Allan

Wow pls shut the fuck up From all true Americans If you don’t want to represent this country go live somewhere else

Zwift is killing road racing. Not because it's a bad product. Because we've forgotten what it was supposed to be. I know riders who won't show up to the Sunday club ride because they have a Zwift race. People who've completed 100 virtual races but never pinned a number to their jersey in real life. Cyclists with 10,000 Zwift miles who can't hold a wheel in a paceline when the wind picks up. It got me thinking how this happened... COVID locked us indoors in 2020. Pros had to race on Zwift because outdoor racing was banned. Club riders met virtually because group rides were illegal. The cycling industry pivoted hard into virtual racing because it was the only option. That made sense then. But we never pivoted back. Local racing calendars are getting decimated while Zwift Racing League grows. Riders are choosing virtual crits over actual crits because "the competition is better online." Club secretaries can't fill race spots but Zwift events sell out in minutes. I get it. Zwift racing is convenient. No travel. No 6am start times. No punctures or crashes. No weather. You can race from your garage in your underwear. But are we missing the entire point? The pre-race nerves pinning your number on at the car. The smell of embrocation and nervous energy at the start line. Looking across at your teammate and nodding before the final climb. The post-race coffee where you replay every moment. The friends you make in the carpark. The local rivalries that turn into friendships. The community that forms when you show up, week after week, to the same circuits. Virtual community isn't real community. 50,000 Instagram followers will never replace 5 actual friends who'll pick you up when you puncture 40km from home. A Zoom coffee isn't the same as sitting across from someone, both of you wrecked, reliving the race over terrible service station coffee. And suffering together on a climb, looking over and seeing your mate's face twisted in pain, knowing you're both dying together—that's what cycling is. Zwift can't give you that. I'm not anti-Zwift. I actually really like Zwift It's a brilliant tool. Winter training when it's dark at 4pm. Structured intervals when you're time-crunched. Staying sharp during the off-season. But it's a tool to improve the outdoor experience. Not replace it. We built Zwift to save cycling during a pandemic. Now we need to make sure it doesn't kill what we were trying to save. Turn off Zwift. Pin on a number. Show up to your local race. The sport needs you on the start line, not the leaderboard.

Never broken 80