Zwift Academy Delayed Until 2026: Zwift Decides to Withdraw from Elite Competitions Temporarily
The Zwift Racing League has re-launched with a renewed focus on community racing and significant updates to its platform. The league has introduced improvements to its ranking system and new anti-botting technology, aiming to make every race closer and better matched for riders across the full ability spectrum on Zwift.
One of the key aspects of Zwift's community racing is the Zwift Academy, a program that offers a WorldTour pathway. Although the Academy will not be held in 2023, it is set to return in 2026. Over the past year, Zwift has updated its categorization approach for community racing experiences, making races 64% closer as defined by the Inter Quartile Range of race finish times.
In the past, winners of the Zwift Academy have earned pro contracts with teams like Alpecin-Deceuninck and Canyon-SRAM. Notable winners include Jay Vine and Neve Bradbury, who won in 2020 and have since gone on to win multiple WorldTour races. The Academy has played a significant role in bringing millions of people into the sport of cycling.
In addition to the Racing League updates, Zwift has also announced updates to its hardware products. These include updates to the Wahoo Kickr Core 2 and Bike Pro, as well as the introduction of Zwift Ride Smart Bike. Zwift has also announced upcoming features, such as a Brompton World Championships, new Zwift Click controllers, and new training tools.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has shown interest in using the Zwift platform for an elite racing series and taking over performance evaluation and monitoring. However, Zwift has decided to step back from elite racing, a decision that has affected events like the Zwift World Series and the Zwift Games, which will not have an elite category this year.
Despite stepping back from elite racing, Zwift remains open to discussions with organizations that express a desire to use the platform and commit to managing broadcast and performance verification. The spokesperson for Zwift emphasized a 'bottom up' approach, prioritizing the broad community.
It's worth noting that many of these new participants in community racing would not have tried racing without Zwift. With over 30,000 riders participating in virtual races annually through the Zwift Racing League, it's clear that Zwift continues to play a significant role in the world of cycling. The news about Zwift stepping back from elite racing was first reported by Escape Collective.
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