2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships – Race Recap

By Tim Perkin

The 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships presented by MyWhoosh saw 6 intense races where Mary Kate McCarthy from New Zealand was crowned the Women’s Cycling Esports World Champion and Jason Osborne from Germany as the Men’s Cycling Esports World Champion, for the second time.

About the final

The final was hosted in person in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in front of a live audience that included former UCI Road Race World Champion Peter Sagan and current World Champion Tadej Pogačar.

20 women and 22 men made up the respective fields, which were selected after a series of qualifying events, in the previous months, which were all hosted virtually.

The final consisted of 3 stages, with points being allocated in each stage. Those with the most accumulated points over the three stages would be crowned world champion.

Women’s event

The Women’s final was a close fought battle, which saw Mary Kate McCarthy from New Zealand secure victory with 180 points over Gabriela Guerra from Brazil with 176 and Kathrin Fuhrer from Switzerland with 165 points. Maria Holdcroft and Lou Bates, both from Great Britain, were tied on 156 points with Maria taking 4th position based on her higher finishing position in the 3rd stage.

How the race unfolded

Stage 1 was called “The Sprint” and 20 points were allocated to the rider who could produce the fastest sprint over a 300-meter defined segment. Riders had 15 minutes to produce their best 300-meter sprint.

It transpired that from the start, all riders went hard and put down their best times, which saw Mary Kate McCarthy set the fastest time and, with that picking up maximum 20 points. Lou Bates followed in second place with 19 and Kathrin Fuhrer in third with 18 points.

Following the initial sprint, there were flurries of activity as lower placed riders looked to improve their standings, but without making an impact. The majority of rider saved their energy and let the clock run down, content with their position.

Stage 2 was called “The Strategist.” It was an 8.9km course with a 127-meter climb, where points were allocated for a sprint just before the beginning of the climb, points at the top of the climb and double at the finish. This stage was designed to test rider’s decision-making abilities, which meant that riders either had to try and pick up maximum points on the flat sprint, knowing it will leave them fatigued when they reach the ascent, or had to reserve their energy for the climb itself.

Bates chose the first option, attacking before the sprint, claiming maximum points, but McCarthy and Guerra countered and powered away on the climb, with Guerra pipping McCarthy over the top of the climb to take the maximum 20 points.  McCarthy and Guerra kept their momentum and raced for the maximum 40 points that were available for the first position at the finish, which was taken by Guerra, with McCarthy in second.

At the end of Stage 2, Guerra was leading with 74 points, followed by McCarthy with 69 and Merle Brunne was in third with 63 points, slightly ahead of Bates.

In Stage 3, a 4-lap course with 20 points available at the end of each lap and 40 on the final, was appropriately called “All Out.”

The race ebbed and flowed with Bates looking strong, winning the first climb. But going into the final lap, McCarthy was leading by 2 points ahead of Guerra and 9 ahead of Fuhrer. This meant that the Cycling Esports World Championship was literally going to be decided on the line.

McCarthy pushed for the finish, breaking away from the group and crossing the line solo, taking 40 points and, with that, won the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships 2024. Guerra and Fuhrer finished just behind, securing their positions on the podium.

Men’s event

Jason Osborne won his second Rainbow Jersey, winning Stage 2 and 3 along the way, beating Lionel Vujasin from Belgium and Kasper Borremans from Finland in an event which he described as “Brutally hard.”

How the race unfolded

Stage 1 saw Team USA dominate, with their three riders taking the first three positions, led by Neal Fryett. At this point in the event, things weren’t looking positive for Osborne who finished in 18th position, picking up only 3 points.

As Stage 2 commenced, the focus was what Team USA could do. Osborne was in the mix during the sprint before the start of the climb, securing 17 points, but then what came next was just unexpected and somewhat incredible.

At the start of the climb, Osborne applied the power, pushing 500 watts and in doing so, he literally rode the other riders off his wheel. He crested the climb securing the maximum 20 points and continued his ferocious pace, at points generating 8.1 w/kg and rode consistently at around 6.5 w/kg to the finish, securing the 40 points on offer.

Osborne’s victory and subsequent double points put himself in the mix for the final stage, leaping from 18th position to 2nd place, only 6 points behind Vujasin.

At the end of lap 1 of Stage 3, Kasper Borremans had taken 20 points for winning the first climb, moving up to third overall, while Vujasin secured 19 points for finishing second. At this point, it wasn’t looking as if victory was possible for Osborne. But then, the magic happened. At around 4.4km of the 16km race, Osborne pushed the pace, just like he did on the previous stage. Vujasin responded and followed along with Borremans.

At the end of lap 2, Osborne had a 6-second lead, pushing 400 watts as he went. However, despite picking up a further 20 points for being first over the climb, he was still in second place overall, but now only a point behind Vujasin, going into the final lap. It was all to play for, but advantage was with Osborne as he had a healthy lead of around 30 seconds.

In the end, Osborne won the stage ahead of Borremans and Danish rider Bjoern Andreassen, which meant he had won the World Championships by 3 points.

The overall points read Osborne with 177, Vujasin with 174 and Borremans – 164.

Summing up

The 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships concluded with Mary Kate McCarthy and Jason Osborne emerging as the Women’s and Men’s World Champions, respectively, showcasing their exceptional skills and strategic prowess across three challenging stages hosted live in Abu Dhabi. This event marked a historic moment as it was the first time the finals were held in person, further elevating the competitive atmosphere of the Championships.

The event can be described as “theatrical.”  With athletes competing on an elevated platform, the audience could witness firsthand the intensity of the racing and their suffering was clear for all to see.

From the outset, MyWhoosh wanted to create something new and engaging and through the races and format, and this was achieved.

About the Author

Tim has a passion for cycling and it was integral to regaining fitness after an arduous battle with cancer. Tim is the founder of Mountain Massif, who host esports cycling events. Over the years, Tim has written about a range of cycling topics, including testing and reviewing the major smart trainers. In addition, he has been fortunate to ride and interview some of the sports leading figures such as Tour de France winner Andy Schleck and sprint legend André Greipel.