2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships: What you need to know

The second edition of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will be held in the early morning this Sunday, February 27.

Across two races that will be broadcast live around the globe, 180 riders will take to the start line in Zwift’s New York map.

Here’s everything Australian fans need to know ahead of the event.

What is cycling esports?

The newest of nine UCI cycling disciplines, cycling esports is an athletic competition where the real-world efforts of competitors power their avatars in a multiplayer online video game.

Riders compete from their living rooms, garages and spare rooms on smart trainers that simulate hills and slipstreaming by increasing or reducing resistance.

180 competitors will be riding from their home bases in all corners of the globe. (Photo: Zwift)

The first UCI Cycling Esports World Championships were held in 2020 (they weren’t held in 2021). This year, the UCI have again chosen Zwift as the host platform.

Winners will be awarded the UCI World Champion’s rainbow jersey. For the next 12 months, they’ll have the right to wear a physical rainbow jersey during sanctioned esports races, and wear a digital version on the Zwift platform.

The course

For both men and women, the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will take place on the New York ‘Knickerbocker’ route over 54.9 kilometres. The challenging course is filled with sharp climbs, including three ascents of the New York KOM (1.4km at 6.1%, with maximum gradients of 17%)

It’s a simple scratch race: first across the line wins.

There’s no doubt the hilltop finish will be crucial, if not decisive, in crowning this year’s winners. Most riders are expecting an attritional style of racing, whittling down the field over each climb.

The PowerUps

Unique to cycling esports are ‘PowerUps’ which add a layer of gamification and strategy. Three PowerUps will be available in this event. All riders will get the same PowerUps at pre-determined locations throughout the race.

Van PowerUp: increases your avatar’s draft effect by 50% for 30 seconds. It’s best used at high speeds in the bunch to save energy or build speed for an attack.

Aero PowerUp: reduces your avatar’s aerodynamic drag by 25% for 15 seconds. It’s often used in a final sprint, when riders reach speeds over 70km/h.

Feather PowerUp: reduces your avatar’s weight by 10% for 15 seconds. Best used on steep climbs, this will be important on the hilltop finish.

The Australian team

It will be easy to spot the green-and-gold bands in the virtual peloton: with 14 riders, Australia fields the second-largest men’s and third-largest women’s squad of these UCI Cycling Esports World Championships.

Men

• Alex Bogna (QLD, Alpecin-Fenix Development Team)
• Ben Hill (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Sam Hill (NSW, AERO Racing Team)
• Freddy Ovett (VIC, L39ION of Los Angeles)
• Torben Partridge-Madsen (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Aiden Sinclair (NSW, Canyon Esports)
• Jay Vine (ACT, Alpecin-Fenix)

Women

• Katie Banerjee (NSW, AERO Racing Team)
• Justine Barrow (VIC, AERO Racing Team)
• Neve Bradbury (VIC, Canyon-SRAM)
• Sarah Gigante (VIC, Movistar)
• Bre Vine (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Rachael Wales (QLD, AERO Racing Team)
• Vicki Whitelaw (ACT, Team Heino)

Alex Bogna is no stranger to the Zwift platform, having won a professional contract through Zwift Academy last year. (Photo: Zwift)

The Australian team includes three of the last four Zwift Academy winners, including Alex Bogna.

The women’s race will mark the return of 2020 silver medallist Sarah Gigante to competitive racing after a long lay-off due to a heart condition. Justine Barrow, Vicki Whitelaw and Bre Vine also return to the squad after competing in the inaugural edition, where Vine placed 10th.

Australia’s team includes the last two male Zwift Academy winners in Alex Bogna and Jay Vine. While all the riders have extensive backgrounds in road racing, Freddy Ovett and Ben Hill are also top cycling esports athletes, having picked up across-the-line wins in the world’s premier league, the Zwift Racing League (ZRL).

What they said

Sarah Gigante: “I think we have a fantastic group of women taking to the start line this year, along with some brilliant support and the experienced Kate Bates as our DS, so I hope that we can have another good race and maybe even shoot for one place better! I have been riding the Knickerbocker course quite a lot on Zwift in the last month, and it’s a harder course than what it looks like on paper – especially as we have to have our trainer difficulty set to 100 per cent.”

Sarah Gigante makes her long-awaited return to racing this Sunday. (Photo: PhotoGomezSport)

Bre Vine: “We have a really strong team and I think we can pull off another great result with any of our riders. I really surprised myself last time with the top-10 result. This year is a bit different for me. The course has some longer climbs, so it's more suited to a purer climber, but I've been working on my strengths and the hopes are high.”

Justine Barrow: “I am honoured to represent Australia again; it is pretty special to put on that green-and-gold jersey and represent our amazing country. I think the New York Knickerbocker is a great world championship course as many different types of riders could potentially win. I like that there are some nice steep climbs on it, but would, of course, prefer the climbs to be a bit longer! Australia has a great team, both on the women’s and men’s side, and I am looking forward to racing with the team.”

Jay Vine: “I'm thrilled to be putting on the green and gold and representing Australia again. Unfortunately, last time my race was impaired with a trainer drop-out at a crucial time, but this year I hope to set things right. The course looks very attritional with the final climb featuring three times throughout the race, which I expect will reduce the field. I'm hoping for a hard and fast race.”

Where to watch

You can watch the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships live on Zwift YouTube, SBS On Demand and GCN+. Coverage starts on Sunday morning at 5:00am AEDT / 4:30am ACDT / 4:00am AEST / 3:30am ACST / 2:00am AWST.

The Women Elite race starts at 5:15am AEDT and the Men Elite race starts at 6:45am AEDT.