Zwift announces 2023 Zwift Academy with more professional contracts up for grabs

The Zwift Academy programme is back for another round with Alpecin-Deceuninck and Canyon-SRAM offering up spots on their development teams for the male and female winners of the virtual try-outs.

Both a fitness programme and a talent identification scheme, Zwift Academy has crowned the likes of Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Ella Harris (Lifeplus Wahoo) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) as its winners in its seven-year history.

After running for several successful years since its launch in 2016, the programme will be run again in 2023 with six workouts that are built to test all the different aspects of a rider’s physiological profile, and two races to see how riders handle more dynamic efforts. Zwift is marketing the Academy as either a chance to earn a contract, for the most ambitions riders, or a good workout program to build fitness for the regular Zwift user.

Read more: Here are some other Zwift workouts we recommend

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The workouts of the Zwift Academy

“Zwift Academy workouts are a great introduction to structured training which will help Zwifters boost fitness and increase cycling strength,” the brand said. “Long workouts last from an hour up to 90 minutes while all the short workouts can be completed in under an hour of concentrated effort.  Workouts will range from explosive anaerobic workouts that will strengthen your sprinting skills through to endurance-focused workouts that will help improve your aerobic efficiency - ideal for tackling those hills.”

A scientific program for elite to everyday riders

In terms of what to expect with this year’s workouts, Zwift has worked with a coaching program to build out what that looks like from a technical standpoint.

“This year’s Zwift Academy will make you faster and help you cope better with that lactate burn,” said Dan Fleeman at Dig Deep Coaching, the coaching team behind the Zwift Academy workouts. “We have designed a challenging programme which will test every energy system to the limit. So if you are looking to improve your times on local climbs, race on Zwift, progress to the professional peloton or just become a stronger cyclist there is something for everyone.”

In terms of the try-out side, the prizes for the winner of the competitive part of the Academy has changed over the years from a spot on the full Alpecin-Deceuninck and Canyon-SRAM WorldTour squads to spots on their development teams, which should give the winners a gentler introduction to pro racing.

Though development squads, both feeder teams have had successful WorldTour outcomes and are coveted squads to get on, with Canyon-SRAM Generation alumna Ricarda Bauernfeind winning a stage in this year's Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Furthermore, last year’s Zwift Academy winner for the men, Luca Vergallito, has earned a step up to Alpecin-Deceuninck's WorldTour team for 2024.

If you are interested in participating in this year's Zwift Academy, whether to compete for a contract or find some inspiration for fitness, register for Zwift academy 2023 via the official page.