Australian team named for 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships

AusCycling has announced the 13 riders who will represent Australia in the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships on 26 February.

The line-up includes three of the last four Zwift Academy winners, plus three top-10 finishers from the 2020 World Championships.

Contested between national teams, the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships are the world’s highest level of online bicycle races.

The World Championships were first held in 2020 using Zwift, a game-like app that allows riders to control their avatar within a virtual world by pedaling their real-world bicycle, which they attach to a stationary trainer.

In 2020, Sarah Gigante won silver for Australia. The championships were not held in 2021.

This year, the men’s and women’s races will take place on Zwift’s New York ‘Knickerbocker’ route over 54.9 virtual kilometres. The challenging course is filled with rolling and steep terrain, including three ascents of the New York KOM/QOM (1.4km at 6.1%).

The 2022 World Championship course features the futuristic glass roads of Zwift's New York. (Source: Zwift)

Men

Australia’s men’s squad features Jay Vine and Alex Bogna, who secured professional road cycling contracts by winning Zwift Academy – a global competition that uses Zwift to identify high-performing athletes – in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Zwift Academy finalist Sam Hill will make his Australian representative debut and will ride alongside brother Ben Hill, who finished fifth in the 2020 World Championships and is racing with superb form in the Zwift Racing League (ZRL) Premier Division, the top tier of cycling esports outside the World Championships.

Freddy Ovett also participated in the 2020 championships, where he finished eighth. Last year, Ovett racked up top results in the ZRL and earned himself the award of AusCycling’s Esports Cyclist of the Year.

Canberra’s Torben Partridge-Madsen and New South Wales’ Aiden Sinclair complete the team, both making their first senior world championship appearance.

Jay Vine:

“I'm thrilled to be putting on the green and gold and representing Australia again. Unfortunately, last time my race was impaired with a trainer drop-out at a crucial time, but this year I hope to set things right. The course looks very attritional with the final climb featuring three times throughout the race, which I expect will reduce the field. I'm hoping for a hard and fast race.”

Aiden Sinclair:

“It's nice to be able to start in my first ever UCI World Championship and contribute to the rapidly developing discipline of esports. My training has been a bit hampered in the past month since contracting COVID, but with the key point in the race being the three-minute climb at the end, I'll be optimizing my training to ensure I've got some punch in my legs whilst under a bit of fatigue. I’m really keen to kick off the second-ever UCI Cycling Esports World Championships and can't thank AusCycling enough for their commitment to the team.”

Women

(Update, February 17: Sarah Gigante has been announced as a late addition to the Australian team).

Neve Bradbury, who has been racing professionally on the road with Canyon-SRAM since winning Zwift Academy in 2020, will compete in her first UCI Cycling Esports World Championships.

The 19-year-old Victorian will be joined by three riders who are making their second appearance at this level.

Bre Vine surprised the competition – and herself – when she placed 10th in the 2020 World Championships. She’ll race from her new home in Andorra alongside husband Jay Vine.

Justine Barrow and Vicki Whitelaw also return to the Australian squad after competing in 2020. Whitelaw completed a sterling season with all-conquering ZRL outfit Team Heino on her way to claiming the 2021 AusCycling Esports Cyclist of the Year award.

The team is rounded out by esports debutants Katie Banerjee, a masters road cycling world champion from Sydney; and Queensland’s Rachael Wales, who recently contested the 2021 Zwift Academy finals in Mallorca.

Bre Vine:

“I'm really excited to be representing Australia again. We have a really strong team and I think we can pull off another great result with any of our riders. I really surprised myself last time with the top-10 result. I worked really hard to pull that one off and the course suited me with a one-minute all-out effort. This year is a bit different for me. The course has some longer climbs, so it's more suited to a purer climber, but I've been working on my strengths and the hopes are high.”

Justine Barrow:

“I am honoured to represent Australia again; it is pretty special to put on that green-and-gold jersey and represent our amazing country. I think the New York Knickerbocker is a great world championship course as many different types of riders could potentially win. I like that there are some nice steep climbs on it, but would, of course, prefer the climbs to be a bit longer! Australia has a great team, both on the women’s and men’s side, and I am looking forward to racing with the team.”

Donna Rae-Szalinski (team manager):

“We’re looking forward to the event and we’re bringing a very strong team to the table. We have five finalists of recent Zwift Academy competitions, and another good section of the team are consistently competing well in the ZRL. We’re excited, bring on Worlds!”

Australian Cycling Team – 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships

Men

• Alex Bogna (QLD, Alpecin-Fenix Development Team)
• Ben Hill (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Sam Hill (NSW, AERO Racing Team)
• Freddy Ovett (VIC, L39ION of Los Angeles)
• Torben Partridge-Madsen (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Aiden Sinclair (NSW, Canyon Esports)
• Jay Vine (ACT, Alpecin-Fenix)

Women

• Katie Banerjee (NSW, AERO Racing Team)
• Justine Barrow (VIC, AERO Racing Team)
• Neve Bradbury (VIC, Canyon-SRAM)
• Sarah Gigante (VIC, Movistar)
• Bre Vine (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Rachael Wales (QLD, AERO Racing Team)
• Vicki Whitelaw (ACT, Team Heino)