Zwift is a global platform that attracts users from every nation. This was best witnessed in 2020 with the Nations Challenge, an event which saw countries competing to be considered the best nation on Zwift. It resulted in Sweden being crowned as champions, followed by Belgium and Japan.
Despite the success of these three nations, it is interesting to see that their National Cycling Governing bodies are not active on Zwift. Or if they are, I haven’t seen them!
Cycling Canada has a large presence on the platform, offering five diverse events to cater to their community. I caught up with Josh Peacock, Director of Marketing & Community Engagement to discuss this and explore how the use of Zwift has shifted their sporting strategy.
Cycling Cyclisme Canada (“Cycling Canada”)
Established in 1882, Cycling Cyclisme Canada (“Cycling Canada”) is Canada’s oldest National Sporting Organization, an association of 12 provincial, territorial, and national level organizations that work together to promote, support, and develop cycling across the country.
The purpose of Cycling Canada is to inspire Canadians to cycle and their mandate according to CEO Matthew Jeffries is to “holistically develop our sport, putting more Canadians on bikes from coast-to-coast and more Canadians on podiums around the world.”
When you read Cycling Canada’s strategic plan (2020-2030), you can see, “Community” is at the core of their plan to achieve this objective. Of course, this area where Zwift/virtual cycling/Esports thrives!
Cycling Canada and the Community
In their strategy, Cycling Canada states that “We will create a community with deep connection, affinity, and pride in cycling. The community is the essence of the organization and the sport; it is the greatest area of collective opportunity and is the path to sustainability, diversification, and growth.”
There are two parts to this, as outlined in their plan:
- Events: the Association has established a strong reputation and international presence in hosting high-calibre competitive events.
- Clubs: the Association also has a strong foundation of cycling clubs. Amongst those, there are 10+ major clubs; they are sustainable, they have 100+ members (some with >1,000) and they have existed for decades.
Events on Zwift
Zwift is helping Cycling Canada meet these strategic objectives.
Cycling Canada offers five weekly events on Zwift, and though each has a different purpose, in the end they all achieve the goal of connect to their community. There are two recovery rides, two races (both with a women’s-only option) and a long ride as follows:
Monday – Cycling Canada’s Weekly Tune-up Ride
Every Monday at 8:05pm EST, Cycling Canada host a weekly group ride, open to all skill levels and abilities on rotating courses. Course offerings will vary from week to week in an effort to provide a well-rounded mix of training opportunities for Zwifters of all backgrounds.
Tuesday – Cycling Canada’s Weekly Tune-up Ride – Women’s Edition
Every Tuesday at 8:05pm EST, Cycling Canada will host a weekly group ride, open to women of all skill levels and abilities on rotating courses. Course offerings will vary from week to week in an effort to provide a well-rounded mix of training opportunities for Zwifters of all backgrounds.
Wednesday – Cycling Canada Wednesday Night Race Series
Every Wednesday at 8:05pm EST, Cycling Canada will host a race open to all skill levels and abilities on rotating courses. Course offerings will vary from week to week in an effort to provide a well-rounded mix of racing opportunities for Zwifters of all backgrounds.
Wednesday – Cycling Canada Wednesday Night Race Series – Women’s Edition
This is identical to the “Open” race series, but is for women only. It starts at 8:15pm EST, 10mins after the “Open race.”
Saturday – Cycling Canada Saturday Fundo
Every Saturday at 12:05pm EST, Cycling Canada will host a fondo-style ride open to all skill levels and abilities on rotating courses. Course offerings will sample some of Zwift’s longer distance routes, with sub-categories split by distance. The weekly fundo will be marked as a “ride”, but Zwifters can expect some action at the front, not unlike an in-person fondo. Join the ride at your own pace to reach your weekly distance target, or challenge fellow Zwifters to race with some higher pace off the front.
A – 50km
B – 40km
C – 30km
D – 20km
*No Ride Leaders*
Behind the Scenes of the Events
What I particularly like about Cycling Canada’s approach to events is that the “Tune-Up” rides are hosted on the same course as the Wednesday race, giving people an opportunity to preview the course. Furthermore, I very much like the way that they are offering women’s-only events. Lastly, I like how each week, the course does change. Therefore, people have the chance to ride and race on a different course, week in and week out, keeping it fresh. I very much like this because it means there will be a route to suit someone’s skills, at some point. With a deliberate mindset of trying not to use the same course twice in a season, this also provides those who follow the series a chance at more route badges, awarding their dedication.
Interestingly, Josh explained that the Wednesday race was used as qualifiers for Canada’s Esports Team, which saw Zwifters beat established traditional national team riders, earning them a berth on the team competing at the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships on 26th February. These “Zwift specialists” clearly indicate that Zwift in itself is quickly becoming its own cycling discipline.
Josh noted that Zwift has high importance within Cycling Canada, and they have a dedicated team to manage the events and engage with the community. He explained that the Saturday Fundo was created as a consequence of community feedback, at a time that is accessible by all Canadians, so friends and family across the country can meet up and cycle together in the same Canadian-driven event, tackling the longer routes which are not used in the “Tune-Up” rides. Of course, all rides are open to, and encourage the participation of, Zwifters from all over the globe. All are welcome to join the rides and banter on the Discord channel (discord.gg/NTKq4bz) anytime.
Every two weeks, on the “Tune-Up” rides, Cycling Canada tries to arrange a national team athlete to attend, such as Leah Kirchmann, a Canadian road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women’s World Team, Team DSM. The “Tune-Up” rides are led by normal Zwifters representing clubs from all regions of the country, with national team guest appearances providing the opportunity for all those on the ride to connect with athletes competing at the highest level. Participants are given regular opportunities for live Q&As with National Team athletes while riding alongside them in real-time – a level of access rarely seen before the advent of applications like Zwift!
Josh commented that through their activities on Zwift, “Cycling is bringing people together from across the country in a way not previously possible.”
Cycling Canada has a dedicated webpage where their events are updated.
Clubs
In terms of Canadian Cycling Clubs that are active on Zwift, it’s worth mentioning the Toronto Hustle. They host multiple events and Toronto Hustle has emerged as one of Canada’s most prominent cycling teams, all done through grassroots community building.
Grassroots
In addition to Zwift being used to help reach Cycling Canada’s targets for Community engagement, Zwift is also being used to help with their Grassroots objective which is to get “More kids on bikes, more athletes in the pipeline.” To do this there is a fundraiser planned, called the HopOn Ride Fundraiser.
The HopOn Ride Fundraiser will be hosted on February 20th, 2022, with the objective of raising funds for Cycling Canada’s national grassroots program. The ride will take Zwifters along the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships course and will feature several notable guest riders.
Following the success of the 2021 HopOn Ride which featured Canadian pro Michael “Woodsy” Woods, Lexus Canada is returning to support the 2022 edition and will donate $1 to the national grassroots program for every Zwifter who participates in the ride, giving more children across Canada the opportunity to learn basic cycling skills.
More details will be released in the new year. Visit hoponcanada.ca for details.
Esports
As noted earlier, the Cycling Canada Wednesday Night Race Series has been used to select national racers for the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. This inclusive approach to team selection is to be applauded. You see, if I was Canadian, I could have attended those events and raced on an equal footing, in the hope of winning and thus representing my country at a World Championship. It’s that simple.
Cycling Canada has a simple but well-defined selection criteria document. The highlights are:
- The top two eligible female finishers and the top two eligible male finishers in the first selection event, not counting riders already directly qualified through the Continental Qualifiers, will be selected to represent Canada at the 2022 Esports World Championships.
- The top two eligible female finishers and the top two eligible male finishers in the second selection event, not counting riders already selected through the first event, will be selected to represent Canada at the 2022 Esports World Championships.
I will watch with interest to see who has been selected for the finals. I am sure they are wanting to repeat their previous success, where Canada was named “Team of the Race” for the men’s 2020 event, based on how aggressively they rode!
Wrapping It Up
It’s amazing to see Zwift developing so much as a platform that it impacts the strategic policy of a country’s national governing body, in this case being used to help deliver the “Community” aspect of Cycling Canada’s agenda as well as indirectly impacting other areas. Furthermore, through their “Tune Up” rides, Cycling Canada is providing access to Canada’s elite cyclists, who can inspire and motivate everyday riders to reach their goals.
For more information via Cycling Canada’s website Cycling Canada Cyclisme and follow on Instagram (instagram.com/cyclingcanadaofficial) and Facebook (facebook.com/CyclingCanada).
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
wpDiscuz
