In less than a decade, Zwift has emerged from nowhere to become a vital training tool for thousands of triathletes. With the help of British pro Ruth Astle, we take a look at how and why…
Remember the dark ages where you either had to sack off a planned bike session because of icy roads, head to the gym to hop on an ill-fitting spin bike, or pedal away in the garage, trying to make out the audio on a flickery DVD over the din of your old turbo trainer?
It actually isn’t that long ago. In fact, not even a decade since a little-known platform called Zwift first came to the attention of the world of triathlon and changed the indoor experience forever.
Zwift has been on the rise ever since and has fast become the number one platform of choice for cyclists and triathletes throughout the world.
And as well as being an integral training tool for amateur and pro triathletes, Zwfit has looked to innovate and support the sport wherever it can.
That’s why it started the Zwift Academy, which each year sees a number of qualifying age-group triathletes – such as Ruth Astle, featured below – supported and mentored through to the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
On the pro level, Zwift has become the technology partner of the revolutionary Super League Triathlon Arena Games, where the best short-course athletes in the world compete on Zwift in high-octane cycling and running legs of the event in iconic locations such as the London Aquatics centre, the venue for this year’s final.
As the community has grown, its beauty is that whatever level you’re at, or however you want to cycle, Zwift has a solution and a session for you.
As a computer game there are now 12 worlds to explore, from Zwift’s own sprawling Watopia with its famous Alpe du Zwift climb, to real world course simulations such as London, New York, Innsbruck, Yorkshire or even the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Within each world there are multiple routes to take, so unpressured you can just roll through and enjoy the scenery.
You can join social group rides or if you want to up the intensity, there are regular Zwift races to throw yourself into where you can compete with others at your level and push yourself harder than perhaps you thought possible.
It’s not all just pure power, either. Game tactics and knowing when and where to attack – just like out on the road – make the difference between winners and also rans.
Another alternative is to take on a functional threshold power (FTP) test or immerse yourself in a training session, switching on ERG mode which demands you hit the power numbers prescribed.
You can move through the levels, change your bike set up, personalise your equipment, ride with the pros, set up invite-only group rides, and even – as has been done more than once – put yourself in the shop window for scouts from pro tour teams.
But the best way to find out about Zwift is to sign-up for a free trial and give it a go yourself.
How does Zwift work?
It’s simple, really.
First, you need to sign up to an account, which you can start with a 14-day free trial. Once set up, you can sign in on any computer, Android or iOS device or Apple TV.
You’ll also need a compatible smart trainer (like the Zwift Hub) paired with a bike or a smart bike (like the Wahoo Kickr Bike) to ride on, with Zwift connecting to either automatically via Bluetooth or ANT+.
Then, simply pick a course, race or training session and get started. Zwift will adjust the resistance automatically to simulate the terrain or your particular session and you’ll have lots of performance data to pick over afterward.
Why Zwift is invaluable for British pro Ruth Astle
One triathlete whose career has progressed almost in tandem with the rise of Zwift is British pro Ruth Astle.
The 34-year-old was working in banking in London when she was first introduced to triathlon in 2014, and in such a time-pressured role and without open roads to ride from the front door, Zwifting became a cornerstone of her weekly training regime – and still is to this day.
It helped Astle reach the top of the amateur side of the sport, finally winning the overall age-group title at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in 2019 in what would be her final amateur race.
While the cusp of a pandemic could hardly have been a more inopportune time to turn pro, Astle has moved from London to Leeds and her new sporting career has flourished.
With three Ironman titles and a fifth-place in the Ironman World Championship, she’s become one of the best cyclists in the sport, and returns to Hawaii next month hoping for yet more success.
Here Ruth picks out seven reasons why Zwift has helped her rise to the top of long distance triathlon and how other budding triathletes and cyclists can benefit from it too.
1. The joy of time efficiency
“This was an element that really helped my age-group training and bring my cycling on in the sport.
“Working a busy city job with long hours, being able to complete a focused Zwift session before heading to work on weekdays was the most efficient (and often only) way to train.
“It took just minutes to get riding and there was no wasted time freewheeling.”
2. Staying safe
“It’s a really important factor to consider because however alert we are, traffic and cyclists do not always go together very well – and I should know, after a crash in 2019 left me with a broken collarbone and almost wrote off my chances in Kona.
“You’ll never have a car pull out in front of you on Zwift and it’s especially useful when I want to perfect my time-trialling because I can focus on honing that aerodynamic position rather than sitting up for dodgy road surfaces or sets of traffic lights.”
3. The tools for training
“Part of the beauty of Zwift, particularly when you’re just starting out, is that your coach can create sessions for you and you don’t even need to think too hard, just pedal.
“It takes away the admin and stress over whether you’re doing the right thing. It can be tailored to suit your preference as well.
“For example, you can practise hitting specific power numbers for certain durations, work on cadence, or be guided by heart rate.
“All the metrics are there to measure your training and improvement. And if you don’t have a coach, Zwift has a wealth of plans designed by experts to get you into shape too.”
4. Load your training
“Zwift has hundreds of pre-programmed training sessions to pick from – from one-off workouts to weekly and monthly plans.
“I used the Zwift Academy workouts when coming back from my broken collarbone because they were a good mix of being hard, having lots of people on for motivation, and also a good length to fit into a working day. I still had a non-triathlon day job back then.
“But it’s also compatible with all the leading training platforms, so my Zwift sessions are automatically synced with my Training Peaks account and any structured workouts set on Training Peaks by my coach are also available and waiting for me to complete on Zwift.
“It just makes it so simple to get on and train, without faffing about with admin, and knowing that my data is being safely recorded and all in one place, where you – or your coach – can scrutinise it later to your heart’s content.”
5. The hardware gets better and better
“While Zwift works with just about any smart trainer, it’s at its best when it’s paired with a direct drive system.
There’s no slippage that you might get with wheel-on rollers so you get accurate results and you can save your expensive back wheel entirely for the road.
“Get a decent one, such as the Zwift Hub (which comes with a choice of cassettes, a 12-month Zwift membership and has its own built-in power meter for just £549) and you won’t worry the neighbours either because it’s really, really quiet!”
6. A great (and cheap) way to train for heat
”While I’d often recommend you have a fan handy, a session on Zwift with no air-flow and no fan, and ending in a sweaty mess, proved to be an excellent way of acclimatising for the heat and humidity of Hawaii, which can otherwise be a challenge when you’re training in the UK.
“It’s also typically quite a bit cheaper than a warm weather training camp, although admittedly, that has its attractions, too.”
7. Revel in the community
“One of the fun elements around Zwift is the community aspect. You can see who is Zwifting alongside you and the companion app lets you interact and give other cyclists the occasional ‘Ride On’ if you’re feeling generous.
“The team at Zwift also likes to be creative and help reward its community. I was a first-hand benefactor of that in 2019, when I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Zwift Academy for Kona.
“The whole experience was epic, and took so much of the stress and costs away from my trip to Hawaii. Thankfully, I think I just about justified my selection.”
Want to know more? Head to the Zwift website to see what else this popular platform has to offer and to sign up now for your 14-day free trial.
And remember, if you only use Zwift on the treadmill, that’s entirely free!