The 2024 ESports World Championships Will Be Unlike Anything Cyclists Have Seen
Late in 2023, the UCI announced a surprising change to Esports World Championships: Rather than being held on the roads racing around Zwift Island, the championship racing would take place virtually on MyWhoosh. That’s followed by in-person Esports World Championships in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where MyWhoosh is based.
For the past three years, the Championships were held in February, but this year, the details weren’t released until today, January 29th, 2024. This year, the Esports World Championships will take place October 26th, 2024, with qualifications held in the months leading up to the final event.
MyWhoosh is set to be the exclusive platform and organizer of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships for the next three years.
Qualifying for UCI Cycling Esports World Championships
The UCI Cycling Esports World Championships are an official UCI event, and as such, the qualifying athletes will largely be determined by their nation's cycling federations. 80 percent of participants will be chosen this way, though no federation has released any qualifying information yet. The other 20 percent of riders can come from any nation, and will qualify via MyWhoosh, by participating in qualifying events.
According to MyWhoosh, this two-way pathway provides greater accessibility to the semi-finals. “Criteria have been put in place to ensure a transparent and fair selection process for all athletes, including those from nations that do not yet have a strong culture of cycling esports,” the brand notes.
“With the privilege of hosting the live final in Abu Dhabi, we are dedicated to changing the cycling esports landscape,” says MyWhoosh CEO/Managing Director Akhtar Saeed Hashmi. “In a significant move, we are expanding the semi-finals to accommodate over 150 riders, reflecting our broader strategy to foster global growth and inclusivity in cycling esports. The qualification pathways, blending National Federation selections and MyWhoosh’s public qualification process, ensure transparency and fairness, opening doors for athletes worldwide.”
What are the new Esports World Championships Semi-Finals like?
In the semi-finals, the number of competitors has been expanded to 150 men and 150 women. According to the joint press release from the UCI and MyWhoosh, this expansion in the number of participants “reflects MyWhoosh’s broader strategy to foster growth in cycling esports and provide a more inclusive platform for competitors globally.”
The brand also plans to redefine the event with a new format and a points-based scoring system. The semi-finals will determine who heads to Abu Dhabi for the IRL final event, and will consist of two stages:
The first race will cover a challenging 9-kilometer circuit, with a points system determining the top 80 who will advance to the next race.
The second race features four laps of a 4-kilometer circuit
The top 20 men and top 20 women will advance to the finals, along with two “wild cards” from each gender.
Events in the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships Finals in Abu Dhabi
The top 20 men and women will head to Abu Dhabi to ride indoor trainers in real life in a points-based series of three events on October 26, 2024, and riders will compete in three different events.
The Sprint: Riders have 15 minutes to set their fastest time over a 300-meter individual timed sprint. The circuit distance is 1.7 km and riders can attempt the sprint as many times as they want during the 15 minutes. From MyWhoosh: “It is a game of strategy and strength: will the riders set a time early, wait for a draft or watch what is happening and leave it to the last minute to set a time?”
The Strategy: A 9-kilometer circuit with a climb and is all about earning points via three intermediate sprints per circuit. From MyWhoosh: “The Strategy race is not about being the best climber, any athlete can win by accumulating the most points on offer.”
All Out: The final race will take place over a 4-kilometer circuit, to be repeated four times for a total of 16 kilometers, with points to be earned at the top of a short, sharp climb on each lap. From MyWhoosh: “Will riders go all out to collect the points early or will they save energy for the final lap, where double points will be awarded on the finish line?”
To be determined how many cyclists will shift from Zwift to MyWhoosh to try to score spots in the Semi-Finals for the chance at a World Championship title—but we’ll be watching.
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