Zwift and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) are returning to host the Olympic Esports Series 2023 Cycling Finals, to be held in Singapore on June 23rd.
The Olympic Esports Series is a global virtual and simulated sports competition created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and in collaboration with international federations and game publishers to showcase virtual sports competition.
Zwift, the first platform to be used for virtual cycling competition, is one of only 10 platforms hosting events at the series finals in Singapore. The cycling competition, to be held on Zwift’s Scotland map, will give live spectators attending the Olympics Esports Week the opportunity to witness the high intensity of cycling esports first-hand.
The finals of the Olympic Esports Series 2023 will feature four teams of four cyclists – two women and two men – who will compete in a series of six races that will test their physical fitness and mastery of Zwift’s in-game elements.
The winners will be the world’s first Olympic Esports Series winners.
Building on the successes of the multi-format 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, each team will take on three challenges in the Olympic Esports Series 2023 Cycling Competition: the Eliminator, the Sprint, and the Climb.
Each of these challenges will have a men’s and women’s race. Riders will earn points according their finishing position with the team to accumulate the most points crowned the winners.
- The Eliminator – All riders will take on the Eliminator, which will be held on the hilly Wee Yin course created specifically for the Olympic Esports Series 2023, featuring three ascents of the Sgurr Summit followed by the Glasgow Crit Circuit. The starting fields for men’s and women’s races will be eight athletes. Each time the races passes through an arch, the last placed athlete will be removed until there are three left for the final sprint. Points will be awarded according to final positions and the order of elimination.
- The Sprint – Each team will put forward their best male and best female sprinter to take on one lap of Glasgow Crit circuit in a fast and furious race. The starting fields for these races will be four athletes. Points will be awarded at the intermediate sprint (Clyde Kicker) and at the finish line (Championships Sprint).
- The Climb – Finally, the team’s best climbers will race the Climb, which will take place on the steep slopes of the Sgurr. Teams will again need to choose their riders carefully – anyone on the start line will need to be able to accelerate uphill in order to secure the win for their team.
Zwift has previously hosted elite Cycling Esports competitions including the 2020 Virtual Tour de France, and all three editions of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships.
The finalists selected to participate in these events at year’s Olympic Esports Series have proven themselves at the Zwift Grand Prix cycling series and the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, and collectively represent 13 nations.
The finalists are:
Team Fuego
Lou Bates from Great Britain
Marlene Bjärehed from Sweden
James Barnes from South Africa
Martin Maertens from Denmark
Team Titans
Vicki Whitelaw from Australia
Linda Klein from the Netherlands
Zack Nehr from USA
Kjell Power from Belgium
Team Lava
Alice Lethbridge from Great Britain
Teppo Laurio from Finland
Lionel Vujasin from Belgium
TBA
Team Epic
Jacquie Godbe from USA
Charlotte Colclough from Great Britain
Ben Hill from Australia
TBA
Other events in the Olympic Esports Series 2023 include archery (Tic Tac Bow), baseball (WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros), chess (Chess.com), dance (Just Dance), motor sport (Gran Turismo), sailing (Virtual Regatta), shooting (created in Fortnite), taekwondo (Virtual Taekwondo), and tennis (Tennis Clash).
www.olympics.com
www.zwift.com
www.uci.ch
