BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER: ZWIFT ACADEMY TRIATHLON RETURNS FOR 2022 WITH NEW SUPPORT FROM CANYON, SRAM, AND ZIPP
World’s biggest triathlon training community returns with an opportunity earn a place on the Zwift Academy Triathlon Team for 2023
Zwift, the global online fitness platform for athletes, is excited to announce the return of the Zwift Academy Triathlon program for 2022. The biggest online training program in triathlon will once again offer the opportunity for six age group triathletes to qualify for the 2023 Zwift Academy Tri Team. The Zwift Academy Triathlon team has forged a reputation as the best supported amateur triathlon team, benefitting from pro-level support in their quests for success at the IRONMAN World Championships, Kona. This year, the team takes another leap forward with support from Canyon, SRAM, and ZIPP, who all join as official partners of the program.
Canyon joins the program as the official bike partner, supplying all team members with a state-of-the-art Canyon Speedmax, which will be custom painted in Germany for each athlete. Canyon will also be providing each athlete with technical support and knowledge provided by their team in Koblenz, including bike fittings, aero validation testing in the velodrome, and technical briefings. Canyon will also provide the team with technical assistance at teams camps and Kona.
Zwift Academy Triathlon, now in its fourth year, already has a track record in serving as a springboard to the professional ranks. Ruth Astle graduated from the Zwift Academy program in 2019 and turned professional the following year. Ruth finished fifth at the 2022 IRONMAN World Championships, held in St. George, Utah. With the support of Canyon for the team that will compete in 2023, there will be an added incentive for age group triathletes to perform at the very highest level, as Canyon is looking to uncover the next generation of professional talent, and will be keeping a close eye on how members of the Zwift Academy Tri team perform in 2023.
“We are proud to be joining Zwift Academy Triathlon and supporting these athletes as they prepare for Kona,” said Markus Fachbach, Canyon’s Brand and Marketing Manager. “It is our hope that by working with Zwift we will be able to uncover hidden talent from a global pool of athletes, a concept that we have already proven together through Zwift Academy Road.”
Also joining the program in 2022, are SRAM and ZIPP. SRAM will be supplying all athletes with a SRAM Red eTap AXS groupsets, including Quarq powermeters, and will also provide technical support at training camps and Kona. ZIPP will be providing the team with wheels for the full season, including ZIPP 303 Firecrest Wheels, Zipp 858 NSW race wheels, and a Super 9 Disc wheel.
The Zwift Academy Tri Team is offering six places on the team for 2023. Each athlete selected will benefit from the full support of Canyon, SRAM, and ZIPP, and many other brands, alongside invaluable mentorship from Tim Don and Sarah True. Athletes aiming to earn a place on the Zwift Academy Tri team must complete the full Zwift Academy Tri Program.
The program is designed to help athletes at any level assess their fitness, push themselves, and learn new ways to train that will help them stay fit and get faster past the end of the academy. This year’s academy has been refined to help more triathletes participate and consists of three bike and three run workouts designed by noted multisport coach Dr. Dan Plews. In addition to the workouts, athletes must also complete two finish line workouts, one run and one cycle, with options for shorter and longer distances. Those aiming for places on the team must complete the longer workouts. All workouts will be available either as group workouts, or on-demand, allowing Zwifters to complete the program on their own schedule.
Zwift is the fitness company born from gaming. We’re dedicated fitness enthusiasts, experienced video game developers, and disruptive thinkers. Play is in our DNA and we know fun fuels results. Zwift utilizes massively multiplayer online gaming technology to create rich, 3D worlds ripe for exploration. Join thousands of cyclists and runners in immersive playgrounds like London, New York, and Paris as well as our very own Watopia. Our app connects wirelessly to exercise equipment: bike trainers, treadmills, and more, so your real world effort powers your avatar in the game. From friendly races to social rides and structured training programs, Zwift unites a diverse community in pursuit of a more fun, immersive and social fitness experience.
About Canyon Bicycles
Canyon is one of the most innovative bike brands in the world. The concept began in founder Roman Arnold’s garage and grew to be the world’s largest direct-to-customer manufacturer of road, mountain, triathlon, urban, hybrid, and electric bikes. Canyon have earnt their glowing reputation for innovation through consistently using advanced materials, thinking, and technology. The characteristically classy Canyon design is easy to identify. Alongside being boldly competitive and ever-expanding, they are committed to make the global cycling community accessible for every rider. While Canyon partners with some of the finest athletes on the planet, their mission, ‘Inspire to Ride’, highlights how they work to promote the power of the pedal stroke to everyone. Canyon products are exclusively available online at www.canyon.com.
About SRAM
SRAM® is a manufacturer of innovative bicycle components founded in Chicago, Illinois, in September of 1987, with the invention of its first product, Grip Shift®. Throughout its 38-year history, SRAM has focused on innovative product development in all cycling disciplines. SRAM has also acquired some of cycling’s most exciting brands, including RockShox®, Zipp®, Quarq®, TIME®, and most recently adding Hammerhead®, and Velocio®. With 4500-plus employees, offices, and manufacturing in 16 countries, SRAM is one of the largest manufacturers of bike parts in the world.
About ZIPP
Zipp Speed Weaponry was founded in 1988 with the sole mission of making you faster on your bikes. Our focus is to produce the highest performing, most durable wheels and components. Over the course of the last three decades, Zipp has done exactly that, by drawing on its core competencies of design engineering, composites knowledge, computer simulation, and wind tunnel development. It is these competencies that have allowed Zipp to deliver a series of firsts in the cycling industry. From the first carbon disc wheel to the first carbon crank to the first carbon wheel to win Paris-Roubaix. These firsts have helped Zipp athletes to become champions in the toughest races in the world, on the fiercest roads in the world, from the cobbled roads of Belgium to the Queen K in Kona.
