Zwift has announced the 10 finalists in the 2022 Zwift Academy Road program. Five women and five men will now progress to the Zwift Academy Road Finals in Denia, Spain, where they will compete for a contract on the professional cycling teams CANYON//SRAM (women) and Alpecin-Deceuninck (men).
More than 96,000 cyclists participated in this year’s Zwift Academy Road. For most participants, this year’s four-week program was an opportunity to improve from their baseline fitness and identify their ‘cycling phenotype’.
The program included eight mandatory workouts and one optional ride. For some participants, Zwift Academy presented a unique opportunity to attempt to join a pro cycling team. Riders who self-identified that they wanted to participate in the ‘Pro Contender’ program completed additional workouts, and were evaluated as potential pro cyclists. Out of thousands, ten riders rose to the top and have been selected as finalists.
The five finalists competing for a spot with CANYON//SRAM are:
Alice Morrice, Great Britain
Chiara Doni, Italy
Elena Wu-Lang, United States
Liz Van Houeling, United States
Nele Laing, Germany
The five finalists competing for a contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck are:
Cooper Sayers, Australia
Jasper Paridaens, Belgium
Luca Vergallito, Italy
Lucas Hoffman, Australia
Will Lowden, Great Britain
Zwift Academy Road Finals will be held at Syncrosfera, a health and performance centre in Denia, Spain. The finals, in mid-November, will see all ten finalists complete some training tasks as a group, while others will be performed with their prospective teams.
Team riders and staff from CANYON//SRAM and Alpecin-Deceuninck will be present at the finals to evaluate the finalists and assist in selecting the two winners (one female and one male). Zwift Academy and coaches from the teams will be on site to analyze all performance data from their Zwift and outdoor efforts at finals, as well as some off-bike challenges.
The finals will be broadcast by GCN, with five films being released starting on December 13. The winners will be announced on December 17.
