Zwift has given professional cyclists a second chance at competitive glory

Vicki Whitelaw retired from cycling 11 years ago in order to raise her children. She was cooped up in her home in Canberra, Australia with a baby girl that – as many parents often feel when raising a newborn – could drive her up the wall at a moment's notice. She needed some sort of relief.

She found some when she began testing the virtual cycling that Zwift offered in its beta version in 2014. Suddenly, Whitelaw, who has cycled in competitions in places such as Italy and Belgium in a long career of real-world cycling, was back out on the pavement once again. Except this time, she could do it all from home.

"It completely fits my lifestyle," Whitelaw said. "I retired as a professional cyclist in 2011, and I was at home with a newborn who was four months old. She cried a lot. I needed some mental sanity and to stay physically fit because I was no longer competing on the world stage. That's where Zwift came in; it literally saved my sanity. I could be taken to this virtual utopia. All of a sudden I found myself being a computer gamer."

Whitelaw never considered herself a gamer or esports pro, as her main experience with games outside Zwift has been watching her family play Fortnite and The Legend of Zelda together. But she fully embraces the title now, even if cycling feels a little different in Zwift's digital world, dubbed Watopia.

Cycling Esports: Its own cycling discipline

"The easiest way to explain is that outdoor riding is like a pot of coffee. There is quite a bit to it, and there is a little kick with it," Olympic Esports Series finalist James Barnes said. "Zwift is like an espresso. It's all concentrated, and it's got a very big punch to it. There's the technique, tactics and everything that's similar to the outdoors [...] but obviously you don't have the wind and terrain."

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) already recognises esports cycling as its own discipline, and Barnes and Whitelaw hope the finals at the Olympic Esports Series 2023 will help draw even more attention to it.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I put myself here, competing at an Olympic level at a global international event in a very different discipline of cycling," Whitelaw said. "I retired from road cycling 11 years ago [...] I keep looking around at this arena, and it's amazing. It's very surreal. How does it feel? What an experience. What then does this mean for the future? I can only imagine."

Catch Whitelaw, Barnes and 14 other Zwift finalists as they compete in the finals at the Olympic Esports Series 2023 on June 23, which you can watch on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and on various Olympics social platforms.

The Olympic Esports Series 2023 is a global virtual and simulated sports competition, created by the IOC, and in collaboration with game publishers and International Federations (IFs) such as Zwift and Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).