Sweden is a world leader in e-cycling. On December 9, the elite gather for the first time in an official world championship where the Swedish team competes under the Swedish Cycling Federation. 

Through the initiative Together for more people in motion, the Swedish Cycling Federation now receives funding to develop e-cycling in Sweden.

E-cycling or virtual cycling, has grown in recent years and Sweden is today one of the world’s leading nations in the branch. By connecting to a common platform, participants can compete against and chat with other cyclists around the world. Zwift is the leading platform and organizes several events a day, around the clock, all year round. For example, the Tour de France was virtually cycled earlier this year, an event that was broadcast live on Eurosport.

E-cycling became part of the Swedish Cycling Federation in 2019 and in 2020 it has developed into its own branch.

The International Cycling Union UCI has adapted its regulations for e-cycling, which enables us to include it as an official branch. We believe and hope that e-cycling will be able to help us lower the threshold for the sport and get more people to try cycling, says Conny Björnehall.

Together for more people in motion, run jointly by Svenska Spel and the Swedish Sports Confederation with the goal of creating a sports movement where everyone has a place, regardless of conditions and level of ambition. Now the initiative is pushing for extra funds for the Swedish Cycling Federation to be able to further develop e-cycling and thereby also lower the threshold for movement.

We are very happy to be part of this journey. E-cycling is a very fine example of how the Swedish Cycling Federation works to challenge the view of traditional training and competition. It is also fun to see how the boundaries between e-sports and more traditional sports are being blurred, says Linn Rydstedt, project manager for Together for more people in motion at Svenska Spel.

Together for more people in motion is an important partner and enabler. The extra funds allow us to put an extra gear in the preparations for the upcoming world championships and in 2021 we plan for joint activities during both the Swedish Championships and the Swe Cup, says Conny Björnehall.