Abu Dhabi Welcomes the World's Best Esports Cyclists for a Rainbow Stripes Showdown Hosted by MyWhoosh
As originally reported in Cycling News and Cycling Weekly!
“We were looking for a partner willing to invest in the discipline to evolve the sport, and MyWhoosh met that standard. They were willing to invest financially and dedicate resources. Not to say the others weren’t, certainly not. Everybody was willing to invest, but we felt that the investment MyWhoosh was willing to make would help legitimize and stabilize the sport for the next three years. Simple as that.”
During an interview for the Virtual Velo Podcast, the UCI’s Esports Coordinator Jacob Fraser shared his perspective on moving from Zwift to MyWhoosh for the next three UCI Cycling Esports World Championship editions. Zwift hosted the three previous World Championships in 2020, 2022, and 2023 after their 2019 partnership with the UCI laid the groundwork for the new discipline.
On August 17th, 2023, the UCI announced that virtual platform MyWhoosh would host the next three UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. The partnership has returned bullish dividends in several firsts for the fledgling discipline, including a democratic public qualification pathway, performance verification of all 200-plus racers in the semi-finals, the most robust anti-doping measures of any international esports event, standardization of all of the smart trainers, and the first live in-person final.
Venue, Prize Purse, and Pogacar
The newly minted triple crown winner Tadej Pogacar and consecutive three-time World Champion Peter Sagan will be in attendance as the twenty-two male and twenty female finalists will fight for the right to stand alongside them on the World Championship stage wearing the iconic rainbow jersey on October 26th in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
IOC President Thomas Bach and UCI President David Lappartient will witness the occasion, which may be a prelude to the sport’s inclusion in the Olympic Esports Games in 2025.
The riders will compete for a total prize purse of $60,000, with equal distribution between genders ($15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second, and $5,000 for third). The cycling esports spectacle will be in front of a live audience at the ADNEC Marina Hall. Located on the Abu Dhabi waterfront, this spacious venue will showcase the rapidly growing sport, establishing itself as a legitimate discipline, according to the perspective of the UCI’s Fraser.
“Cycling esports is a standalone discipline,” he says, “And it’s our job as a community and as the UCI to help legitimize and stabilize it.”
Performance Verification, Anti-Doping, and Equipment Standardization
To ensure fair competition, MyWhoosh and the UCI implemented a range of performance verification processes, requiring athletes to follow established protocols and instructions. According to the UCI, a reporting system and data collection points help identify performance authenticity and accuracy, ensuring fairness for all participants, as was the case for athletes in the semi-final for the first time.
“The semi-finals were deemed a success, and the number of annulments in this event demonstrates MyWhoosh and the UCI’s commitment to thorough performance verification across all participating athletes. We can confidently say that every participating athlete underwent thorough performance verification, and the ruleset was applied consistently and thoroughly.”
In addition to maintaining a level playing field through comprehensive performance verification, fair and credible racing necessitates equipment standardization and live in-person performance checks, which the UCI has identified as a key priority.
“The UCI’s primary concern is making sure we have a fair and legitimate race,” Fraser asserts. “We are the International Sporting Body, and we’re interested in ensuring that the sport is executed fairly and consistently. This year’s World Championship will have the most robust anti-doping measures we’ve ever seen, simply because all of the athletes will be in one location, which makes it easier.”
Representatives from MyWhoosh and the UCI met at the Elite Headquarters in Italy in July to test the accuracy and standardize the thirty Elite Justo 2 smart trainers that the athletes will use in the finals. In a groundbreaking move for the sport, all smart trainers will feature an “Approved by UCI” label for the first time in an international cycling esports event, ensuring a 1% power accuracy.
MyWhoosh provided each finalist with an Elite Justo trainer, which they sent to their homes to help them acclimate to the equipment before packing their bikes and hopping an expenses-paid flight to Abu Dhabi.
Qualification Pathways
However, the long journey to the World Championship title began in March when the UCI rolled out a new qualification system based on points earned during the 2022 and 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, determining each nation’s quota.
The UCI allocated ~80% of the starting spots to National Federations, which organized qualifier events to select their representatives. The remaining athletes secured their places in the semi-finals through the MyWhoosh public qualification pathway.
To emphasize their commitment to accessibility and inclusion, the UCI and MyWhoosh announced that 20% of the semi-finalists for the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships would qualify through open-to-the-public races held on the platform in August.
“We will always have an open qualification pathway,” states Fraser. “We at the UCI believe firmly that cycling esports is one of the unique disciplines where somebody can come out of nowhere. It’s a fantastic way to get them into the World Championships.”
On September 6th, over 100 female and 120 male athletes competed in the semi-final, aiming for a top-twenty finish to earn their spots at the Abu Dhabi stage. Two men received coveted wildcard entries—Finland’s cycling esports National Champion Teppo Laurio and Czech athlete Daniel Turek. The UCI also invited two Women’s WorldTour racers with prior success in the Cycling Esports World Championship, but they respectfully declined.
The complete list of male and female finalists is here.
China Liv Pro Cycling’s Hao Zhang, the only rider from the Public qualification pathway to make the finals, would be a feel-good story.
Lou Bates, the former British National Hill Climb Champion, stood alongside Brazil’s Gabriela Guerra on the podium of the 2024 Zwift Games. Both seasoned esports competitors demonstrated their prowess by finishing first and fifth in the semi-final, giving them a strong shot at World Championship glory.
USA’s Hayden Pucker took the second step of the semi-final podium. His passion and Pogiesque power position him well for the final. Defending champion Bjørn Andreassen poses a significant threat to repeat for historically successful Denmark after qualifying fourth.
Multi-Stage Format and Bespoke Courses
First, they will face a challenging cyber-circuit gauntlet and a unique three-stage format designed to buck the outdoor racing indoors trend. The carefully curated concept will test the all-around limits of cycling esports performance in a fashion befitting the sport’s fourth men’s and women’s rainbow jersey recipients.
Stage One: The Sprint
Stage one, known as “The Sprint,” takes riders on a 1.7-kilometer flat circuit featuring a velodrome that foreshadows the venue currently under construction on Hudayriyat Island for the 2029 UCI Track World Championships.
Inspired by Formula One, racers will have fifteen minutes to post their fastest time through a 300-meter timed segment, and a live leaderboard will showcase the times. While it may seem straightforward, the stage is highly tactical and sets the dramatic tone for what’s to come.
Riders can wait until the last moment to sprint, preventing others from setting a faster time, or opt to use the group’s draft for an early fast time and conserve energy.
Sweden fields a six-woman National Team squad to support Road and Esports Champion Mika Soderstrom. Her unique blend of sprinting ability and punchy power, combined with her esports experience, makes her a formidable contender for the podium.
Jacqueline Godbe, the only US rider to step onto a World Championship podium, will need a solid sprint to overcome a lack of MyWhoosh experience and secure a podium repeat. Belgium’s Stefan van Aelst has a strong kick that could propel him onto the podium.
The fastest rider will earn 40 points, with the total decreasing to 2 points for the slowest or unluckiest sprinter. The riders will line up for the next stage after a brief fifteen to twenty-minute refuel and recovery period.
Stage Two: The Strategist
Stage two, called “” features a 9-kilometer circuit with a roughly 4-minute climb at 2.1 kilometers, followed by a swift descent, several kilometers of rolling hills, and a 1-kilometer flat stretch to the finish line.
With points available at the base of the climb, riders can opt for a full-gas sprint to the initial prime, which requires an intense effort to stay with the elite group. This strategy allows them to collect points as they crest the climb and compete for valuable finish line points.
Serious contenders such as New Zealand’s Kate McCarthy and Kristen Kulchinsky, the US National Esports Champion who recently set the course record at Mt. Washington, will rise to the occasion and showcase their skills to the live crowd.
Poland’s Michal Kaminski has focused on this moment, while the hearts of many cycling esports fans will be with the GOAT, Belgium’s Lionel Vujasin. Both riders have the strength and strategy needed to compete for the title.
Points are available at the base and summit of the climb, with double points awarded at the finish line. A maximum of 80 points are on offer.
Stage Three: All Out
In Stage three, titled “All Out,” riders will tackle four laps of a 4-kilometer circuit, including a sharp ~50-second climb to the start/finish line.
Each lap features an intermediate sprint point at the crest of the climb, with double points awarded at the finish. This final stage offers a maximum of 100 points, making late-race tactics crucial in this battle of attrition and strategy.
Three-time World Long Distance, Duathlon Champion and seasoned MyWhoosh racer Merle Brunnée from Germany,will be a strong contender if the pace remains high. Her impressive engine and boundless endurance could play a significant role in the race.
Jason Osborne, the inaugural 2020 Cycling Esports World Champion, has made the podium in every edition. The former Olympic-medalist rower recently announced his decision to leave Alpecin-Deceuninck to concentrate fully on cycling esports, aiming to add another rainbow jersey to his collection.
Who will win the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships?
The margins between the world’s top esports athletes are razor-thin. We won’t know who will wear the iconic rainbow bands until the last rider crosses the finish line, but the course, format, and competition will ensure that the best all-around performer takes the title.
New Zealand’s Ollie Jones, the first men’s Zwift Academy winner, recently left his road team to commit fully to cycling esports. Switzerland’s Kathrin Fuhrer, the 2024 Zwift Games Champion, is a member of the new breed of full-time esports riders.
If Fuhrer and Jones emerge as the class of the exceptionally talented and tightly packed finalist field, the investment will pay off.
Author's Picks: Men's and Women's Podium
Women's
- Kathrin Fuhrer (Switzerland) 🥇
- Lou Bates (Great Britain) 🥈
- Mary Kate McCarthy (New Zealand) 🥉
- Mika Soderstrom (Sweden)
- Gabriela Guerra (Brazil)
Men's
- Ollie Jones (New Zealand) 🥇
- Hayden Pucker (USA) 🥈
- Jason Osborne (Germany) 🥉
- Lionel Vujasin (Belgium)
- Bjørn Andreassen (Denmark)
For the athletes, success means standing atop the podium, proudly wearing the rainbow-striped jersey that signifies their dominance as the world’s top cycling esports racer. The UCI defines success this way, says Fraser.
“The technical infrastructure allows the racers to shine in their own right, feeling that they had a fair and legitimate chance to win the rainbow stripes with no disadvantage outside of their own ability that day. From the fan perspective, I want some exciting racing.
The Rainbow Jersey is such a unique award. Hopefully the next generation of cyclists can be inspired by esports athletes at the World Championship level.”
How to Watch
Admission is free for the event. The doors will open at 4 pm GST, and the event will start at 5 pm GST.
If you can’t make the trip to Abu Dhabi, you can catch all of the action on MyWhoosh on YouTube and MyWhooshLive on Twitch!
For an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the culture surrounding the first live in-person cycling esports final, as seen through the eyes of racers, broadcasters, journalists, and influencers, visit the LiveBlog on TheZommunique.com.
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.
