Zwift has just announced the KISS Super League, a first in the world of cycling esports: a dedicated competition featuring professional cycling teams! Today the first four teams were announced, all UCI Continental Teams: Team Wiggins, Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes, Hagens Berman Axeon and Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka U23.
Here’s a quick video announcement from Zwift, showing the team jerseys in game:
Full details of the league will be released in the coming weeks, with a live launch event in London on January 23rd coinciding with the first race of the series.
Zwift has partnered with KISS as the event organizer, a wise move considering the depth of experience KISS team brings to the table after organizing hundreds of successful Zwift races over the past few years.
Additional men’s pro teams from around the globe will be joining the KISS Super League. There will also be an elite women’s league and amateur leagues.
Hagens Berman Axeom team owner, Axel Merckx “gets it” and seems fully on board:
“Professional cycling needs a shake up from time to time, and Zwift is certainly capable of adding an extra dimension to bike racing. This is something both professional riders and cycling fans should be taking a good look at.” – Axel Merckx
Last week Zwift announced the British Cycling eracing championships coming in March, and we know there is even more in store this year for Zwift and esports. That said, ZwiftHQ is keeping tight-lipped about it for now:
“… there’s a lot of excitement around what we have planned for next year. I can’t wait for people to know everything we have planned but for now, you’ll just have to wait and see!” – Eric Min, Zwift CEO
The latest Zwiftcast episode includes discussion of this new league–listen below for Simon, Shane, and Nathan’s take on this topic. Discussion of KISS Super League begins just after the 1-hour mark.)
What It Means for Us
As I see it, all of this is wonderful news for the Zwift community. As eracing moves into the upper echelons of our sport, standards will be firmed up, the user experience will be polished, and more eyeballs will be brought to Zwift racing. Pros racing on Zwift should only drive the platform forward, creating a better race experience for all involved.
Share your thoughts below!
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