In this episode of Zwift Academy, our finalists take on the ultimate bike-handling test at a karting track to see if their Zwift fitness truly translates to the roads. With Mathieu van der Poel and Zoe Bäckstedt setting benchmark lap times, do our finalists have the bike skills to push their limits without crashing? Will they learn from the pros’ line choices and find the perfect balance between technique and speed?
With a life-changing contract on the line at @alpecindeceuninck and @canyonsramzondacrypto the stakes couldn’t be higher. 🚴♂️🔥
👀 The next episodes will be live: 1st March & 8th March
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⏱️ Timestamps: ⏱️
00:00 Welcome to Zwift Academy 2025 episode 2!
01:12 Episode 1 recap
01:57 Today’s technique & skill challenge
03:23 The cornering challenge
05:23 Pre-time trial feelings & practice laps
06:53 How do the men behave following the wheel of pro riders?
08:55 How well can the women hold the wheel through fast corners?
10:35 Mathieu van der Poel’s cornering tips
11:45 Zoe Bäckstedt benchmark lap
14:22 First up: Anabelle Thomas
15:54 Tjaša Sušnik’s turn
18:21 Emma Ochoa’s lap
19:18 Emily Dixon’s turn
22:17 Alpecin-Deceuninck benchmark laps
23:57 Men’s turn: Hot laps
27:18 Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto camp: Results
29:00 Alpecin-Deceuninck camp: Results
30:42 Female camp: coach reactions
33:29 Male camp: coach reactions
37:13 Our own reflections
39:47 What’s next for the finalists?
40:08 Coming soon
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What did you think of the finalists’ performance in this challenge? 🤔 Who are you rooting for?
Watch more on GCN…
📹 The Competition To Find Cycling’s Next Superstar | Zwift Academy 2025 Ep. 1 👉 https://youtu.be/m5RPtIhn8hM?si=U35GMM9bOwUJuxe3
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39 Comments
What did you think of the finalists' performance in this challenge? 🤔 Who are you rooting for? Are you excited for the next episode?🔥
Tjasa's bike looks too big for her no?
Not gonna lie, this season is disappointing. No elimination, this crit cornering is lame, and the lack of tension makes it pretty boring. I'm fast forwarding through much of the two episodes. For shame, as previous productions were much stronger in performance and production.
It was fun to see the speeds “real time” with the labels… but how do you do it? Or, is it just added during editing with guesses?
I know this sounds stupid, but i think i could beat Mattia on that handling course. That was atrocious
Mattia: comes 4th – all good.. i went well.
How do you let them get on a obviously iffy track without gloves on?
Great stuff! Thank you so much for producing this series, it’s a blast to watch.
Noah’s a great rider but I wish he’d adjust his helmet straps properly 😅
great efforts😃💪,also the background sbk sound is dope😃🤘
Watching Emily's ride, you can clearly see she was the only one of the 4 following the fastest line through the course that you can see worn into the track by the carts. She was carrying much more speed through the corners, no wonder she blew the rest of them away. very well done!!!
I’m an even bigger MVP fan after this series. I love that Alpecin D. Isn’t too cool for school… and are doing this type of thing. Chapeaux
Vai Gaffu!
2 crashes on the recon😅 stay safe out there haha
This is why its important to wear cycling gloves
Are we expected to believe it is coincidence that Si and van der Poel are not in the same country?
For as short as the kart track is, did they really use Si's phone for the official timer?
This is cool. But, to be fair, most of these have been racing in some shape or form in the past, so I don't think it's completely fair to say that their Zwift skilsl would transfer to IRL.
Either way, this is a cool series. Hope we get to see more in the future!
Dan: Stay within your limits, keep it smooth and safe.
Christoph: FASTER! FASTER! DON'T BRAKE! DON'T BRAKE!
Survivor Smurvivor… this is quality reality TV
Another day for the Canadians! Noah showing the skills that had him win by over 1min ahead of the pro crit field last year at the Tour de via Italia.
Why are they afraid to show the crashes? What is this world coming to?
Love all the drone work for this episode. Made it feel dynamic
Absolutely riveting viewing which goes by waaaay too quickly. Please make them hour long.
Rooting for the Canadian kids! Great talents! Win or not…
Really like how this year it's just about interesting challenges and analyzing performance and none of the silly reality TV "who's voted off the island" stuff
Fantastic video—cinematography on point. But Si… what happened? Those pants look like they barely survived a swamp expedition, and the fit? Tragic. The shoes? I’ve seen cleaner soles on stray dogs. And for the love of production value, can we talk about the phone in the front pocket? Nothing screams ‘high fashion’ like an awkward rectangle bulging from your thigh. Do better, Si.
Maybe give the ladies correct width handlebars before testing their bike handling
Love these. Thanks GCN
It’s a shame how Mattia is being portrayed like he can’t hold the wheel. It is clear that the winner is chosen at the start and they need to create a story around it.
Let me answer – No.
So far Emily has had the best sprint W/kg in Ep 1; set an all-time record for distance climbed in the 8 minute test in Ep 1; and won a bike handling lap by 1 second in Ep 2, and the judges still prefer Annabelle.
Awsome to have ZA back. Can you and your sponsor consider starting the show a little earlier in the rounds rather than jumping straight into the final, make it 6 or 8 episodes? Great TV and Si and Dan are proper pros now when it comes to presenting, except for Si’s jeans. Please have a ritual burning of them post ZA…👖🔥
Wild amount of Mattia fanbois in here concocting similarly wild theories about his objectively poor performance.
Che figura da panno che ha fatto il Gaffu, la prova che nibali non aveva detto cose sbagliate,non servono solo i numeri
Questa gente seleziona il vincitore per andare del WT facendogli fare un percorso da 1 minuto in una pista da go-kart??? Siate seri, fategli fare un bel giro di 5 ore con 4000 m di d+ e poi vi rendete conto chi vale. Imbarazzanti !!!!
😴😴😴😴
Ma la panno degli uomini
I thought that was pretty harsh at the end there calling Emma a turd