BORA - hansgrohe and Red Bull are launching a youth talent identification program using Zwift segments. The partnership points to inconsistencies in Zwift's message and project priorities.
“A diamond in the rough is still a diamond,” were the words of Zwift’s Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer Steve Beckett as he touted the announcement of the company’s partnership with Red Bull and BORA-hansgrohe to “innovate talent ID in sport.”
On February 1, 2023, BORA – hansgrohe and Red Bull are launching ‘Red Bull Junior Brothers,’ a global talent scouting program. By analyzing Zwift and Strava segment ride data submitted by qualifying applicants through May 2023, the group aims to discover the next generation of professional road cyclists.
At the culmination of the Zwift Academy-type program, Bora – hansgrohe will award the two most polished young riders a contract with their U19 team, Auto Eder, and Red Bull will offer an athlete partnership deal.
Beckett’s colloquialism overshadows Zwift’s untapped youth development and talent identification potential. However, it aptly describes the company’s confounding policy towards U16 racers and highlights the streamlining of project prioritization away from some highly sought feature upgrades.
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Zwift was shortsighted in overlooking this future when amending its ruleset to prohibit U16 racers from participation. On September 7, 2021, Zwift changed the ruleset governing its Zwift Racing League to read, “Riders must have reached sixteen (16) years of age by the event start date to be eligible to participate in any Zwift Racing League events.
You can read the original 2021 report entitled, “Zwift eSports Ruleset Change Excludes Racers Under 16” here.
There were rumors then of introducing a U16 ZRL, but nothing materialized. When Zwift hired former Amazon Kids+, a hardware/software/content subscription service—executive Kurt Beidler as Co-CEO in December 2022, the rumblings grew louder.
So why embrace the platform’s youth as the innovation of cycling talent identification now?
Why not a Zwift Junior Racing League? Zwifters voted for the long-awaited feature request alongside several others. Like much-needed accessibility adaptations for the visually impaired, an underserved subset that feels “Zwift is probably the most inaccessible app out there.”
Zwifters may find the straight answer in the words of Zwift CEO Eric Min.
Read the full report featured in the Opinions column of road.cc!
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
