August 25, 2022
The Australian rider proved that the online talent identification competition translates into real world racing
“If I win this, I’d start to race against guys I’ve only ever watched on TV. It would be a dream come true.” It’s 2020, and Jay Vine is speaking to a camera from his living room in Australia. He’s being interviewed ahead of the finals of the Zwift Academy, a competition run by the indoor training platform whereby the winner will secure a pro contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck. “It would change my life,” he continues.
Fast forward two years, and plenty has changed for Vine. His dream came true, but it surpassed perhaps even his own expectations. He’s now in his second year as a professional with Alpecin-Decenunick after having his contract extended following a stellar first season as a neo-pro, and he’s not just racing the guys he’s watched on TV, he’s beating them.
Not in lower ranked races, or when there’s a lesser quality field, today Vine took his first professional victory in a Grand Tour stage, in a Vuelta a España with perhaps the most star-studded climbing contingent in recent history. He rode away from the famous prodigal Belgian talent Remco Evenepoel on the first proper mountain stage of the race. He may have learnt his trade riding indoors, but today Vine battled all the elements of the real world, fighting through the rain, fog and mist in an epic stage to the very top of Al Pico Jano.
Cycling isn’t really supposed to work like this. Traditionally – on the men’s side of the sport especially – latecomers like Vine don’t waltz into a WorldTour peloton and start winning. The narrative has long been pushed that riders should start racing as young as possible. That you need to grow up in a peloton to get used to the feeling of being in a bunch, to be able to control and handle the bike around tricky corners and alpine descents, to read a race and know when it’s the right time to attack and pace your effort.
Image: A.S.O/Sprint Cycling Agency/Luis Angel Gomez
It’s precisely these reasons why naysayers have looked down on the world of Zwift and e-racing. Riding stationary doesn’t hone in those skills that you learn on the road, it doesn’t teach you how to wrestle for positions with someone shoulder to shoulder or how to perfectly nail the apex of a corner. It’s why some said that Zwift Academy could never be a…