The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that Wahoo Fitness has become the "Official Smart Trainer Partner" of the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships which take place on Saturday 18 February 2023.
Riders from all five continents will be competing, with over 100 women and 100 men expected. Wahoo will be providing the new KICKR Smart Trainer and technical support to each of the riders participating in the event. With athletes competing from a variety of locations (their home or training centre), using the same high-quality equipment means everyone competes on a level playing field, which ensures the equity of this prestigious event.
The new KICKR Smart Trainer has unparalleled reliability thanks to the recent addition of Wi-Fi connectivity making it the ideal hardware solution for the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. Wi-Fi gives riders the most connected and advanced ride experience available - increasing the ability to connect across phones, tablets and other electronic devices without the reliance on various hardware layers, such as Bluetooth ANT+ chips. Wi-Fi also prevents the possibility of drop-outs and provides significant increases in data transfer speed, delivering on-screen stats over 65% faster than before. This makes workouts more seamless and cycling esports more precise.
The 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will be held online on the Zwift platform. In addition, a race hub with 10 athletes will be set up in Glasgow, Scotland (Great Britain), the epicentre of the first UCI Cycling World Championships, which will take place from 3 to 13 August 2023 and will comprise 13 separate UCI World Championships. A similar infrastructure will be set up at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC), the UCI's training and education centre. Three trainee athletes from the UCI WCC will compete in the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships: Luciana Roland (ARG), Maude Elaine le Roux (RSA) and Natalia Franco (COL).
Wahoo has been an "Official Supplier of the UCI" since January 2021, providing athletes participating in the UCI Road World Championships with a series of exclusive products installed in the warm-up and recovery areas of the event. The company also contributes to the UCI Solidarity Programme through the supply of state-of-the-art equipment and training analysis protocols to both the UCI WCC and its trainees, and to Continental Satellites and National Federations to support their development activities.
Michael Rogers, Head of Road and Innovation at the UCI, said: "We are delighted with Wahoo's significant involvement in the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. The provision of equipment that is identical in all respects for all participants in the event is absolutely fundamental to ensuring that everyone defends their chances in the same conditions and that the best athletes win."
Mike Saturnia, CEO at Wahoo, said: “Indoor cycling is at the heart of what we do at Wahoo, so it makes perfect sense that we would partner with the UCI - to support the pinnacle of cycling esports, using the latest indoor cycling product innovation. The Wahoo KICKR is the most accurate and reliable smart trainer on the market and will provide the riders with a stable, fast connection ensuring that the riders can race with confidence and focus on their performance.”
About the UCI
Founded in 1900 in Paris (France), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the worldwide governing body for cycling. It develops and oversees cycling in all its forms, for all people: as a competitive sport, a healthy recreational activity, a means of transport, and also just for fun. The UCI manages and promotes ten cycling disciplines: road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, cyclo-cross, trials, indoor cycling, cycling esports and gravel. Five of these are featured on the Olympic Games programme (road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle), two in the Paralympic Games (road and track) and four in the Youth Olympic Games (road, mountain bike, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle). For more information: www.uci.org.
About Wahoo Fitness
Located in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), Wahoo Fitness' vision is to be a global leader in smart fitness and training - by creating a full ecosystem of sensors and devices for runners, cyclists, and general fitness enthusiasts. Wahoo’s award-winning line of products include the KICKR family of smart indoor riding equipment and accessories, the ELEMNT family of GPS devices and sport watches, the TICKR family of heart rate monitors, as well as the POWRLINK ZERO Power Pedals and SPEEDPLAY dual-sided road pedals. The connected fitness products are complemented by Wahoo Sports Science and delivered through the most comprehensive cycling training apps with a subscription to Wahoo X. Learn more about Wahoo’s full line of products and apps at WahooFitness.com.