What the Heck is MyWhoosh and What’s the Deal with 2024 Esports Worlds?
UAE-based online cycling platform MyWhoosh and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced a three-year partnership for the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships today, marking the first time Esports Worlds will take place outside of Zwift. Not only will the racing be held on MyWhoosh, the finals will be held IRL in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Dates, qualification systems and any format details for the 2024 event—typically held in February—will be released in coming months. It's likely that the racing will follow a relatively similar formula to the past three years.
“We are delighted to welcome MyWhoosh as the new platform and organizer of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships for the next three years, and we are convinced that they will continue to develop this exciting and popular event,” said UCI President David Lappartient.
Interestingly, it’s rare to hear mention of the fact that former Worlds partner Zwift is a US-based company, but the UCI press release about MyWhoosh mentions the UAE and Abu Dhabi’s involvement not just once but seven times in their press release, including an additional acknowledgment from Lappartient:
“Today’s announcement further confirms Abu Dhabi’s commitment to our sport after it hosted a magnificent edition of the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in 2022,” he said. “The city will again welcome this event in 2024, as well as the UCI Road World Championships and the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in 2028 and the UCI Track World Championships in 2029. The next three editions of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships add to Abu Dhabi’s reputation as host of top-class cycling events.”
The UAE has often been accused of greenwashing, notably through their involvement in cycling. It’s not an unusual play: British Cycling came under intense scrutiny last year when they brought on Shell as a major sponsor. Still, the UAE’s contributions to cycling at the professional level can’t be denied: From huge investments in city cycling infrastructure including a velodrome, a UAE-based investment firm coming in as part-owner of Colnago, men’s and women’s stage races run in the country, and of course, the UAE men’s and women’s WorldTour teams, there are hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into cycling from the country.
The MyWhoosh company itself is relatively young: It started in 2019, and remains one of the few free virtual cycling apps available. It boasts over 730 workouts and race options, along with rides that virtually introduce you to different cities in Arabia, Colombia, Australia and Belgium. This year signified the first championship race series hosted by MyWhoosh.
“We are committed to transforming Abu Dhabi into a truly world-class cycling hub, and look forward to providing athletes, fans, and enthusiasts with an immersive experience that combines the excitement of esports with the spirit of cycling,” added Akhtar Saeed Hashmi, CEO and Managing Director of MyWhoosh.
In their press release, the UCI was quick to thank Zwift for their three years of Esports Worlds and for “their expertise that has helped establish this event and its popularity among both the cycling and esports communities.”
It’s unclear what the fate of the Olympic Esport racing will hold. It was hosted by Zwift this summer, but presumably would also switch to the UCI’s platform of choice in the future. Zwift hasn’t made any public statements about the announcement at the time of publishing.
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