- The Zwift is both the world's largest
virtual training camp and the global talent
identification programme.
Last time around, 35,000 people enrolled
and now, it's back for its forth year.
Zwift is hoping for over 100,000 riders to enrol
in the eight training sessions and four group rides,
or races, that must be completed in order to graduate
from the eight week training course.
Of those graduates, ten super talented women
and ten super talented men will go forward
to the semi-final.
From which, three riders will get the chance
to go to training camp with either
Canyon Sram or Dimension Data to fight out
head to head with the professionals
for a spot on a real pro team.
Now, I retired from professional racing
just over twelve months ago
and you may have noticed, I have lost
a tiny bit of fitness since then.
Although, luckily not too much.
I am honestly quite competitive
and because of this, I like the idea
of the regular training rides,
a few competitive events,
and I think it would be quite entertaining
to find out how I measure up
against the current crop of academy riders.
Can a former pro get picked up on a talent ID programme
destined to find future pros?
- [Male Speaker] Well that is a good question,
and while Chris is stuck up a mountain
trying to kickstart his pro career,
I thought I would assume the role
of his agent and try and find the answer.
We are going to get a bit more information
about Zwift Academy
and ultimately find out just how
the top men and women get selected.
So, basically, can we get a little more info
on the side that is going to help my mate.
Now Zwift themselves are based in Los Angeles,
but happily, I just have to hop on a train
to London to meet a chap called
Tom Hargreaves, he's one of the architects
of the academy.
We could of, I guess, just phoned him up,
but it's always nice to get out and about,
isn't it? Naturally.
(upbeat music)
As this guy whiles a way a pleasant hour
and a half on the train,
Let me give you a bit more information
on the Zwift academy.
Yes, at the end of it, two people will
receive their first pro contracts,
but tens of thousands will also have
the satisfaction of having graduated
and gotten fitter.
Unlocking special Zwift academy kit
in the process.
Also, and this is very cool, for every
1,000 successful finishes, Zwift will also
donate a bike to the Obubeka charity.
How do you sign up then?
Well, it's simple. You do of course need
a Zwift membership and an indoor training set up
of some kind, but then you simply sign up in the game.
You can choose which ones you want to do
from the dedicated Zwift academy folder
in the work out sections.
They've been created by Zwift's coaches
and they look pretty tough.
Then, you need to do those four accredited
Zwift group rides or races.
If you spread all the sessions out,
it works out at about two quality rides per week.
(transition music)
- [Male Speaker] And here is Zwift's UK base
and Tom Hargreaves.
So Tom, what's your role at Zwift Academy?
- [Tom] I am one of the internal leads in the programme
and I am on the panel of people that helps select
top riders for the team that eventually leaves
Zwift Academy and who goes to the semi-finals
and the finals.
- [Interviewer] So how do you begin
to select who goes through to that semi-finals stage?
You are sifting through tens of thousands of people's
ride data. So what are you actually looking for?
- [Tom] So, Today's Plan, the training platform
does a lot of the heavy lifting for us.
Everyone who is going for the pro contract
needs to be on Today's Plan platform
and they get a free premium subscription for
the duration of the academy.
So they can track their data
and from our perspective, we can use
the filtering tools and then that to
start to whittle down the top riders
based upon the power they are doing over
a certain duration.
So, you know, the top fifty riders under a minute
over twenty minutes, five minutes, etc.
- [Interviewer] Now, I guess a few people as well,
they might be sort of wondering how you check
for the credibility of the data.
Presumably, you could lie about your weight,
for example. So how do you make sure
that what your looking is accurate.
- [Tom] So, I think when we get that top fifty or so
we start looking at the riders more individually.
So, we will send them a survey and we will
ask them what their background is,
how long have they been riding a bike,
what are their aspirations,
what kind of rider do they see themselves as?
And at that point we are looking for
talent identification rather than just
power identification.
So are they on like an upward trajectory
are they, have they got strength from perhaps
other sports that might transfer over well into cycling.
Things like rowing or in-line speed skating
for instance.
- [Interviewer] Let's talk about some of the
previous winners. Particularly last year's
actually seemed to be performing really strong.
We'll see an Ella Harris, rides for Canyon Sram,
she took, what, the best young rider jersey
at the Walter Berghoff's and then
on the Dimension Data side you've got
Martin Lavric who literally, very recently,
has just been performing strongly at the
Hero Valdosta.
So, clearly you are doing something right,
you are finding talented bike riders.
Have you sort of evolved your process?
I mean everyone has always performed strongly,
having won the academy,
but it seem particularly now more than ever.
- [Tom] Yeah, I mean there is definitely
an element of luck in there in that we can only
select from the pool of people that apply.
We obviously have more applicants each year.
The number of people taking part is huge now.
So, that gives us more talent to pick from
so to speak.
I'd say what we have tried to focus on
is the talent identification rather than
just power.
So looking at what type of rider people are,
Ultimately how are they going to settle into
the team winning position within.
So, we need to be confident that
whoever wins is going to be able to
thrive in the women's world tour or
in a Men's Under 23 Italian calendar.
Yeah I think just shifts your mindset
when you are looking at the type of rider,
obviously the pro teams themselves have a lot of input
into who wins as well.
So, they themselves know the racing calendar
they are going to be going through the next year
and will be trying to identify riders that will
slide right into their team
and compliment them with those races.
- [Interviewer] And then, finally,
are there any kind of tips or advice
that you could give people embarking
on the academy that want to absolutely get
the most of out it.
- [Tom] The one thing I would say
is treat every single work out like it is
an FTP test or ramp test
because you want to finish that work out
feeling like you have absolutely nailed it
and you've done everything you can do.
Some of the workouts are designed to give
participants the opportunity to show what
they've got. So that might be a four minute effort
all out and if you go into that after a couple
days of hard training or after, you know,
being out social with your mates all weekend,
you probably not going to put out your best performance.
So, yeah, treat every work out like it a test.
Because I think in the academy it is basically.
- [Interviewer] Right, cheers Tom. Thank you mate,
that's a lot of info there to parse back the Chris
and we will just keep our fingers crossed for em ay?
- [Tom] Chris who?
- [Interviewer] Opie, they GCN presenter,
he's going to do it, the academy, and try
and go pro again. So, yeah.
- [Tom] Oh no, he's way to old for this.
The men's academy is looking for an under 23 year-old
rider.
- [Interviewer] Under 23?
- [Tom] Yeah, to ride in the team Dimension Data
under 23 squad.
- [Interviewer] Yes so the academy is open to everyone,
and there is no upper age restriction when
competing for the Canyon Sram women's pro contract,
but to be in the mix for the Dimension Data
development contract you will need to be
between 18 and 21.
As Tom said though, everyone can see how they
measure up if they want by checking
the stats on Today's Plan and we will
certainly be checking the stats,
looking very closely at Chris.
- [Chris] Okay, I'm not realistically looking
to turn pro again. I mean there was a reason why
I retired in the first place.
I reached a level I was unlikely to surpass.
The motivation for doing the same races,
year in, year out, it just wasn't there
like it was when I was younger.
What I am interested in though is how
I shape up against these young guns
and their computer lives that I have yet to learn.
Since I've stopped racing, I celebrated
retirement pretty hard to start with
and then the novelty started to wear off
and I realised it is actually easier
to maintain then it is to build your fitness.
Especially when you have young family
and a full time job.
These days, it isn't unheard of for me
to do my commute averaging over 350 watts
for the 32 kilometre segment that I created.
So I know that I am in reasonably good shape.
I'll be keeping you up to date on the GCN show
each week and I'll even let you know when I am
doing group rides or races.
So that you can log on, ride with me,
and either help or hinder me, that's your choice.
The link to the Zwift academy is
in the description below.
That's it for me, do wish me luck.