Indoor cycling app Zwift has abandoned elite level racing – for good, according to esports journalist Chris Schwenker at the Escape Collective. The mass-market virtual cycling platform announced it will not host the Zwift World Series, Zwift Games or the Zwift Academy pro-am talent search, but will focus on the broad cycling audience instead.

“While this may be disappointing news, we do hope you’ll be as excited as we are about the wide range of new community racing events on this year’s calendar,” Zwift Director of Racing Sean Parry said.

The news is no surprise with Zwift investing more resource in “gamification” and “motivational” enhancements to attract and retain fitness/leisure riders (i.e. confetti & lightning socks, pocket squirrels, Streak Saver, BMX bikes, personal fitness goals, and emojis). Racers, a minority within Zwift, looking for competitive and performance integrity enhancements have been left wanting for years, with many migrating to MyWhoosh.

While Parry indicates Zwift will still offer community racing events going forward, enforcement of rider, race, equipment and data integrity rules are expected to be minimal. Thus, the Zwift racing experience (and results) will continue to be based less on ability and more on the validity and accuracy of power meters, spin bikes, ebikes, weight/height, heart rate, cadence, etc.

As one frustrated Zwift racer told Gran Fondo Daily, “I was racing the other day and the winner was a 38kg rider sprinting at 28w/kg with a 94 hr. That pretty much sums up Zwift racing.”

Photo Credit: Zwift

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