Australian National Team ready for inaugural UCI Cycling Esports World Championships.

Photo Courtesy of UCI

A thirteen-member Australian National Team will contest the inaugural Esports World Championships from a host of locations across the world in the early hours of Thursday 10 December.

The Championships will be held on Zwift, the global online training and racing platform, and will see athletes race virtually from their home or training centre across the world. The two categories – Men Elite and Women Elite – will compete over the same route and 50 km distance on the Watopia course.

The Australian National Team includes UCI WorldTour riders Will Clarke (TAS/Trek - Segafredo), who took out stage 6 of the Virtual Tour de France, Jack Haig (VIC/Bahrain-Mclaren), Jessica Pratt (QLD/Canyon-SRAM) and winner of the Virtual Tour of GIla, Sarah Gigante (VIC/Team TIBCO - SVB).

Lining up together in their Canberra home will be 2020 National Racing Series champion Jay Vine (Nero Continental) and wife Bre Vine (StepFWD Suzuki), who finished second overall in the 2020 women's series.

"It has been a goal of mine to wear the green and gold jersey for Australia, and Esports Worlds will be the first time," said Jay Vine, who is a regular on the Zwift racing scene. "This will be the biggest one I have lined up for, and it will be fascinating seeing how pro riders and the Zwift community, it will be a decent balance."

"Unless you know the course, it will be a race of attrition. I expect riders off the back, not off the front and if you're not paying attention and drop off the back, that gap will be hard to close down."

Israel Cycling Academy's Freddy Ovett (VIC), who won stage 4 of the Virtual Tour de France, Team BridgeLane's Benjamin Hill (ACT) and Nero Continental's Cooper Sayers (SA) complete the men's selections.

Four-time World Championship Australian Team representative Vicki Whitelaw (ACT/Sydney Uni Staminade) will race, as will 2020 Road National Championship silver medalist Justine Barrow (VIC/Roxsolt Attaquer).

Bree Wilson (Roxsolt Attaquer) will enter the Championships off the back of the nine-day National Road Seres in the Tweed Valley.

"I hope I am not too tired, but it is good to get good racing in the legs. Have been enjoying Zwift this year, should be hard racing, but I am used to it now and know all the girls who are racing.

"Very exciting, super excited to wear the green and gold as part of my first Australian National Team, I am going to try to go hard and get a win."

The inaugural winners will win the prestigious rainbow jersey which they will be able to wear during any sanctioned cycling esports events in 2021.

For more information on the 2020 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, visit the UCI website.

Australian National Team

Women's

• Justine Barrow (VIC/Roxsolt Attaquer)
• Sarah Gigante (VIC/Team TIBCO - SVB)
• Jessica Pratt (QLD/Canyon-SRAM)
• Bre Vine (ACT/StepFWD Suzuki)
• Vicki Whitelaw (ACT/Sydney Uni Staminade)
• Bree Wilson (Roxsolt Attaquer)

Men’s

• Will Clarke (TAS/Trek - Segafredo)
• Jack Haig (VIC/Bahrain-Mclaren)
• Benjamin Hill (ACT/Team BridgeLane)
• Freddy Ovett (VIC/Israel Cycling Academy)
• Cooper Sayers (SA/Nero Continental)
• Jay Vine (ACT/Nero Continental)