Eighty thousand people competed, and the first winners were Freddy Ovett and Kathrin Fuhrer. The online cycling platform that hosted the race series, Zwift Games, has praised the latest competition as “the biggest eSports event in history.”
The winners of the first Zwift Games’ overall classification were Swiss former Alpine skier Kathrin Fuhrer and Australian former runner Freddy Ovett, who is currently a gravel privateer.
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In addition to being exclusive to experienced and skilled indoor racers like Ovett and Fuhrer, the Zwift Games was open to everyone and drew a field of about 80,000 participants in 215,000 races.
Zwift Games hailed as 'biggest eSports event in history'
80,000 take part as Freddy Ovett and Kathrin Fuhrer are crowned the inaugural champions⚡️
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The Zwift Games
With over 1000 starters in nearly 50 races and an average race attendance of over 250, these races also set records for field sizes. The Zwift Games served as a true hub for Zwift’s enormous international racing community, with races beginning every hour throughout the month. The Zwift Games are expected to establish themselves as a yearly event and a highlight of the Zwift racing calendar in the years to come, following the event’s extraordinary success on its debut.
The Wahoo Overall Zwift Games Champions are Kathrin Fuhrer of Switzerland and Freddy Ovett of Australia from the elite racing.
Each champion received $10,000, an exclusive and one-of-a-kind Wahoo KICKR bike painted in gold, and a Golden Concept Z1 bike that they can now be seen riding with pride in-game. In the overall standings for women, Gabriela Guerra of Brazil placed second, followed by Lou Bates of Great Britain in third place. In the overall standings for the men, Thom Thrall of Canada finished third, and Lennart Jasch of Germany finished in second place.
A total of 35 countries sent riders to the first Zwift Games Elite Competition, where eight winners were crowned in each of the three disciplines and the Wahoo Overall Classification.
You can watch all six of the entertaining broadcasts that cover this world-class racing festival here.
Freddy Ovett and Kathrin Fuhrer were named winners
In the Sprint Championship, Freddy Ovett narrowly missed the championship race involving the ten riders. In all, he placed 13th. He continued his excellent form in the Epic Championship, finishing in the top 10, which put him in sixth position heading into the championship race. Josh Harris of Australia is in first place.
With his arms raised, Ovett crossed the finish line for the final Championship, winning the Climb race and the Wahoo Overall classification by a narrow margin of points. Given the caliber of the competitors, this was an incredible accomplishment, and Ovett set a record for the fastest time ever up the Alpe du Zwift in an officially sanctioned race.
The other riders would need to go a long way up the Alpe to overtake Kathrin Fuhrer overall as she dominated the first two championships, winning the Sprint Championship and the Epic Championship.
Ultimately, Kathrin Fuhrer’s flawlessly timed sixth-place effort was sufficient to validate the Wahoo Overall Classification, while Illi Gardner emerged victorious in the Zwift Games Climb Championship.
Everything was there at the events, including new race routes for riders. During a period when people were at their most fit, races were held and were both competitive and enjoyable. Unsurprisingly, Zwift has stated that “the Zwift Games is set to become an annual fixture”; this means we have something to look forward to for the upcoming year.
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