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New Zealand’s Kate McCarthy is the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Champion after winning the final sprint of the final race held live in Abu Dhabi.
She was challenged all the way by Brazil’s Gabriela Guerra but won the final sprint to win the world title by just 4 points.
Switzerland’s Kathrin Fuhrer was third after an aggressive ride, with Great Britain’s Maria Holdcroft and Lou Bates fourth and fifth but out of the medals.
The 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships had a new format that included a timed ‘Sprint’ lap race, a hilly ‘Strategist’ road race decided on points and then the final All Out race over four laps of a 4km criterium circuit. 20 finalists competed shoulder to shoulder in a live arena in Abu Dhabi, racing on the MyWhoosh platform.
Points in each race and at key points decided who became the 2024 world champion. The focus on points and different kinds of racing made the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships much like an Omnium on the track, combined with the intensity and pain of a British hill-climb race.
McCarthy set the fastest time in the Sprint race, setting the fastest time in the 300 metre timed sprint. He took the maximum of 20 points, as other riders played a tactical game and saving their legs, knowing far more points would be awarded later in the Strategist and All Out races.
Great Britain’s Lou Bates was the first to attack in the Strategist race to score 20 points at the first sprint point at the foot of the climb. However McCarthy and Gabriela Guerra of Brazil soon surged away, making many of the others suffer on the 1.5km climb and opening a 20-second gap.
McCarthy took maximum points at the top of the climb and then she and Guerra worked together to stay away on the remainder of the 9 km race. The two sprinted to the finish line and Giuerra won it to take 40 points. McCarthy scored 38 to stay in the lead.
After the Strategist race, Guerra was top of the leaderboard with 74 points, McCarthy was second with 69 points. Germany’s Merle Brunnee was third with 63…
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