“You won’t see me racing anymore,” Sagan says, but you may see him back at the Cycling Esports World Championship.
This story was originally told on Cycling Weekly. This is the unedited version.
“There’s no point to just race in a World Championships in ecycling for 50th place, or maybe worse, or ten positions better,” Peter Sagan said before leaving the door cracked open ever so slightly, “who knows?”
The three-time World Champion muttered briefly between bites of mutable and muhammara bread to a group of reporters while dining al fresco under the light of the Abu Dhabi skyline. Sagan swiftly slammed the door shut on speculation about his involvement in the next day’s groundbreaking UCI Cycling Esports World Championship live event.
The legendary Slovakian cyclist seemed perfectly at ease, savoring his retired “good life” as much as the um ali dessert that followed.
“No, I don’t want to race anymore,” he acquiesced. “I will enjoy watching the World Championships tomorrow. But you won’t see me racing anymore.”
Sagan was in Abu Dhabi, fulfilling his role as a brand ambassador for MyWhoosh, the UAE-based virtual cycling platform hosting the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship. He introduced the first-ever live event alongside UAE Team Emirates’ megastar Tadej Pogačar.
Sagan sat in the crowd to witness the 22 men, and 20 women compete for the fourth world title in the unique discipline’s short history side-by-side on UCI standardized smart trainers. And that’s when it got interesting.
He expanded on his curt quip the evening prior, making it clear that 50th place was no place for him. Not that he expected such a result if he desired to dedicate himself to the discipline.
“No. I don’t think so, but I know that the racers are training a lot and are good, and I’m not interested in competing with them because I know they are strong, and it doesn’t make sense to me. I did what I did and don’t want to compare myself with anyone anymore,” he explained.
As the 2024 edition of the World Championship’s three-stage points race unfolded, Sagan grew visibly more engaged. He didn’t have to stay the entire time, but he did, seemingly more excited by the competition than exchanging pleasantries.
By the final stage, he stood intently, eyes fixed on Jason Osborne, the eventual Men’s champion. New Zealand’s Kate McCarthy was the Women’s rainbow jersey winner in a World Championship event that absolutely delivered.
Was he having second thoughts about joining the growing list of pros who’ve extended their careers, such as Osborne, who recently stepped away from WorldTour team Alpecin Deceuninck to focus on esports?
He had no interest in comparing himself to Osborne, so he says. His body language told a different story.
Osborne revealed his versatility as an athlete by winning a silver medal in the lightweight Men’s double sculls at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Later that year, he captured the inaugural Cycling Esports World Championship title, a victory that earned him a 2021 contract with UCI WorldTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck.
The German cycling esports specialist showcased his dominance during Stage 2 of the 2024 world title campaign. He powered away on the decisive climb, averaging an impressive 560W (8.3 w/kg) to crest the summit in 3:55, ultimately soloing to victory.
Sagan was never an open book when it came to divulging his performance statistics. There’s a paucity of published power data.
Interestingly, albeit unconfirmed, on July 3, 2012, The Athlete Clinic reported that he averaged 490W for the last 2.5 minutes of his 2013 Tour de France Stage One victory before going on to win the first of his eight consecutive Green Jerseys (not counting his 2017 disqualification).
The ~6.62 w/kg effort was almost two w/kg less than Osborne’s but perhaps more impressive after five hours in the saddle and under strikingly different circumstances.
Equally impressive is Sagan’s climb to Chieti, which set up his Stage 10 Giro d’Italia win in 2020, an early race effort of 440W (5.9 w/kg) for 21:30, as reported by Zach Nehr (who incidentally competed in the 2024 World Championship alongside Osborne).
Osborne asserted his dominance in Stage 3 of this year’s world championship to win his second rainbow jersey by attacking early and soloing to victory, averaging 430W (6.4 w/kg) for 21:34.
Cycling esports is a unique discipline; racers compete under different conditions. It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but the exceptional performances required to win are no different, and the athletes are continually raising the bar.
“There are esports specialists,” agreed Sagan, “I don’t want to say it’s a different sport, but you have to learn the platform. It’s a skill to learn.”
This distinction is crucial for an evolving discipline striving to establish its identity within the cycling world and emerge from doubt’s shadows.
MyWhoosh serves as the official indoor cycling platform for UAE Team Emirates and is the host of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships for the next three years, with team principal Mauro Gianetti on its board. In collaboration with WorldTour team coaches, MyWhoosh developed a proprietary set of maximum performance data points.
Each athlete has predefined thresholds in the game based on pre-verification testing and data provided by MyWhoosh’s coaching team. If a rider who isn’t a WorldTour pro surpasses these thresholds, the system triggers an alert.
Belgian esports star Lionel Vujasin, the 2024 silver medalist who stood one step below Osborne on the podium, has dedicated his career entirely to esports since his high-profile CVR World Cup live event victory in Vancouver in 2018. Known for his pro-level performances, Vujasin has been triggering these alerts for years.
To dispel any doubt, MyWhoosh brought Vujasin and several other top riders to Abu Dhabi for in-house performance testing. Vujasin produced impressive results, delivering 453W (6.5 w/kg) for twelve minutes, 567W (8.1 w/kg) for three minutes, and 617W (8.8 w/kg) for two minutes.
For context, though we’ve established that direct comparisons are difficult, Oscar Onley recorded 556W (9 w/kg) for two minutes and 8 w/kg for over three minutes during Stage 2 of the 2024 Tour Down Under. Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard averaged over 6.8 w/kg for twelve minutes on the Puy de Dôme during Stage 9 of the 2023 Tour de France.
Will Sagan step into the virtual arena in 2025? Probably not. Has he developed a newfound respect for the sport and its athletes, and maybe even become a fan? All signs point to yes.
“Someone is going to win,” Sagan explains.
“And every sport where you can win is important if you decide to do it. If somebody decides that they want to win this thing, that is important. It’s like it is to win Paris Roubaix. It was important for me because I had always been committed and wanted to win. This is no different.”
The door is open for rising talents and established cycling stars to cross over to cycling esports. Whoever it is, they better be prepared to produce WorldTour watts.
Who knows?
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.
