Zwift to Host 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships February 26

Today the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has confirmed that Zwift will host the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships on February 26, 2022.

The races will take place on Zwift’s New York map over 2.5 laps of the Knickerbocker route and broadcast to a worldwide audience. Of course, there’s prize money on the line, plus the opportunity to wear the coveted virtual and real-life UCI Cycling Esports Rainbow Jersey!

But perhaps the most exciting news is a qualification pathway for Zwift community racers to take part in the big race. David Lappartient, UCI President, says it is, “exciting to reveal a new opportunity for emerging cycling esports stars, enabling them to compete with household names from the UCI WorldTour peloton.” Let’s dig into the details.

Automatic Invites

The UCI will be awarding automatic invites to 23 National Federations. “Places will be awarded based on a combination of Cycling Esports community size and the depth of talent based on both esports and UCI road rankings,” according to Zwift’s press release, which also says more detailed criteria will be released in due course.

How You Can Qualify

Of course, most Zwift racers aren’t in the position to be chosen for their national federation’s Esports Worlds team. And this became an issue back in 2020 when the first-ever Esports Worlds was hosted on Zwift. Some national federations didn’t do the best job of recruiting strong racers who were also experienced Zwifters and in fact, some top community racers complained that there was no way for them to get onto their country’s team.

We’re happy to see that all of that has changed for this second edition of Esports Worlds! Together the UCI and Zwift have designed five “Continental Qualifiers to UCI 2022 Cycling Esports World Championships” covering Oceana, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. These races will take place on November 27 (women) and November 28 (men), with the top 5 finishers from each race being added to their national squad and therefore awarded a place on the starting line of the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships.

But not everyone can take part in the Continental Qualifier races! These are invitation-only as well. To receive a Continental Qualifier invite riders must meet one or both of the following criteria:

• Be racing in Zwift Racing League Premier Division 2021/22 Season 1: all Premier Division riders will receive an automatic invite
• Be a Level 5+ Zwifter who has been auto-categorized by WTRL as a Category A (or above) during the following events (riders must have taken part in at least 2 of these designated events to be eligible):
  • Zwift Racing League (ZRL) 2021/22 Season 1 Community Division (Oct – Nov 2021) – you can gain eligibility through all of the regular season races (Rounds 1 – 6) that take place in between October 12th and November 16th 2021. 
  • Continental Open event series – for any riders that are not currently competing in ZRL (or are only able to complete one event during ZRL), Zwift and WTRL are holding standalone Continental Open events for all time zones on the following dates;
    • November 13
    • November 14
    • November 20
    • November 21

There are lots of details involved in qualifying for, and racing in, Esports Worlds 2022. These include trainer accuracy requirements, UCI Regulations, ZADA verification, and anti-doping measures. We highly recommend you read Zwift’s blog post for all the details of qualifying as a community racer.

Additionally, here is WTRL’s homepage for the pre-qualifers.

Esports Worlds Race Details

Racers will be riding on the custom “2022 Cycling Esports World Championship Route” which is 2.5 laps of the Knickerbocker route, “a challenging parcours worthy of a UCI World Championship event.” This route features the rolling roads of NYC’s Central Park, as well as the futuristic glass road KOM.

The rolling roads and steep KOM gradients will make for a selective race. Both Men’s and Women’s Elite fields will tackle two full circuits of the 22.5km route before finishing at the top of the New York KOM, a 1.4km climb with an average gradient of 6.1% and ramps of up to 17%.

In total, riders will cover 54.9km and 944m of climbing.

Like the inaugural 2020 Esports Worlds, the big race will include Zwift powerups, and participants will be competing entirely remotely from their own residences or training bases.

And of course, winners of both races will be awarded the UCI Cycling Esports Rainbow Jersey within Zwift. The winners will also receive physical jerseys which they will be able to wear in esports competitions for the following year.

Parity

Prize monies will be equal for men and women. The number of racers should be equal as well, since the UCI and Zwift are formulating automatic invite criteria to ensure that “the maximum possible number of entries for both genders will be the same.”

More To Come

More details will be released in the coming months, including scheduling specifics. We will update this post with additional information as it becomes available.

Questions or Comments?

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This weekend has a number of diverse events that cater to athletes of different interests. To be completely honest, it’s a blockbuster weekend on Zwift!

You may have read my Diversity and Inclusion article which celebrates Zwift’s contributions and achievements in this field.  This event is another example of Zwift’s ongoing commitment to promoting and celebrating an inclusive community.

As the description in the Companion apps states, “The Black Celebration Series is a year-long observance highlighting the joy the Black community brings to Zwift. October kicks off Black History Month in the UK, Ireland, and Netherlands. What better way to celebrate the vibrant community and athletes than by exploring the iconic roads of London!”

This is a group ride lasting 45 minutes, and it takes place on the Greater London Loop. Special guest riders for this particular event are the Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC) – read more about them. For a complete list of Black Celebration Series events visit zwift.com/black-celebration-series.

Saturday, October 9 @ 6:30pm CEST/5:30pm BST/12:30pm EDT/9:30am PDT
Event details and signup at zwift.com/events/view/2318782

I’ve enjoyed the Zwift Academy. I can’t think of harder training sessions and despite the suffering, I do think I have benefited, as evidenced by the fact that I got an FTP boost after completing my new Mountain Massif TT last week!

The last session sounds painful.  I’m not doing to put the whole description here as it may put you off, but it contains words like “surge” and “intense burn” and phrases like “pushing through the burn”  – so you know this last one is going to be a particular challenge.

Multiple dates and times, see all upcoming >

Starting on Saturday is an event to celebrate the Ironman World Championship which is hosted in Kona, Hawaii, in October.  Sadly, this year the event isn’t taking place. But Zwift is bringing us something special, virtually. Read all about it in this Zwift Insider post >

Top pro triathletes will be leading group rides over the weekend, including Josh Amberger, Craig Alexander, Joe Skipper, Frederik Van Lierde, Imogen Simmonds, Sebastian Kienle, and newly crowned World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay.

The event lasts 17 hours because that is how long competitors have to complete an Ironman.

(My only claim to fame with an Ironman is that I did have lunch with 4x Ironman Champion, Chrissie Wellington, back in 2015.  I reached out to her earlier in the year about joining Zwift, I’d love to catch-up again with her for a Zwift Insider post!)

Multiple dates and times, see full schedule >

We have covered this series of events in detail here. 

The weekend events see you tackle two courses:

• Day 6: Makuri Islands Kappa Quest, 1 Lap (13km/8.1 miles, 260m/853′) – Guest Podcast from: Victor Campanaerts
• Day 7: Makuri Islands Countryside Tour, 1 Lap (16.1km/10 miles, 185m/607′) – Guest Podcast from: Kevin Vermaak

Probably worth doing just to unlock the jersey which is particularly jazzy. The courses themselves are not particularly long, so hopefully you will be able to squeeze one in for a good cause.

Multiple dates and times, see full schedule >

Your Thoughts

Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!

Some big names in long-distance triathlon descend on Zwift this weekend for “17 Hours of Kona,” a one-day series of group rides and runs.

The Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, was supposed to take place on October 9 but has been canceled again this year. So instead, some of the world’s top pros will be leading events on Zwift around our very own Volcano, in celebration of the biggest day on the triathlon calendar!

Event Details

The series begins at 7am Hawaiian time (7pm CEST/6pm BST/1pm EDT/10am PDT) on Saturday, October 9, when the start cannon would have gone off on race day in Kona. They’ll continue throughout the day until midnight Hawaiian time, with a cycling event every hour and a running event every other hour.

These events will continue for 17 hours – the time cutoff given to all athletes competing in Kona.  In that time, the Ironman triathletes must complete a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run. From those who can complete the distance in under 9 hours to those racing to make the cut-off, Zwift’s events celebrate everyone who enters these grueling challenges.

• Rides are 60 minutes long and held on the Legends and Lava route. Which may get interesting, because most riders will reach the end of that route (atop the Volcano KOM) before before the 60 minutes is up. Where will we be routed after we descend the Volcano? Join and find out!
• Runs are 30 minutes long and held on the Volcano Circuit route.

See the full list of events and sign up at zwift.com/events/series/17-hours-of-kona-2021

Special Guests

There are no jersey or gear unlocks for the 17 Hours of Kona events. The main perk is the ability to ride, run, and chat with stars of the sport, including:

Is This a Race?

Nope. The stated pace for the rides is 2-3 w/kg, and the runs are 5-6kph. These are meant to be social events where we enjoy riding and running together.

Questions or Comments?

Share below!