On Thursday 9 November the online virtual cycling platform Zwift announced they will host “the largest-ever cycling esports event ever” at the newly formed Zwift Games 2024.
Open to ALL Zwift riders, the February/March Zwift Games will include three road events (Sprint, Epic-distance and Hill Climb), with championship titles awarded to the top male and female finishers in each event, plus overall titles based on combined results across the three races.
Qualification races, open to all, will be held in February, with the Finals taking place in March for those advancing to the Championship round of competition.
Any Zwift rider will be able to participate/compete in the Championship events, no racing license needed. For those more interested in just participating in the Games, rather than playing faux pro to try and win a Zwift world championship title, Zwift will hold open group rides run in parallel with each Championship race. Regardless of which event one enters, expect spirited competition with tens of thousands of Zwifters likely to enter the starting pens.
Key details like dates, final courses, rules, starting pen assignment, virtual-doping/cheating protocols, age-group category competitions(?), results verification and prize-list payout (although Zwift says it will be their biggest payout ever) are all curiously absent from the announcement, but Zwift promises to provide more details in December.
In the mean-time, Zwift has only shared the following:
The Sprint Championship: “This race is built with the best elements of the Zwift Battle Royale pioneered for the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships,” Zwift explains. Racers will tackle several events back-to-back on a variety of courses, including some that are new to Zwift. Qualifiers will be open to all Zwift riders with the top finishers progressing to the finals.
The Epic Championship: Zwift says that this race will use Watopia’s new Coastal Causeway and a new route, and will be “at least 60km long”. There will be an Epic community event taking place at the same time as the championship race, and any Zwifter can participate in either event without a qualifier. Zwift reckons this may end up being the world’s largest-ever cycling esports event.
The Hill Climb Championship: It’ll be a battle on the 21 hairpin turns of the Alpe du Zwift (aka Alp d’Huez) to find out who is the best Cycling Esports climber. If you’re interested in participating in a group climb, but not looking to race you can join in the accompanying community challenge, which will also feature the Alpe and other iconic Zwift climbs.
Photo Credit: Zwift
© 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved Gran Fondo Daily News