Zwift Academy 2023: Two Germans fight for the Alpecin-Deceuninck contract in the final

The six finalists will meet in Denia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, where they will go head-to-head to decide the winners. The outcome of the competition and who will ride for a continental team in the future will be shown in a mini-series on Eurosport on four consecutive days. It starts on 20 February at 7.30 pm.

>> Zwift Games: Esports championships for all

Anton Schiffer and Louis Kitzki fight for a place at Alpecin-Deceuninck Development

The men's competition could be particularly exciting from a German perspective, as two of the three finalists, Anton Schiffer and Louis Kitzki, come from Germany. Their opponent is the Italian Mattia Gaffuri. The 24-year-old Schiffer is already travelling on the Continental Tour and is a member of the Team Bike Aid squad. Last year, the rider from Cologne competed in the Tour of Turkey (2.1) and the Tour of Portugal (2.1). His best result was 16th place in a mountain finish in Turkey.

Kitzki, from Toppenstedt near Hamburg, is also not completely inexperienced at UCI level. He is part of the Freiburg-based racing team Embrace the World, which mainly competes on the UCI Africa Tour and provides sporting development aid there. The youngest finalist at the age of 20 has already delivered a 3rd place in the Grand Prix Es-Semara (1.2) in Morocco. Gaffuri, now 24 years old, was already further up the field a few years ago, particularly in the U23 category, including at the start of the Tour of Lombardy for young riders.

More than 108,000 participants took part in the Zwift Academy Road 2023

In the women's race, Katy Hill from Great Britain, the 33-year-old Slovenian and two-time Gran Fondo World Champion Laura Simenc and Maude Le Roux, who most recently competed for the UCI World Cycling Centre Continental Team and also rode for South Africa at the World Championships in Glasgow 2023, will be battling it out for the Canyon//SRAM Generation spot.

In total, more than 108,000 cyclists took part in the Zwift Academy Road in 2023. The six finalists now have to prove that they can do more than just pedal high wattages. In Denia, riding skills, dexterity and communication skills will be tested. Some tests will be held directly against each other, while others will be held in co-operation with employees and riders from the potential new teams.