Pucker takes the day and overall title, Van Houweling secures an elusive win while Hermansson does enough to claim the overall on MyWhoosh's Australia City Beach course in Echelon Racing League Race 5.
Date: January 11, 2025
Course and Format: A 28.2 km scratch race consisting of three laps of the rolling and punchy 9.44 km Australia City Beach course with 83m of rise per lap and a technical finish.
Echelon Racing League Men's Elite Race 5
The fifth and final race of the 2024/25 Echelon Racing League delivered high stakes and high drama on the 28.2 km Australia City Beach course. With three laps of rolling terrain, 83 meters of climbing per lap, and a tricky technical finish, the stage was set for a showdown to decide the overall series leader.
“My plan was to sit and wait patiently, slowly ramping up the pressure as the laps went by and keep a close eye on my position,” stated Pucker, “My race today was between me and second place, (Thomas) Thrall.”
The field was stacked, featuring stars like former USA Cycling Esports Champion Mason Rocca, 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Champion Bjoern Andreassen, Canada’s 2023 Esports National Champion Thomas Thrall, and league leader Hayden Pucker. With USA Cycling Esports World Championship finalist Zach Nehr playing a supporting role for Pucker, this race promised fireworks.
Attention Racers!
The riders began cautiously, testing the competition and biding their time. But Andreassen, ever aggressive, was the first to attack, creating a split that shed ten riders from the front group. Jean-Michel Lachance then launched a solo move at kilometer seven, gaining 10 seconds before Nehr and Pucker responded. Seizing the opportunity, Pucker counter-attacked, riding Andreassen off his wheel and crossing the start/finish line with a 15-second lead at the end of lap one. Nehr controlled the chase group, working to protect his teammate’s advantage.
“On the final climb of the first lap, I spotted Andreassen driving the pace and stringing out the pack. Thrall was nowhere near the front, which signaled an opportunity. This was my moment to attack. With the group stretched thin, I went all in.”
The overall series leader powered away, putting out 800W for the first minute to establish a gap, and 650 for three minutes to make it stick.
Pucker continued to extend his lead, building it to 20 seconds early in the second lap. Bird (Canada) made a bold move to bridge the gap but found himself stuck in no man’s land as the chase group hesitated. Panizza briefly broke free in an attempt to join Bird, but Nehr once again shut it down, ensuring Pucker’s lead grew to over 30 seconds.
“After that, I knew I had the win,” Pucker explains, “I just had to manage my pace and do just enough to keep my gap open. I was in a lot of pain, but I knew I had to keep going because I wanted to win so bad.”
Bird stayed persistent, eventually joined by Hurd (USA), and the duo began working together. Their cooperation allowed them to pull away from the chase group, but Pucker’s solo effort remained untouchable.
Heading into the final lap with a comfortable 40-second lead, Pucker was in complete control.
Meanwhile, Bird and Hurd battled for the remaining podium spots. With 3 km to go, they began a game of cat and mouse. Bird launched the decisive attack, leaving Hurd unable to respond and securing second place.
Behind them, Panizza emerged as the best of the rest, taking fourth, followed by Marr in fifth.
“This race series started my esports career a year ago. So the win is special,” said a jubilant Pucker.
Pucker’s solo victory not only sealed the race but also confirmed his status as the overall series champion. With this performance, he heads into the 2024/25 Echelon Racing League Championship and the 2025 USA Cycling Esports National Championship as a clear favorite.
You can find the full results for the Men’s Elite Race on mywhooshinfo.com here.
The Echelon Racing League Overal Standings for Men’s Elite, B, and C are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
Echelon Racing League Women's Elite Race 5
Fifteen riders lined up for the final race of the series on the scenic but unforgiving Australia City Beach route. With a mix of elite and B racers, this showdown promised plenty of intrigue. League leader Hermansson (SWE) brought a slim 25-point advantage to the line, with strong challengers like Van Houweling (USA), Penner (CAN), Colombi (ITA), and Snover (USA) ready to make waves.
Gallegos (USA) was the first to light the fireworks, forcing a response from Penner, Van Houweling, Aitken (USA), and Hermansson. Colombi and Snover weren’t about to let the party leave without them and surged across, dragging Gagnon (CAN) along to form an eight-rider lead group.
Nyquist (USA), the only elite rider left behind, wasn’t ready to let the leaders ride off into the sunset. Her determined chase brought the group to 12, but the celebration was short-lived.
Hermansson launched a blistering attack on the rise to close out lap one, shedding Nyquist and the remaining B riders, leaving just eight elite racers to fight for the win.
“It was a great race. The course had some nice kickers, and I tried to stay in front of those and constantly eye the power numbers of the other women. I was ready to jump as soon as anything went over 4 w/kg,” USA’s Ellexi Snover explained her strategy.
As the pace cranked up, the cracks began to show. Gagnon succumbed to the relentless tempo, leaving seven riders to contend for victory: Snover, Colombi, Van Houweling, Gallegos, Aitken, Hermansson, and Penner.
Listen to Project Echelon’s Eric Hill as he explores his early adoption of cycling esports as a distinct discipline, and hear about his plans for the 2024/25 Echelon Racing League season during Virtual Velo Podcast Episode 59!
Colombi, known for her explosive moves, tested the group with repeated attacks, but the pack wasn’t falling for her tricks this time. Having seen her win race 4 with a similar strategy, the group stayed vigilant, ensuring it would come down to a tight finish.
As the final kilometers ticked down, the tension was palpable. With 500 meters to go, Snover launched her sprint, but Van Houweling was ready. Timing her kick to perfection, she surged past Snover with a staggering 10 w/kg effort, crossing the line in a photo finish to take the win.
“I knew the steep kicker at the end would mean an all-out effort from there. I tried to hold my kick, but as the road leveled off, a few of us came together. I went for it again, but I pushed just a bit too far and started to fade. Liz caught me right on the line—she’s a great sprinter, so chapeau to her. It was a fun race! Now, I’m looking forward to Nationals in a few weeks!” said Snover.
Hermansson sealed third place to secure her overall series championship, followed by Colombi in fourth and Penner rounding out the top five.
After the race, Van Houweling shared her thoughts on the satisfying win after being plagued by technical issues, saying, “After a frustrating couple of weeks, we finally got the win. 3 weeks until USA Cycling Esports Nationals!”
The Australia City Beach finale delivered a thrilling conclusion to the series. Van Houweling’s perfectly timed sprint capped off an electrifying race, while Hermansson’s steady performance secured her well-earned series victory.
“This series of races has been so much fun! Every race was so exciting! Everyone was so strong. I am super happy about the win, and it was great to gain some confidence for the Swedish Championship in less than 3 weeks,” said Hermannson.
You can find the full results for the Women’s Elite Race on mywhooshinfo.com here.
The Echelon Racing League Overal Standings for Women’s Elite, B, and C are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
Echelon Racing League Community C Results and Overall Series Standings
In the Echelon Community Women Cat C race, Valentina Disegna from Italy took first place with a time of 46:26.820. KJ Phillips-Coalition from USA finished second, 1.649 seconds behind. Colombia’s Katherin Montoya claimed third, followed by Joanne Hastie from Canada in fourth. Andrea Smith from USA rounded out the top five.
The Women’s Community Cat C results are on mywhooshinfo.com here, and the overall series standings are here.
In the Echelon Community Men Cat C race, Nicolás Trujillo from Colombia claimed first place with a time of 45:21.453. Fellow Colombian Jhon Jairo Calderon finished second, 1.206 seconds behind. Rodolphe Bertrand from Canada secured third, 4.592 seconds off the lead. Dominick Barnes from USA took fourth, followed closely by Andrew Billing, also from USA, in fifth.
The Men’s Community Cat C results are on mywhooshinfo.com here, and the series standings are here.
Echelon Racing League Community B Results
In the Echelon Community Cat B Women’s race, USA’s Melissa Touma took the win. Diane Bomans from Canada claimed second with a time of 44:49.367. Stephanie Briggs, also from Canada, finished third, 3:13.137 behind. Kristen Hohl from USA secured forth place, while Lynda McCue of Canada took fifth.
The Women’s Community Cat B results are on mywhooshinfo.com here, and the overall series standings are here.
In the Echelon Community Men Cat B race, Scott Cunningham from USA secured first place with a time of 40:45.647. JJ Miller, also from USA, finished second, just 4.260 seconds behind. Jonathan Bisson from Canada claimed third, 4.550 seconds off the lead. Austin Urch from USA finished fourth, followed by Jeremy Chaix from Canada in fifth.
The Men’s Community Cat B results are on mywhooshinfo.com here, and the overall series standings are here.
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.
