It’s that time of year when we look back and reflect on what’s gone by. As I thought about my year on Zwift, I realised what an exciting year it has been! I thought 2020 was good, but this year certainly tops it.
Unique Experiences
Personally speaking, there have been so many fun and unique experiences which makes using Zwift incredible. Even as recently as this week, something quite extraordinary happened.
Tuesday evening, I joined Andy Schleck’s Cappuccino ride, with the objective of a nice quiet spin. The ride commenced and there was no sign of Andy, which was highly unusual given he was leading the event. Then my telephone rang and it was Andy. It’s not every day a Tour de France Champion phones you up. “Hello Andy” I said. “Tim, I need your help!” came Andy’s reply. His Companion app wasn’t opening, and therefore he could not communicate to the group, so whilst he was sorting that out, he was giving me instructions to pass to the group, which I was relaying via my Companion app. Andy got it sorted and the ride was able to resume, but this is one of the many special stories that I have as a result of Zwift. (Incidentally, Andy had my telephone number because earlier in the year, he had been kind enough to grant me an interview where we cycled around Watopia and talked about his event on Zwift, his career, and also about life after he retired from racing.)
But this isn’t the only unique experience on Zwift for 2021. Far from it! Linking up with Tim Searle was an opportunity for learning. He told me the challenges of leading a group ride and then supported me in my own undertaking. This led to an interesting article and it gave me an appreciation of how challenging leading events is. I am certainly a better Zwifter for the experience.
This tutoring from Tim paid dividends later in the year as I was able to pass on my experiences to former professional cyclist now cycling commentator David Millar. David has recently re-joined the platform and is hosting the CHPT3 rides on Tuesday at 8:00PM CET. They are excellent fun and David has been joined by friend and co-commentator Ned Boulting. (Ned cycles under a pseudonym, which I won’t reveal, but on the first ride when he announced “I am Ned” it led to an entire ride of people commenting “I am Ned.”) I am certainly looking forward to collaborating with David on future projects.
Zwift Collaborations
Talking of collaborations, I have been fortunate to work with Zwift on two really interesting articles. One focussed on a topic close to my heart: Diversity and Inclusion. With the help of Zwift’s PR Director Chris Snook, I was able to get a clear understanding of the journey Zwift are on in this regard. In my opinion they are actually leading the way, especially as they now sponsor the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, starting in 2022.
Similarly, I had equal amounts of fun working with Joy Osborne and writing in detail about the Zwift Internship program. It was fascinating to learn how they were able to run a successful programme whilst operating under strict COVID restrictions. A testament to the adaptability of Joy, her team, and Zwift as an organisation.
Personal Progress
Training with Rowe & King 
In terms of my own cycling, I have reached new heights in recent weeks after linking up with Matt Rowe from Rowe & King and adopting a structured approach to training and racing. I have charted my progress which was seen me increase my 20-minute power to 5.4 w/kg and my 5-minute power to 5.8 w/kg.
Prior to that, I was able to win a few events, including a TT up the Ven-Top which saw me complete the climb in 1 hour and 38 seconds and another where I managed a sub-40 minute climb up the Alpe du Zwift.
However, the victories I enjoyed most were my back-to-back wins in my Mountain Massif TT events in October.
Five Events I Enjoyed
This leads on to what events I enjoyed the most this year. Here are five different events that I thought were highlights:
#1: The Haute Route, February 26th – 28th
I really enjoyed this event – the only stage race on Zwift I’ve seen which had back-to-back mountain routes. This was seriously tough. The routes were The Mega Pretzel, The Pretzel and Quatch Quest, on consecutive days. If you were competing for the General Classification, it meant that you had to race in a conservative way, with one eye on the next stage… something which isn’t usually the case with Zwift.
I hope that there are more events like this in the future. The races were well-attended, competitive, and thus different. And I liked the GC categorisation, once it was working. This was certainly a stand-out event for me.
#2: Castelli Group Rides
There are many fine group rides on Zwift, such as those led by AHDR’s Tim Searle. However, one of my favourites is the “Roll with Castelli” ride. I caught up with Rich Lovelock, who heads up the Castelli Team that facilitates these well-organised events, and I learned the history and evolution of these rides.
I personally enjoy the events because they are well-paced, well-led, interactive, with the added bonus that once a month, they host an “Epic Ride.” These are usually longer than their normal ride and feature guest riders such as Esports World Champion Jason Osborne On top of that, there is the extra incentive that a prize can be won, which usually is some very high-end Castelli garment. Over the year, I have become a regular attendee and it has that “Club” feel. Now I look forward to attending, mainly to catch up with how people are and what they have been up to.
#3: 3R VEveresting Academy
Without a doubt, one of the highlights of my year is being involved in the 3R VEveresting Academy and actually participating and completing the event.
I have to confess, undertaking the VEveresting challenge was never on my “To-Do” list. The thought of it just seemed too extreme. When I was approached by George Parker-Fuller, the architect of the event, I was happy to promote it, but didn’t see myself ever participating. Then I attended a few of their training rides and the camaraderie got me hooked and before I knew it, I was lining up alongside the team, tackling what seemed like an impossible task. In the end, not only did I complete the VEveresting challenge but I totaled 10,000 meters of climbing, achieving the Hells 500 10km badge in the process!
This event was special because it was well-organised. There was a structured approach to training that people all bought into which truly prepared people for the ride. During the main event in May, people were supporting each other and it was simply a special experience. If you have the opportunity to participate in this, I recommend doing it.
This was a sporting highlight of the year for me personally because never have I spent so long on a turbo trainer, never have I climbed so much in a day and never have I ridden so far in one sitting. To add “icing to the cake” I obtained the VEveresting badge!
#4: Gran Fondo Series
These monthly rides during the winter period were especially fun and resulted in some interesting stories including one where I had only two gears to complete the event, due to a broken gear cable.
I appreciate people are saying that they want “different routes” but I actually like the fact that you can challenge yourself on the same route month to month. I also like the fact that they are mass participation and that you can race the event if you’d like (however, you don’t have to – simply completing the event is an achievement in itself). Furthermore, for your efforts you are awarded a prestigious jersey. These events are certainly a favourite of mine and look forward to them returning.
#5: Flamme Rouge Racing
There have been two series run this year by Flamme Rouge Racing (FRR), the first in September and the second in November. There is a third scheduled for January. I enjoyed these events is because they brought new innovative ideas to Zwift racing. For example, the crazy Zwift starts were dispensed with for a more realistic neutralised rolling start, which was appreciated by all participants.
Furthermore, this was a team stage race which was competitive but friendly and fair, as no power-ups were used and the same bike was enforced. FRR introduced a concept called “Your race, your way” which meant that you were not restricted to a specific time to race as your results from your event would be collated, meaning it gave people more flexibility to race when it suited them.
All-in-all, this was the team racing event that I enjoyed the most this year.
Honourable Mention – Mountain Massif TT series
Riding the Friday event
It would be impossible for me to finish my round-up of the year without mentioning my Mountain Massif TT series, which has developed quite organically over the year. Originally, I created the “Monday Mountain Massif Time Trial” back in March as a race up the Epic KOM reverse. This was a one-off event to document how Zwift events are set up. It was very gracious of Zwift to facilitate this, and with close to 500 riders attending the launch, Zwift were kind enough to ensure it became a weekly fixture. And later in the year, an additional timeslot was added to ensure the event would be accessible to a wider audience.
In September, after linking up with Muc-Off, I launched the second in the series, and this event saw racers time trialling 12.1km up the Alpe du Zwift. This proved equally popular as the original Mountain Massif event and often has triple-digit numbers of attendees competing, despite being what could be considered a “niche event.”
In November, after connecting with Elite to review their RIZER, I launched the third event in the series, a 10.1km TT up the Ven-Top. The event was headlined by Wout Poels and again saw close to 500 riders participating.
So what had originally started as a single event has developed into a series of customised mountain time trials which sees people testing themselves on the toughest climbs in Zwift. What is special about the events is that there are three races in one. There is the race for the category win, the race for an FTP boost, and a race for your best time on the course.
Along the journey I’ve had the opportunity to meet new people who have supported me in developing the branding for this series. This includes working with Zwift to produce a custom event banner as well as creating jerseys for the event, which have been passed to Zwift with an eye toward getting them in game.
Summing Up
With so many memorable moments, it’s been a special year for me on Zwift. It’s going to be hard to top, but then I thought the same about 2020! The reality is, I can actually only see things getting better as more people are attracted to the platform and Zwift continues to innovate.
You see, as Zwift continues to innovate, so does the community. I can already confirm that I am continuing my connection with Elite and we are working on bringing some new and unique opportunities for the community to Zwift. This is one of many things I’m looking forward to next year.
But There’s More….
One thing I forgot to mention is that when I was back in the UK in the summer I met up with Eric Min (Co-Founder and CEO of Zwift) and we shared a quintessentially English cream tea in the beautiful Cotswolds. I reached out Eric to ask him his thoughts on 2021 and Eric kindly responded. It seems fitting that we should end with Eric’s views on 2021.
Eric’s Views
“As ever, it’s difficult to look back on the year and single out one thing in particular. I still ride or run on Zwift most days and enjoy a new experience every time I log in.
Pace Partners have added something new and exciting for all Zwifters. They have proven incredibly popular whether you’re warming up for an event, cooling down, or simply looking for a social group to ride with. Pace Partners are now in Makuri Islands and will soon be coming out of FutureWorks. We have much more in store for them next year, so watch this space!
In terms of content experiences, most will know I’m incredibly passionate about eSports and truly believe that Zwift can be an Olympic sport in the not too distant future. It was therefore incredibly exciting for Zwift to have the opportunity to host cycling events for the first IOC Olympic Virtual Series in partnership with the UCI. It was a huge step forward in seeing the dream become reality and was an honour to be able to ride with so many decorated Olympians in the OVS Series on Zwift.
Lastly, I couldn’t talk about 2021 without mentioning the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Attending the route presentation in Paris earlier this year and watching Zwift Academy winners Ella Harris and Neve Bradbury on stage was a special experience and shows how far we’ve come as a brand. We’ve always been proud to invest in women’s cycling and know that thanks to the increased exposure the TdF Femmes avec Zwift will bring we can inspire new generations to take up this fantastic sport.
As we come to the end of this year, I’m already looking forward to 2022 and beyond. We’ve already previewed Clubs and the new Home Screen and you can bet there will be more new roads on the way as well. I can’t reveal much more just yet but you can bet that next year will be one of the biggest yet!
Thanks!”
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