Luca knew the course so well for timings. Aero exactly when the roll thru slows to keep speed. Held back in the 3rd sprint, at back for energy reserve, then over the top where the most speed could be gained on a counter attack. His experience in Zwift Grand Prix and Community racing really shining thru today!
The experienced Zwifter is Luca Zanasca from the same Zwift team. Luca Vergallito has not yielded good results in the Grand Prix, and he has very rarely raced in the Community. Perhaps Il Bandito has been tipped off by his Zwift teammates on using tactics like here in Crit City? Just want to clarify the facts!
@Dan Thanks bud, thought I lost my mind for a sec. Knockouts exact same course podium ride for 3rd. 3rd to Teugels Premiere Division last Spring. Among others on ZP. 📝🙂 ZGP experience itself and even being on a team that level brings so much knowledge, same to IRL Pro Team experience doing a Classics Race. For those in pack or supporting role not yielding the winning results they still learn and know how to roll the cobbles.
Sad to see Cooper have to go. Feel as if his real-world racing this year may have cost him on the Zwift platform. Disappointed to see him eliminated on a virtual platform over such small margins where bike handling played no part.
I still really enjoy this series, but this episode left me a bit disappointed. I know it's hard to put this much into half an hour, but we barely got to see any of the technical skills and the riders remained almost entirely anonymous (no banter, no interaction between them). This is fine if the ultimate goal is just to come up with the rider winning the contract, but as you made this into a reality show, it would probably help the viewer to have some more insight into the riders and see their routines and their conversations during the stay at the hotel.
Thanks for the feedback! It's really great to hear our community's views on our content, we make this for you guys after all 🙌 Great to hear you enjoying the series, we really hope you can get a sense of the personalities behind this years contestants. It felt like a massive loss every time we had to loose somebody. Time not spent in hot competition was spent chatting racing and kicking back with pros. Win or loose the riders won't forget this week 🙌
@@gcn Thanks for the reply! And if possible (not knowing whether you'd need release forms), would love to see some of the chatting with the pros and the kicking back!
@@batstone79 Yessss. A GCN Tech Talk episode that would immediately follow the upload. Roundtable format where they disclose and discuss power numbers, behind the scenes footage, how they prep and cool down from the events, etc.
How do you get eliminated before a guy that has crashed, gets dropped collecting bottles, drops a bottle, finishes 1 point ahead of you in a points race and finishes 30 seconds behind you on a 5km hill climb that you finished 2nd in?
I love the Zwift platform for but come on, there needs to be more weight placed on real road riding. Like with today, a points race not just on Zwift but do it with similar length on the real road too and see what happens by reconciling the results for both. The inexperienced will have a hard time making it to the line since you can't just ride through virtual riders and that kind of skills takes years to build up to.
As a fellow featherweight, I feel for Elaine. That crit course is the exact opposite of her skill set and skewed firmly towards heavier wattage monsters. The coaches even admitted that they didn't even put the TT climb on a hill that was steep or long enough. I guess they're just not in the market for a pure climber and looking more for a puncher.
@@vancelray Seems like all are featherweights..... just compare them to the "normal" sized judge women on the left.... the women riders are all very very small and i would guess are all below 52kg
@@lordad yes, but Elena seems to be the lightest of them. At the end of the day, weight is just one factor to the whole equation. Power to weight ratio is important. And the lighter a person is, the heavier the bike gets in relation to their body weight.
Side note: Brilliant timing there at 7:26 with Manon taking the musette exactly at when she mentions it. I guess that took a couple of takes to get it right.
Luca has got the pro package, power and good attitude. I can definitely see him competing for the win on an uphill stage race finish. On the women's side Chiara is the best no doubt about that, I'm just afraid that Canyon/Sram can not overlook the fact that she is 36 years old.
He ain't got a good enough punch, in a normal race the rest of the group ain't sprinting every minute, and in a pure uphill climb he ain't just there chief.
@@gcn Well, Ollie tried to beat Andrew Feather more times than everyone else combined and even though he managed to drop two TdF champions since the first race, he didn't succeed one single time. Given Luca managed to beat Andrew, I highly doubt Ollie would finish that race better than third 😂.
@@gcn But you should definitely make Ollie do the Zwift Academy next year. I get why you're worried after what happened to Chris Oppie, but I'd be very interested how well he will do in the finals (see I used "will" insted of "would, if he gets there", intentionally).
Interesting choice to still eliminate riders today after one male and one female had already been taken out by covid. It would have made way more sense to table the elimination for another day to make a decision and then eliminate two riders so that there are three ahead of the final day. I would also way rather see more of the on the bike skills and outdoor riding scenes that these potential pros need to be able to demonstrate because there are already so many zwift challenges (obviously the final challenge will be another zwift race etc) that the outdoor component of pro riding should feature more in this series.
Maybe you could have an extras/bonus show on GCN tech that gives a bit more of the data behind the rides for the people who are not just here for the 'casual' entertainment.Really enjoying the content.
My favourite competitor: will (though im still disappointed that he left) Whos probably going to win: luca/il bandito Honourable mention for trying out 2 years in a row: cooper
MVDP seems to have bunny-hopping down so maybe Manon should be teaching Si how to bunny-hop if his Master’s CX performance is anything to go by. I loved 2021 and 2022 is proving to be just as brutal
In contrast to for example pinkbike academy these were reliable decisions and they have picked the right ones to leave - but damned those Italians are impressive and strong 💪🏻 even though I must be a fan boy of Nele as a German I am really surprised by the two Italian machines
I was comparing it to PBA too - what is great is that people compete to attend this, PBA requires a submission. If you sell yourself well, you can hide not actually being amazing. This, the numbers speak for themselves.
Really enjoy this series. I'm a mountain biker by nature, and I love seeing people stoked on all types of cycling. This is what the Pinkbike Academy show was trying to be. Way to get it right, GCN! You guys and gals focus on the riders, not the judges (like the other show). Really getting to know the finalists. Gutted for Will.
Suggestion to deep dive into the series: Have a GCN Tech Talk episode that would immediately follow the upload. Roundtable format where they disclose and discuss power numbers, behind the scenes footage, how they prep and cool down from the events, etc. I would definitely watch that as well.
Alex was saving the aero for the double points at the finish. A better risk and smart move when it's a 35% chance to have. That is IF you can hang for the sprint though...Doni probably saw the tactic playing as they can see each others screens and knew breaking her before was best chances.
That's what I was thinking, the aero is probably the most useful power-up in this case and if she wasted it before probably she wouldn't get another to the end.
This series is really exciting and inspiring too! I'm watching an episode every day before my training :D I'm cheering for Chiara because she's the most inspiring contestant for me. Not just because I can relate to her being a senior, but she seems so focused all the time, it's impressive! This makes me cheer for the Italians :D But hey, I love Campagnolo, Castelli, Italian bikes and food and coffee too :D And my plan is to cycle there in the upcoming two years after I recovered from my illness and got back all my strenght! 💪Go go Italy! 💚🤍❤
Great to hear it's keeping you motivated! You're not the only one dusting off the turbo 👀 Chiara has been smashing it 💪 Are we seeing the new generation of Italian super stars? ✨
@@AlessandroCarpentiero Thank you so much! :) Since I'm allowed to cycle again my condition and lab results improved a lot! :) THX to GCN and Inigo San Millan I discovered Z2 training and I think it's helping a lot! :) I feel like winning this battle no matter what science says :D And now that I'm allowed to eat pizza and pasta again I feel like supercharged XD
Why did we only see two bottle collects and half a muset collect (at best), but we got to watch a FULL Zwift race, where we basically watching 10 sprints with awful commentary. I usually look forward to series, but it’s seeming more about the zwift sponsor than it does the actual riders ability outdoors… Bit of a shame
Not to mention the bottle section was totally useless eval for the men. Cooper, despite having best bottle skills with a 9/10 rating, get eliminated. m'kay.
I was quite impressed with Elena for someone without a sports background. I think a solid aerobic base season, and some amateur racing experience would make her really competitive next year.
Woah... I'm glad I'm not the judge. They are all really good. But I must say, even though Cooper has the experience going through the process last year, he is at a disadvantage. Because the judges have already known him and his qualities. So he gotta perform much better than last year. This year, with new fresh faces and their unknown qualities, plus the judges don't know their limit, makes Cooper's performance was predictable. (Unless he performs way better and above and beyond last year) Looks to me, like if you are a repeat candidate, the chances are, you will have a lot harder time impressing the judges or even winning the Zwift academy. This experience is a one-time opportunity. Good luck to Cooper.
Interesting observation, Cooper is an amazing rider! You can't make into the finals two times without having incredible levels of skill. It's a shame to see him go! We are sure he'll be smashing it still! 💪
Can you please announce the “stream” earlier? There was a no information about the start of episode 1+2+3.. maybe you can do it better vor episode 4 and 5.
The judges know what they are doing. Cooper has been here before, this is his second chance, he's supposed to be a "punchy" rider, yet failed to deliver when it counts. Even i expected him to go at least second place on the Zwift race, but he got bested by the "newcomers".
@@sepg5084 if the judges know what they are doing then they saying real world components mean nothing. Lucas crashed in the bunch, completely stuffed up the bottle challenge (Cooper nailed it), last on the hill climb (Cooper 2nd). Cooper lost the sprint by half a bike length to 3rd and one bike length to 2nd. Can’t wait to see what they come up with to pick Alex over Chiara, I bet they’re praying for Covid.
@@thefox2205 it could also be that the judges know this was Cooper's challenge to shine. He didnt deliver so they know they wont pick him. It might not be that Cooper is worse than Lucas, just that they know now they wont pick Cooper and there might a very small chance that they will pick Lucas.
At this point also chiara should win.. But she is not considerated.. She is older than the other girls but she is clearly stronger.. So why admit her if she can't win
The Zwift Academy is as thrilling to watch as ever. Great production. Only the „RUclips Premiere“ is a bit odd for preproduced content. The release time often overlaps with when I step of the Turbo and then I have to wait until it‘s over to watch it from the beginning
Great to hear you are enjoying to! Sorry last night's came out later than expected... Just wanted to make sure it was top notch, we think it was worth the wait 🙌
I'm new to zwift, so sorry about the simple question. Are these pro riders or are they riders that entered a series of races to compete in the zwift finals?
They are amateur riders that have made into the Zwift finals. They will compete for a spot on a pro team. The competition this year has been great. Check out episode 1 👉gcn.eu/zwiftacad-1
Shame we couldn't really see how much power they were putting out in the sprints. Would have been interesting to see how many watts they were laying down. Also, not sure if the camera shots were synced however interesting to see the British girl was the only one sprinting on the drops, you'd think at this level they'd all have a decent sprint technique dialled in.
I am not so sure. Luca I see as well, but the pro teams also have to think of which rider they could benefit from in the longer run. And a younger "diamond in the rough" may just be their choice ultimately.
Bandito seems pretty much a done deal. Chiara is also super strong, but I think however much they try to pretend age doesn't matter, it will affect their decision. Winner from the women will be Alex imo.
Great content. I like the interviews... you can feel their love for cycling and how much they're enjoying being challenged. Really stiff competition... very competitive. Absolutely tragic for Will to be taken out by Covid. Really feel for Cooper too... I'm sure he had high expectations given it's his second chance. Good to see Jasper put it all on the line and show the judges his strength. Hopefully the next round will give Nele a chance to show the judges her strengths. Hard to see Il Bandito being beaten. Chiara's steady and consistent, which is a great thing in a cyclist. But, Alex is a bit of a dark horse... her power and potential must be an attractive prospect for the judges.
It's certainly close now! Do you think Bandito has gone too strong form the off, the rest will now turn on the hurt? Chiara is looking very strong too, Alex has got her in her sights now though. It's game on tonight 🙌
@@gcn They've got nothing to lose... So, Bandito certainly better watch his back. The women's is the most interesting. Chiara Vs Alex is a great match up... reliable vs powerful... Experience Vs Youth. Both of them must be very enticing to the judges
Awesome show. Although I will say now I have a catchy tune from the Simpsons stuck in my head about a powerful robust SUV endorsed by a clown… Canyonaero…
Man, this seems like way too short of an episode to get a good feel for the individual rider personalities. The two people I was rooting for got cut! Ah well, that's pro sports for you.
Day three was a big one! Big drama and big power! Who would you sign? 💥
So far, Luca and Alex probably.
@@blabluppo9044 They really turned on the hurt today! 🥵
Chiara.
@@vancelray Luca for sure. He's got a big motor.
"Bunny Hops" Sure
Luca knew the course so well for timings. Aero exactly when the roll thru slows to keep speed. Held back in the 3rd sprint, at back for energy reserve, then over the top where the most speed could be gained on a counter attack. His experience in Zwift Grand Prix and Community racing really shining thru today!
Another masterclass from Bandito 💪
The experienced Zwifter is Luca Zanasca from the same Zwift team. Luca Vergallito has not yielded good results in the Grand Prix, and he has very rarely raced in the Community. Perhaps Il Bandito has been tipped off by his Zwift teammates on using tactics like here in Crit City? Just want to clarify the facts!
@Dan Thanks bud, thought I lost my mind for a sec. Knockouts exact same course podium ride for 3rd. 3rd to Teugels Premiere Division last Spring. Among others on ZP. 📝🙂 ZGP experience itself and even being on a team that level brings so much knowledge, same to IRL Pro Team experience doing a Classics Race. For those in pack or supporting role not yielding the winning results they still learn and know how to roll the cobbles.
I really enjoy this series. Really glad GCN is offering this content.
Glad you're enjoying it 🙌 Zwift Academy is Christmas came early for us!
Gutted for Will. Hope he can have a proper swing at it next year.
Will is going to be missed! He'll be smashing it somewhere for sure... or saving lives, you never know with that guy! 😂
@@gcn yea, for sure. He's a generator type, I hope to see him back.
This covid removal is utter nonsense
Sad to see Cooper have to go. Feel as if his real-world racing this year may have cost him on the Zwift platform. Disappointed to see him eliminated on a virtual platform over such small margins where bike handling played no part.
I still really enjoy this series, but this episode left me a bit disappointed. I know it's hard to put this much into half an hour, but we barely got to see any of the technical skills and the riders remained almost entirely anonymous (no banter, no interaction between them). This is fine if the ultimate goal is just to come up with the rider winning the contract, but as you made this into a reality show, it would probably help the viewer to have some more insight into the riders and see their routines and their conversations during the stay at the hotel.
Thanks for the feedback! It's really great to hear our community's views on our content, we make this for you guys after all 🙌 Great to hear you enjoying the series, we really hope you can get a sense of the personalities behind this years contestants. It felt like a massive loss every time we had to loose somebody. Time not spent in hot competition was spent chatting racing and kicking back with pros. Win or loose the riders won't forget this week 🙌
@@gcn Thanks for the reply! And if possible (not knowing whether you'd need release forms), would love to see some of the chatting with the pros and the kicking back!
And we want to see power numbers.
Interesting could be have an extra video with a behind the scenes showing the interaction between partecipants, funny moments, etc
@@batstone79 Yessss. A GCN Tech Talk episode that would immediately follow the upload. Roundtable format where they disclose and discuss power numbers, behind the scenes footage, how they prep and cool down from the events, etc.
Speaking frankly Vergallito plays a different sport then the other. Up to now he ride on another level.
How do you get eliminated before a guy that has crashed, gets dropped collecting bottles, drops a bottle, finishes 1 point ahead of you in a points race and finishes 30 seconds behind you on a 5km hill climb that you finished 2nd in?
I love the Zwift platform for but come on, there needs to be more weight placed on real road riding. Like with today, a points race not just on Zwift but do it with similar length on the real road too and see what happens by reconciling the results for both. The inexperienced will have a hard time making it to the line since you can't just ride through virtual riders and that kind of skills takes years to build up to.
Cooper got robbed.look what happened in the next episode to Lucas
As a fellow featherweight, I feel for Elaine. That crit course is the exact opposite of her skill set and skewed firmly towards heavier wattage monsters. The coaches even admitted that they didn't even put the TT climb on a hill that was steep or long enough. I guess they're just not in the market for a pure climber and looking more for a puncher.
Yes maybe this wasn't the day for her. Still a great rider! She smashed the hill climb non the less 💪 Who is your new favourite?
@@gcn she dug very deep and handled it like a champ. Which is why I liked her. I'll be cheering for Alice and Luca now.
Seems like some of the other girls are featherweights as well...
@@vancelray Seems like all are featherweights..... just compare them to the "normal" sized judge women on the left.... the women riders are all very very small and i would guess are all below 52kg
@@lordad yes, but Elena seems to be the lightest of them.
At the end of the day, weight is just one factor to the whole equation. Power to weight ratio is important. And the lighter a person is, the heavier the bike gets in relation to their body weight.
Il Bandito domina
I hope the ones getting disqualified realize that from all the people, they are the ones that got to the final, so they should be proud
You don't get this far being a bad rider! Great effort from all 🙌
Side note: Brilliant timing there at 7:26 with Manon taking the musette exactly at when she mentions it. I guess that took a couple of takes to get it right.
Manon is just a real pro 😎
Luca has got the pro package, power and good attitude. I can definitely see him competing for the win on an uphill stage race finish.
On the women's side Chiara is the best no doubt about that, I'm just afraid that Canyon/Sram can not overlook the fact that she is 36 years old.
How about Alex on the women's side? Also very strong 👀
@@gcn Plus lot of massive future potential to be far better than Chiara who will be limited in growth from here out.
@@ZwiftDude Do you think the pro teams will be looking for someone they can develop?
Definitely, Alex and Luca if I’m looking to recruit. Both of them have potential. They will be the winners
He ain't got a good enough punch, in a normal race the rest of the group ain't sprinting every minute, and in a pure uphill climb he ain't just there chief.
it’s the man who beat mr feather. the one and only
I was just gonna ask that
Yes, no one has ever beaten Feather, but il Bandito. Not even Oliver Bridgewood, Ph. D. managed to beat him.
@@jeskli11 Feather vs Bandito vs Dr Bridgewood? Sounds good to us 😂
@@gcn Well, Ollie tried to beat Andrew Feather more times than everyone else combined and even though he managed to drop two TdF champions since the first race, he didn't succeed one single time. Given Luca managed to beat Andrew, I highly doubt Ollie would finish that race better than third 😂.
@@gcn But you should definitely make Ollie do the Zwift Academy next year. I get why you're worried after what happened to Chris Oppie, but I'd be very interested how well he will do in the finals (see I used "will" insted of "would, if he gets there", intentionally).
Amazing, i'm basically watching 3 go kart trying to race an F1 but in some way i still cannot wait to see next episode!
Perhaps the others are playing the long game 👀
Interesting choice to still eliminate riders today after one male and one female had already been taken out by covid. It would have made way more sense to table the elimination for another day to make a decision and then eliminate two riders so that there are three ahead of the final day. I would also way rather see more of the on the bike skills and outdoor riding scenes that these potential pros need to be able to demonstrate because there are already so many zwift challenges (obviously the final challenge will be another zwift race etc) that the outdoor component of pro riding should feature more in this series.
Unfortunately it’s a big advert for Zwift - fortunately for the coaches, they saw all the important stuff that was cut from the edit in real life.
Go LUCA, GO!!!!
Strong start 🙌
Maybe you could have an extras/bonus show on GCN tech that gives a bit more of the data behind the rides for the people who are not just here for the 'casual' entertainment.Really enjoying the content.
Gutted for Will! But knowing the guys from Alpecin, they will keep an eye on him and hopefully we might actually see him on the road sometime soon!
so sad to see 2/10 finalists got knocked out by Covid.
He won't go un-missed 👀 Who's your new favourite?
My favourite competitor: will (though im still disappointed that he left)
Whos probably going to win: luca/il bandito
Honourable mention for trying out 2 years in a row: cooper
Will and Cooper will be missed! We are left with a great final 6 though 👀
Bandito is on another class. Dropping everyone else, it's not even close.
MVDP seems to have bunny-hopping down so maybe Manon should be teaching Si how to bunny-hop if his Master’s CX performance is anything to go by.
I loved 2021 and 2022 is proving to be just as brutal
Bunny hopping 😉
Si needs all the help he needs 😂
In contrast to for example pinkbike academy these were reliable decisions and they have picked the right ones to leave - but damned those Italians are impressive and strong 💪🏻 even though I must be a fan boy of Nele as a German I am really surprised by the two Italian machines
Alway good to support the home team 🙌 Nele is smashing it!
I was comparing it to PBA too - what is great is that people compete to attend this, PBA requires a submission. If you sell yourself well, you can hide not actually being amazing. This, the numbers speak for themselves.
My fellow italians are smashing it
They have really been turning on the hurt 💪
seriously, i wouldn't be surprised if Simon and Manon are called to present on tv! they are perfect!
Ant and Dec shaking in their boots 😵💫
30:54 - "He does make some strange noises though is that a problem?" 😂🤣😂
Aw man that sucks for Will, he's such a nice guy, always smiling. Hope he can return next year!
Fantastic content! The GCN hosts/announcers are both awesome with excellent synergy (as is true with all the GCN folks)!
Ah thanks for such kind words! Who's impressed you so far... apart from us ( obviously 😂)
Really enjoy this series. I'm a mountain biker by nature, and I love seeing people stoked on all types of cycling. This is what the Pinkbike Academy show was trying to be. Way to get it right, GCN! You guys and gals focus on the riders, not the judges (like the other show). Really getting to know the finalists. Gutted for Will.
Suggestion to deep dive into the series: Have a GCN Tech Talk episode that would immediately follow the upload. Roundtable format where they disclose and discuss power numbers, behind the scenes footage, how they prep and cool down from the events, etc. I would definitely watch that as well.
You know it's good when even the Mtb crew are getting involved 🙌 It's great getting to know the riders, Who do you think will take the contracts?
@@BIIIKES Love that idea! The Zwift Academy After Show 👀
@@gcn If I had to choose right now, I'd say a pair of Italians are the leaders in the clubhouse 😉
MADRE MIA BANDITO CHE APRIRE
😮😮Crazy race, both women’s and men’s. But what happened at 30:53 ? Was that Luca shouting??
Hahaha that's his tell... when you hear the Bandito scream, you know you're in trouble! 😂
His tactics are brilliant. If I was in a race and another guy made that noise, I'd stay as far away from him as I could.
Alex was saving the aero for the double points at the finish. A better risk and smart move when it's a 35% chance to have. That is IF you can hang for the sprint though...Doni probably saw the tactic playing as they can see each others screens and knew breaking her before was best chances.
It's so good to see all the tactics play out 👀 You've got to be on-top of this if you want to go pro!
That's what I was thinking, the aero is probably the most useful power-up in this case and if she wasted it before probably she wouldn't get another to the end.
This is so well produced, great content!
This series is really exciting and inspiring too! I'm watching an episode every day before my training :D I'm cheering for Chiara because she's the most inspiring contestant for me. Not just because I can relate to her being a senior, but she seems so focused all the time, it's impressive! This makes me cheer for the Italians :D But hey, I love Campagnolo, Castelli, Italian bikes and food and coffee too :D And my plan is to cycle there in the upcoming two years after I recovered from my illness and got back all my strenght! 💪Go go Italy! 💚🤍❤
Best wishes for your recovery!
Great to hear it's keeping you motivated! You're not the only one dusting off the turbo 👀 Chiara has been smashing it 💪 Are we seeing the new generation of Italian super stars? ✨
@@AlessandroCarpentiero Thank you so much! :) Since I'm allowed to cycle again my condition and lab results improved a lot! :) THX to GCN and Inigo San Millan I discovered Z2 training and I think it's helping a lot! :) I feel like winning this battle no matter what science says :D And now that I'm allowed to eat pizza and pasta again I feel like supercharged XD
Gotcha! I knew it, I knew it from the very first episode. The way Manon looked at MVDP😊
Just brilliant. Had my legs twitching like I was reacting to finishes in the TDF.
Hahaha wow! That's high praise! You never know, could be cheering on one these riders in a future tour 👀
If you paid the play by play guy for shallow hype, you got your moneys worth. EVERYTHING else about this series is terrific.
Good job, GCN.
Why did we only see two bottle collects and half a muset collect (at best), but we got to watch a FULL Zwift race, where we basically watching 10 sprints with awful commentary.
I usually look forward to series, but it’s seeming more about the zwift sponsor than it does the actual riders ability outdoors… Bit of a shame
Agree, especially about cringe commentary
Not to mention the bottle section was totally useless eval for the men. Cooper, despite having best bottle skills with a 9/10 rating, get eliminated. m'kay.
Total cringe fest
It is literally a zwift event. You are surprised?
Great series, interesting to see the difference between the skills
Such a strong group of rider 🤯
Ma quanto sono forti Luca e Chiara?!
Crikey that was riveting viewing! Could almost feel the heat and smell the sweat!
I was quite impressed with Elena for someone without a sports background. I think a solid aerobic base season, and some amateur racing experience would make her really competitive next year.
Gutting isn't it! She is a star in the making anyway ✨
Woah... I'm glad I'm not the judge. They are all really good. But I must say, even though Cooper has the experience going through the process last year, he is at a disadvantage. Because the judges have already known him and his qualities. So he gotta perform much better than last year. This year, with new fresh faces and their unknown qualities, plus the judges don't know their limit, makes Cooper's performance was predictable. (Unless he performs way better and above and beyond last year) Looks to me, like if you are a repeat candidate, the chances are, you will have a lot harder time impressing the judges or even winning the Zwift academy. This experience is a one-time opportunity. Good luck to Cooper.
Interesting observation, Cooper is an amazing rider! You can't make into the finals two times without having incredible levels of skill. It's a shame to see him go! We are sure he'll be smashing it still! 💪
love these outros ^_^
What a series, so well made and a serious source for motivation!! Absolutely LOVE IT!
Ain't this Luca guy mentioned in some Strava KOM video in other GCN video filmed in Italy
APRIRE SEMPRE!
i love luca noises
enjoying the series from Spain
Can you please announce the “stream” earlier? There was a no information about the start of episode 1+2+3.. maybe you can do it better vor episode 4 and 5.
was this the Italian lad that beat Andrew Feather in the hill climb race on gcn?
Yes he was
@@kantila86 serious talent. he will he pro for sure. taught I recognised his strava name.
He’s not uploading activities on strava in these days. 100% is already training with alpecin
Ooooooooh my goodness the guy who beat feather!!!!!!! Just changed who I’m cheering for
OMG I cant wait to see the final! awesome series!
Gutted for Coop. Can't believe after the morning was so good. You did show tatics and rode well. Not sure why he was cut.
The judges know what they are doing. Cooper has been here before, this is his second chance, he's supposed to be a "punchy" rider, yet failed to deliver when it counts. Even i expected him to go at least second place on the Zwift race, but he got bested by the "newcomers".
@@sepg5084 if the judges know what they are doing then they saying real world components mean nothing. Lucas crashed in the bunch, completely stuffed up the bottle challenge (Cooper nailed it), last on the hill climb (Cooper 2nd). Cooper lost the sprint by half a bike length to 3rd and one bike length to 2nd. Can’t wait to see what they come up with to pick Alex over Chiara, I bet they’re praying for Covid.
@@thefox2205 it could also be that the judges know this was Cooper's challenge to shine. He didnt deliver so they know they wont pick him. It might not be that Cooper is worse than Lucas, just that they know now they wont pick Cooper and there might a very small chance that they will pick Lucas.
@@thefox2205 you nailed the Alex over Chiara call (unfortunately 😢)
At this point also chiara should win.. But she is not considerated.. She is older than the other girls but she is clearly stronger.. So why admit her if she can't win
Do you think the Pro teams will look for someone they can mould into the team? 🤔
Gotta say, those Oakley Katos with Prizm Road lenses are 🔥
Il bandito demolished feather. I think this says it all
Didn't expect Elena to be eliminated.
It was a tough decision, They all put in such good efforts 🙌
When the next episode coming out here waiting for it.
Bandito il migliore 🥷🐂
Luca number one,forza bandito
Bandito über alles
Come on LUCA !!! 🇮🇹
Enjoying the series! Cheers from Canada!
Thanks so much! Who do you fancy for the pro contract? 👀
Luca & Alex definitely.
Both looking very very strong 🙌
The Zwift Academy is as thrilling to watch as ever. Great production. Only the „RUclips Premiere“ is a bit odd for preproduced content. The release time often overlaps with when I step of the Turbo and then I have to wait until it‘s over to watch it from the beginning
Great to hear you are enjoying to! Sorry last night's came out later than expected... Just wanted to make sure it was top notch, we think it was worth the wait 🙌
@@gcn No worries. Had a rest day yesterday.
Poor Si. Jilted. But I bet he's the best dancer. Dance, Si. Dance! This was a brutal episode. Poor Will. Heartbreak for Cooper. Elena is all heart.
great show!
I still can‘t wrap my head around how Zwift racers sprint out of the saddle on the hoods. It looks so odd.
I hope cooper aint gonna give up on his dreams , cause the best motivation is failure , failure is what makes a strong rider
Cooper is a fighter and amazing bike rider, Hell keep smashing it for sure 🙌
Really exciting episode, in fact watched it twice!!!! Tough break for Will, but we are sure he will be back. Can't wait for tomorrow's episode.
Did you pick up anything different the second time ? 👀
@@gcn Absolutely, double enjoyment. Have to say Si and the Alpecin coaches were hilarious with the water bottle scene.🤣
Cooper got robbed.went super well getting bottles and is clearly better than Lucas
I'm new to zwift, so sorry about the simple question. Are these pro riders or are they riders that entered a series of races to compete in the zwift finals?
Riders that entered the Zwift challenge within varied racing background
They are amateur riders that have made into the Zwift finals. They will compete for a spot on a pro team. The competition this year has been great. Check out episode 1 👉gcn.eu/zwiftacad-1
@@nathanhauber6972 Thank You.
@@gcn Thanks guys. Those crashes were tough on the girls, hope they're ok.
With the team manager reaction on 47:18 in the car, I assume somebody has a crash in the next episode.
Tune back in tomorrow to find out! 👀
Shame we couldn't really see how much power they were putting out in the sprints. Would have been interesting to see how many watts they were laying down.
Also, not sure if the camera shots were synced however interesting to see the British girl was the only one sprinting on the drops, you'd think at this level they'd all have a decent sprint technique dialled in.
great stuff gcn
Bandito!
This is great. Showing the power on the road would be cool
Numbers are on the way 👀
Great racing.
Thank you 👍 Tough year this year!
Alè Luca!
last year they were saying Cooper was a Desiel and this year it was punchy hard to follow.
il Bandito INCREASINGLY WANTED 🤠by Sergeant Garcia 😂
My name is Luca Vergallito but everybody calls me Il Bandito.
31:12 Daniel Lloyd is missing on that one!
Chiara and Luca 😍
It's already so obvious who is going to win. Bandito and chiara
I am not so sure. Luca I see as well, but the pro teams also have to think of which rider they could benefit from in the longer run. And a younger "diamond in the rough" may just be their choice ultimately.
Bandito seems pretty much a done deal.
Chiara is also super strong, but I think however much they try to pretend age doesn't matter, it will affect their decision. Winner from the women will be Alex imo.
Is it all about pure talent? Or Will the pro teams want to mould a new rider to fit? 🤔
@@Shabbaranz agreed
"das geflest e" when luca gets dropped. :D Sometimes I forget Alpacin are Flemmish/Dutch.
It's a real local dialect and means "reaaally did not pas"
Dissapointed to see Cooper go. Was expecting Lucas to get dropped.
Real shame to loose Cooper. We loved catching back up with him since last year 🙌
*Where is the 5th rider?*
Was he eliminated in another challenge? 🤨
Tested positive for COVID
Will and Liz Van Houweling unfortunately came down with Covid. We're sure we'll see them both back. Such a great Talents🙌
Two riders (1 male, 1 female) had to leave after testing positive for COVID
@@kevinlavery6194Thank you for the reply. 👍
😂😂😂😂 brutal and brilliant... I love this edition
Hahah yep! Sounds like Zwift Academy 😂 Better than last year?
The women’s Zwift race had me doing sympathy sweats! Very exciting competition!
It's pretty close this year! Especially on the Women's side 🤯
Luca Bandito vero!
Great content. I like the interviews... you can feel their love for cycling and how much they're enjoying being challenged.
Really stiff competition... very competitive. Absolutely tragic for Will to be taken out by Covid. Really feel for Cooper too... I'm sure he had high expectations given it's his second chance. Good to see Jasper put it all on the line and show the judges his strength. Hopefully the next round will give Nele a chance to show the judges her strengths.
Hard to see Il Bandito being beaten. Chiara's steady and consistent, which is a great thing in a cyclist. But, Alex is a bit of a dark horse... her power and potential must be an attractive prospect for the judges.
It's certainly close now! Do you think Bandito has gone too strong form the off, the rest will now turn on the hurt? Chiara is looking very strong too, Alex has got her in her sights now though. It's game on tonight 🙌
@@gcn They've got nothing to lose... So, Bandito certainly better watch his back.
The women's is the most interesting. Chiara Vs Alex is a great match up... reliable vs powerful... Experience Vs Youth. Both of them must be very enticing to the judges
Italian RULES!
It's getting good guys!
Italians do it better!! 😍🇮🇹
Awesome show. Although I will say now I have a catchy tune from the Simpsons stuck in my head about a powerful robust SUV endorsed by a clown…
Canyonaero…
Man, this seems like way too short of an episode to get a good feel for the individual rider personalities. The two people I was rooting for got cut! Ah well, that's pro sports for you.
It's a tough game! Who will you be backing now? 🔎
What a ride by Luca, perfect strategy, but a big disappointment for basically not showing the first challenge.
Are we talking about Kristof's amazing hair enough? The sponsorship really paying off here.
They've done well 😂