Aussies chase more Esports World Championship medals despite key absences

In the dark, early hours of Sunday morning, 10 Australian athletes will gear up to race the premier virtual bike race in the world, chasing rainbow stripes.

It’s a quirk of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships that competitors will be racing across dozens of time zones – indeed, on two different days – around the world.

Primetime racing in Europe means a pre-dawn challenge for the Aussies, but that’s never been a problem: Australia has medalled in both editions so far, including a world title last year.

This year, the World Championships will take on a different look, discarding the one-off scratch race in favour of a made-for-Zwift elimination format. Let’s take a look at this year’s World Championships.

The routes and races

The new elimination format features three races contested back-to-back over 75 minutes.

In a nod to the first all-discipline UCI Cycling World Championships this August, Zwift has designed a virtual world inspired by Glasgow, Scotland.

First up is ‘The Punch’, held on the Rolling Highlands course, a 14.1-kilometre scratch race with a slightly uphill finish (600m at 2%, with a maximum of 7%). The first 30 riders across the line will move on, with the rest eliminated.

These 30 riders will start ‘The Climb’, on Scotland’s City and the Sgurr course. It’s only an 8.6km race, but with three hill repeats and a punishing hilltop finish (1.5km at 3.5%, max 13%), this one requires an excellent power-to-weight ratio. Only the top 10 will progress to the finale.

The third and final race, ‘The Podium’, is an elimination race inspired by track cycling. It’ll take place on the Glasgow Crit Circuit, a 3km loop with a sharp, punchy climb. Here, the last rider through each intermediate sprint point – there are two per lap – will be removed from the race, until three remain to sort out the podium in one final sprint.

The Australian team

Despite men’s world champion Jay Vine being unable to start, the Australian men’s team has the depth to challenge for results. Those with the most experience are 2022 silver medallist Freddy Ovett and fourth placegetter Ben Hill – two capable finishers on punchy terrain.

Last year, Sam Hill and Torben Partridge-Madsen provided valuable support to set up Australia’s one-two result, and they’ll return to the squad this Sunday. Meanwhile, Josh Harris and Kyle Marwood will make their debuts.

Australia’s women’s team has been struck by the unfortunate withdrawals of experienced racers Katie Banerjee (after crashing out of the Warrny) and Bre Vine.

Climber Justine Barrow and all-rounder Vicki Whitelaw will each race their third World Championship. It will be a representative debut for Imogen Alton, a Zwift Academy finalist from 2021; and Rose Vassel, who impressed in the AusCycling Club National Series last year.

In the virtual team car will be Kate Bates as Esports National Team Co-ordinator, bringing her tactical knowledge as a former world champion on the track.

Men

• Josh Harris (TAS)
• Ben Hill (ACT)
• Sam Hill (NSW)
• Kyle Marwood (QLD)
• Freddy Ovett (QLD)
• Torben Partridge-Madsen (ACT)
• Jay Vine (ACT)

Women

• Imogen Alton (QLD)
• Justine Barrow (VIC)
• Rose Vassel (NSW)
• Vicki Whitelaw (ACT)
• Katie Banerjee (NSW)
• Bre Vine (ACT)

What they said

Justine Barrow: “It’s always an honour to pull on the green-and-gold jersey. I am looking forward to lining up virtually on that start line with my teammates and supporting Australia for the win.

“It’s an early start. I think we will be up around about 4:30am to eat and do our last verification processes, which are weighing in between two and one hours before the event. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a morning person.

“There are 12 British riders on the start list and the Netherlands is a really strong team with the reigning world champion Loes Adegeest who is in great form. I raced against her at Cadel’s and she did excel in that short power, so she will be one to beat.”

Ben Hill: “It’s a format for an all-rounder, but all the races are 10-minute races. You don’t have to be good for long, but you definitely have to do a lot of efforts.

“I think it’ll be tactical in the final depending what numbers we have, but until then, it’s about trying to get as many riders as we can through.

“You have to get through the first two stages, and you don’t know if the final stage will be won by someone who can do a lot of sprint repeats, or someone who will ride away for 10 minutes. You don’t know what tools you need to win, which kinds of makes it a bit exciting.”

How to watch

Wherever you are in Australia, you can watch the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships live on Sunday morning.

Tune in to the Zwift YouTube channel or GCN Racing YouTube channel on Sunday, February 19 at 5:00am AEDT / 4:30am ACDT / 4:00am AEST / 3:30am ACST / 2:00am AWST.

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Photos: Flynn Hopkins