The commentators at the Tour of Turkey didn’t even know his name when he crossed the line 2nd at the Queen stage, falling just one second short of winning the overall classification.
Identified as ‘an Alpecin-Fenix jersey’, Jay Vine has grabbed the cycling world’s attention in just his first pro race after winning his spot on the Belgium team through the 2020 Zwift Academy Road program. After the COVID pandemic seemingly destroyed any chances of racing in Asia and Europe to try and earn the attention of a pro team the young Australian turned to the virtual world.
“When the 2020 Zwift Academy announced the race for that spot on Alpecin-Fenix was open for all elite riders I took my chance. Go hard or go home! I peaked for the finals and here I am.”
This year’s Zwift Academy Road will be awarding CANYON//SRAM Racing and Team Alpecin-Fenix contracts to two of the ladies’ and men’s finals contenders. If you’re in the small group of potential finalists and think you’ve got what it takes visit https://www.zwift.com/uk/academy/zaroad/road-pro-contender-requirements for more information.
If you aren’t a 60kg Watt machine, don’t think you’re going to miss out! The Zwift Academy is actually geared towards the everyday rider. The goal of the program is to improve your riding and give you a taste of training essentials. With baseline and finishline rides you’ll be tracking your progress across the six structured workouts and two recovery workouts laid out by Stephen Gallagher and Dan Fleeman.
The Zwift Academy Road runs from the 30th of August to the 25th of October 2021. For more information or to register visit https://www.zwift.com/uk/academy/zaroad
