“The Breakaway”: An E-Cycling Team for Prisoners

April 14, 2021

LAST UPDATED April 13, 2021

Each year, a few things happen on Zwift which take us by surprise and expand our view of what can be accomplished on a virtual fitness platform. “The Breakaway” is one such project.

It’s the first-ever virtual cycling team for prisoners. Based out of Oudenaarde prison in Belgium, the project is a collaboration between Decathlon, De Rode Antraciet vzw (a non-profit advocating sports activities & tradition inside prisons), Cellmade, and the Belgian Division of Justice.

Six inmates have been selected to join The Breakaway. They will be riding publicly on Zwift, both for training and in open races against thousands of riders from around the world.

The groundbreaking project may help answer an important question: can a virtual sport help inmates reintegrate into the real world?

Support the Team

The team members will remain anonymous, but you can still follow them in Companion (search for “John Doe 1, “John Doe 2”, etc) and on Strava.

You can even join them on their training rides! Decathlon has published a schedule of when each rider will be on Zwift.

Breakaway vs The Law

According to the project website, in a few months the inmates will take on “their ultimate challenge”: a virtual race against judges, police officers, prison guards, and members of the Belgian Department of Justice. The race will be live-streamed on Facebook.

My Thoughts

Prison reform is a weighty topic, on both personal and societal levels. And it’s an issue which all countries struggle with to some extent. The Breakaway is based in Belgium, but I would welcome a similar project here in California, where our prison system is desperately overcrowded and truly “broken” on many levels.

It is my strongly-held belief that, for the vast majority of prisoners, a system focused on rehabilitation and healthy reintegration into society is the best solution.

People can change. And we, as Zwifters, know the power sports and fitness hold to transform mental and physical health. Perhaps Zwift can be a crucial role in helping prisoners reintegrate as healthy, productive members of society. I’d love to see it happen.