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Esports<\/a><\/p>\n It could be an even more complex issue than in road cycling.<\/p>\n Image: Zwift<\/p>\n The topic of weight in cycling redefines sensitivity in a sport where performance is tightly bound to the interplay between gravity and body mass. The hidden, unhealthy obsession with being the leanest and lightest to win \u2013 once-pervasive in the men’s and women’s peloton \u2013 is being increasingly challenged through open discussion and awareness. Yet it still rears its ugly head<\/a> in the modern cycling era.<\/p>\n However, in elite cycling esports, other determining factors of success, such as descending ability and positioning in the bunch, don’t come into play. Riders often view weight manipulation as the answer to performance gains, and the significant prize money on offer<\/a> has elite cycling esports athletes weighing the cost-benefit weekly.<\/p>\n When outlining the weight policy for the recent 2025 US$1 million MyWhoosh Championship, the platform\u2019s director of esports and game operations, Matt Smithson, made it clear that \u201cOur goal with any weigh-in procedure is for riders to race at their healthy, natural, hydrated, and fueled weight.\u201d<\/p>\n That may sound simple, but the need for a weight policy \u2013 to address the risks of weight manipulation and its impact on rider health, fairness, the sport\u2019s public image, and the future \u2013 is anything but straightforward.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do we need to talk about weight?<\/p>\n Just when the sport was moving on from the pressure to be light, Demi Vollering was asked whether she was too heavy to win the Tour de France Femmes.<\/p>\n The insidious manipulation of weigh-ins in elite cycling esports has led to the emergence of a neologism to describe this practice: “weight gapping.” Loosely defined, “gapping” refers to weighing in at a lower weight than a rider’s normal everyday “walking around” weight \u2013 the actual weight of the rider at the start of the race \u2013 after implementing rapid weight-loss measures.<\/p>\n Simply put, when a rider weighs in at an artificially low number but then races at their actual weight, the platform calculates power against the lower figure. The result is a higher watts-per-kilogram (W\/kg) value, which the virtual platform\u2019s velocity algorithm converts into extra speed.<\/p>\n For example, if a rider weighed in at 51 kilograms after cutting 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) from their normal hydrated weight of 55 kilograms (121 pounds) \u2013 a gap which, sources indicate, is commonplace at the elite level \u2013 the “weight gapping” performance benefits are potentially profound.<\/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\/08\/17339225339092.jpeg\")
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<\/a>Weight gapping<\/p>\n
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