Zwift and UCI to host a 2020 eSports World Championship

Zwift, the online cycling platform that ties together stationary biking and video games, has agreed with UCI to host the first ever UCI Cycling eSports World Championships in 2020.

First! This is eSports, not E-Bikes. eSports started in the 1970’s with video game competitions. (You could argue that e-bikes might have started in the 70’s as well, when someone hacked a lawnmower onto a beach cruiser.) The eSports industry has grown massively since then. Check out the report on newzoo.com. With sponsored teams, millions of viewers and fans watching matches. If you are not aware, don’t mock it, it IS legit, and lots of people are very passionate about it.

Last year Zwift created its first eSports league, the Kiss Super League, featuring professional athletes. UCI and Zwift have also worked together to create the UCI virtual Road World Championships, there have been competitions in Australia. The signs that Zwift and UCI were joining forces to enter into the eSports world have been apparent.

The awesome things about the 2020 World Championships are it will be equal competition to both men and women with equal prize money. UCI and Zwift agreed that there would be 15 national championships organized in select countries next year, these will be the qualifiers for the World Championship.

I lack love for stationary trainers, but the Zwift world and my love for video games make me second guess my disdain for indoor cycling. Maybe I haven’t given it a proper chance…

Are you a Zwifter? Is that a term? Let’s discuss in the comments below!