The 2026 Cycling Esports World Championships final will take place in Copenhagen on 5 December. The Union Cycliste Internationale has set a two-stage points race, with the men's and women's elite titles awarded to the riders with the highest combined scores. Crossing the finish line first will not be enough. Riders must decide when to spend energy on scoring opportunities and when to save it.
Stage one is 7.6 kilometres long and contains five sprint checkpoints whose positions will only be announced 500 metres ahead. Stage two has four laps of five kilometres. Before each split, competitors choose a flatter route with fewer available points or a hillier option offering more. That decision links tactics to physical effort on every lap and makes it harder to rely on a single fixed plan from start to finish.
The final will be held in one studio with no more than 36 riders, 18 in each elite category. The UCI says everyone will use identically prepared smart trainers to make power measurement as consistent as possible. Decisions will play out on a virtual course, but the riders still provide the physical effort. The format rewards the competitor who combines that effort with the best timing for collecting points.