The fourth edition of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, organised by MyWhoosh, saw an exciting new format for the final, held on Saturday 26 October in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with the rainbow jerseys won by Mary Kate McCarthy (NZL) and Jason Osborne (GER).
The live, in-person, final gave the fans a thrilling race experience, with special guests and MyWhoosh’s ambassadors Peter Sagan (SVK) and Tadej Pogacar (SLO) also in attendance.
Battle until the end for the women
The women’s competition was first out on the evening programme, and kicked off the three-race format with the Sprint, where riders had 15 minutes to record their fastest time over a 300m zone. Several attacks were launched immediately from the start, by Lisa Hermansson and fellow Swede Mika Söderström, followed by Lou Bates (GBR). While the action unfolded in the front, the riders further back in the field profited from the draft and it was finally Mary Kate McCarthy (NZL) who secured the fastest time (18.494 seconds) and claimed the 20 points for the overall classification, followed by Bates (18.615 seconds) and Kathrin Fuhrer (SUI) (18.626 seconds).
In the second race, the Strategist, points were up for grabs at three intermediate sprints: at the base and the top of a climb, and on the finish line. llexi Snover (USA) beat Bates in a sprint to the base of the climb and secured the first 20 points. Into the climb, McCarthy immediately set off and went solo, but Gabriela Guerra (BRA) followed close behind and the two battled for the top, with Guerra pushing past and taking the next 20 points. The two riders then set off in a breakaway for the stage win. In a sprint for the finish line, Guerra beat McCarthy and again took the maximum points, winning the stage and putting herself in the overall lead with a total of 74 points.
In the third and final race (All Out), contested over 4 laps of a 4km circuit, points were awarded at the end of each lap (double points on the final lap). Fuhrer took home the first two laps and the third lap saw a sprint between Guerra, Fuhrer and McCarthy, where McCarthy came second behind Guerra, reclaiming the overall lead. Only 2 points separated the first and second overall going into the final lap, which brought double points and it was McCarthy who went clear and took the 40 points over the finish line. With that, she secured the overall win with 180 points, followed by Guerra with 176 and Fuhrer with 165.
Mary Kate McCarthy after winning the title: I think that mental game is everything in cycling esports. It’s being able to push past what you think you can do and how far you can actually push and how hard you can go.”
Osbourne goes all out to win the men’s competition
The men’s field started off the Sprint race rather slow, until the action exploded. Three American riders took the first, second and third fastest times, which stood until the end. Neal Fryett took home the 20 points (17.212 seconds), closely followed by Hayden Pucker (17.406 seconds) and Zach Nehr (17.439 seconds).
In the Strategist race, James Barnes (RSA) was first to the base of the climb, but it was Jason Osborne (GER) who took the summit points, ahead of Lionel Vujasin (BEL), before finishing solo over the finish line, winning the stage and totalling 80 points, only 6 points behind the overall leader Vujasin.
The battle for the win was still wide open as the final race, the All Out, began. Kasper Borremans (FIN) took home the first lap and Osborne the second and third. It came down to the final lap as there was only one point’s difference in the overall standings between Vujasin in first and Osborne in second. The chasing group gave it their all, but Osborne was unstoppable and won also the fourth lap, securing the UCI World Champion title. He finished on 177 points, ahead of Vujasin with 174 and Borremans with 164.
After his win, Jason Osborne was overjoyed: “I’m quite exhausted, my heart is still racing. It was brutally hard, some really amazing racing today and I really enjoyed it.” When asked on how to get started in cycling esports, his answer was clear: “Obviously on MyWhoosh. It’s an amazing platform. It has a lot to offer, there’s something for everyone!”