Josh Harris

This year feels a little uncertain, but there’s also a strange level of motivation, enjoyment and routine that’s come with it.

I’ve been fully dedicated to esports cycling since I got hooked at the end of 2022, but I think I’ve reached the point where there honestly isn’t that much more to achieve. “2026 feels different.”

I’ve placed as high as 8th at Worlds. Realistically, if the platform and format stay as they are, I’m probably not making any meaningful inroads on that. Simple reasons: I don’t have the raw power for MyWhoosh or the short-term physiology needed to make the podium.

While I prefer points races, the reality is the cream usually rises to the top in those. Random athletes don’t win a points race, where every segment accumulates points. A scratch race on Zwift is almost the polar opposite. More draft, kinder to lighter riders, and races that can genuinely come down to a split-second decision or moment of chaos.

Making the Top 20 to travel to the UAE for Worlds is obviously still a goal, but having already done it, it’s far from the end of the world if it doesn’t happen again. The trip itself is amazing — spending time with like-minded athletes and consolidating a spot near the top of the scene — but honestly, I don’t think I’d care that much about my actual performance if I made it again this year, especially with my documented struggles on Elite Justo trainers and in warm environments.

And if that’s the case, it’s hard to justify the level of sacrifice I’ve put in over the last two years.
That said, I think I’ve found something important recently. By stripping things back and focusing on enjoying it, I can still train really well, hold good shape, and do the same hours without it feeling like a sacrifice.

Nationals gave me a lot of confidence in that regard. I went in flying with fun as the only focus of the lead-up. I won convincingly at a live event, it's almost the final tick of things I hadn't yet done in esports. I have the jersey (on Zwift and TPV, MyWhoosh lost it 😂) for another 12 months, so the year is somewhat of a success regardless of what else happens.
Anyway, part of the reason things feel more sustainable is stepping away from SRC. SRC just sucks for me personally. Showing up week after week — last thing on a Sunday night (before work Monday morning) — with effectively no chance of winning eventually wears you down.

I know the goal should be personal improvement, but it’s hard to be truly motivated or race freely when you know you’re not realistically in contention. Especially compared to Zwift events where I can race aggressively, dominate weaker fields sometimes, and enjoy the gameplay itself.

Because honestly, the gameplay matters too.

SRC just isn’t that engaging to me. You psychologically lose a few percent before the race even starts, and in events where you need to be operating at 110% just to get close to the top 10, that matters. Then you add unnecessary dynamics like wind and the awful steering inputs that still somehow exist despite the prize money involved.

So many people seem sucked into the hamster wheel of it all. Or maybe they really enjoy it.

Maybe if it was Sunday morning instead, with fewer weigh-ins and a feeling that success was actually attainable, it would become an enjoyable part of the week. Maybe even more so if it was possible to actually get the prize money out of the Link app.

One thing I’ve loved this year is not having to weigh in much. Even for resilient people, it becomes draining. When you’re good enough to almost feel competitive — but not quite good enough to win — you’re regularly thinking about that extra 6 watts (1.5%) at threshold that might be the difference between hanging on or getting dropped. It’s definitely been nice having my weekends back.

Instead, I’ve really enjoyed building my weeks around things like WTRL TTTs with the strongest guys on Zwift. They’re such a good stimulus and foundation session for the rest of the week.

Then I can sprinkle in events that interest me — ECRO (occasionally), RWB bunch rides, random races that take my fancy — and suddenly training feels fresh again. Add in the new season of Career Mode on TrainingPeaks Virtual and the next few months will probably take care of themselves. Although honestly, TPV isn’t doing it for me right now.

It probably has the best customisation options out there for actually getting specific, engaging work done, but Zwift’s community, upgrades and overall gamification are still streets ahead of every other platform. Career Mode is still a fun little side quest though.

And speaking of side quests, I’ve got this whole “50 days to 5km” mission filling the gap right now.
Part of the reason I started it was because there’s just such a long stretch between Nationals and Worlds. It gives me a couple of months to focus a bit less on riding, come out of it with a good aerobic base but still room to build, and honestly just see what I can still do after four years away from running.

It’s going surprisingly well.

I think I’ll run a pretty respectable 5km on May 31 off very limited running. More importantly though, it’s helped me reconnect more with a lot of good mates again, and after about a month of consistently getting a few hours done each week, my body is finally starting to tolerate running again. Which is good, because running absolutely sucks when you don’t do it.

Will I keep running afterwards? Probably not. It definitely hinders my cycling training!

But at least by then we’ll be into June, and hopefully the rest of the season will start to have a bit more clarity.

I’d probably do MWC again if it happened too. Financially, just participating was better than working for a few weeks, even if surviving on no sleep for the week was brutal and the racing itself sucked from the back of Category 1. Still, those championships actually flowed really nicely into my Worlds build in 2025, and I’d possibly structure things similarly again.

The one genuine motivational carrot that’s disappeared though is the idea of the esports Olympics.

That goal meant a great deal to me.

The possibility of that was genuinely what kept me hanging on so tightly to my standing within Australia and the world rankings. I was doing everything possible to stay relevant long enough to qualify. But its postponement has definitely changed my feelings toward all of this. Because realistically, I don’t know if I can keep hanging onto this level for another five-plus years.

Or maybe I can.

And maybe I will.

Couple little sets of 3x10,20,30 sec (700,600,500 ish) on the minute. Just finding that smooth technique. Bookended with a couple of blasts either side

Knew this one would be the challenge, so for the first time all season I sat in the bunch and saved as much energy as I could. Sat on the top bots wheel from the first climb until mid way up the main climb.

He actually dropped me on the climb, so much so that Kate yelled at me to stick with him haha... But I never lost the draft and he fkd himself with that attack. Humans don't ride so ballsy. As soon as I sensed this I continued at a strong pace and put 25 sec into him in the top part of the climb.

Tried to just ride steady and controlled between climbs, knowing I may need some left to fight for it. Held the gap at 30-35sec until 6km to go where he started sending it. He closed within 19sec but faded with about 700m of climbing to go, and I got the gap back out to 30sec.

A nice hitout, and a good way to finish the Career Mode season. I have one special event left to do which isn't linked with the season. Good fun!

Nothing of note here, other than I felt quite shit! Saving the legs for Stage 3 Tour of Germany in the morn

Tour Fever ride. In a break with 3 guys and eventually whittled it down. Pretty cruisy overall, apart from that section in the middle. Finished with 20 easy mins with Jacques to round out 3 hrs

Break of 4 guys quickly established and got a nice lead. The two strongest bots on the flat attacked out of the peloton but never got to us, as I made sure they didnt. Then there wasnt enough firepower left in the main bunch to do anything, and I only had to worry about the 3 with me. One bot attacked pretty hard with about 10k to go, got myself a nice little 15 sec gap and held it to the line without having to fight for it too much. Stage 3 needs to be completed within 48 hours, and it looks like the toughest stage of the whole season, by far! Should be good!

Warm up + Warm Down included.

Stage 1 of Tour of Germany. Punchy course on TPV (see Strava for route & HR).. Regularly pushed the pace to try and split it after corners or on the steep sections, but the bots have no fear on the steep ramps. Eventually had a small gap over about 8 bots and managed to extend it to 9 sec in the final 2km. Was pretty hard.

Finished with some more efficiency work. 10x30sec at 500+ W trying to be smooth.

Have to complete stage 2 within 48 hours. The next course looks easy, but stage 3 looks the hardest of this season by far. So that'll be interesting!

Easy day. Found a group ride set on TT bikes (draft on), which means fast upgrade km's on the road bike

Back on TTTs after 2 weeks off them. First time behind Thom, so that was a good challenge. Felt my turns suffered just a little due to that, but was all good. Plenty of chance to recover on the flat. Felt ok, but nothing special up Petit. Nice roll throughs on the descent before I did the 800-400m turn for the guys and rolled in.

Finished with 12x20sec efficiency focus in a big gear, just starting to get used to a bit of power again!

These little Zwiftracing.app achievement was on my to do list at some point. Was hanging there a very long time. Ticked that off and then finished with another 2+ hours in Watopia