‘I visited the UCI Esports World Championship – here is why I feel it is the longer term’
EXCLUSIVE Daily Star Sport recently visited the UCI Esports World Championship in Abu Dhabi – here’s why it could be the sport of the future
A couple of days have passed since I touched back down in the UK.
I hadn’t been away long, but the seasons had shifted abruptly: temperatures tumbled, and Yorkshire’s fields were now covered with a layer of frost.
I had been wanting to head out on my bike, but the frozen country lanes were treacherous death traps, with patches of black ice scattered across my usual cycling routes.
Instead, I was indoors. Sweat beaded on my face as I stumbled off the stationary bike, gasping for breath after a short, punishing workout.
Indoor cycling, for a long time, was seen as a necessary evil – a last resort for those determined enough to endure the boredom of staring at a wall while the temperature outside plummeted below zero.
However, since the covid pandemic and every cyclist on the planet was forced indoors, that perception has started to change.
Virtual cycling has now evolved into its own branch of the sport, with platforms such as MyWhoosh offering virtual worlds with avatars, races and training sessions at users’ fingertips.
It’s not just impressive to see, but it’s impressive to ride; cycling now feels like a video game as you race online with other users, using power-ups and spending coins on upgrades.
I will never own the Colnago Y1RS (at its cheapest, it will set me back over £11,000), but in this virtual world, my character has my dream bike.
MyWhoosh has established itself as one of the leaders in the platform in recent years, following its founding in the UAE back in 2019.
It doesn’t see the platform as a replacement for riding outside – rather, it’s its own entity in cycling’s ecosphere.
And in an effort to distance itself from the traditional, prim-and-proper aspects of road cycling, it has leaned fully into gamification, even offering fans a zombie escape mode.
And these unique modes, which differ from any other version of cycling, are what made the World Championship earlier this month so distinct.
Matt Smithson, Director of Esports and Game Operations at MyWhoosh, told Daily Star Sport , who made the trip to Abu Dhabi for the event, that the gamification was intended to set it apart from other disciplines.
The only limit here, unlike road cycling, which is bound by geography, is the game maker’s imagination. The Worlds were split into three stages – each short and snappy with a ten-minute break in between.
The first stage was the Mountain’s Verdict: a straight up hill shoot out with a paceline over an 8km course with gradients increasing up to 20 per cent – riders earning points every five seconds survived.
Then it was the Puncheur’s Playground – a 12km course dotted with short, steep climbs and sprint segments offering point bonuses across the course and at the finish line.
And finally comes the Sprinter’s Paradise. The final showdown for any rider hoping to win the coveted rainbow jersey is across an eight-lap 1.5km course with points available at the end of each lap.
Cyclists from across the world had competed from the comfort of their own homes for the chance to travel to Abu Dhabi and have a shot at the rainbow jersey in the live finals.
And now the 22 best men and women had made it to the Space42 Arena, and its elaborate light show, to see who will be crowned as World Champion.
These athletes aren’t the same who tackle the heights and sights of the Alps and Pyrenees in the Tour de France – most of them work day jobs.
I spoke to numerous doctors, leaving me baffled by how they juggle their practice with full-time training.
However, as the light show started, riders were introduced, and they started to clip in, it became clear this wasn’t just an amateur gathering – it felt every bit as intense and polished as a world-class spectacle.
Mary Kate McCarthy took the honours during the women’s event, her coach almost perforating my left eardrum as he yelled instructions to the flying Kiwi.
While, over on the men’s side, Jason Osborne took the crown – in another life, Osborne was an Olympic rower: taking part in the men’s lightweight double sculls in Tokyo.
Some cyclists might still sneer at the indoor side of the sport – but, in my opinion, it’s the future.
Across the sport, viewership is dropping, and it’s mainly watched by an ageing demographic. This new short-form gamified version of racing appeals to the so-called Tik Tok generation.
But beyond simply appealing to younger fans, virtual cycling tackles problems that have stopped budding cyclists from even climbing onboard a bike.
We’re not all blessed by living near mountains, smooth roads or safe cycling infrastructure. Not everyone can afford a £5,000 bike or take a week off work to train in Mallorca or Calpe.
What virtual cycling does is level the playing field – for the price of a smart trainer, the (virtual) world is your oyster from city flats, terraced houses, and dorm rooms.
It also removes the unpredictability of outdoor conditions: no crashes caused by slick roads, no cancelled races due to storms, and no fear of cycling in traffic.
Most importantly, it makes cycling fun again – in a sport that often takes itself too seriously, we all need to cycle through “The Enchanted Forest“.
