Virtual cycling platform MyWhoosh is to introduce an anti-doping and integrity testing initiative for racers, it was announced on Thursday. Around 700 riders will form part of the initial testing pool, which is believed to be the first anti-doping programme for e-racing.
The free-to-use, Abu Dhabi-based platform is the home of the UCI Esports World Championships, and offers significant cash prizes for winners in its Sunday Race Club competition. As of 17 May, participants will face random drug tests after they compete.
For Sunday Race Club, there is a monthly purse of $300,000 (£220,000), divided out between individual winners (from 1st to 10th) and team winners through six categories – with category one being elite riders, down to category six.
“If someone’s cheating, they’re probably mechanically cheating,” Smithson told The Guardian. “But we’ve got a lot of verification to try to stop that now. Riders have to use a specific trainer to race, with two ways of showing their power. We also get our athletes to do what we call a power passport test. That includes a film test, so we know it’s that person. We can see their power, we can see their heart rate. We can see all of those things. And that gives us a physiological print of who they are.
