Two Australians to race first Olympic Esports finals in Singapore

The Olympic Games are going digital. This weekend, Canberran cyclists Ben Hill and Vicki Whitelaw will head to Singapore to race on Zwift in the first in-person finals of the Olympic Esports Series.

The Olympic Esports Series is a global virtual and simulated sports competition that features 10 video games such as Gran Turismo (for motor sport), Fortnite (for shooting) and JustDance (for dance), as well as Zwift (for cycling).

It’s the first foray into esports by the International Olympic Committee as it seeks to make its brand relevant to young audiences.

The cycling races, to be contested on Zwift’s Scotland map, will be held in front of a live audience at Singapore’s Suntec Centre.

They will feature mixed teams of four cyclists – two women and two men – who will take on three stages: the Eliminator, the Sprint, and the Climb. Not every rider will race very stage – teams will select their best sprinter and best climber for the last two stages respectively.

Riders will earn points according to their finishing position, with the team to accumulate the most points crowned the winners.

Hill, who has represented Australia at every edition of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, says he’s looking forward to this next evolution in the discipline.

“I’m not exactly what the future (of esports) is going to look like, but it’s a pretty exciting concept that we’ll be part of this event that might be part of the Olympics in the future,” Hill said.

The 33-year-old says esports integrate well into his busy lifestyle. This year, Hill has been competing in long-distance triathlon while raising a young daughter with his wife, two-time track world champion Rebecca Wiasak.

“I use esports as a platform for training a lot. I’ll do bunch rides in Canberra, but sometimes it’s difficult to get to. Having an event and competition so readily available that you can jump in the garage and do a race, that fits in with my life well,” Hill said.

“We have a two-and-a-half-year-old, Bec’s working full time, and we’re pretty busy balancing work and life and other commitments … I struggle to commit to events, so having so many options readily available is really easy.”

Ben Hill is one of Australia's leading riders in cycling esports. (Photo: Flynn Hopkins)

Hill expects this week’s event to be extremely difficult, though he won’t be able to finalise his strategy until he meets his teammates in Singapore.

“The Elimination’s going to be absolutely brutal. It’s either going to be everyone solo by the end, or we’ll be going very slow between the sprints,” he said.

“It’s tricky because we don’t know our teammates so well, and what our competitors are doing to pick; who’ll be doing each event. There’s a fair bit to do tactically.”

The finalists for the Olympic Esports Series are:

Team Titans

• Vicki Whitelaw, Australia
• Linda Klein, Netherlands
• Zack Nehr, USA
• Kjell Power, Belgium

Team Epic

• Jacquie Godbe, USA
• Charlotte Colclough, Great Britain
• Ben Hill, Australia
• TBA

Team Fuego

• Lou Bates, Great Britain
• Marlene Bjärehed, Sweden
• James Barnes, South Africa
• Martin Maertens, Germany

Team Lava

• Alice Lethbridge, Great Britain
• Teppo Laurio, Finland
• Lionel Vujasin, Belgium
• TBA