11 months since CANYON//SRAM Racing pledged to ‘challenge the conventions of professional cycling’ by announcing a talent search partnership with Zwift, the online social fitness platform for cyclists, a final winner has been declared.
Leah Thorvilson, a former US Olympic trials marathon runner from Little Rock, Arkansas, fought off 1,200 women from around the world to win a pro contract and the opportunity to race for the CANYON//SRAM Racing team during the 2017 season.
“It’s been an incredible journey and a totally surreal experience,” said Leah, after spending the better part of the 2016 summer participating in group rides and completing structured workout programs on Zwift, before training with the CANYON//SRAM team in Majorca.
She continued, “Prior to Zwift Academy, I never would have guessed this was possible. [Finalists] Jessie and Yvonne are tremendous athletes whom I now consider close friends. I’m so grateful for the opportunity, and I can’t wait to begin this next chapter with the CANYON//SRAM Racing team.”
“Our team is about challenging conventions and we’re super proud of Leah,” said CANYON//SRAM Racing rider Tiffany Cromwell, who first announced the competition during a virtual group ride with Zwift users. “It’d be an honour to have any of the Zwift Academy finalists on team for 2017; they’ve literally put their lives on hold for this opportunity, but Leah distinguished herself in making the final cut. Leah is a welcome addition here.”
For each of the three rounds of competition, a panel of judges narrowed riders down by carefully analyzing data gathered during online rides and workouts. CANYON//SRAM Sports Director Beth Duryea, Professional Pursuit World Champion Mike McCarthy, and TrainSharp Founder Jon Sharples were part of the selection committee who chose 12 semi-finalists before narrowing it down to the final three.
“Finding talent in cycling is a numbers game, in terms of casting the net wide and drawing performance data back in,” commented Jon Sharples, TrainSharp Founder. “That’s what excited us about the Zwift Academy concept. Indoor training provides the accessibility for participants, a safe environment to train and a controlled environment to analyse data; then Zwift adds the social element to build a community of riders and spur them on. It doesn’t surprise us that Leah is our winner. We’re looking forward to seeing how she can develop into a bike racer.”
“When you see an idea really become something, it’s an amazing feeling,” noted Ronny Lauke, CANYON//SRAM Racing Team Manager. “We took a chance with the Zwift Academy and we’re very pleased with the potential we saw not only in Leah, but in the other finalists as well. Watching and seeing all these women dedicate themselves to the sport, it makes one wonder how many more are overlooked.”
Leah’s training and race schedule will be determined by the management of CANYON//SRAM Racing, including Sport Director Beth Duryea. “The immediate future is about further preparing Leah for bike racing at a professional level. The learning curve is going to be incredibly steep, but we will provide a plan with some specific areas for her to work on over the rest of winter.
“Leah will have a training program from our team coach and together we’ll discuss the first part of the season. It would be great to see her preparing to race sometime in spring.”
Zwift CEO & Founder, Erin Min added, “We knew that Zwift and its community were capable of producing a rider who could race at a World Tour level. But this was only made possible because of CANYON//SRAM Racing. This year [2016] was a pilot, and in this respect, our three finalists were true pioneers of their sport. No one can take this away from Leah, Jessie and Yvonne!”
Zwift, CANYON//SRAM Racing and Canyon have confirmed the Zwift Academy will return in 2017.
Built on a long-standing passion for the sport of cycling, Zwift is a company of dedicated cyclists that also happen to be experienced software and video game developers. Combining that passion and understanding of the cycling world, Zwift is ‘the first company to use massive multiplayer gaming technology to bring the outdoor cycling experience indoors’.
Athletes from around the globe can ride with each other in rich, 3D generated worlds simply by connecting their existing devices (e.g. trainers, power meters, heart rate monitors, etc) wirelessly via open industry standard ANT+ or BLE.
From structured workouts and training plans to friendly competition and casual group rides, Zwift is building ‘a community of like-minded athletes united in the pursuit of a better indoor cycling experience’.
