The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and MyWhoosh have unveiled the qualification process and its key dates for the 2026 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, with the final taking place on 12 December across two separate venues, one in North America and one in Europe.
As in 2025, the qualification system strikes a balance between National Federations’ selections and open access races on the MyWhoosh platform, ensuring riders from around the world have the opportunity to qualify.
Around 100 riders of each gender will qualify for the semi-final through their National Federations, which are allocated quotas of between three and ten riders by the UCI based on their results at the semi-finals and finals of the two most recent editions of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. National Federations that have not been allocated a quota based on their riders' sporting results may each nominate up to two riders for the semi-final, provided they also meet MyWhoosh's performance verification requirements. National Federations will select their team according to their own selection processes and any questions regarding athlete eligibility or selection should be directed to the National Federation of the country of which the athlete is a member.
A further approximately 30 riders per gender will have the opportunity to qualify through MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club Elite series races, which will take place the first two Sundays of September. These races, governed by the rules established by MyWhoosh to ensure the integrity of results, will be open to any riders not selected by their National Federations who would like to qualify for the semi-final race through the open qualification pathway. Riders who qualify through this pathway, and are eligible within their National Federation’s criteria, will be added to their National Federation team on top of the allocated quota.
National Federations will have the July-August period to nominate their riders, all of whom must have previously taken part in at least one official MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club Elite race. Federations will have until 31 August to confirm the names of their selected athletes, with the deadline for the final list of semi-final participants set on 4 September. In addition to the aforementioned quotas, the 2025 UCI Cycling Esports World Champions will automatically qualify for the event.
The entirely virtual semi-final will bring together around 260 athletes on 2 October, before the top riders of each gender will advance to the grand final on 12 December, held live across two host venues in North America and Europe. In addition to this, a maximum of three wild cards per gender may be awarded by the UCI.
MyWhoosh is the exclusive platform and organiser of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships from 2024 to 2026. They are responsible for organising all stages of the event, developing the courses, producing the technical guides, and hosting the live finals.