150,000 riders from around the globe participated in this year’s Zwift Academy Road, but only 10 (5 men and 5 women) made it to the finals.
This year, for the first time ever, both groups of finalists arrived in Mallorca to stay at the Zwift Academy Beach House and battle it out in the Zwift Academy finals. It’s like Survivor, but on bikes. And we get to follow them through a 5-episode video series from GCN. Today episode 4 arrived…
On Day 4, the remaining 8 finalists are certainly feeling some fatigue from the accumulated efforts of the previous days. But that won’t stop the judges from dishing out a challenging ride!
Today’s effort: a 130km outdoor ride with 2808m of elevation gain, ending on Mallorca’s fearsome Sa Calobra climb, where things will get spicy. The judges will be looking at riders’ ability to go hard on the climbs, but they’re also looking for their ability to handle a bike on challenging descents and ride efficiently in a bunch.
Sa Calobra Climb Results
Men’s Results (full 9.44 km)
| 1 | Alex Bogna | 26:31 | |
| 2 | Sam Hill | 26:59 | |
| 3 | Byron Munton | 27:13 | |
| 4 | Cooper Sayers | 27:52 |
Women’s Results (final 3.2 km)
| 1 | Maud Oudeman | 10:29 |
| 2 | Caitlin Conyers | 10:36 |
| 3 | Rachael Wales | 10:49 |
| 4 | Imogen Alton | 11:25 |
Riders of the Day
Two riders were selected for their standout performances on the day:
- Rachael Wales
- Alex Bogna
Eliminations
At the end of Day 4, two riders were chosen to be eliminated:
- Byron Munton
- Imogen Alton
Watch Episode 4
Next Up
It all comes down to tomorrow – the final day, where we will learn the two winning finalists for Zwift Academy Road 2021. Who will earn the pro contracts?
Your Thoughts
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I’ve really been enjoying Zwift academy!
The one improvement I would suggest to the producers is to make the contestants easier to visually differentiate from the professional cycling teams and from one another. Nearly every shot of the cyclist riding outside is of an undifferentiatable peloton, and all the drama of the show is knowing who is who and how they’re doing. It’s a bummer as a viewer to be lost half the time.
I would think at minimum various brightly colored helmet covers would work, but probably better custom Zwift academy jerseys in different colors.
As a bonus, if producers did this then there would be more emphasis on the fact that contestants are not yet on the pro team, but also that the Zwift academy custom jerseys are a high honor in themselves. Winner could be issued team kit as part of the victory ceremony etc.
Again, love the show, quite well done.
I might be wrong but I’m pretty sure every finalist gets a free kit and a free bike…
Well I would expect so anyway