Embrace the Zwift "off-season" with elite Team SZ racer Gabriella Nordin, Team CLS Jon Wakefield, and The Zommunique's Chris Schwenker
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere means having fun on Zwift that doesn’t involve ripping your legs off! That is precisely what passionate Zwiftin’ couple Jon Wakefield and Gabriella Nordin are doing with their latest challenge—a Robo Pacer Bonanza!
Jon Wakefield is a mountain biker, road cyclist, and avid Zwifter. He is a co-owner of Team CLS and is the Team Manager for the club’s racing activity.
Gabriella Nordin has 10+ years of road racing experience at an elite level. She recently switched her focus to esports, riding for Team Swedish Zwifters (Team SZ), and represented Sweden at the 2023 UCI Cycling eSports World Championships, finishing a fantastic 20th place.
Jon and Gabriella embrace the Zwifting “Off Season,” recognizing it is vital to take time away from racing to reset the body and mind—while still ensuring they get some solid endurance work in, which pays off when things get serious again come fall/winter.
Jon and Gabriella are making a bit of a tradition of coming up with a ‘fun’ Zwift challenge each summer. Last year they vEverested, entering the Everesting Hall of Fame, and this year they have decided on a challenge that celebrates the new in-game features of Teleporting, Coffee Stops, and Steering.
The idea is simple! Ride with each Robo Pacer for 1 hour in a single activity—using the new teleport feature to jump across to each of them.
It will be a 9-hour ride! No doubt, some hours will be more challenging than others.
The nice thing about this challenge is it’s accessible to anyone in the Zwift community and can be adapted to suit all levels. For example:
- If you’re a D cat Zwifter: You could set yourself a challenge of using the Robo Pacers as a ladder, seeing how far you can go.
- If you’re a B cat Zwifter: You could jump between the A, B, and C Robo Pacers for an over/under style session.
Jon and Gabby hope that members from their respective teams—Team CLS and Team SZ—will join them throughout the day. Of course, the invite is open to anyone in the community who would like to participate in the fun along the way.
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.
