Meet the Finalists of CANYON//SRAM Racing | Zwift Academy 2018

We are pleased to announce the 3 Finalists of the CANYON//SRAM Zwift Academy!

The riders will join CANYON//SRAM Racing at their training camp in Malaga, Spain in December to compete for a professional contract for the 2019 season!

Mary wears a lot of hats: she’s head of science & research at a nutrition development company, works at a sports shop, and helps out at her family’s sheep and cattle farm. The former distance runner represented England at international mountain running, road running, and XC events for a decade. Relatively new to road cycling, at age 37 she recently competed in her first international stage race — the Rás na mBan  — and hopes to do more in the future. Meet Mary

This 20-year-old Kiwi is currently studying Food Marketing and hopes to start a food company in the future. Before she does, she’d like to race professionally for a UCI World Tour team as a domestique in the Spring Classics, including the Amstel Gold as well as the Ronde van Drenthe, and the major women’s tours like the Tour of California and Giro Rosa. Meet Ella

A full-time student who works part-time at a bike shop, Ione started her athletic career as a swimmer as well as rugby and field hockey player. At 14, she began racing on the track before getting into road racing. Now 20 years old, Ione has Olympic aspirations and loves short and steep climbs, flats, and being a team player.  “I’ve always been the workhorse doing whatever needed to be done.” Meet Ione

 

Congrats to all the Semi-Finalists for a hard-fought competition!

We are pleased to announce the 10 Semi-Finalists of the CANYON//SRAM Racing | Zwift Academy! More than 4,900 women participated — a new record — and choosing these 10 was tough. There’s so much talent and passion in our community!

The semi-finalists are now one step closer to the Grand Prize: a pro contract with the CANYON//SRAM Racing team for 2019. Our partners are awarding each Semi-Finalist a Wahoo KICKR smart trainer, a Rapha CANYON//SRAM jersey and Solestar KONTROL cycling insoles to power them through the next round.

Semi-Finals will take place from Oct 15th – 28th and competitors will be challenged to complete 4 additional Zwift workouts, 2 outdoor rides, and 1 Zwift race.

Thanks to all of our participants, our partners, and CANYON//SRAM Racing!

Without further adieu, let’s meet the Semi-Finalists.

A full-time osteopath, the 33-year-old started her racing career as mountain biker and cyclocrosser. Recently, Eva starting racing triathlons, completing her first Ironman in 2017 and nabbing a 7th place finish at IRONMAN-Nice. A lover of all bike racing disciplines, Eva wants to see if she can compete with the pros.  Meet Eva

Just 21, Catherine races road as well as mountain and has big ambitions. “My long-term goals are to win the Elite National Road title, compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and one day to podium at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.” Off the bike, she’s busy helping with the family business, designing and building filtration systems for koi ponds and fish farms. Meet Catherine

A life-long athlete, Harriet started as a runner but when she saw the Tour de France for the first time, it changed her life. “I was left speechless (and buzzing) by the riders’ integrity and strength.”  The 20-year-old mountain biker, roadie, and college student hopes to become a pro cyclist and has already won two mountain bike races this year. Meet Harriet

Nathalie has accomplished a lot in her 27 years. She started as a dancer, graduating from the Royal Swedish Ballet School in 2010, got into CrossFit competitions two years later, and into running and triathlon shortly thereafter. The doctor and coach started racing road this year and dreams of going pro.  “Ever since I quit dancing, I have been looking for something that I feel the same love for and when I got accepted for Skoda Cycling Team (for Vätternrundan) I finally found it.” Meet Nathalie

 

Suffering a bout of pneumonia, a collision with a car, and the flu, it’s been a rough 12 months for Helen. But it’s a fool’s errand to count her out: she’s the only semi-finalist from last year that made this year’s cut. The 40-year-old has a great attitude and once won 11 out of 14 primes at a Belgian Kermesse. And she’s not even a sprinter!  She just knows how to hang on to a lucky break. Meet Helen

Elne loves climbing, attacking, and sticking a breakaway. Just 19, she’s studying to become a personal trainer. Elne loves dogs, coffee, and exploring. She has lots of short-term goals. “My goals for next year are to win National Champs, the Road Race, and ITT. I want to win more classics in my country as well as a few races in Belgium and Holland.” Meet Elne

The 5-time national mountain bike champion started road racing in 2017. She loves tough races that include lots of climbing. Now 26, Laura hopes to become a pro cyclist in the future so she can concentrate on improving. One of our most seasoned racers, she competed in both the National Road Cycling Championships and Lotto Belgium Tour this year. Meet Laura