Zwift Academy Success Stories: Roberta SoloRio

Roberto SoloRio had been nervous about this ride for months.

It was July 2019, and the flatlander from Midland, Texas, was climbing Vail Pass in Colorado. She describes herself as “not good at climbing,” and yet as she started up the mountain road, she felt strong.

“It wasn’t that hard, because I was well-trained,” she recalls. “I was able to pass people! I swear if it wasn’t because of my Zwift work, I couldn’t have done it.”

SoloRio, now 64, says just riding on Zwift has made her a better, stronger cyclist. But it was Zwift Academy that showed her what she could really do.

Zwift Academy is a community training program of structured workouts, group rides, and races that thousands of people participate in each year. In road cycling, there’s one academy for women and one for men. One lucky rider from each will earn a pro contract.

Anyone can enroll, though, and get something out of it. Seasoned rider? Jump in and put your legs to the test! Completely new to structured training, like SoloRio? You’ll learn the basics of training with power and how to improve different areas of your fitness.

To graduate Zwift Academy Road 2021, participating cyclists will complete 6 structured workouts and 2 group rides within an 8-week timeframe. They’ll also do a baseline ride to see where they are at the start and a finish line ride to show how far they’ve come by the end.

To learn more about Zwift Academy Road and to enroll, click here.

Zwift Academy was the first time that SoloRio really thought about power, cadence, and heart rate and how they interact. The workouts included useful information about what to watch for and the meaning behind these numbers.

“Other than the heart rate monitor, I never paid attention to anything else before,” she says.

When she had more questions, she turned to the women’s Zwift Academy Facebook group, where she could get advice from more experienced riders and even coaches.

SoloRio remembers posting in the Zwift Academy Facebook group about singing during one of the workouts… the response was, “your FTP’s not set high enough. You shouldn’t be able to sing during that!”

With a higher FTP (Functional Threshold Power), the workouts in Zwift got harder, but SoloRio still got through them. She could dig a lot deeper than she thought!

“I learned that I don’t push myself as hard as I could,” she says. “In general, it helped me know that I can work harder.”

Zwift Academy also taught her when to back off and save her strength, instead of burning out too early.

“I’ve learned more and more to ride within myself,” SoloRio says. “That has made me stronger and stronger as I’m not wasting energy trying to catch someone faster. Rather I am working more efficiently.”

Joining the Academy

SoloRio had been Zwifting for about 6 months when she first enrolled in the Academy in 2018. She often found herself at the back of group rides and had never tried racing. While she had been riding for years, she was new to structured workouts.

She had joined some Zwift-related Facebook groups, and that’s where she met 2016 Zwift Academy winner Leah Thorvilson.

“Leah was just super present and engaging, sharing info with everyone about it,” she says. “That prompted me to do it – the idea of being part of that community.”

At first, SoloRio was nervous about a requirement to participate in races (now it’s optional). Even group rides were hard for her, so how would she manage a race? As it turns out, she just needed some practice.

“It’s almost the same as starting to ride outside,” SoloRio says. “You ride and get dropped, ride and get dropped, and then one day you’re stronger and don’t get dropped.”

She noticed herself getting stronger outside, too, and more confident. Soon, SoloRio decided it was time to put her training and newfound knowledge to good use.

Let’s Take This Outside

“I don’t like to climb, and I live in a completely flat city,” SoloRio says. “But I decided that 2019 was going to be the year of climbing rides.”

She made plans to participate in a hilly ride in Tennessee called the Tour of Champions and one in Arizona called El Tour de Tucson. A friend also invited her to ride the “Single Bypass” route of the Triple Bypass event in Colorado. The longest route goes over three mountain passes in the Rocky Mountains, but SoloRio decided that one would be enough.

How do you train for climbing when you can’t ride any hills? Head for a virtual world where you can go uphill as much as you want!

SoloRio picked routes with as much elevation as possible, knowing she was capable of riding them. She remembered what she had learned about pacing herself with power and keeping a comfortable cadence.

For the first time, she climbed to the summit of the Alpe du Zwift. Then she did it again with a much better time. She kept seeing improvements as the months passed.

When it came time for her outdoor rides, SoloRio was ready. The Tour of Champions was harder than she expected, but she finished strong. She loved El Tour de Tucson. And when it came time for the Single Bypass ride, she was surprised at how easily she got through it!

“I trained on Zwift for those rides intentionally,” says SoloRio. “I couldn’t have done it here (outside).”

Tips From A Graduate

What would SoloRio say to others who are considering joining Zwift Academy?

“Do it!”

Unless you’re going for the contract, focus on improving yourself and connecting with other people, she says.

“It was more about being competitive with myself,” she says. “And the small group of friends I’ve made, sharing information and building each other up.”

Have fun on the group rides. During the workouts, don’t get discouraged if you aren’t awarded a “star” for every interval – just do your best to hit your targets.

“It’s more mental than physical a lot of times for me,” SoloRio says. “So I break things into segments. . . I can do anything for 2 minutes!”

SoloRio likes to put on music to help her get through tough workouts. One of her favorite songs to ride to is “Uprising” by Muse, but her playlist also includes Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and Sia.

Before you sign up, make sure you know your FTP or at least have a good guess, so the workouts will be at the right level. (Click here to see how you can do that!)

Finally, SoloRio says joining the Facebook group (one for women and one for men) will introduce you to others who could be a big help. They’ll keep you motivated to train and remind you that you’re not alone.

“It’s been a community of women who have helped me become a better rider,” she says, “while becoming wonderful friends.”

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