Defending champions Mary Kate McCarthy of New Zealand and Jason Osborne of Germany have retained their titles at the fifth edition of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships crowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McCarthy takes her second title while it\u2019s the third for Osborne, who has featured on the podium in every edition of the event: winner in 2020, 2024 and 2025, runner-up in 2023 and bronze medallist in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2025 rainbow jerseys were awarded after an intense in-person final held in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), where 22 women and 22 men battled in a custom-built virtual world on the MyWhoosh platform. The contenders raced on Elite Justo 2 smart trainers that had been verified by the UCI to ensure fairness and accuracy of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three stages of the event in Abu Dhabi were designed to test the riders\u2019 physical, tactical and mental abilities with varied challenges. But no matter the race configuration, there was no dethroning defending McCarthy, who was eventually crowned with a tally of 597 points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like she did in 2024, Brazil\u2019s Gabriella Guerra took silver (525 points). Italy\u2019s Francesca Tommasi rounded out the podium with 478 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the gradient increased in the 8.4km first stage, Mountain\u2019s Verdict, to hit double figures, McCarthy thrashed the field, pushing over 7 watts\/kg to separate herself from rivals gradually caught by the chase line that marked their elimination from the stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweden\u2019s Anna Sv\u00e4rdstr\u00f6m was the first rider out, after just over 13 minutes of effort, with other riders following suit. Brazil\u2019s Gabriela Guerra resisted four more minutes than Sv\u00e4rdstr\u00f6m to come second, while McCarthy was eventually caught by the chase line after 19\u201935\u2019\u2019 of racing. She already had a 28-point margin over her first chaser: 235 to Guerra\u2019s 207.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McCarthy increased the pressure on the second stage, the Puncher\u2019s Playground, where points were awarded at five checkpoints throughout the 12km loop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New Zealander made the most of the gradients to go solo at the front and dominate the event, head and shoulders ahead of Guerra and Tommasi. Second at the first checkpoint, the New Zealander then took maximum points, pushing her tally to 433 points. Ahead of the Sprinter\u2019s Paradise, Guerra trailed by 48 points and Tommasi by 68.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McCarthy sealed the deal in the intense final stage comprising eight short laps and as many sprints, with points up for grabs at each sprint. Guerra secured silver while a furious battle unfolded for the final spot on the podium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweden\u2019s Camila Ahlberg put the hammer down and moved up to third position, but Tommasi reacted by winning the final sprint \u2013 where double points were awarded \u2013 to snatch bronze with only a single point difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was aiming to show what I can do up that first climb and then hopefully hang on for the next two stages,\u201d McCarthy explained. \u201cIt meant everything [to have my relatives supporting me in Abu Dhabi]. It\u2019s really cool to race each other in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osborne dominated the men\u2019s competition to secure his third rainbow jersey – and fifth medal – to go along with the medals he previously claimed as a rower, including silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German athlete claimed 564 points to secure victory ahead of Poland\u2019s Micha\u0142 Kami\u0144ski (493 points) and Belgium\u2019s Lennert Teugels (468 points).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Mountain\u2019s Verdict, Osborne was alone after just over 17 minutes of racing. He was eventually caught by the chase line after 18\u201928\u2019\u2019 of racing, as the gradient hit 17.6%, a performance granting him 221 points, 15 more than Poland\u2019s Pawe\u0142 \u015acierski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teugels followed with 199 points, one of six riders within 11 points of Osborne, setting the scene for more intense battling in the Puncher\u2019s Playground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early in the second stage, Czechia\u2019s Daniel Turek successfully anticipated the first sprint, Norway\u2019s Nj\u00e5l Pedersen emulated him in the second one, and \u015acierski followed in their wake to provisionally lead the standings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Osborne made the most of the gradients, going first atop the two climbs of the Puncher\u2019s Playground and pressing solo all the way to the finish to bring his tally up to 389 points. \u015acierski reduced the gap (376 points) and a fierce battle for the podium was shaping up with Teugels (363 points) closely followed by Kami\u0144ski (360 points).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osborne turned the Sprinter\u2019s Paradise into a sufferfest as he attacked on lap two. The German star put everyone at their limit, escaped with Belgium\u2019s Lionel Vujasin and raised three fingers in the air as he sealed his overall triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be honest, I was not really happy with stage 1 because I couldn\u2019t put the same gap I had in the semis, [held virtually on 3 October]\u201d Osborne said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t feeling that great but on stage 2 I could really push on and then it just got better each stage. On stage 3, I went on the front with Lionel Vujasin and we worked well together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n