Virtual training and racing platform Zwift has announced the six amateur finalists for the 2023 Zwift Academy, a series of races designed to identify riders with pro potential, that will compete for professional road racing contracts with the Canyon-SRAM Generation women’s team and Alpecin-Deceuninck Development team for the men. 

Topping the list is 4x UCI Gran Fondo World Champion Laura Simenc of Slovenia. The 33 year-old will compete against relative new racer Katy Hill from Britain and South African Maude Le Roux for a coveted spot on the Canyon-SRAM Generation women’s team. 

For the men, 2023 GFNY World Champion Mattia Gaffuri, 23, of Italy will battle for a men’s Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team contract against Germans Louis Kitzki, 19, and Anton Schiffer, 24. 

All six riders will now travel to Denia, Spain in February for the week-long in-person Zwift Academy Road Finals, where staff from both Canyon-SRAM and Alpecin-Deceuninck will evaluate the rider’s performance in a series of physical challenges and races designed to identify the Zwift Academy pro contract winners.

Although just six riders were selected for the finals, over 108,000 amateurs participated in the six-week Zwift Academy series of workouts and races. Although most were aiming to just improve fitness, a smaller hardcore group was “living the dream” and vying for a 2024 pro team contract.

Photo Credit: Instagram/laurasimenc, GFNY

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