The winner of the “British Cycling’s eRacing Championships” has had his title stripped and received further penalties after a long dispute since his victory in March. The reason: cheating or “digital doping”.
This is the ex-champion: 22-year-old Brit Cameron Jeffers participated in the British Cycling’s eRacing Championships in March 2019 and won the title with the first place. He held this title until recently, when it was revoked by the association.
The tournament deals with virtual cycling as eSports.
Why the punishment? The reason for the penalty is formally “cheating”. The (digital) bike with which the Brit competed was not earned through regular means but was obtained through an automated program – essentially through a bot.
The “Tron-Bike”, referred to as the “Z1 Concept bike” in the game, can actually only be unlocked through several weeks of training. However, Jeffers used a program that someone from his community offered him to simulate his training. The bike is merely a skin and provides no other advantages.
Thus, he competed with the cheated bike. He stated that he would have normally earned it by the time of the penalty, but he wouldn’t have had it for the tournament. Therefore, he respects and accepts the penalty. In a video, he explained it in more detail.
The severity of the penalty: The sanctions for violating the rules include even more than just the revocation of the title:
- Disqualification from the 2019 tournament
- 6-month ban from participating in events
- £250 fine
Jeffers is not hit as hard as athletes in traditional sports, like Lance Armstrong, who lost seven titles due to doping, but it is still noticeable.
Cycling as eSport
How does it work at all? Athletes participate in the tournaments using stationary bikes that look and function similarly to exercise bikes in the gym. Their performance is then transmitted to the game ‘Zwift’, where they compete with an avatar. It works similarly in other disciplines of eRacing.
This avatar can be customized, for example, using the “Tron-Bike” for which Jeffers was banned. This bike is styled after the movie “Tron” with glowing tires. In the game GTA Online, there is also a Tron vehicle, the Shotaro motorcycle.
Otherwise, Zwift has the advantage that real accidents and collisions are not possible, allowing athletes to ride without having to “consider”.
