Surprise checkpoints and route choices await 2026 UCI Cycling Esports finalists

The 2026 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships Final will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 5 December, a week earlier than the original 12 December date. The UCI and MyWhoosh announced the revised schedule and a two-stage format on 6 October, with surprise scoring opportunities and route selection central to the racing.

A maximum of 36 finalists, comprising 18 men and 18 women, will contest the elite titles. The champions will be the riders with the highest combined points totals across both stages, so finishing first at the final line will not necessarily secure a rainbow jersey.

The first three editions of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships were held on Zwift in 2020, 2022 and 2023. MyWhoosh took over as the exclusive platform and organiser in 2024 under a partnership covering 2024 to 2026. This year marks the sixth edition of the championships and the third consecutive edition hosted by MyWhoosh. Previous editions have already used cumulative points to decide the champions; the main changes for 2026 concern how scoring checkpoints are activated and how riders choose their routes.

The opening stage covers 7.6km and includes five surge checkpoints. Their locations will remain undisclosed until riders receive an alert 500m before each scoring line. Everyone in the same race will receive the same activations, with points awarded to the first ten riders across each checkpoint.

The short notice will force riders to weigh the energy cost of maintaining a forward position against the risk of leaving an acceleration too late. Repeated efforts and recovery between scoring opportunities will be central to the stage.

Stage two covers four laps of 5km, for a total of 20km. On each lap, riders will choose a route 400m before a fork. The two options are equal in distance: a flatter route offers fewer points, while a hillier route offers more points at a greater energy cost. Riders who make no selection will automatically take the flat route.

Each branch has its own sprint checkpoint, followed by a shared checkpoint after the routes merge. This gives every rider two scoring opportunities per lap and eight across the stage. On the final lap, the finish line doubles as the last sprint checkpoint and awards double points.

The Final will bring all participants together in a dedicated esports studio, replacing the previously planned two-venue arrangement. According to the organisers, the single-site set-up will support live broadcasting and simplify travel. All finalists will use ELITE Justo 2 smart trainers, with each unit individually prepared and checked by ELITE to make the hardware and power-measurement conditions as consistent as possible.

The qualification pathway included National Federation and MyWhoosh events, followed by a semi-final on 2 October involving more than 100 riders in each gender category.

UCI President David Lappartient said the format would test both physical strength and tactical judgement. MyWhoosh Director of Esports & Game Operations Matt Smithson said the checkpoints and route choices were designed to make riders interpret the race, decide under pressure and judge when to spend energy for points, making greater use of the possibilities of cycling esports.

https://www.uci.org/pressrelease/surprise-surge-checkpoints-and-route-choices-to-shape-the-final-of-the-2026-uci-cycling-esports-world-championships/7uO4iLf5QDk3642Xt5TrYs