Anyone who is going for the Pro-contract on Zwift Academy?
If so: what power numbers are you able to put out, any real life racing, how did you prepare for the academy…
Exited to hear about your experiences with ZA.
no one here is going pro, many of us are middle aged lol
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I’m giving it a spin this year, need a change of pace to find my missing motivation so hopefully the racing does it.
Is there a TrainerRoad expat club? If not I’m happy to make on if we want one.
Oh and unless pro now covers under powered and under skilled middle aged people I doubt I’ll be going pro!
I follow one guy who is going for it and he basically trains like a pro. Like always 20h+ per week and he has done some 30h weeks to prepare for the Academy.
He has a 5.6 w/kg FTP and he won some granfondos and long hillclimbs this year. However, apparently for this ZA the pro teams are looking for more classics type riders, since the two evaluation races are flat/punchy and the tests are more focused on shorter duration power, while he’s more of a climber.
Nonetheless, you need to be really fast to have a shot at it. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of pointless workouts and short tests in my opinion, while the races can be fun of course.
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nope
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I am pro just not at cycling
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Glad I am middle age at 63…
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apparently yes, although with this definition i’m not quite there yet. hooray lol
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This made my day (at a young 41 
). I’m just in my very late 30s
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Andrew Feather who recently won the British Hill climbing championships and is a Lawyer not a pro.
VO2Max 78.7 ml/m/kg
OBLA 5.56W/kg
LT1 4.76W/kg
During recent hill climb championships he held 7.3W/kg for 12 mins.
Some numbers to aim for, even if amateur.
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As a 51yo desk jockey, I’m convinced the only things holding me back from the pro ranks is my glucose/fructose ratio and the tire clearance on my gravel bike.
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As a 53 year old desk jockey I feel the same. If I just get my gut to accept 120g carbs/hr I’ll be nipping at the heals of the pros at unbound. 
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If you’re aiming for a pro contract you should ideally have a coach preparing you specifically for zwift academy.
In terms of ability you can take a look at previous winners.
For someone like Jay Vine I can tell you his peak ftp before going pro was near 450w.
Looking at his fatigue resistance he was able to do 500w for 5m after 2000kj (5% drop) and 455 for 20 (an incredible .8% drop).
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great. I have 6.5 years left until I am undeniably “OLD”
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I will go with Garmin … fitness age 54!
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Jeeeezus - that’s pretty incredible!
Yeah that is just not natural.
It is just like every other professional sport. The gap between the good weekend armature and the true pro is giant and far greater than most realize.
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This is insanity
Current 120g carb/hr user here - I must need to go 150g/hr as im still not pro!
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I’m not but I have a friend who is. He is competitive on the national road circuit and has a ftp in the high 5s. I have seen him ride a 40min TT at 5.75w/kg (on a TT bike) and do a 25min climb 6.5w/kg. Superhuman stuff. I ride w him on easy days only.
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