Virtual Racing Platform MyWhoosh Launches Anti-Doping Program

Since launching seven years ago, virtual cycling platform MyWhoosh has attracted a dedicated and increasingly competitive group of racers by offering weekly races with significant cash payouts. But as the sums on the line increase — tens of thousands of dollars offered in weekly Sunday Race Club events, and bigger championship events with $1 million on the line — so do the temptations to cheat.

The platform, based in the United Arab Emirates, already has strong controls in place to fend off forms of virtual cheating, including monitoring hardware, software, and verifying performance data.

Now efforts to ensure the integrity of racing on the platform are expanding to the biological realm with anti-doping testing, just as top racers in real world racing are subjected to.

“The introduction of anti-doping and integrity testing is about protecting fair competition and rider trust,” said Matt Smithson, director of esports and game operations at MyWhoosh, in a press release. “As our Sunday Race Club grows, the standards around fairness must match the seriousness of the event. Our goal is to protect clean riders and ensure that our global community can trust in the integrity of every podium finish.”

How the anti-doping program will work

MyWhoosh will be running its own private anti-doping protocol, based on existing standards and protocols from governing bodies that regulate real-world racing, including testing for substances on the the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list.

Riders are required to give their location during race registration so that, should they be selected for testing, an official can find them shortly before or after a race. Selection for testing can be based on a number of reasons, including random selection, podium finishes, performance data, or intelligence-led targeting.

Riders may be notified before, during, or after an event that they have been selected for testing, at which point they will need to be available in their declared location for testing for up to three hours.

Testing will be conducted by the International Doping Tests & Management (IDTM) to provide independent collection and handling of test samples.

Test samples may be taken a number of ways, including urine, dried blood spot (DBS), and venous blood samples.

Anti-doping disciplinary action

Just as with anti-doping protocols for real-world racing, there are consequences for missing or tampering with the testing process. “Failure to comply with testing instructions, including refusal, evasion, or tampering, may result in severe sanctions such as disqualification, prize money claw-backs, and suspension from the platform,” MyWhoosh said in a press release.

It is unclear whether instances of doping discovered on the virtual program would lead to sanctions outside of the platform given that the testing is MyWhoosh’s own private protocol, even if it is informed by standards from WADA and other governing bodies.

The anti-doping program begins Sunday, May 10, with the first round of testing slated for the following Sunday.