{"id":59779,"date":"2024-02-16T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/85d9d1d8-077f-4235-803b-46b88a9d0d24"},"modified":"2024-02-16T12:00:44","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T11:00:44","slug":"how-the-zwift-academy-changed-neve-bradburys-life-and-how-to-watch-the-2024-finals","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/how-the-zwift-academy-changed-neve-bradburys-life-and-how-to-watch-the-2024-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Zwift Academy changed Neve Bradbury\u2019s life \u2013 and how to watch the 2024 finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Zwift Academy finals are back <\/p>

By Paul Norman\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 16 February 2024 at 11:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Neve Bradbury won the Zwift Academy competition in 2020, subsequently joining the Canyon\/\/SRAM Women\u2019s WorldTour team, where she\u2019s just starting her fourth season.\u00a0<\/p>

At 21 years of age, the Australian is already developing impressive palmares, including 10th place overall in the 2022 Giro d\u2019Italia Donne and third overall at this year\u2019s Tour Down Under.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The Zwift Academy 2023 finals<\/a> take place throughout February, with three women\u2019s and men\u2019s finalists competing for a development team contract over four rounds.\u00a0<\/p>

There\u2019s programmed coverage on Eurosport and on-demand replays via the Eurosport player and its YouTube channel.\u00a0<\/p>

Here, Bradbury tells us how it feels to compete and win with the eyes of the world on you, and how Zwift<\/a> is still a key part of her training regime.\u00a0<\/p>

Competing in the finals<\/h2>
The Zwift Academy finals take place throughout February. – Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Zwift Academy finals for 2023 are being held in person, with the competition streamed live on Eurosport.<\/p>

As part of the 2020 cohort of riders, Bradbury\u2019s experience was disrupted by the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>

Lockdowns meant almost all the challenges were held on Zwift.<\/p>

\u201c[The finals are] a tense atmosphere because you\u2019re close to realising a dream, but you haven\u2019t reached it yet,\u201d says Bradbury.<\/p>

\u201cI can only imagine it to be more nerve-racking when the finals are in-person, where you\u2019re face to face with the pro cyclists and the team, as well as the other finalists.\u201d<\/p>

Rising to the challenge<\/h2>
\"Zwift
The winners will be announced in the episode broadcast on 23 February. – Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Winning Zwift Academy in 2020<\/a> enabled Bradbury to jump to riding professionally for Canyon\/\/SRAM, providing a pathway to fulfilling her dream of riding and racing professionally.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cZwift Academy changed my life drastically,\u201d she says. \u201cI moved to the other side of the world and made a dream come true.<\/p>

\u201cComing from Australia, there are certainly more challenges in the pathway that you need to overcome. Now, four years later, I’m still living overseas and racing professionally.\u201d<\/p>

Racing as a pro<\/h2>
\"Canyon\/SRAM
Winning Zwift Academy in 2020 earned Bradbury a place in the Canyon\/SRAM Women’s WorldTour team. – Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The step up to professional cycling at the top level isn\u2019t for the faint-hearted.\u00a0<\/p>

There are huge challenges in racing on the Women\u2019s WorldTour<\/a> circuit, with events across Europe and the world.\u00a0<\/p>

For a young Australian, moving away from home, it\u2019s even more of a change than for a European rider.<\/p>

\u201cThe transition into pro cycling life was quite a challenge,\u201d Bradbury continues.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cYou\u2019re living a long way from home, you have to make new friends and meet a new community, the peloton is bigger, the racing is harder, and there are many different languages and cultures to experience. Despite all of that, I am confident to say that it is all worth it.\u201d<\/p>

Training on Zwift<\/h2>
\"Zwift
Zwift can form a crucial part of a rider’s training programme. – Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Although life in the pro peloton centres around racing, Bradbury still uses Zwift as part of her training<\/a>. She\u2019s found it a useful tool when the weather\u2019s poor or when injured, as well as for targeted training for acclimation and the more niche disciplines she needs to master as a GC contender.<\/p>

\u201cI broke my elbow last year, so I used it twice daily, every day for around three weeks, as part of my rehabilitation and to ensure I continued training ahead of the Giro d\u2019Italia,\u201d Bradbury says.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cI’ll use Zwift for heat training, for specific intervals, especially TT efforts, when the weather doesn’t enable me to ride outside, for some pre-race days, and for some warm-up or cool-down training when I\u2019m with the team at races.\u201d<\/p>

Bradbury\u2019s success in the pro peloton mirrors that of 2020 Zwift Academy men\u2019s winner and fellow Australian, Jay Vine.\u00a0<\/p>

It\u2019s enabled them to step up to compete at the highest level, a feat that this year\u2019s winners will be hoping to emulate.<\/p>

How to watch the Zwift Academy 2023 finals on Eurosport<\/h2>
\"\"
The 2023 event was contested by 108,000 riders. – Zwift<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Eurosport is broadcasting all four rounds of the Zwift Academy 2023 Finals.\u00a0<\/p>

The three women\u2019s and three men\u2019s finalists are the cream of the 108,000 riders who competed in Zwift Academy in 2023, and will go head-to-head to win a pro development team contract, with the winners announced in the last episode.<\/p>

The 30-minute first episode sets the scene for this year\u2019s competition and you can catch it via the Eurosport Player or the Eurosport YouTube channel, where each round will be available immediately after the television broadcast.<\/p>

Episode 1<\/h3>
  • Eurosport 1: 7.30pm CET, 20 February<\/li>
  • Eurosport YouTube: 8.30pm CET, 20 February<\/li>
  • Replays, Eurosport 2: 1.30pm CET, 21 February<\/li><\/ul>

    Episode 2<\/h2>
    • Eurosport 1: 7.30pm CET, 21 February<\/li>
    • Eurosport YouTube: 8.30pm CET, 21 February<\/li>
    • Replays, Eurosport 2: 1.30pm CET, 22 February<\/li><\/ul>

      Episode 3<\/h2>
      • Eurosport 1: 7.30pm CET, 22 February<\/li>
      • Eurosport YouTube: 8.30pm CET, 22 February<\/li>
      • Replays, Eurosport 2: 1.30pm CET, 23 February<\/li><\/ul>

        Episode 4<\/h2>
        • Eurosport 1: 7.30pm CET, 23 February<\/li>
        • Eurosport YouTube: 8.30pm CET, 23 February<\/li>
        • Replays, Eurosport 2: 11:15am CET, 24 February<\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n
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