The second edition of the MyWhoosh Championships 2025 brought a double victory for New Zealand. Former professional Michael Vink and Mary Kate McCarthy won the elite categories. The esports cycling event attracted 650 participants who competed for prize money totalling 1 million US dollars.
The virtual training platform MyWhoosh traditionally attracts riders with bulging coffers - and this time too, a lot of money was handed out. The MyWhoosh Championships 2025, the flagship event of the free virtual cycling platform MyWhoosh, ended with a double victory for New Zealand. In the second edition of the e-sports event, Michael Vink won the men's category and Mary Kate McCarthy the women's category (Cat 1). Over 650 riders from 47 countries took part in the seven stages, which were spread over eight days. During the championships, the participants covered a total of more than 200,000 virtual kilometres and accumulated over 6000 hours of riding time on the platform. The event, which took place in Abu Dhabi from 13 to 20 August 2025, is not to be confused with the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, which will not take place on the MyWhoosh platform until November.
Jason Osborn in second place
In the men's Cat 1 category, the decision remained open until the final stage. Former UAE Team Emirates rider Michael Vink from New Zealand finally secured overall victory. Germany's Jason Osborne followed close behind in second place, while China's Yunfie Wu took third place. Vink also dominated the sprint classification with an impressive 102 points.
Mary Kate McCarthy from New Zealand put in a dominant performance in the women's race. With a decisive attack on the fourth stage, she was able to pull out a lead that she defended to the end. Brazil's Gabriella Guerra took second place, while Sweden's Camila Ahlberg completed the podium in third. McCarthy also secured the title of Queen of the Mountains (QOM) with 64 points.
One million dollars in prize money from MyWhoosh
The event boasted an impressive prize purse of one million US dollars, split evenly between men and women across all six competition categories. The podium finishers in the Cat 1 category received US$12,000, US$10,000 and US$9,000 for first to third place, with prize money paid out to the top 10 individual finishers and the top seven teams. In addition to second place, Jason Osborne secured the mountain jersey (KOM) and Sweden's Mika Söderström won the women's sprint classification. In the Masters category (age 45+), Neal Fryett (USA) and Amelia Van Hove (Belgium) triumphed, while Hayden Pucker (USA) and Kamila Mroz (Poland) won the young rider classification. Jason Osborn was able to take home a cheque for 3000 US dollars for his mountain jersey - for his second place in the overall standings he received another 10,200 US dollars.
MyWhoosh Championships with challenging stages
The MyWhoosh Championships 2025 comprised seven days of racing with a rest day on 17 August between the fifth and sixth stage. The total distance for the men was 440 kilometres with over 5000 metres of ascent, while the women covered 340 kilometres with 3800 metres of ascent. The programme offered a mixture of flat and hilly stages, mountain top finishes and time trials.
All participants who finished the race received an exclusive MyWhoosh Championships 2025 jersey worth 500 US dollars in recognition of their performance in this elite global cycling event. The combination of endurance, strategy and resilience made the event a highlight of the virtual cycling calendar.
UCI Cycling Esports World Championships 2025
The next highlight in the e-cycling calendar is already on the horizon: the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships 2025 will be held on the virtual cycling platform MyWhoosh. The riders will compete on stage on 15 November in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This is the fourth edition of the event, which was also held in Abu Dhabi and on MyWhoosh in 2024. The UCI Cycling Esports World Championships introduced a new format in 2024. Forty finalists (20 men and 20 women) will qualify through a series of events organised by the national federations, as well as public events open to all. This first stage will be followed by the semi-finals, from which the top 20 women and the top 20 men will be invited to the final in Abu Dhabi.
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Kristian Bauer
Editor
