentiment following the UCI’s decision to award the 2024 through 2026 tender to host the Cycling Esports World Championship to MyWhoosh, stating, “Zwift enjoyed many successful years delivering the Superleague Triathlon Arena Games on behalf of Superleague Triathlon. We chose not to continue in this space for the foreseeable as we are focused on developing cycling esports competition that offers a true pathway from grassroots to elite competition.”
supertri acknowledges that triathlon’s barriers to entry at every level are high. The multi-sport nature presents a unique set of time commitments, logistical challenges, and financial burdens many find prohibitive and unapproachable. By leveraging the partnership with MyWhoosh, the company envisions supertri E as an inclusive and accessible gateway to fostering connections and nurturing a growing community.
“MyWhoosh and supertri share a vision for the democratization of sport,” states supertri. “We are both innovators and believe that removing barriers to entry is critical for not only the growth of triathlon but also for encouraging health and wellness in all areas of the world and building communities.”
MyWhoosh offers a zero-cost alternative, and although the subscription fees associated with other virtual platforms are only a small percentage of the upfront costs of the equipment and technology required to enjoy the sport, supertri urges, “At that stage, we need to remove barriers to entry rather than build them.” The profound impact on underserved, underrepresented, and emerging populations is undeniable.
The ability to train conveniently, safely, and without environmental interruption appeals to many triathletes. The tremendous power of the relatively untapped triathlon community presents appealing growth potential, according to MyWhoosh, and is why they’re attaching their horse to supertri’s cart.
“By combining supertri’s knowledge of triathlon community needs and event know-how with MyWhoosh’s innovation and global reach, we plan to create virtual races, training programs, live coaching, and other features that will make athletes feel more connected to each other regardless of their location,” states MyWhoosh.
Adding the supertri E title sponsorship to the platform’s portfolio alongside the UCI Cycling Esports World Championship tracks well for international visibility and trusted brand recognition.
“Our objective is to foster a sense of community and camaraderie. And with the supertri E World Triathlon Championships, we aim to create a seamless indoor cycling and running experience that can be rolled out to triathlon federations and clubs around the world.”
The companies plan to capitalize on the strengths of their mutually beneficial partnership to offer innovative and engaging virtual experiences to boost their subscriber base. From unique virtual experiences, event formats, races, and training plans to one day envisioning supertri E powered by MyWhoosh integrated into fitness centers worldwide, the possibilities for innovation and growth are endless, according to supertri.
“We need to build the community and find the opportunities that will inspire people, particularly those already within the supertri universe and around our incredible participation events, to build a bespoke and unique offering that makes people want to get involved. That can start from things like training with pros, unique journeys, a specially designed “supertri world” in the platform, and the constant improvements we seek to make to the elite level offering, as well.”
MyWhoosh’s coach-led video workouts are on demand, and live interactive group workouts featuring Supertri’s popular athletes are evidence of the activation’s immediate impact.
“Then there are the broader and more ambitious objectives around using technology and our partnership to truly change the sport and people’s experience of it fundamentally,” says supertri.
The Olympics as a vehicle to change perception is a powerful prospect to supertri and the virtual platforms, including Zwift, who offered this comment when asked about cycling esports’ (not triathlon or duathlon) representation in the program following the Olympic Esports Series in June 2023.
“While much attention has been placed on the cycling events, I would also like to mention the duathlon exhibition races. We are also proud to be working in the Triathlon and Duathlon space with Superleague Triathlon and the ITU. Though the duathlon events weren’t part of the Olympic Esports Series finals, they are just as exciting a prospect and a true testament of athletic performance and the excitement of esports competition.“
It’s unclear why the platform chose not to continue in the space, but the sentiment remains.
“We were honored to be founding partners of cycling esports in an Olympic context, having worked with the IOC and the UCI to showcase cycling esports twice – first during the inaugural Olympic Virtual Series and then again live in Singapore during Olympic esports week,” Zwift says.
“We are delighted that the level of sport we showcased to the IOC and the world during these events supported the continuance of the IOC’s interest in Olympic esports, and we truly believe the cycling we delivered in partnership with the UCI was one of the showcase events at the event.”
In 2021, the IOC launched the Olympic Virtual Series, which included physical virtual sports, such as cycling on the Zwift virtual platform, rowing, baseball-softball, sailing, and motorsports, to appeal to a broader age demographic.
In 2023, the Olympic Esports Series (OES) attracted 131 players from 64 countries, who participated in the live finals in Singapore following qualification events that hosted over 550,000 unique participants. The cycling esports competition contested on Zwift was one of ten sports showcased, which received 20.9 million engagements on Olympic social media channels.
As part of the early push for Olympic adoption of the sport, supertri E delivered a duathlon event to the OES.
“As far as we understand,” explains Zwift, “the choice of platform for any future events lies with the UCI, and we look forward to hearing more from them about it in due course. While the esports Olympics represents huge progress, we still hope to one day see cycling esports at the Olympic Games.”
On July 23, 2024, the International Olympic Committee announced the creation of the Olympic Esports Games. The stand-alone games will begin in 2025, and all indications are that cycling esports and duathlon or triathlon will be featured prominently.
Hosting the UCI Cycling Esports World Championship and forming a new partnership with supertri has positioned MyWhoosh as a leading candidate for Olympic recognition across multiple sports. The platform’s expanded role allows MyWhoosh to showcase its capabilities and versatility beyond cycling, highlighting its potential for broader sports integration, visibility, and brand awareness.
“Our debut in the Olympic Esports Week was a big success, as was our single-day supertri E World Championship format in 2024,” states supertri, which has driven significant interest from potential host cities for future years.”
The host city fee for the supertri E World Triathlon Championships is $800,000, on top of venue costs, athlete and staff accommodations, and other associated expenses. The growing popularity provides a value proposition with a favorable ROI for all stakeholders.
“We very much see growing our presence and impact in both of these areas as critical for us as brands and to our vision of inspiration,” shares supertri.
MyWhoosh concurs, saying, “This partnership allows two mission-driven companies to have a greater impact. Together, we aim to push the entire industry forward.”
The bottom line is clear: the potential financial, visibility, recognition, and credibility reward of a strategic partnership between two World Championship hosts, which may lead to Olympic inclusion, are set to solidify supertri’s dominance and boost MyWhoosh’s upward trajectory in the virtual sports arena.
According to supertri, the most profound possibility is that “Together with MyWhoosh, we’re not just changing the way people view triathlons; we’re transforming lives through sport. Technology enables us to dream of doing things that have never been done before.”
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.
