Moolman-Pasio looks ahead to the Zwift e-sports world championships cycling

One of the big favorites for the second e-sports cycling world championships on Zwift next Saturday is the Banyoles-based professional cyclist Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. The South African is the current world champion, and is one of the professional cyclists who embraced the platform to enhance training and enjoy realistic racing experience.

Moolman-Pasio won last year’s world championships. Just like in real life, she got the honor to train and race virtually in the rainbow jersey. The professional cyclist aims to prolong her title with another 365 days.

‘e-sports developed as a discipline’

“That is the goal”, she agrees. “Zwift has become a big part of my life. I own a team and I set up a virtual community in order to grow female participation on the platform. For me it is a priority to perform well in e-sports, and therefore it would be special to win the Worlds back-to-back.”

According to the 36-year-old, e-sports has developed as a discipline big time, particularly on Zwift. “Nowadays there is a more active racing season, more professionalism, and more tactics.”

She therefore thinks the Worlds will be an interesting race to watch. “It will be fascinating to see how much teamwork will have its influence on the race. Bigger teams, like Great-Britain, the USA, and Australia have strong and experienced riders lining up. On this year’s course for the Worlds, it will be interesting to see how the race unfolds.”

Moolman-Pasio’s set-up

The Banyoles-based cyclist, experienced as she is with e-racing on Zwift, has her pain cave fully prepared for the suffer test. “I am racing with a big, flat screen television, and I use some shelfs next to me to put my things on: water, a phone (for the Zwift companion app), snacks, a towel and also a van to keep myself cool.”

She hopes to invite some friends over to live the full experience. “I like to have people in the room while I race, to create a nice atmosphere. That is what e-sports make special: friends and family can be closer to you while you are racing, whether that’s virtually or in real life.”

About the route

The e-sports world championships on Zwift are held in the New York-map, in Central Park. The ‘Knickerbocker’-route is challenging, as it is constantly up and down. The finish is on top of the New York KOM, a 1.4-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 6.1%. The maximum percentage on the final ascent is 17, and will likely decide this year’s winner of the jersey with the rainbow stripes.

In the first edition of the magazine, Nafent introduces two Catalan cyclists to Zwift, in the Chpt3-studio in Girona. The two women are completely inexperienced with the application and learn quickly how easy it is to set up, and how realistic riding on Zwift is. Read the story in our magazine, which is available in Nafent’s webshop.