![\"Cycling](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/442168-zwift-esports_olympic-virtual-2021_3-a7d587-original-1662395263.jpg\")
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Esports<\/a><\/p>\n But the vision is still afloat. Probably.<\/p>\n For cycling esports<\/a>, Olympic inclusion and recognition are more than a dream for the developing discipline. They\u2019re an omnipresent beacon of hope.<\/p>\n It appeared the concept had come to port when, in early 2024, UCI president David Lappartient revealed, \u201cThe Olympic Esports Games will start in 2025 and will include cycling esports.”<\/p>\n The Olympic Esports Games would be a standalone event, separate from the traditional Olympic program, showcasing physical virtual sports such as cycling esports and awarding medals and associated athlete honors.<\/p>\n Lappartient, who also leads the IOC\u2019s Esports and Gaming Liaison Group<\/a> and is finishing out his term as president of the French National Olympic Committee, initially shared hints about the transformative event during a January 2024 one-on-one in Abu Dhabi, which Cycling Weekly<\/a> later reported.<\/p>\n The stakeholders of the fledgling sport have seen the mainstream recognition, legitimization, and financial ramifications of Olympic medal status as a line to shore ever since Zwift CEO Eric Min said in 2019, “I want this to be a fully-fledged Olympic sport.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s not real racing!\u2019 and other myths holding back cycling esports<\/p>\n Until we challenge outdated misconceptions, cycling esports will always be defined by what it isn\u2019t, rather than what it is becoming.<\/p>\n Min laid out his bold plan, announcing that his virtual cycling platform would host the inaugural UCI Cycling Esports World Championship in 2020, on the way to creating a new sporting discipline.<\/p>\n The Olympic Esports Games<\/p>\n However, fans heard little about Lappartient’s overzealous admission until February 2025, when the IOC officially announced<\/a> that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games would actually take place in 2027, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), a non-profit funded by the PIF (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund), claimed a dedication to advancing esports and gaming globally. The organization that hosts the world’s largest esports competition, the Esports World Cup<\/a>, would serve as the founding partner, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s National Olympic Committee.<\/p>\n Outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach cemented this milestone as part of his legacy, declaring, \u201cThere is now a very clear roadmap to the historic first-ever Olympic Esports Games. With the road to the Olympic Esports Games starting this year, the Games are becoming a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n The extended timeline was a letdown \u2013 especially given the stark contrast with Lappartient \u2013 that esports enthusiasts would endure in exchange for propelling the sport into the mainstream.<\/p>\n But esports fans didn’t anticipate the gutpunch on October 30, 2025, when the IOC announced<\/a> that it had mutually agreed with the Saudi Arabian government to cancel the 12-year deal to host and organize the event.<\/p>\n This post is for paying subscribers only Already have an account? Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n \n \ud83d\udc4dYep![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7377-2.jpeg\")
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Stopped before they started<\/p>\n
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