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  "description": "But the vision is still afloat. Probably.",
  "path": "/cycling-esports-olympic-lifeboat-has-sprung-a-leak/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-26T05:47:15.000Z",
  "site": "https://escapecollective.com",
  "tags": [
    "cycling esports",
    "_IOC’s Esports and Gaming Liaison Group_",
    "__Cycling Weekly__",
    "‘It’s not real racing!’ and other myths holding back cycling esportsUntil we challenge outdated misconceptions, cycling esports will always be defined by what it isn’t, rather than what it is becoming.Escape CollectiveChris Schwenker",
    "_announced_",
    "_Esports World Cup_",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "For cycling esports, Olympic inclusion and recognition are more than a dream for the developing discipline. They’re an omnipresent beacon of hope.\n\nIt appeared the concept had come to port when, in early 2024, UCI president David Lappartient revealed, “The Olympic Esports Games will start in 2025 and will include cycling esports.\"\n\nThe 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.\n\nLappartient, who also leads the _IOC’s Esports and Gaming Liaison Group_ 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__ later reported.\n\nThe 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.\"\n\n‘It’s not real racing!’ and other myths holding back cycling esportsUntil we challenge outdated misconceptions, cycling esports will always be defined by what it isn’t, rather than what it is becoming.Escape CollectiveChris Schwenker\n\nMin laid out his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.\n\n## The Olympic Esports Games\n\nHowever, fans heard little about Lappartient's overzealous admission until February 2025, when the IOC officially _announced_ that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games would actually take place in 2027, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.\n\nThe 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_, would serve as the founding partner, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia's National Olympic Committee.\n\nOutgoing IOC president Thomas Bach cemented this milestone as part of his legacy, declaring, “There 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.”\n\nThe extended timeline was a letdown – especially given the stark contrast with Lappartient – that esports enthusiasts would endure in exchange for propelling the sport into the mainstream.\n\n## Stopped before they started\n\nBut esports fans didn't anticipate the gutpunch on October 30, 2025, when the IOC _announced_ that it had mutually agreed with the Saudi Arabian government to cancel the 12-year deal to host and organize the event.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Cycling esports' Olympic lifeboat has sprung a leak",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-26T05:47:15.000Z"
}