Saffer on Zwift Academy!

[Eldron]

I did not know this! No win for Byron but tons of good marketing for the man!

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/alex-bogna-scores-life-changing-alpecin-fenix-zwift-academy-contract/

[Andymann]

I watched all 5 episodes - really enjoyed them.  I didn't think Byron would win though - He didn't do badly at all, but I think it also depends on what the Teams are looking for - Byron seems like a pure Climber - not sure if Alpecin-Fenix was looking for a Climber.  The dude who one - Alex - he's impressive but I just couldn't get to like him.  He reminded me of a certain Vegan on Bikehub.....

Tell you what though, the girl who won - Maud Oudeman looks very mature for 18 and rode very well - going to be interesting to follow her career.

[zoobear84]

Yea Byron did really well. Sam kept too low a cadence but Alex was super strong and that's what Alpecin wanted.

I think if Byron pushes forward he can get himself into another team.

[jcza]

Great show, numbers these guys (and gals) are pushing makes my eyes water! Very tough to make it to the world tour. Strongest riders won. 

[Frosty]

Busy watching the final episode now, just finished watching the men and watching the two ladies riding away from Caitlin.

[babse]

7 hours ago, Andymann said:

I watched all 5 episodes - really enjoyed them.  I didn't think Byron would win though - He didn't do badly at all, but I think it also depends on what the Teams are looking for - Byron seems like a pure Climber - not sure if Alpecin-Fenix was looking for a Climber.  The dude who one - Alex - he's impressive but I just couldn't get to like him.  He reminded me of a certain Vegan on Bikehub.....

Tell you what though, the girl who won - Maud Oudeman looks very mature for 18 and rode very well - going to be interesting to follow her career.

Haven't watched it just yet... But planning on in the next few days. 

 

Byron however is not just a pure climber. He is a rocket on a TT bike (top10 world and recently smoked TdeCap TT). 

I do think he has a bad period with injuries and getting back from injury. 

 

I think he still has a solid future ahead of him 

[FootballingCyclist]

Byron has also been apart of the Zwift academy trials when Di Data were still the host WT Team if I remember correctly. The man is a proper bike rider, I wouldn't say pure climber, watching him locally and the races he's won and even following his progress abroad he seems more of a breakaway specialist who also, as stated above is 1 serious ITT rider too. He's been in Europe for a good few years now and always comes back and races locally, Definitely has a bright future in the sport.

[mecheng89]

I too enjoyed all the episodes. However, I can't see how the "judges" can honestly evaluate the riders within 5 days. The last episode, towards Radio Tower KOM, their avg. w/kg (for the men's) was within 0.2 of one another, which perhaps at WT level can be considered a gaping chasm, but I don't believe it to be. The women, however, was a no brainer as the week went on. Maud just won stuff left and right. Person that knows how to suffer. 

I think the part time teacher Hill deserved it the most. With his so called big engine, I think he would make a better fit. Fenix don't seem to have a roster that focusses on climbers. 

I was quite disappointed in Byron, but I hope he learns from his once in a lifetime experience and grows from it. You reckon they were allowed to keep anything? 

Edited December 21, 2021 by mecheng89
added comment about women's competition

[Andymann]

I know when I had delusions of grandeur about making the Zwift Run squad there were a bunch of things that were sponsored - the big one being a treadmill, so I'm sure they probably got to keep all the kit - doubt if the bikes would have been given away though. 

[Andymann]

9 hours ago, FootballingCyclist said:

Byron has also been apart of the Zwift academy trials when Di Data were still the host WT Team if I remember correctly. The man is a proper bike rider, I wouldn't say pure climber, watching him locally and the races he's won and even following his progress abroad he seems more of a breakaway specialist who also, as stated above is 1 serious ITT rider too. He's been in Europe for a good few years now and always comes back and races locally, Definitely has a bright future in the sport.

I actually went and did a bit of googling and also now follow him on Twitter (he doesn't say much!) and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even know he is already riding in Europe.  I just went on what the two guys from GCN and the Performance Manager from Alpecin said - pure climber, pure climber etc.

He's clearly not just a climber and I really hope he has got good exposure from this - I wonder if other Teams also watched?

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, mecheng89 said:

I too enjoyed all the episodes. However, I can't see how the "judges" can honestly evaluate the riders within 5 days. The last episode, towards Radio Tower KOM, their avg. w/kg (for the men's) was within 0.2 of one another, which perhaps at WT level can be considered a gaping chasm, but I don't believe it to be. The women, however, was a no brainer as the week went on. Maud just won stuff left and right. Person that knows how to suffer. 

I think the part time teacher Hill deserved it the most. With his so called big engine, I think he would make a better fit. Fenix don't seem to have a roster that focusses on climbers. 

I was quite disappointed in Byron, but I hope he learns from his once in a lifetime experience and grows from it. You reckon they were allowed to keep anything? 

It depends what the "Judges" are looking for in a rider, not what we see.
I noticed on the final episode they were wearing (what possibly looked like) a Moxy monitor, so there's much more that we don't see, definitely more than just W/Kg.

[Shebeen]

10 hours ago, FootballingCyclist said:

Byron has also been apart of the Zwift academy trials when Di Data were still the host WT Team if I remember correctly. The man is a proper bike rider, I wouldn't say pure climber, watching him locally and the races he's won and even following his progress abroad he seems more of a breakaway specialist who also, as stated above is 1 serious ITT rider too. He's been in Europe for a good few years now and always comes back and races locally, Definitely has a bright future in the sport.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/byron-munton

Legit. let's hope he can make a name for himself there

[Andymann]

34 minutes ago, Frosty said:

It depends what the "Judges" are looking for in a rider, not what we see.
I noticed on the final episode they were wearing (what possibly looked like) a Moxy monitor, so there's much more that we don't see, definitely more than just W/Kg.

They were also commenting on Maud's core body temperature rising and her HR dropping and the concern was that she was going to blow in the final few kms.  And Garmin posted on Twitter a few screenshots of Byron's stats up the Climb so you're 100% right - lots of extra stuff that we never got to see.

And I still can't think that a Pro Team is going to just carry someone who won a contract in a competition - they are going to want their pound of flesh from whomever is riding for them, so I'm certain they had a preconceived idea of the type of rider they wanted.

[Frosty]

3 minutes ago, Andymann said:

They were also commenting on Maud's core body temperature rising and her HR dropping and the concern was that she was going to blow in the final few kms.  And Garmin posted on Twitter a few screenshots of Byron's stats up the Climb so you're 100% right - lots of extra stuff that we never got to see.

And I still can't think that a Pro Team is going to just carry someone who won a contract in a competition - they are going to want their pound of flesh from whomever is riding for them, so I'm certain they had a preconceived idea of the type of rider they wanted.

I agree on them having a perceived idea on the type of rider they were looking for. At least that is what it looked like from the outside.

Jay Vine is a GC/Climber based on ProcyclingStats, and he finished 2nd on stage 5 of the Tour of Turkey, as well as 3rd & 11th on two Vuelta stages.

[FootballingCyclist]

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

It depends what the "Judges" are looking for in a rider, not what we see.
I noticed on the final episode they were wearing (what possibly looked like) a Moxy monitor, so there's much more that we don't see, definitely more than just W/Kg.

Yeah the GCN presenters also mentioned they were keeping an eye on the riders body temperatures aswell. So definitely alot more than what is shared with us mere mortals..

[jcza]

“Judges” = Team Manager and Performance Director. As a non-WT team they seem to know what they are doing and what they are looking for. Signed a 19yr old with impressive numbers. Let’s see.