Pogacar and Sagan will be luxury spectators at the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships 2024

Abu Dhabi will host this upcoming Saturday, October 26, the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, which in 2024 will feature the novelty of being held on the MyWhoosh platform after the first three editions of this event used the popular Zwift. These championships, in addition to offering substantial cash prizes, will award the winners the coveted rainbow jersey as it is an official title under the umbrella of the International Cycling Union.

The first UCI Cycling Esports World Championships on the MyWhoosh platform will take place on October 26

The ADNEC Marina Hall in Abu Dhabi will be the venue where the fourth UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will take place on Saturday, October 26, the first to be held using the MyWhoosh platform, which earlier this year signed a contract with the cycling governing body to host the next three editions of this competition.

An event that will take place in public in front of an audience that will include the recent Road World Champion Tadej Pogacar, whose team, UAE Team Emirates, is sponsored by MyWhoosh as this virtual platform is based in the United Arab Emirates. Also among the spectators of this UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will be the three-time Road World Champion Peter Sagan.

An event where 22 male finalists and 20 female finalists will compete in three routes called Sprint, covering a distance of just 1.6 kilometers; The Strategist, where they will cover 9 kilometers; and a 16-kilometer road race called All Out.

In the Sprint, each cyclist will have 15 minutes to set their best time on a 300-meter segment that is part of the 1.6-kilometer circuit. Points will be awarded based on the final classification of the segment, ranging from 20 for the winner, 19 for second place, and so on.

The Strategist race takes place on a 9-kilometer course with a 1.5 km climb, with points awarded based on the position at the foot of the climb, at the top, and at the finish line. The points at the finish line are the same as in the Sprint race, while the two intermediate points award 20, 19, 18... points.

Finally, the All Out race will consist of 4 laps on a 4-kilometer circuit, with points awarded at each lap and at the finish line in the same way as the previous race. In this case, the circuit has the peculiarity that the finish line is at the top of a steep 12% gradient. Additionally, cyclists will also face another longer climb and a section of ups and downs in the middle of the course.

To ensure fair competition, all participants will use Elite Justo 2 rollers, capable of simulating gradients of up to 24% and with a highly accurate power measurement with a margin of error of 1%, on par with the best power meters on the market. All finalists received one in the month prior to the competition to test its performance, get used to it, and train with it.

The competition has a prize pool of $60,000 that will be distributed equally between women and men, with $15,000 for the winner, $10,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third place, in addition to the iconic rainbow jersey that recognizes the world champions in all cycling disciplines under the UCI.

You can follow the competition on the MyWhoosh YouTube channel with broadcasts in Arabic, French, and English next Saturday, October 26, starting at 4:00 PM.