Editor’s note: if you’ve been following the daily Zwift Academy Finals series from GCN, you’ll already know who won the Zwift Academy Road finals in Mallorca. But we wanted to publish an official post dedicated to the winners, so here’s the nice press release from Zwift with more info on the ZA Road Program, Maud, and Alex.
Zwift, the online global fitness platform born from gaming, has announced Maud Oudeman and Alex Bogna as the winners of the 2021 Zwift Academy Road program, following a week-long final held in Mallorca. Oudeman will join CANYON//SRAM Racing and Bogna will join Alpecin-Fenix from 1st Jan 2022.
Zwift Academy Road saw a record of over 150,000 riders take part in 2021, with many benefiting from the structured workouts and seeing improvements across the Baseline and Finish Line rides. Many of those may well dream of becoming a professional cyclist, but for a few there was the potential that a dream could become reality as the global online talent ID-program once again was offering the opportunity to turn professional and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Ella Harris, Jay Vine and Neve Bradbury.
The 2021 Zwift Academy Road program was the first time men’s and women’s programs were combined, and the finals were no different, with both the men’s and women’s finalists competing together at the same camp in Mallorca, Spain. The contenders faced daily challenges, both on Zwift and on the famous Mallorcan climbs. All the action was captured in a 5-episode series hosted by GCN, which you can watch here.
Winner of the women’s Zwift Academy, Maud Oudeman excelled at every task thrown at her over the week, winning multiple ‘rider of the day’ accolades and proving a popular fit with her new teammates at CANYON//SRAM Racing.
“I can’t believe it!” says Oudeman. “The week was so amazing but also a tough test. I was so thrilled to make the finals and I can’t believe my dream is coming true. I cannot wait to race for CANYON//SRAM Racing and I’m really excited to continue to learn, improve and help the team as much as I can next year.”
On the men’s side, Alex Bogna kept the Australian winning streak alive by demonstrating his skill and impressive power on the famed climbs of Mallorca. He left nothing to chance in the final Zwift race and stormed away from the other riders to take the win on the Epic KOM.
“I have no words”, says Bogna. “Zwift Academy is just such a fantastic opportunity, when I found out I’d made it to the Finals I was so happy. I wanted to have a great week of riding and really give myself a chance of winning the contract. Honestly, I’m in shock this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
CANYON//SRAM Racing Team Manager, Ronny Lauke: “The Zwift Academy continues to identify raw talent that has the ability to become top level cyclists in the sport. The recent winners have all shown this with their impact on road cycling and results. In 2021, it was great that the Zwift Academy Finals were able to be held as a camp again. The level of competitiveness among the riders was very strong. Maud stood out with her consistent results and powerful performances throughout the week. We look forward to welcoming her as a member of the team.”
Stay tuned for further content over the coming months as Zwift follows the journey of these two new pro’s in their debut seasons with their new teams at https://www.zwift.com/uk/academy/zaroad
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