ABOUT CANYON//SRAM
With 15 riders from 11 different countries, CANYON//SRAM Racing is the home of a diverse group of highly ambitious women who are willing to invest in their future and the future of cycling by breaking new ground and constantly challenging themselves and their competitors. Recent highlight? Elise Chabby just won the QOM jersey at the Women's Tour!
ABOUT ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
Whether it’s road, cyclocross, or mountain, Alpecin-Deceuninck cyclists are ready to race. After winning numerous World Cups, their supremacy was certified at the World Championships in Ostend, giving Mathieu Van der Poel the rainbow jersey for 2021. The team made their Tour de France debut last year, winning two stages and holding onto the yellow jersey for six.
Zwift Academy Rules - 2022
The road to your professional career begins here. Up to five women and five men will be selected to advance to the Zwift Academy Finals. Two contenders from the Finals will be crowned champions, winning a professional cycling contract with CANYON//SRAM Racing (Women) or Team Alpecin-Deceuninck (Men) for the 2023 race season. Read the details below.
CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS:
- Complete the Baseline ride and the two additional Pro Contender workouts before September 25, 11:59 PM UTC (4:59 PM PT)
- Graduate Zwift Academy Road on or before October 10, 8:59 AM UTC (1:59 AM PT)
- Must complete the LONG version of the 6 structured workouts
- Must use a direct-drive smart trainer or smart bike for all Zwift Academy Road events
- Must wear a Heart Rate monitor for all Zwift Academy Road events
- Participants are not permitted to use a power meter as a primary power source
- Must be age 18+ by January 1, 2023
- Cannot be a current or previous WorldTour or UCI ProTeam professional
A complete set of rules is outlined in our Terms & Conditions.
PRO CONTENDER WORKOUTS
If you want to go pro, you have to put in the work. Pro Contenders will have to complete two additional workouts to graduate from the Zwift Academy and earn a chance at a contract. The workouts can be accessed within the workout folder in the Pro Contender section. You’ll need to complete both workouts by September 25, 11:59 PM UTC (4:59 PM PT).
Aerobic Capacity
Riders may struggle to recover fully from the 12-minute capacity effort. That’s by design: This workout was made to find out which athletes have what it takes to go pro. The next 10-minute sub-threshold attempt will be set at a target power below your current FTP.
Glycolytic Capacity
This test runs you through sub 2-minute intervals followed by rest periods to allow for complete recovery. After intensive intervals, we'll also profile your recovery capabilities and judge how resilient your aerobic system is. This will be identified in the 2 x 10-minute sub-threshold efforts at the end of the session. Any riders considering the pro contractmust also complete the 2 x 10-minute sub-threshold efforts without failure.
FAQ
There are a few requirements you must hit in order to compete for the pro contracts with CANYON//SRAM or Alpecin-Deceuninck teams.
- You must complete the Baseline ride AND the two additional Pro Contender workouts before September 25, 11:59 PM UTC (4:59 PM PT). The two Pro Contender workouts can be found in the “Zwift Academy 2022” workout folder.
- You must complete the requirements to graduate Zwift Academy Road, which include one Baseline Ride, six structured workouts, and one Finish Line Ride by October 10, 8:59 AM UTC (1:59 AM PT).
- You must complete the LONG version of all six structured workouts.
- You must use a direct-drive smart trainer or smart bike for all Zwift Academy events
undefined - Participants are not permitted to use a power meter as a primary power source
- You must use a heart rate monitor for all Zwift Academy events
Missing anything? Visit our Zwift Store to purchase a heart rate monitor. - You must be 18+ years old, as of January 1, 2023
- Ensure your height and weight is accurately entered into Zwift before you begin the program.
- You cannot be a current WorldTour or UCI ProTeam professional or have competed in a WorldTour race in the past, as defined by these list of teams: Men - World & ProTeams | ProCyclingStats 6 , Women - Womens World & Continental teams | ProCyclingStats 6
- You cannot have any doping violations from any national federations.
- You cannot be a previous Zwift Academy Road Champion.
Yes. you will need to accurately record your weight in Zwift before starting Zwift Academy.
For more information on the weigh-in process for Pro Contenders, please review our Terms & Conditions.
Five women and five men will be selected to advance as Zwift Academy finalists. To be eligible to advance, you will need to have completed all six workouts, the two additional Pro Contender workouts, one Baseline Ride, and one Finish Line Ride. In addition, you will need to accurately weigh yourself prior to the start of Zwift Academy. We encourage you to update your weight each week for accuracy of data .
The top five male and female athletes will be selected by a panel of CANYON//SRAM Racing or Team Alpecin-Deceuninck management, Coaches Stephen Gallagher and Dan Fleeman, as well as Zwift in order to progress to the finals.
The coaches at Zwift Academy will be collecting data from your workouts and races to evaluate your overall performance. Your data is plotted in a power duration curve where they can accurately assess your strengths and weaknesses. In this case, the power duration curve covers all durations from your peak five-second power to your one-hour power threshold.
We don’t expect riders to be strong in every area of the power duration curve. This is your chance to show us where you perform best. You might be a sprinter with a very high 5–10-second power. You might be a climber with a very good 5–20-minute power. Or you might be the pursuiter who is very good in the range of 1–4 minutes.
Keep in mind, it’s not just peak power we are looking for. In workouts, we will also be looking at your ability to repeat high intensity efforts. The planned Zwift Academy workouts will give you the opportunity to work on all of these areas in your power duration curve. Do your best in each workout and feel free to repeat each workout as many times as you’d like to record your best performance.
No additional registration is needed to enter the Pro Contender program.
