5 Days to Turn Pro: Zwift Academy 2022 Finals, Day 1
The finals for Zwift Academy Road 2022 have just finished, and Zwift partnered with GCN to bring you a series of 5 episodes documenting the finals process.
Each day this week will see the release of a new episode, and today the series begins!
As a reminder, here are the 10 finalists (to learn a bit about each rider, see this post):
Unfortunately, Liz Van Houweling flew all the way out to Spain for the finals only to be struck with Covid-19, taking her out of the competition. Best wishes for a quick recovery, Liz!
Watch Episode 1:
Episode Summary (Spoiler Alert!)
This year, the challenge has moved from from Mallorca to a top-spec cycling facility in southern Spain.
We meet the pro team judges: for Alpecin-Deceuninck we have DS Christoph Roodhooft and Kristoff de Kegel, Head of Performance. For CANYON//SRAM we have Beth Duryea, co-owner and DS, and Magnus Backstedt, Head DS.
After breakfast, finalists arrive back in their hotel rooms after breakfast to find their beds covered in Zwift and team kit. New kit day – always the best day! The riders get kitted up and head to the indoor studio for a Zwift fitness test where riders must put in 4 full gas efforts:
20-second sprint from a dead stop. Riders aren’t allowed to get out of the saddle or change gear.
3-minute effort
6-minute effort
10-minute effort to test aerobic capacity
After the test, CANYON//SRAM’s Beth and Magnus agree that the women’s numbers were quite even across the board, and there are no big standouts. For the men, Kristoff is most impressed by Luca’s numbers.
Were there any weaknesses spotted? Beth mentions that Elena’s pacing on the 6-minute effort was a bit off, while Kristoff says Jasper was perhaps a bit weaker on the day than the other four men, with his cadence dropping at the end of each effort to around 80 rpm. He also suffered more than the others in the heat.
All of the riders suffered in the indoor test room’s heat, but the coaches use this situation to see how the riders handle adversity.
Riders of the Day
At the end of the day, the judges select their riders of the day. The two Italian finalists get the nod: Chiara (who paced her efforts to perfection and executed the test very well) and Luca (who smashed every effort with power numbers that stood out to the judges).
Coming Up Tomorrow
On day 2, finalists will be out on the roads with the pros, and they’ll also take on a cheeky hill climb time trial. Watch this space for episode 2!
Zwift has announced that Personalized Leaderboards are coming to the Zwift Companion app in February 2023, allowing Zwifters to see and analyze their times on Zwift segments.
How Will It Work?
Leaderboards will be accessed via the Zwift Companion app (available for Android and iOS). The leaderboard interface lets you quickly “drill down” by selecting a world, then selecting a route or segment in that world.
The leaderboards can be sorted by season (each year is divided into 3-month seasons: January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December), so you can track current progress or benchmark your fitness against a previous season.
Scope
The leaderboard data’s promised scope is impressive. Zwift says it will include every segment and route in game. (By our count that’s 187 routes, 31 KQOMs, and 43 sprints).
It’s not just your recent data that will be tracked, either. Leaderboards will give you access to performance data from your entire lifetime on Zwift. A complete picture of your Zwift performance history!
Next Steps
In the future, the Companion app’s Leaderboards feature won’t just show your data – it will also show the performance of other Zwifters! Zwift isn’t sharing the details of exactly how this will work (our guess is they’re working through privacy concerns first) – but we can see a day where Clubs are competing with other Clubs based on leaderboard results.
All the data is there… and Zwifters love a good competition. We’re stoked to see Leaderboards moving forward, as they’re something that has been in the works for years.
The Elite Pro Series has been without a doubt a big success this year, providing the rareopportunity on Zwift to test your skills by racing against the pros. And there have been some big names headlining the monthly events! I have been fortunate enough to interview many of them, including Australian GC contender Jack Haig and Italian superstar Marta Cavalli.
The events are extremely competitive and some of the fastest I have been involved with, making for a fun experience.
December’s edition continues the trend of having some of the world’s best riders attend the event with French superstar Arnaud Démare headlining this edition. He races for Team Groupama–FDJ and won the prestigious Milan–San Remo race in 2016, one of cycling’s fabled “Monuments”. In addition to this, he won the French National Road Race Championships three times (2014, 2017, and 2020).
What makes this event particularly special is Elite have sent a team to Team Groupama–FDJ’s training camp in Calpe, Spain where after a long day in the saddle, Arnaud will throw his leg over the saddle once again to race the Zwift community which Elite will capture.
This month’s race is on Thursday 15th December at 7:30pm CET/6:30pm GMT/1:30pm EST/10:30am PST and is hosted in New York on the Everything Bagel route which covers all NYC roads, including some in both directions. That means the ride is 34.4km in length and includes 525m of climbing over two testing climbs sure to split up the pack, making for an exciting event.
Zwift CEO Eric Min recently shared on LinkedIn that Kurt Beidler is coming aboard as Co-CEO. The entire text of Eric’s post can be read below:
After a long search, I’m excited to announce that Kurt Beidler has joined Zwift as Co-CEO. Kurt joins us from Amazon, where he has led large teams and built multiple successful businesses over a 17-year run. For most of the past eight years, Kurt has been leading Amazon Kids+, a hardware/software/content subscription service structurally similar to Zwift. Kurt led the Kids+ team of several hundred people to grow Kids+ into the largest kid-focused subscription service in the world. Before that, Kurt built and ran several books and Kindle-related businesses across the US, Europe, Japan, and China.
I will also be stepping into the role of Co-CEO, where I will partner closely with Kurt as he takes the reins of Zwift’s core business and ramps up in his new role. In the long term, while there are strategies where Kurt and I will partner closely together, the most significant value this new Co-CEO relationship brings to Zwift is the ability for Kurt and me to divide and conquer. There is much work to do! For me, rather than being spread thin trying to do it all myself, I will have time to go deeper into specific areas that are also critical to Zwift’s long-term success. In addition to my new role as Co-CEO, I will continue to chair the Board.
I’m excited about this. We’re better equipped than ever, and I’m excited for what’s next.
Welcome, Kurt!
We’ll talk more about the announcement and Kurt below, but let’s start by saying the LinkedIn comment of the day goes to Iain Weir:
The Co-CEO Question
To some, the idea of Co-CEOs may seem odd. But it’s not unheard of in today’s world, and is especially sensible in startups where CEO duties are more than one person can handle, or where the founder CEO is preparing for an exit.
Based on Eric Min’s post, we would say he’s simply looking to share the load. As he says, “There is much work to do!” I asked Eric for details on the precise split of duties between the two CEOs, and he said, “Kurt will be focused on the core business and the day to day operations. We’ll be working on many things together including long term strategies. My goal is to make sure he and Zwift are successful.”
My guess is, this move frees Eric up to do what he seems to do best: nurturing crucial partnerships with organizations like the UCI and IOC, making sure the company remains financially stable (courting investors), and keeping an eye on long-term vision. Of course, Eric (who relocated from London to Long Beach last past summer) remains Chair of the Board, giving him continued oversight and input into Zwift’s business.
About Kurt Beidler
Doing a bit of digging into Kurt, he’s clearly done some good work at Amazon with teams of 400+, building and running three different business units at Amazon: Amazon Kids/Kids+, Kindle China, and Print on Demand. He’s had success at Amazon, too, as Eric’s LinkedIn post says: “Kurt led the Kids+ team of several hundred people to grow Kids+ into the largest kid-focused subscription service in the world.”
His LinkedIn bio ends by saying “Passionate about all things outdoor and active, especially cycling, ultimate Frisbee, and hiking.” So he’s a cyclist. That’s a good sign.
“Full Seattle”
But what sort of cyclist is he? He’s a level 13 Zwifter, but almost all of his activity on the platform has been since October 2022. This is a bit unexpected, but perhaps admirable given he lives in Seattle, where cyclists have every excuse to ride indoors. Maybe he’s just the ultimate hard man?
He doesn’t appear to have a ZwiftPower account. He’s got 53 Strava activities saved for 2022 (110 all time), including his most recent, a 3R race on Sand and Sequoias with an average power of 183W. His Zwift profile shows him as 52 years old.
He was on a Zwift-branded Pinarello (vintage skinny Z!)
Zwift’s AWS server team is based in Rio
Quadzillas!
Concluding Thoughts
Everything’s a bit crazy right now, isn’t it? And this is especially true in the indoor fitness + cycling space that Zwift occupies. Bike shops are fighting to survive, trainer manufacturers are awash in inventory, and layoffs are happening everywhere (including Wahoo and Strava in the past month).
But this is no time to duck and cover. Businesses in this space that play it smart and survive the next few years will grab vital chunks of market share. There’s a huge swath of cyclists who are not on Zwift’s subscriber list, and a much larger cohort of non-cyclists who would get into Zwift if it was more affordable and simple.
If Zwift can focus on its core business and build out a product riders love, it could begin doubling its subscriber base year over year once again.
But that will require extreme focus, razor-sharp business acumen, and prescient market vision. Hopefully this Co-CEO role will give both Eric and Kurt the bandwidth to give Zwift the leadership it requires not only to survive, but to thrive.
Zwift’s new Urukazi map contains the game’s most eye-popping visuals yet, but we think the official routes downplay Urukazi’s coolest features: the connector roads from Neokyo and Yumezi!
From Neokyo you descend to Urukazi through the massive cavern we’ve named “Pain Cavern” when you’re riding it uphill in the other direction. This twisty road is full of unique scenery including cave excavations, flying bats, and unique lighting.
The slot canyon connecting Yumezi to Urukazi is also beautiful, but in a completely different way. From the adan fruit farm to the towering rocks, this twisty, slightly uphill road from Urukazi beaches to Yumezi’s tranquil countryside is a feast for the eyes even while it puts a sting in the legs.
Our new “Cavern to Canyon” Rebel Route takes you on the shortest loop possible covering both of these connector roads. You’ll ride in a clockwise direction, climbing up the slot canyon road and descending through the cavern.
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! They are included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
This loop begins and ends at the Tidepool Sprint banner in Urukazi, so you’re going to have a bit of a lead-in no matter how you get there. We recommend starting by choosing the “Turf N Surf” route, then flipping a u-turn and heading toward the cavern for a descent to Urukazi.
From the Tidepool Sprint you’ll ride along the beach for a bit, then begin climbing up the slot canyon road toward Yumezi. This road winds through adan farms and across bridges in steep canyons before delivering you onto the dirt road connecting Yumezi to Neokyo.
A right at this dirt road takes you through the tunnel to Neokyo, then you’ll stay right through Neokyo to take the shortest route around the edge of the city then across the bridge and into the connector cavern.
Descend through the cavern, turn a right at the end to stay on our loop, and you’ll be back to the Tidepool Sprint in no time. Give it another go if you don’t already have the green jersey!
Profile
A simple profile: up the slot canyon, flat around Neokyo, down through the cavern.
Getting Started + Lead-In
The easiest way to get started is to choose “Turf N Surf” from your Makuri Islands route options. Flip a quick u-turn, then turn left toward Urukazi. This will take you down through the cavern, where you’ll turn right at the end onto the beachfront to hit the Tidepool Sprint and begin the route.
Turn by Turn
Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete Canyon to Cavern once you’ve done the lead-in to the Tidepool Sprint (described above).
Straight/Right to Yumezi
Right to Neokyo
Straight/Right to Tower
Straight/Right to Tower
Right to Harbor
Right to Harbor
Right to Urukazi
Right to Hidden Reefs
Pro tip: instead of following the turn-by-turn, the easiest way to navigate this once you reach the Tidepool Sprint is – just stay right!
Anna and Nathan take on the big topic of cheating on Zwift with the recent news that Eddie Hoole has been caught and banned. Do we offer forgiveness but never forget, or do we say once a cheater always a cheater?
Anna discusses a twitch stream that captured way too much of her real life, and the subsequent decision to delete that stream.
Guest Alex Coh, esport specific cycling coach, takes the team through off-season training and what people should focus on specifically.
Fashion Awards for 2022 part 2 are showcased – Unlock Kits: Level 52 Retro Jersey, Rapha Festive 500 Kit, Challenge kits: Tour of Makuri Islands Jersey, Lederhose Kit, Special Mentions: Betty Design Jersey, Watch the Femmes Kit.
The Wrap is all about showcasing the awesome Zwift community, from upcoming events to must-have tech to community guests to the all-important avatar fashion segment. The live nature of the show means that hosts Nathan Guerra and Anna Russell can interact directly with those watching, gaining valuable insights and opinions across a wide range of topics.
This week in our Top 5 Zwift Videos, follow a Zwifter as he restarts his cycling fitness journey. You can also check out the thought process of a Zwift Racing League DS, a different race format, the new roads of Urukazi, and the beginnings of a pro cyclist’s upgrades to his Zwift setup.
I Stopped Cycling for 200 Days
Mark Lewis noticed some changes after being off the bike for several months, even though he stayed pretty active.
I Became a Pro Cycling Manager in REAL LIFE!
He’s advised pro road cycling teams on tactics, but can Benji Naesen guide a Zwift team to glory? Watch his first try as DS (directeur sportif) at a Zwift Racing League race.
This new Zwift race format is fantastic – 4 sprint races in a row!
This “four short races in a row” thing is catching on! Mostly Cycling joins OTR Snap Crackle Pop and shares his thoughts on the races, which focus on segment points.
Zwift Urukazi // Details, Thoughts, What’s Next, and More
ZRace Central shows off some of the new Urukazi routes on Makuri Islands and gives opinions on them.
Best ZWIFT Setup Ever – Part 1: The Bike
Professional cyclist Victor Campenaerts is building a pro Zwift setup. First things first – the bike!
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Yesterday, Zwift shared a fresh “This Season on Zwift” presentation with media partners, detailing what’s coming in the next few months. We’ll dig into the contents of that presentation in another post, but first let’s talk about the big news: the new Scotland map!
Zwift says, “The Scotland map is inspired by the bucolic Scottish landscape, the city of Glasgow’s distinctive architecture, and the surrounding areas. As you ride through the world, you’ll see famous landmarks and attractions from the country, including castles, mountains and cityscapes.”
For those who may not know: Scotland is hosting the 2023 UCI Cycling championships in August. It’s a unique event this year, since all cycling disciplines are being hosted in Scotland during an 11-day span in August.
Well, almost all disciplines. Cyclocross worlds are on February 4-5 in Hoogerheide (The Netherlands), and Esports worlds are on Zwift February 18.
In past years, Zwift built virtual versions of world courses for Richmond (2015), Innsbruck (2018), and Yorkshire (2019). But these courses were never used for actual UCI Esports Worlds events! So this year is a first: Zwift building a map inspired by the Worlds location, and the UCI holding their Cycling Esports World Championships on that very map. This makes Glasglow both the IRL and virtual host of this year’s UCI World Championships!
This week’s media release includes the details of the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships as well: a 3-race elimination event completely different from the single scratch races done in past Esports World Championships.
Sources within Zwift tell us that the Glasgow map has been specifically designed for hosting an incredible Esports Worlds event. This is a first as well, since past UCI Esports Worlds were held on courses designed as part of Zwift’s overall map offering.
What will be different about a map specifically designed for incredible esports events? Hard to know at this stage, but Zwift says the Scotland map includes features not seen anywhere else in game, including “a loopable hill and a dedicated time trial course that will make racing at every level fun.”
One thing we do know: the new Scotland map includes 5 routes/courses.
Release Date
Zwift is planning a specific set of events beginning late January 2023 where riders can reconnoiter the new roads of Scotland before the big race. (It is unclear whether community teams will be able to organize events in Scotland prior to Worlds, or if Zwift will wait to open the map up until the big race is finished.)
Zwifters will be able to free-ride in Scotland starting mid-March.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s always fun when Zwift releases a new map, because Zwift riders love exploring new virtual tarmac just like outdoor riders love exploring it IRL. New sights, new challenges, new racecourses where we can test ourselves. What’s not to love about a new map?
Zwift’s Scotland appears to be a small map, and our guess is it won’t see be expanded once it is released since Richmond, Innsbruck, and Yorkshire weren’t expanded after their releases. That’s not a bad thing: if the map contains a small set of courses that make for great racing, it will become popular with race organizers and get worked into the overall mix of Zwift worlds, simply adding to the list of event and free-ride options available to all.
We’re looking forward to late January. Bring on Scotland!
Zwift’s Urukazi expansion is the most visually-stunning map we’ve seen to date. We’ve got a few fun Rebel Route ideas, though, that let you see Urukazi from another perspective. Here’s our first: Urukazi Flats, a route that takes the flattest route around the Urukazi Island complex, letting you see all three sections with minimal elevation gain.
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! They are included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
Begin by choosing “Bridges and Boardwalks” to be routed correctly for the first few turns. This will also give you the correct virtual start/finish banner.
The route begins on Mech Isle, just after the start pens. Proceed around the Mech Isle North road (the flatter, paved portion of Mech Isle) then turn right to cross the bridge to Festival Harbor. A left turn at the end of the bridge brings you to the Festival Harbor boardwalk and the Boardwalk Sprint. Give it a go, then turn left toward Mangrove Maze.
Arriving at Mangrove Maze, we’ll turn right to stay on the flatter outside road. A right turn at the end of this twisty, mangrove-shaded road followed by a quick left brings you onto the beachfront road and the Tidepool Sprint. Grab the green jersey, take a breather, then turn left toward Mech Isle. You’re almost there!
When you arrive at Mech Isle, turn right to Mech Isle North. This dirt road will turn to tarmac and take you to the virtual start/finish banner which marks the end of the route. Well done!
Profile
Don’t let the profile scare you – total elevation for the route is only 22 meters over 7.5 of distance!
Getting Started + Lead-In
The easiest way to get started is to choose “Bridges and Boardwalks” from your Makuri Islands route options. This will properly route through the Boardwalk Sprint, but you’ll need to make your first manual turn soon after that – the left toward Mangrove Maze.
Turn by Turn
Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete Urukazi Flats once you’ve begun on Mech Isle by choosing the “Bridges and Boardwalks” route:
The Fearless Women’s Team Championship is expected to be one of the largest women-only races on Zwift. This is the sixth year for the championship, and it is quite well-known amongst the racing community. According to the race organizer, over 700 riders participated in this event last year! The race is a points race, so we suggest reading the web page for details on scoring, categories, etc.
It is important to note that riders who are looking to participate must sign up through WTRL in order to access the event. Special race passes will be sent out to registrants in order to enter the race. The race will be live-streamed on the Zwift Community Live YouTube channel, and registration closes 1 hour prior to the event start.
Every weekend, The HERD offers a longer endurance session to help encourage riders on longer rides. Ride leaders will provide their usual fun chatter throughout the ride to keep riders entertained and motivated. To assist riders who fall off the back, sweeps will be available and ready to bring riders back to the main group.
The ride will be paced at 1.5 w/kg on the flats and 2 w/kg on the climbs. Riders should expect to cover around 30-40 miles (48-64 km) on this ride. The ride will be 120 minutes on the Muir and The Mountain course in Watopia. Note: the course is quite hilly, so get ready to shift!
EZR is known to offer some of the slowest group rides, which are often perfect for riders in the 0.8-1.5 w/kg range. During this ride, the leader will maintain within the 0.9-1.3 w/kg range. Like most group rides, sweepers will be in this ride to help riders who fall off the back of the main group.
The organizers highly suggest that you join their Discord to interact with riders throughout the ride. This week’s ride takes place over 60 minutes on the Tick Tock course in Watopia.
🥇Wahoo Le Col Saturday Series 2022/23 Season – Round 2
The final race of Zwift Racing League Round 2 is imminent! Riders will want to get every last point they can in this final race over 4-5 laps of Cobbled Climbs, and one of the best ways to prepare for a race is to recon the course. Wahoo Le Col is offering this recon race with the same distances as the real race on Tuesday.
Riders should expect this to be a highly competitive race, so anticipate a fast pace and lots of attacks! Be sure to check out the Zwift Insider article about this week’s course for all the details.
The BanditZ Anti-social Social takes a pretty unique approach to group rides on Zwift. Typically, riders are “required” to stay near the leader at all times. However, in this group ride, riders are free to race, sprint, or just chill with the beacon. During this ride, a sweep team will be present to bring riders back to the main group.
The beacon will remain at a steady pace of around 1.5-1.7 w/kg. The pace will fluctuate based on the terrain. This week’s ride will be on the Quatch Quest course in Watopia, one of the toughest courses on Zwift. In just 29 miles (46 kilometers), riders will ascend over 5,000 feet (1500 meters) of elevation!
