2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships: Rainbow battles in a virtual New York

The 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will crown the second UCI World Champions this weekend, with reigning title-holders Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (RSA) and Jason Osborne (GER) back to defend their rainbow jerseys.

New York and Central Park are ready to welcome some thrilling action. But this is not your usual Central Park, and it’s not traditional cycling either. Elite cyclists are about to compete in the virtual settings of Zwift at the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. The Championships on Saturday 26 February will feature a men’s race and women’s race on an identical 54.9km course along the Knickerbocker route in a futuristic Central Park. Men will battle for the rainbow jersey first, from 18:15 UTC, before the women start at 19:45 UTC.

Defending champions and rising challengers

Osborne and Moolman Pasio won the inaugural edition of the event, in December 2020, but they’ll face greatly increased competition this year, with larger pelotons (86 men and 84 women representing a total of 25 countries) filled with exciting talent.

“It’s incredibly important for me to give it my best to defend my title,” the South African climber claimed in the World of Zwift show ahead of the upcoming UCI Worlds. “Being the first UCI Cycling Esports World Champion, the first conviction that came to my mind was ‘ok, now I need to start leading the way in the Esports’,” she added as she’s about to retire from the pro peloton and focus on new projects in virtual racing.

Among her many rivals, Moolman Pasio will face her two runners-up from 2020, Australia’s Sarah Gigante, who has established herself well on the road since then, and Sweden’s Cecilia Hansen.

Many eyes could also turn to Italy’s Martina Fidanza, whose raw power has already earned her a rainbow jersey on the track (winner of the Scratch in the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, in Roubaix, France). She’ll vie with dedicated experts such as Maud Oudeman (Netherlands), winner of the 2021 Zwift Academy.

The men’s Zwift Academy winner, Alex Bogna (Australia), is also participating in these UCI Worlds along with a number of high-profile riders including Ireland’s Nico Roche (who rode 11 UCI Road World Championships as an Elite). “I never thought I’d be doing a World Championships sitting in a room in Dublin,” Roche says. “I think the gameology on Zwift puts a little bit of a different tactical side: the drafting, the power bonuses and stuff like that, but also the accelerations, the closing the gap, the aero position… It’s about adapting to new rules, understanding how the game works to be able to produce better power at very specific times.”

Roche will have to be on point in a field of experienced Zwifters. This year, 50 riders made their way to Saturday’s event through Continental Qualifiers held at the end of 2021.

Route: welcome to a futuristic New York

The rolling race route and its settings will ensure exciting racing and spectacular views in broadcast as the contenders give their all over the Knickerbocker route that features almost no flat sections. The finish is set atop of the KOM. Riders will climb this 1.4km ascent (6.1% average gradient; 14% max) three times, and the rest of the route will add up to 944m of elevation.

“It’s about practising, knowing the climb, knowing there’s a few moments where it flattens out, or goes steep again," Roche describes. "It’s gonna be really important, one, to use the draft on those flatter bits, and two, to produce a real big power on those much steeper bits that go up to 14%.”

Gamification: Draft, Aero and Lightweight for all

Essential to virtual cycling, PowerUps will be a key feature of the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. They could provide a great benefit for the experienced Zwifters who are prepared to make the most strategic use of the bonuses grabbed during the race.

Three of Zwift’s many PowerUps will feature in the race for the rainbow jersey: the Draft Boost (represented by a van icon), the Aero Boost (helmet) and the Lightweight (feather).

The first one increases the draft effect by 50% for 30 seconds (in a double draft event, the standard draft effect is multiplied by three). The Aero Boost makes a rider more aerodynamic (reducing one’s CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds. The feather reduces a rider’s weight by 10% for 15 seconds.

Each PowerUp will appear at specific arches (three times for the Draft boost, twice each for the other two). It will then be up to the riders’ strategic choices to deploy them at the most advantageous times, whether they’re flying on a downhill or pushing to their limits on the way up.