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Wahoo, Shimano and NTT will be the official partners of the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, Zwift has confirmed, which will be held on the online fitness platform on 26th February.
Wahoo has been named official trainer partner of the event, providing its latest Wahoo Kickr V5 Smart Trainer to all participants of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. All competitors will be competing remotely on the same equipment to provide an additional layer of event integrity.
“Building on our partnership with the UCI Road World Championships, we are delighted to support the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships,” said Mike Saturnia, CEO of Wahoo.
“The demands of e-racing at this level require the most accurate and consistent data possible, so it’s only appropriate that all athletes competing in the finals will be riding a Wahoo Kickr, the world’s best-in-class smart trainer. We wish all the finalists the very best of luck and I’m looking forward to seeing who will be the newly crowned UCI World Champions!”
Shimano is joining Wahoo as the official drivetrain partner for the event with the new Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 groupset.
“As a long-term partner of the UCI, we are very excited by the continued development of Cycling Esports,” said Erik van Kooten, marketing manager road at Shimano Europe.
“Anyone who’s ever entered a Zwift race will know that every watt counts – they are at the forefront of the rider’s mind – so athletes need drivetrains that perform lightning-fast shifts accurately and efficiently for maximum power. We’re always fascinated by numbers and with live data coming from the riders, we look forward to studying the results – good luck to all participants.”
Building on its previous collaboration with Zwift Cycling Esports events, including the Virtual Tour de France and the Zwift Racing League, NTT is joining as official data analytics partner to the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. NTT will support the broadcast of the race.
“Our continuous intelligence platform has been optimised to deliver an unprecedented level of insight into riders’ performances during the UCI World Championships,” said Rob Webster vice president, advanced technology group, sport at NTT. “By looking at the data generated by the competitors, we’ll be able to provide broadcasters and fans with a deeper understanding of how the races unfold.”
All partners of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will be running in-game activations in the lead up to the event.
Read more: Wahoo expands partnership with EF Education
The UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will be held on 26th February on Zwift’s New York Map, with racers tackling the Knickerbocker route. Field size, broadcast exposure, race distance and prize money will be equal for both men’s and women’s races.
