Is e-racing a level playing field?

In the virtual world, winning and losing is all down to the data. Are the avatars up the road beating yours fair and square? David Bradford gauges the state of play

In many ways, e-racing has been our saviour during the pandemic. Having a competitive outlet to replace all the cancelled outdoor events has kept us sane, fit and distracted from lockdown monotony. 

But anyone who’s developed an e-racing habit will attest that it comes with a certain level of doubt and distrust: are the avatars ahead of mine really putting out more power and deserving their place ahead of me in the results? 

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David Bradford
Features editor

David Bradford is features editor of Cycling Weekly (print edition). He has been writing and editing professionally for more than 15 years, and has published work in national newspapers and magazines including the Independent, the Guardian, the Times, the Irish Times, Vice.com and Runner’s World. Alongside his love of cycling, David is a long-distance runner with a marathon PB of two hours 28 minutes. Having been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in 2006, he also writes about sight loss and hosts the podcast Ways of Not Seeing.