Is virtual racing 'real' racing? – Our team weighs in on whether esports is 'legit' or 'just a fitness contest'

Back in the day, the prospect of an indoor turbo trainer session (that's what we called them before they got smart, kids) would generally unite cyclists, who pretty much unanimously agreed that they were a great way of getting a quality session in, but they were hard and generally a means to an end, that being improved fitness and form.

With the rise of smart trainers and everything that comes with them, from virtual mountain climbing to intense virtual e-racing, opinions on the latter seem to be a bit more skewed.

Some riders, particularly in winter, get stuck into virtual racing to maintain fitness, whilst others shun any sort of virtual world and simply head out in the wet and cold to train.

Virtual racing has only grown in recent years; there's a rainbow jersey for it now, and the inaugural UCI Esports World Championship took place back in December 2020. It can also be incredibly lucrative, with big prize pots up for grabs on a regular basis.

But does virtual racing really count? It's Indoor Cycling Week at Cyclingnews, and the team got together for another editors' roundtable for a healthy exchange of views on the legitimacy of racing indoors.

Here are our thoughts, but let us know yours too. Is virtual racing real racing?

 Matilda Price (Assistant Features Editor)

Is there a treadmill world championship? No, exactly.

I could probably stop there, as I think that summarises my point quite well. To me, indoor racing lacks all of the things that make cycling truly competitive. It's a test of fitness, sure (and a difficult one at that; I don't doubt indoor athletes are incredibly strong), but the element of tactics, gameplay, positioning and, to be frank, racing skill is so minimal that it feels very far removed from actual racing.

It's also more or less completely useless as a spectator event, which I think is a key element of being a sport – there has to be a degree of entertainment.

To me, indoor competition is more akin to the Hyrox world championships or a fitness contest than real bike racing. Challenging and a big achievement for the competitors, yes, but a real sport that the public need particularly pay attention to? Not really.

Laura Weislo (Managing Editor)

Virtual racing, as Matilda already pointed out, is racing in the way a swim meet is racing. But if rubbing is racing, it's definitely not.

You can't throw an elbow, dive the inside of a turn, latch onto another team's lead-out train or use your descending skills to get away from your competition (see Chris Froome/Col de Peyresourde, Matej Mohorič/Sanremo, Marianne Vos/Giro).

Real racing takes skill, tactical nous, teamwork and luck – all aspects absent in virtual racing. But if you consider a VO2 max test to be 'real racing', then, sure.

Owen Rogers (Staff Writer)

Of course, virtual racing is real racing.

I haven’t raced a bike for real in a very long time, and there’s no way I’ll go back to it. I wasn’t very good – though I did once win a race – I’m no longer very fit, and even in veterans racing, the variation of ability in the real sport is huge.

With online racing you actually race against others of around the same physical ability, which suits me. That said, I’ve only done it once, and then only to test a power meter, but it was short, sweet, incredibly hard, great fun, and Zwift awarded me a new FTP after I came second.

And for all those efforts on the road or in any other indoor session, I can never push myself as hard as when there’s the thrill of competition.

I’ll certainly give it another go, maybe in the next month or so.

Will Jones (Senior Tech Writer)

No. In much the same way that rowing on an erg machine in the gym doesn’t give you the spray of delicious river water (or sewage, depending on which water company’s area you’re operating in), riding indoors totally fails to offer anything close to the experience of riding and racing outside.

Can I take that corner faster, or will the tyres slide? The wind has changed direction. I can’t see; there’s too much grit in my eyes. Indoor racing is sanitised nonsense, and I’d be just as happy having a test to see who has the highest FTP and be done with it, as bike racing without bike handling is just a fitness test.

Josh Croxton (Associate Editor - Tech)

Of course it's real racing. The finish line might be made out of pixels, but if racing on Zwift isn't real racing, then neither is Mario Kart, and I think we all know that it is.

Sure, it's not the same as outdoor racing, and it's not a spectator sport. But when I'm being dropped from the lead group on a climb, that feels pretty damn realistic.

 Jackie Tyson (NA Production Editor)

Can indoor bicycle racing be considered real racing? The 'indoor trainer' remains just that: a fitness tool, not a race machine. Akin to my lovely NordicTrack, which still gets used occasionally, there is no virtual classic cross-country skiing championship, or skimo or even biathlon (can you imagine?).

I do think the training apps that allow people to test their skills against each other bring the feel of a peloton, but it is not a real race. Besides, the true definition of 'peloton' – a group moving forward – just doesn't ring true for stationary bikes.

Tom Wieckowski (Tech Writer)

Indoor racing is real racing.

Indoor racing can be shockingly hard; suffering and pushing as hard as you can whilst sitting on a stationary bike indoors is really tough. Indoor racing and efforts demand a special kind of suffering, and it definitely counts.

I see indoor racing sitting off to one side; I’m never going to love it or see it the same way as I see road, or any other kind of real-world racing, but I have respect for the world's best indoor racers; they are putting out incredible numbers and performances indoors, and that takes a certain type of rider and skill set. The effort is very real.

Indoor racing also has nuance and tactics that can’t be overlooked; it’s improved as online platforms and technology have developed over time.

Indoor racing is legit, but don’t count your indoor kilometres as real ones – they don’t count!

Simone Giuliani (Australian Editor)

The appeal of the bike for me is intrinsically tied to the outdoors, with the unpredictability and sense of discovery of the world around me crucial to my enjoyment of the sport, both as a rider and spectator.

That means even track cycling fails to connect in the same way, and virtual racing takes that to a whole other level. Still, while I'm not drawn to virtual racing and struggle to connect with it, I can't dismiss it. The effort and competitive sensations are all real and also I can see how virtual training and racing can be such a valuable tool to close some of the vast chasms in opportunity.

The clincher for me is that Australians Jay Vine, Neve Bradbury and Emily Dixon are unquestionably real racers, and they gained their opportunity to enter the pro ranks , despite the geographical hurdles they faced, via a virtual training and racing platform.

It's hard to question the validity of a racing medium where talent like that rises to the top. So, yes, virtual racing is real racing, but just please don't make me watch it.

Kirsten Frattini (Editor)

If the objective is to get from point A to point B first, then I will call it a race every single time.

Yes, virtual racing is real racing. It certainly lacks elements and variables compared to racing on the road, trails, track, etc., but it requires training in strength, endurance, tactics, and skill - even if it is taking place inside of a gaming world.

For a lot of athletes, racing is largely a mental battle that is won in the mind first, with drive, focus, confidence, visualisation and the ability to push past limits while under pressure, whether it's on the road or a virtual platform.

While there is no treadmill World Championships (yet), there is treadmill racing; ask Eric Min, who caught me right on the finish line for third place in a Zwift race … I'll get him next time we line up on the starting line.