The UCI Esports World Championships have been taking place since 2020. These online World Championships endeavour to crown the world’s best rider on online cycling platforms such as Zwift, Bkool and MyWhoosh.
The Esports World Championships don’t take place over a road race route like the IRL (in real life) UCI Road World Championships. Instead, this competition comprises shorter races with a video game edge. They also require riders to be hooked up to a computer and a smart trainer.
The event used to be held on the Zwift platform, but from 2024, this will switch to MyWhoosh. The event has also undergone a large-scale rule change for the 2024 championships. Instead of the old elimination race-style approach, the 2024 event will be a battle across three strategic points-based races.
In the past, the event has been held over virtual courses in Glasgow (2023), New York (2022) and Zwift’s own kingdom Watopia (2020). This year, the event will take place in person (but obviously still on the virtual platform) in Abu Dhabi.
Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our new AI search engine.
The foundations of cycling esports
You are forgiven for thinking that esports is all about online shooter games such as Counter Strike and Call of Duty. These disciplines have caught headlines in the past couple of years as they have become more mainstream and sell-out arenas.
For cycling, the foundations of esports were paved by the growth of Zwift in the 2010s. The online cycling platform rose to prominence as smart trainers allowed riders to ride on virtual courses at home. These platforms also enable home trainers to simulate climbs and slipstreaming in real time.
As Zwift grew, new competitors emerged. National cycling esports championships came to fruition and the UCI responded with a fully recognised UCI Esports World Championships in 2020.
From esports to the UCI WorldTour
Former winners of the Esports World Championships have capitalised on their online fame to secure big contract moves. On the women's side, WorldTour juggernaut Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio has won the rainbow jersey and former speedskater Loes Adegeest has won two titles. She currently rides for French team FDJ-Suez.
In the 2020 edition, Jason Osbourne of Germany claimed the inaugural men's esports rainbow jersey. The German was a former rower and Olympic medalist in the lightweight double sculls event in Tokyo. As a result of this win, Osbourne secured a stagiaire deal with Alpecin-Deceuninck in the same year he competed at the Olympics. He continues to ride for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team and finished second overall at the 2023 Tour of Austria among other WorldTour appearances.
In 2022, the stakes were upped. At the New York finals in February 2022, Jay Vine claimed the world title ahead of Scottish-born Australian Freddy Ovett, son of Olympic gold medalist Steve Ovett. Vine, already the Zwift Academy winner in 2020, scored a big contract deal with Alpecin-Deceuninck. He went on to win two Grand Tour stages later in 2022 at the Vuelta and now rides for UAE Team Emirates.
The men's winner in 2023, Bjørn Andreassen of Denmark, was a bike mechanic prior to his world championship victory.
All eyes on Abu Dhabi 2024
The United Arab Emirates will play host to the 2024 UCI Esports World Championships. They are currently scheduled to take place on the 26th October. Online platform MyWhoosh will sponsor the event and serve as the official e-cycling platform for the event. The format has been altered for the 2024 event.
This new approach has been made to 'encourage the growth of cycling esports and provide a more inclusive platform for competitors' according to a UCI press release.
The new event allows 20% of competitors to qualify through an open qualification on the MyWhoosh platform. The races have also been changed. Before, the world champion was decided through three races that slowly eliminated the field. Now, the 2024 UCI Esports World Championships will include three races for all qualified finalists to take part in.
How will the 2024 UCI Esports World Championship work?
How to qualify
The qualification process is currently underway and will conclude in September. 80% of the athletes will be chosen by national federations such as British Cycling in the UK. The national qualification round will conclude on 1st August.
The remaining 20% will be decided through an open qualification round hosted by MyWhoosh. The open qualifications will take place throughout the year and are open to anyone who wants to sign up online. Any hopefuls will need to perform the MyWhoosh Power Passport Test and have compliant race equipment. The open qualifiers will be available to anyone who has competed in at least two MyWhoosh Premium races. They will also need a UCI race license. The qualification races will take place between 3rd August and 10th August.
The 30 men and 30 women who qualify through the open qualifiers will then be added to the national teams selected through the federations' qualification.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals will be open to 150 men and 150 women. The event will take place virtually in the build-up to the Abu Dhabi finale.
The first round will be contested over a 9-kilometre circuit. A new points system will decide the top 80 finishers (of each gender) who will then qualify for the next race. The second round will comprise four laps of a four-kilometre circuit. At the end of the second round, only 20 men and 20 women will qualify for the final showdown in October.
The finals
The finals will take place on-site in Abu Dhabi in October. In total, 20 men and 20 women will compete in the final rounds in Abu Dhabi, however, two wildcards per gender will be sprinkled in for extra excitement.
For the finals, there will be three races on offer for the finalists: the sprint, the strategy and the all out. In each of the rounds, the competitors will score points to determine the final rankings for the rainbow jersey.
Race 1: The Sprint
The first round, the sprint, will be about short-term power. Riders will have 15 minutes to score the fastest time through a 300m timed section. The riders can make as many efforts as they like during the 15 minutes, so consider this to be the cycling equivalent of Formula 1 qualifying. Slipstreaming will be allowed during this new event.
Race 2 - The Strategy
The second race, the strategy, will be about climbing ability. The riders will take on a 9-kilometre circuit with a longer climb. The aim is to collect points in three intermediate sprints per lap. The points will then be added up to affect the overall rankings.
Race 3 - All Out
The final race, the all out, will take place on a four-kilometre circuit. This will be tackled four times. Points can be scored at the top of a short steep climb on each lap and the finish line will grant double points. Think of this as an esports version of track cycling's points race.
List of UCI Esports World Champions
Men's
- 2023: Bjørn Andreassen (Denmark)
- 2022: Jay Vine (Australia)
- 2020: Jason Osbourne (Germany)
Women's
- 2023: Loes Adegeest (The Netherlands)
- 2022: Loes Adegeest (The Netherlands)
- 2020: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (South Africa)
