{"id":188759,"date":"2022-02-23T12:49:04","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T12:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=188759"},"modified":"2022-02-23T12:49:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T12:49:04","slug":"crafting-the-2022-uci-cycling-esports-championships-setting-up-the-playing-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/02\/23\/crafting-the-2022-uci-cycling-esports-championships-setting-up-the-playing-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafting the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports Championships: Setting Up the Playing Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because of the pandemic, online sporting activities and events with gamified elements have gradually edged forward from the niche territory to the mainstream, with Zwift spearheading the progress. After partnering with the UCI for the cycling events within the first Olympic Virtual Series in 2021, Zwift has now set the stage for the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports Championships<\/a>, set to take place on 26th<\/sup> February. Two of the masterminds behind the elite event, Sean Parry, who is leading the World Championships for Zwift, and Alex Crimmens, Zwift\u2019s Commercial Director, took time amid busy preparations to talk to We Love Cycling about all it takes to get such an extraordinary feat into motion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Zwift is home to \u201cthe world\u2019s first hybrid physical\/virtual sport\u201d that utilizes Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) gaming technology, that enables runners and cyclists across the globe to train, compete with one another, explore virtual worlds, and, finally, socialize. All in real time and with captivating visuals. Not surprisingly, all this has been years in the making and the long-term development and building of this unique ecosystem and infrastructure took hundreds of people.<\/p>\n

\"Zwift<\/a>
Esports have been enjoying a decent amount of limelight recently and with the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports Championships approaching fast, more people might be drawn to their inner workings. \u00a9 Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MMO Worldbuilding<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Starting with inquiries about the groundwork, Sean outlined: \u201cAt Zwift, we\u2019ve been developing all of the fundamental structures around physics from the very start, and we\u2019ve been building and optimizing as time has gone on,\u201d clarified Sean. \u201cWe\u2019ve recently celebrated our eighth birthday, and we\u2019ve been constantly improving all the underlying\u00a0parameters\u00a0and in-game behaviour,\u201d added Alex.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u201cUsing our in-game physics engine\u201d Sean continued, \u201cwe\u2019ve built the same in-game physics that emulate all the factors you would see outside \u2013 air resistance, road surfaces, and interactions with other riders based on the cyclist\u2019s height and weight such as drafting, sitting in the slipstream, as we have modelled all aerodynamic behaviour, and so on. There\u2019s a real relationship between the effort people put in on their turbo trainers and the movement that you see. The trainers respond intelligently to the changes, for example, in gradient in-game so it feels the same as it would in a physical world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Designing this year\u2019s UCI Cycling Esports World Championships Route<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n

The 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships route was custom made by an expert team that has been crafting Zwift routes for years. The racers, split into elite women\u2019s and elite men\u2019s events, will be riding 2.5 laps of the Knickerbocker route<\/a>, which has already existed in the Zwift environment and has been tweaked for the occasion. It is set in a futuristic version of New York in 100 years with flying cars and raised glass roads, which will make an intriguing challenge for the riders and an attractive spectacle for the audience. Sean describes it as: \u201cA classic Zwift course. It\u2019s a mixture of a real-life destination, New York\u2019s Central Park and routes that are already there, with a fantastical Zwift twist to it.<\/p>\n

\"Knickerbocker<\/a>
The famous Knickerbocker route. \u00a9 Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s perfectly tailored to how we want the race to play out. We wanted to make something that\u2019s reasonably short and sharp, built for entertainment and fitting within the 1-1.5-hour timeframe; to create a situation that would make for a really animated race, with a narrative around the strategic choices the riders will have to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

In total, riders will cover 54.9km and 944m of climbing, which translates to over an hour of intense, tactical racing with chances to attack or break away. The race finishes at the top of the New York KOM, which is a 1.4-km climb with an average gradient of 6.1%. The course is reputedly well known and feared by the Zwift community racers thanks to its difficulty level.<\/p>\n

Moreover, according to Sean, you will probably see the difference between experienced Zwift racers who mastered, as he calls it, the \u2018Zwift game craft\u2019, and those newer to the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an intuitive understanding of all the in-game physics, algorithms, and how to use gamified features like PowerUps,<\/a>\u201d he notes. Besides the substantial prize money, the winner of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s events will be awarded the UCI Cycling Esports World Championship jersey incorporating the famous rainbow stripes, which they can also physically wear at UCI-sanctioned events throughout the following year.<\/p>\n

Scouting for talent<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To get the best possible start list, there was a structured pre-selection process in co-operation with the individual national federations under the UCI, which selected their best to represent the particular nations. But there was also an innovation put in place this year: continental qualifier events open to practically anyone to allow for the best talent to get in.<\/p>\n

\"Zwift<\/a>
Zwift uses so-called PowerUps that will also be a key feature of the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, and each rider has a 100% guarantee of being awarded one of them at seven locations of the Knickerbocker route in total. \u00a9 Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe range of athletes on Zwift is vast. A lot of them aren\u2019t going through the traditional pathways to pro cycling and a handful of them don’t even do that much outdoor racing. They might not have an existing relationship with the UCI or a national federation, but are actually the strongest Zwift racers, adapted to the efforts required to be successful in esports racing,\u201d explains Sean. These highest-ranking racers were then placed in the UCI teams for the event, which introduced top new talent to national federations. It is evident that Esports are already turning out to be an exciting platform to recruit new cycling stars.<\/p>\n

Reaching the viewers with a unique spectacle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The coverage of such a race is a self-standing chapter. The camera angles, the visual appeal, the futuristic nature of Esports \u2013 all this can be achieved via an in-game live broadcast. You will be able to watch the live stream on several platforms. Eurosport, GCN and GCN+ regarding TV broadcast, and the online version will be streamed on Zwift\u2019s website, Zwift\u2019s YouTube channel, and on the UCI\u2019s website as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got global access for anybody who wants to watch this anywhere in the world as our core aim is to get the broadcast to as many people as possible,\u201d Sean underlined as, at Zwift, they also see Esports as heavily community-based and as a great tool to bring the racers and audience even closer together in an interactive way. An amazing little feature that is a testament to this are the Ride Ons<\/a>. You can give your co-riders or, if you will be watching the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships broadcast, the competing pro riders a little thumbs up for their efforts and as a morale boost via the Zwift app. These visibly pop up live on screen, driving fan interaction, and brining the audience closer to the race.<\/p>\n

Zwift: The community-bonding tool<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Another outstanding thing about Zwift is that it is an unprecedented way for hundreds of thousands of people to ride the same parcours the pros do in a way that won\u2019t be possible in real life. According to Sean, over 100,000 people have already ridden the Knickerbocker route to experience and appreciate what the pros will go through, which could never happen in real life. This adds to the number of different and unique ways and communication tools people can use to engage with the event \u2013 and with one another anytime they are using Zwift.<\/p>\n

Check the \u2018Events\u2019 page on Zwift\u2019s website if you wish to join in on the fun as there are hundreds of rides, races and workouts you can join every single day from morning through night. If you would like to explore the possibilities but need to get acquainted with the basics of setting up a Zwift account<\/a> or the world of smart indoor trainers<\/a> first, we have got you covered. And after you have learnt everything about the setup, we can lend you a hand with selecting the best turbo trainer<\/a> for you.<\/p>\n

Are you inclined to try virtual cycling or have you been a faithful fan for years? Tell us in the comments and don\u2019t forget to save the date of 26th<\/sup> February to watch the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because of the pandemic, online sporting activities and events with gamified elements have gradually edged forward from the niche territory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":188766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[6154,6167,3612],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-188759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-2022-uci-cycling-esports-championships","tag-uci-cycling-esports-championships","tag-zwift","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nAll About the Tech Setup for the UCI Cycling Esports Championships<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Because of the pandemic, online sporting activities and events with gamified elements have gradually edged forward from the niche territory to the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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