Zwift has announced a new junior development team for North American riders, with an ambitious goal of unearthing a Tour de France winner within ten years.
Announced yesterday by Zwift CEO and co-founder, Eric Min, the men’s and women’s squads will have backing from the likes of Canyon and Pedal Mafia, who will supply them with bikes and apparel, respectively.
Zwift says the development team will focus on under-19 riders, and has “long-term financial support" from both the platform itself and "private donors”.
The team’s mission is simple: “to put a North American rider back on the top step of the Tour de France podium within a decade”.
A twenty-year wait and a huge opportunity
Explaining the rationale behind the new development squad, Min notes, “North America is one of the most important cycling markets in the world, but professional road racing has all but disappeared here. Standing up a world-class team is our answer.”
It has, Min points out, been more than twenty years since “a North American rider stood on the top step in Paris”.
We presume Min is referring to Lance Armstrong – who won his last Tour just over 20 years ago in 2005 – though the Texan isn’t afforded a namecheck (likely because he’s officially no longer a Tour winner).
Instead, Min references a desire to return to “the eras of Greg LeMond, Andrew Hampsten, and Steve Bauer, when their performances in the Tour de France lifted cycling into mainstream culture.”
Min says cycling “deserves a bigger future on this continent”, and his answer is to invest in the young North American talent, with the hope that they’ll go on to perform on the biggest stage.
This is echoed by Canyon’s founder, Roman Arnold, who says, “For us, there is no better investment in cycling than the next generation", and that his answer to Min about being involved was “an easy ‘yes’”.
An enormous commercial opportunity
There’s no doubt that being involved with the next North American rider to win the Tour represents an enormous commercial opportunity as well.
According to a 2005 article by NBC News, sales of Trek bikes “increased from less than $50 million in 1990 to $500 million” by the end of Armstrong’s reign that year, having supplied bikes to the Texan’s team for all seven of his Tour de France ‘wins’.
At the time, a spokesperson for Trek told NBC, “It was just a gamble that paid off dividends that we could never imagine. It was like putting a penny in a slot and winning a million bucks.”
It’s not difficult to imagine that getting in on the ground floor with North America’s next Tour de France winner – hopefully one that stands the test of time – could therefore prove a similarly fruitful business decision for those involved.
“A generational commitment”
One thing Min is keen to point out is that this isn’t the typical short-term, two to five year deal sponsors typically offer cycling teams and development programmes.
“Junior development cannot be a two-year experiment. It has to be a generational commitment,” says Min.
Min adds that he sees the new teams as a “permanent platform for North American riders” and that he wants the development squad to “be here long after our first champion carries the Yellow Jersey into Paris.”
As well as founding partners Canyon and Pedal Mafia, the team will also have “sporting and pathway support” from Canyon-sponsored professional teams, Alpecin–Premier Tech, Fenix–Premier Tech, and Canyon//SRAM.
This echoes previous development arrangements Zwift has had with Canyon-sponsored professional teams, such as the Zwift Academy. The Zwift Academy is a global talent identification process which has seen riders such as Jay Vine and Neve Bradbury convert success on the virtual indoor cycling app into enduring careers in pro cycling.
The team will act as a “bridge between this program and the WorldTour”, says Philip Roodhooft, General Manager of Alpecin–Premier Tech and Fenix-Premier-Tech.
As things stand, a roster for the team has yet to be confirmed but Zwift says the team will launch later this year with a European team camp planned for December, ahead of the 2027 racing season.
