The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced that the UCI Esports World Championships will be moved from February to October in 2024 to “attract more professionals”, and 40 athletes will travel to Abu Dhabi to compete in the men’s and women’s finals in person.
The Zwift platform worked closely with the UCI to create and organize the first Esports World Cup in 2020 and did so until 2023, but a new bidding process saw MyWhoosh emerge as an organizer between 2024-2026.
MyWhoosh was created in Abu Dhabi in 2019 and is currently free to use through the MyWhoosh app. Hence, the final venue will be awarded to the capital of the United Arab Emirates in person, to avoid complaints and advantages regarding connection speeds from different countries.
The 2024 Esports World Cup will include virtual qualifying rounds, with details of the qualification pathways and race format to be revealed in early 2024.
No explanation was given for the date change. The February date favored athletes who had trained and raced indoors during the European winter, but failed to attract many of the top professional runners. The Dutch Loes Adegeest and the Danish Bjørn Andreasson won the 2023 Esports titles.
In addition to the eSports World Cup, Abu Dhabi will host the Urban Cycling World Cup in 2024, the Road Cycling World Cup in 2028, the Gran Fondo World Cup in 2028 and the Track World Cup in 2029.
Source: www.ciclismoaldia.es y UCI