Zwift to be replaced by MyWhoosh for Cycling Esports World Championships

MyWhoosh will host the Cycling Esports World Championships in 2024, 2025 and 2026 after agreeing a three-year deal with the UCI. The UAE-based company will take over hosting duties from Zwift which has hosted every edition in the event’s history to date.

The world of esport bike racing is still in its infancy and finding its feet, with the inaugural Cycling Esports World Championships taking place in 2020. When the esport cycling calendar was first announced, Zwift was confirmed as the hosting partner.

The move brings an end to Zwift’s four-year stint as the host of the event, and they told Cycling News that they were “disappointed” with this decision. However, the UCI announced in 2020 that the role of host would be open for tender in 2023, with the process being an open bid, essentially with the highest bidder winning.

With the United Arab Emirates looking to solidify its position as a cycling nation, its immense financial backing of MyWhoosh has derived from a national drive in the build-up to the Road World Championships in 2028, which the country will host. With this financial backing, it would appear that MyWhoosh has been able to submit a bid that is out of reach for Zwift at this time.

As of 2024, and at least until 2026, the Cycling Esports World Championships will be hosted by the MyWhoosh platform. MyWhoosh is a relative newcomer to the virtual cycling party, based out of the UAE, and looks to be changing how the qualifying rounds and the World Championships are held.

Since its inception in 2020, the Esports Cycling World Championships have taken place remotely, with competitors able to race from around the globe. This is set to change as the new host, MyWhoosh, will be holding the qualifying rounds and the finals on-site at their Abu Dhabi premises.

Hosting the Cycling Esports World Championships aims to solidify the UAE as a global cycling destination in the build-up to the Road World Championships.

MyWhoosh launched its very own race championship this year with a total prize purse on offer of $1 million, something that will really attract competitors over to the platform ahead of the World Championships next year.

All of this comes just days after the developers of MyWhoosh announced that a new Belgium-based virtual world would be coming to the platform. It is yet to be seen which platform offers the best engagement from both a viewer’s and a competitor’s perspective but we will find out in the not-too-distant future.

Zwift

Zwift is a fitness technology company that allows users to interact, train and race on its virtual online cycling platform. Zwift has approximately one million subscribers and has completely changed how cyclists view training.