Missed Opportunity or a Solid Starting Point: MyWhoosh Responds to Community Sentiment Surrounding Cycling Esports World Championship Broadcast
Let me clarify a few things: I attended the 2024 Cycling Esports World Championship live event final in Abu Dhabi as a guest of the UCI and MyWhoosh as part of the global cycling media press tour. While I usually steer clear of first-person writing, my personal perspective here is relevant, and the access granted by the invitation to attend the event will likely shape future reporting on this topic.
The list of independent journalists in the cycling esports space is short. However, I have enough awareness to realize that human nature poses challenges, and as a result, I am keenly dedicated to delivering fair and balanced reporting. That said, let’s get the opinions out of the way now.
The first in-person live event was a proper World Championship, unlike anything the sport had experienced before. The amount of work, investment, human resources, logistics, and strategic planning required to deliver the event is difficult to comprehend.
Hundreds of support personnel were in the venue to execute the well-choreographed ballet of bikes, athletes, and technology following months of testing and rehearsal. The event was a massive undertaking, and its success proved that the hard work and preparation paid off. It was a Wifi dropout or clipped wire away from epic failure.
Despite this, the list of superlatives is a mile long. It was the first event of its kind without significant rider-related technical issues, showcased compelling race formats that didn’t decide the winner until the final thrilling meters, and brought together the sport’s top athletes in a celebration of the emerging discipline.
The energy in the venue was electric. The display of human emotion and athleticism gave me chills. I left the arena that night feeling that I witnessed one of the greatest live sporting events of my life, only to be surpassed by Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals that sent my team, the New York Rangers, to the Stanley Cup finals, and I was there to see it. This show was a close second and leagues ahead of any real-world cycling event I’ve witnessed.
Hockey is one of the few sports I prefer watching live. The fast pace and behind-the-play action don’t fully translate into a complete viewing experience on screen. It seems like a fitting analogy.
Before the race rolled off, I peeked into the video production room. There were multiple rows of monitors, over thirty in my estimation, and twenty to thirty staff seated shoulder to shoulder. A costly-looking boom camera, operated by two crew members, and several other cameramen, moved around the stage area.
I founded this website in 2021 with a mission to champion cycling esports and promote the sport with a positive, forward-thinking approach. Recognizing early on that the sport faced an identity crisis, I made bridging the gap between the athlete and the avatar one of my core pillars.
In December of 2023, I published an opinion piece entitled, “Elite Cycling Esports Broadcasts Are Dropping the Ball: Does the Production Need More Personality?“
I was critical of the viewership product, stating, “Present elite-level cycling esports broadcasts are product-centric. There is a significant emphasis on highlighting on-screen assets and commentary that primarily revolves around explaining the platform and its components. Creating storylines, developing rivalries, and giving a personality to the avatar is secondary.”
I explained then, “Elite-level broadcasts must connect with fans meaningfully to change their attitude and behavior towards cycling esports. Convey the physical intensity and emotional struggle personally through live rider feeds, but do so in an interesting and impactful manner.”
There’s no shame in saying that I am passionate about cycling esports. The first in-person live event final was a tremendous opportunity to showcase the sport. I know how much was riding on making that connection, as I did in 2023 when I criticized Zwift for squandering the opportunity to convert viewers into fans.
During the pre-race press briefing, I asked Matt Smithson, MyWhoosh’s Senior Manager of Esports, Events, and Game Operations, “Cycling esports is unique because it’s a physical esport. There’s an athlete that’s moving the avatar. In past world championships, there’s been a disconnect there. With the live final, you solve that problem. What are you doing to highlight the sport’s athleticism we all love?“
He replied, “The production is going to highlight the athletes and the effort they put in. There are live feeds showing the athletes with GoPro-like cameras on each of their pods, so the audience can directly see who they are and what they’re doing. There are cameras positioned around the stage and hanging from the ceiling, so we‘re very much going to be able to see the effort and the hurt that the athletes are experiencing.
That’s gonna be part of the broadcast. We’re not just broadcasting avatars, we are broadcasting the humans, the efforts.
The athletes are the show. The avatar is part of the show, definitely, but the athletes are certainly what we’re trying to deliver tonight.“
Little did I know that my question would foreshadow the critical comments from the community, who felt the broadcast fell short of expectations and represented a missed opportunity to propel the sport to the next level.
I reached out to MyWhoosh in hopes that their responses would engage the community in constructive dialogue, and this is what they replied.
Can you describe the background and experience/expertise of the broadcast company/companies?
The team behind the broadcasting consists of specialists in Esports broadcasting and have broadcast and commentated on over 200 MyWhoosh SRC races.
Was there anyone from the MyWhoosh race team or a production manager with cycling and/or cycling esports-specific knowledge leading the broadcast team?
Yes, the MyWhoosh race operations team worked with the broadcast team throughout the event.
Were there mobile/stationary cameras in the venue and on the stage to capture the live action as it unfolded?
Yes, the cameras were installed in every pod to capture the live action.
Did the production company monitor the YouTube comments and make adjustments as the competition progressed? If so, what changes did you make?
Yes, throughout the event, the comments have been monitored; however, to ensure we received full feedback, we are currently reviewing the comments received to collect full feedback and include it in our internal review.
What have you learned, and what plan is in place to capture the audience’s energy, atmosphere, and excitement and connect the athletes, the avatars, the live competition, and the viewing audience?
While we are still short after the event, the full review of every angle of the event is ongoing and will conclude in the coming weeks to ensure we have all data and areas for improvements for next year’s event.
When I approached MyWhoosh regarding this Q&A, their representative said, “We welcome community feedback to improve and make it an even better experience next time.”
Based on my first-hand experience, I believe that’s true. Now is your chance to have your voice heard and help drive positive change.
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.
Hi Chris. I participated in the Youtube comments section and there was definitely a percentage of pro Zwift anti Mywhoosh posters being negative about the event right from the first minute. Hopefully Mywhoosh can weed them out when assessing the community comments. I’m not saying it was perfect and of course Mywhoosh will be able to improve things year on year but I would call myself hard to please with anything technology based as a 57 year old who only got their first mobile phone 2 years ago but I was impressed by the whole event and I found it very easy and attractive to watch. I had no issues at all with the coverage and I only started watching Esports two weeks ago before this event. A disclosure. My son is the fiance of Kate McCarthy so likely to enjoy the event more than most but then again I think it would have given more cause for complaint if I found it at all not up to standard. I would have gotten frustrated wouldn’t I but as I say I found it easy and the graphics quite attractive to follow as well. Thank you for the work you are doing with Cycling Esports Chris. Cheers Craig Kennett
I thought the broadcast was good on the whole. There was a couple of times that I thought we should be focused on the action on the course whilst the camera’s focused on a rider in the venue. A better use of Picture in Picture might have been good. Agreed with Craig that there was definitely a bunch of comments that were Pro Zwift and Anti MyWhoosh. It was like there was an orchestrated campaign but that was a feeling and not based on any solid evidence. Some were not very pleasant to read and had no place in this broadcast (or anywhere else to be honest). People were asking for moderation and at times I could not believe what I was seeing in those comments but I’m not surprised. Just have 5 minutes on X and you see the depths humans can reach. The only feedback comments I can really make is that there was a lack of a published race schedule. It would have been good if there was something that said the women’s race Stage 1 starts at x:xxpm and the men’s starts at x:xxpm. Also at over 6hrs long it was a long broadcast and we started when it went live on YouTube but you had no idea how long it was going to take. The semi finals were done in a broadcast of around 2.5-3 hours but this event was much longer (appreciate the additional stage). Maybe a broadcast needs to be a shorter punchier broadcast to make it more palatable for some. Finally, It would have been good if a shorter women’s/mens race highlights package was produced like SRC as quickly as possible after the event. People might watch a stripped down 45 minutes of action video.
Also, shout out to Emma and Matt, that was a long shift they did and they definitely earned a lemonade after!
I appreciate your support and insightful comments, James! The event was epic and the commentary team of Emma and Matt did an amazing job under very demanding circumstances. As I mentioned in the report, the list of superlatives is longer than my arm. However, the broadcast is one area that requires further assessment on how to make the human athlete connection.