Masters and juniors can now compete to be a cycling esports world champion, after the UCI and MyWhoosh announced the creation of the UCI Junior and Masters Cycling Esports World Championships on Thursday.Riders aged 17 and 18 and aged 40 and over, divided into five-year age categories, will now be able to challenge for rainbow bands, at the Worlds, which will take place remotely on Saturday 12 December. This will follow the final of the 2026 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, which takes place a week before. It gives an opportunity for cyclists to test themselves at a World Championships from their own home; athletes will represent their National Federation, and so will need to hold a UCI licence with a UCI ID, and meet the applicable eligibility and participation conditions.The races will take place on MyWhoosh, on the final 13.3km circuit of the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montral, with 247m of elevation gain. Junior riders and Masters aged 60 and over will ride two laps (26.6km), and Masters aged 40 to 59 will ride three laps (39.9km).To compete in the Worlds, riders must use approved equipment and have a verified MyWhoosh account, and provide dual power recording. They must also have already participated in at least three MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club (SRC) events by 1 December, completed the Power Passport Test and passed pre-event verification. Riders are also required to wear national kit. More can be discovered through the UCI Regulations for cycling esports, and the MyWhoosh Cycling Esports Rules & Regulations, and riders are invited to address technical queries to racecontrol@mywhoosh.com."Cycling esports has grown incredibly in recent years and continues to thrive," UCI president David Lappartient said. "After five very successful editions of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships for Elite riders, I am delighted that we will now offer Junior and Masters riders the chance to earn the rainbow jersey of UCI World Champion in this discipline that connects people from all continents and of all ages and abilities.""Launching the first UCI Junior and Masters Cycling Esports World Championships is an important step in opening top-level esports competition to more riders," MyWhoosh's director of esports and game operations, Matt Smithson, said. "It gives Juniors and age-group athletes a clear opportunity to represent their National Federations, compete for an official UCI world title and experience the same high standards of racing and verification we put on at the Elite level. "We want these Championships to be competitive and accessible to riders around the world, and we are looking forward to welcoming a new generation of athletes to the MyWhoosh platform."Earlier this week, it was announced that the elite Esports Worlds would not simply be a road race, but a race with surge checkpoints, and a second points race. The update aims to make the Worlds simply an event won purely on power. The 5 December event will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark.