Has it been a year already?! It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating with Lionel Vujasin when he claimed silver at the UCI World Championships. But this weekend we found ourselves back in Abu Dhabi, and it would be the turn of team mate Michał Kamiński to claim the silver medal. Obviously, as a team it's always great when riders do well, but we have to be especially proud of Michał as he joined us a young aspiring racer and rose through the ranks from our U21 Development team, then the Beta team, and then rightfully earning his place in the elite Alpha squad. It has been a joy to see him develop as a racer, and be rightfully rewarded with a great result.
Coalition elite riders have been present in all five of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships and this year was no different. This was the second time that MyWhoosh was hosting the event and on the men's side Lionel Vujasin, Ollie Jones and Michał Kamiński all qualified to race again. On the women's side, Ellexi Snover was our sole team rider and also returning for the second time to Abu Dhabi.
There were a few changes to the competition this year. One of which was a hydration test to counteract the long queues for the sauna we saw last year. This was something I called for myself, but the application made it largely meaningless. The end goal is to get a rider weighing in-game, what they weigh IRL. The simplest way to do that is to weigh the rider before they step on the bike. Any other process will not have the desired effect and will lead to "controversies". Is it that hard? Still, it is good to still see further attempts at levelling the playing field.
Overall, the livestream experience was as slick as it was in 2024... once it got going after the painful speeches. Do we have an hour of speeches before other World Championships? Maybe don't broadcast this bit next time. The race format was also improved from the previous year. We still had the three individual races, but they felt more well-rounded and less arbitrary (the sprint race in 2024 was weird!). Overall, the stream is still better than anything we've had before – but it was difficult to follow who had been eliminated and there were no leaderboards, so even watching at home it was not clear Michał was in the position he was. So definitely some improvements can be made in 2026. And whilst I know this is a competition targeted towards national federations, it's safe to say most of them are still clueless in 2025. That said, the Danish Federation is still wiping the floor with everyone when it comes to their weight-loss programme! But when it comes to marketing, MyWhoosh might consider working more closely with the riders and their teams to help promote the event, so we can get as many people involved next year. I am sure there were many people in our community who were none-the-wiser that the event was even happening.
Photo Gallery
Click on images to view full-screen
What a great moment – Lionel and Michal celebrate together. Additional photos by Liz Smithson
Lionel battles on despite injuring his arm. Additional photos by Liz Smithson
Ollie and Lionel love a lanyard.
Michal celebrates with his girlfriend.
Lionel fights for his place, crashes, and redeems himself in the final race!
Lionel Vujasin is no stranger to drama when it comes to eracing, however, when it comes to the World Championships he is Mr. Consistency and has never been out of the Top 10. Last year he was able to take the second spot on the podium and was hoping to come back and go one better. But just as all the pieces were falling into place, disaster strikes and he takes a tumble just days from the start of the race. Would he even be able to compete at all? And if so, what impact would that crash have on his ability to race at the highest level?
My experience did not exactly go to plan. I had to fight so hard to be allowed to race the Finals, so I couldn't believe it when I crashed right before the race and injured my arm. It happened when I was riding on a smooth, green tarmac bike lane—my old Canyon bike's silicone grip just wasn't grippy anymore, and my hand slipped. The impact caused a bad bruise on my arm and back. I couldn't fully straighten or twist my hand, and the biggest issue was that I couldn't sprint effectively, barely hitting 1,000 Watts. I was so disappointed that I even considered not racing. But I had come this far, so I had to give it my all – even if it hurt like hell!
The injury made the races really tough. I managed to score 193 points in the first race, which was decent considering I was practically pedaling one-handed. Race two was a major struggle because of the sprints. I couldn't put the weight on my arm like I would like to. When I realised Kami (Michał) was still in the top five, I decided to switch my focus. My goal became about supporting Kami and just trying to survive in the pack, especially on the climbs, I didn't believe I could have a real impact on his result but I thought if I was still there it would definitely boost his confidence.
After stage two, I was all the way back in 13th place. I decided to try something radical in stage three—I went on a breakaway with Jason Osborne, I knew by doing so it would prevent other riders to take advantage of Jason's pace to steal points for Kami. I was just happy to make it to the finish line, but somehow I ended up crossing it first in that stage, which was a huge personal moment for me, especially with the injury. Even with all the pain, I was incredibly happy to finish sixth place overall and get that mental boost to keep racing.
Michal gets the silver!
Picture by SW Pix
Michał was undoubtedly the star of the show for The Coalition. The Polish rider has been training hard to compete at the highest level and he was able to prove that on the biggest stage in Eracing. Last year, it was his team mate Lionel who got second place, but now it was his turn!
Here's what Michał had to say about the experience and his preparation for the finals:
It was already my 5th Cycling Esports World Championship, and my 2nd one held in real life. I can say that I’ve finally gotten used to events like this. I can perform well even under big pressure, so it was just a pleasure to race with the best riders on the globe in one place!
My strategy for the event was simple: do everything I could to finish in the Top 3. During the first stage, I tried to control the race and respond to every attack. It worked pretty well because I finished 4th and still had plenty of energy left for the two remaining races. The second race was a little harder, especially during the first two primes in the big bunch, where everyone wanted to take as many points as possible. Fortunately, I stayed in the front group and collected a lot of points. The last two primes and the finish suited me really well because I placed 2nd three times in a row!
Before the last stage, I was thinking about an early breakaway, perhaps after the second or third lap. However, once I noticed that my timing and understanding of the bunch were working really well, I changed my tactic and decided to stay with the group and build my gap in the sprints.
The last two or three weeks were amazing for me. I felt my body improving day by day, and I could ride faster than ever before! I was quite confident about my shape before Worlds, especially after a long breakaway in the last SRC just before the event. When I walked onto the stage, I knew I had done everything I could and that everything should be fine.
It’s definitely an incredible feeling. I still can’t fully believe it. After 10 years on the bike and about 5 years in Esports, with the whole journey from Canyon Dev, it means something special to me, but it’s definitely not my final word. I need to take one more small (or big) step forward!
Ollie Jones secures yet another Top 10 finish at Worlds
Ollie was back and hoping to improve upon his 5th place in the semi-finals. He'd recently had some great wins in SRC and let's not forget his GC win back in June! His compatriot Mary Kate McCarthy was able to get the win again earlier in the night, so how did it go for him?
I think I had a surprisingly good prep for Worlds considering my wife and I had our first baby 8 weeks beforehand. I had a few really strong results on the SRC’s immediately following Hugo’s birth, probably due to my body running on endorphins.
Last year I did too much in the taper, maybe not too much in itself, but definitely too much considering the travel from New Zealand. This year I adapted my schedule but on the Sunday before Worlds, I had one of my worst SRC results in memory. I couldn’t pedal my bike at all and just wanted the earth to swallow me up. I tried telling myself all week leading into Worlds that I just needed a bit of rest and I’ll come right, but unfortunately with the travel and jetlag I just felt like my body was blocked all week.
To be honest though, I’m happy with the power I produced across all stages at Worlds. I don’t think I really lost that many points due to lack of power. What I did lose points to however was poor decision making and technique. I just wasn’t operating to my usual high-standard in that regard. I was going back and forward in the bunch like an amateur and ending up on the front of sprints far too early. At the end of the day, when 10-15 places at a prime are separated by a couple of tenths of a second, mistakes like that can’t be rectified by power. I can put this down to riding the justos on their default (power smoothing at max) setting, whereas I’m used to having power smoothing at the minimum setting for the best responsiveness for feathering bunch position, but at the end of the day everyone had the same and I failed to adapt to the requirements of the day.
One of the highlights of Worlds of course is just seeing your friends in person. Guys like Lio and Kami are a huge part of my life and this is realistically the only opportunity each year where we come together. It was a shame to see Lio come down in a training crash on the Thursday. He really knows how to manage these events mentally and I think he’s on the tip of everyone’s lips when you talk about major championships. It was amazing to see Kami’s form come together perfectly after some hard months not too long ago. It was a pleasure to see him coming off my wheel in the last few sprints of stage 3 and the joy that he and Natalia got from his performance.
The event itself was great. MyWhoosh does a fantastic job of putting together a visual spectacle and as athletes, we all feel so respected by the effort that they put in to showcase us to the best of their ability. Last year was already more than anyone could have imagined albeit with a bit of a frantic air about it as could be expected for such a groundbreaking undertaking. I would say this year was slightly better in terms of the end product.
Ellexi returns for the Women's race
Ellexi was back again for another stab at the women's race. This year she was flying the flag solo for the Coalition, but we hope more of our great female riders can join her in future editions! Ellexi finished the race in 14th place – more or less identical to the result from 2024. But up against stiff competition, it's another good result for the American. It was certainly great to see her showing off her sprinting prowess in the second race.
Ellexi let us know her thoughts following the race:
It was such a great experience. MyWhoosh did a great job at creating a fun experience for the riders and it was great for spectators as well. The stages suited the best rider winning, while keeping it interesting and there was still something for the sprinters like myself so we could still make it to the finals.
The first climb stage was hard. I hit a huge 10 min PB and still ended like 15th on the stage. The second stage I had planned to not go hard for the first sprint to save some energy for the climbs but ended up winning it anyway and still fell off during the climbs. I had to keep a decent pace to make the time cut. The last stage I was able to sit in and gather a few points. All good for 14th, but was hard fought for. I don't know if I could have broken into the Top 10 considering how stiff the competition was. It was very warm on the stage itself – so mich so that I was pouring water over myself to stay cool. The organisers also shortened the time between stages, which made it better for spectators, but made it harder to recover. In the end it was a special treat to have our gifts given to us my Tadej.
Rewatch the livestream
The whole team can be proud!
In the end, it was a great performance by all our team members who participated in this year's edition of the World Championships. Whilst none of our riders were able to claim the rainbow stripes, we were able to get 2nd again with a standout performance from Michał. And on the men's side, all riders finished in the Top 10! You will be hard-pressed to find a more consistent team with riders finishing in the Top 10 at all five editions of the World Championships.
No doubt we will be back for the 2027 edition, and looking to take that top spot on the podium. We can't wait!