WOMEN’S STAGE 3 WINNER – ASHLEIGH MOOLMAN-PASIO (SOUTH AFRICA) OF CCC LIV 

You’re really enjoying this aren’t you.

I must say, I am! Of course, I’m suffering but as pro cyclists we somehow like the pain so it’s been cool.

How did you find stage three in difference to the others?

It was by far the longest race I’ve done on Zwift so far. But I think I had an advantage once again as during the lockdown in Spain I’ve spent a lot of time on Zwift and most days I was doing 70-odd kilometres, so I’m accustomed to it. Those [riders] that aren’t, after an hour, if you’re not accustomed to Zwift, you start to feel it because it is different to riding on the road; there isn’t a lot of recovery and you’re pushing all the time. But I am used to it. I’ve ridden some intervals on it before, so I had an idea of what it feels like, and had some good advice from my teammates and their partners who have raced before on Zwift so I had a lot of encouragement. I decided to give it a go from the bottom and see what I could do and I’m really happy to take the win.

How have you found you’ve been tweaking your preparations to how you would normally prepare for a stage – can you give us an insight to how specific you’re having to be for this Zwift competition?  

As I said, I feel I have quite a big advantage having spent so much time on Zwift because when I first started out in the first week it really was quite hard on the muscles. As I said, in the real world, you have a bit more of a recovery, you freewheel on the descents but on Zwift it’s just constant torque all the time, so I think I’m lucky enough to have adjusted to that. Definitely when I started on Zwift, the first week was OK, the second week I really struggled and the third week I adjusted. From then I built strength in the fifth, sixth, seventh week and a big quantity in long rides.

Last week I did take quite an easier week because I’d had have quite a big block of training on Zwift. I never really dropped my load. I’m coached by Dan Lorang; he believes in big quantity, in long rides so although we adjusted it slightly in lockdown, I still managed to maintain about 20 hours per week on Zwift so I’m really used to riding on it. I said I did take a slightly easier week last week, I had a rest day on Monday with a nice ladies ride on Zwift, so it was nice to have an easy ride with my lady fans and we chatted a bit about nutrition and the racing. I then came into my first race yesterday and I’m really happy to take the win there and again today. 

How’s the response been from your fans, friends and family to what you’re doing this week?

Funny enough, I think the fan engagement I’ve experienced during my time on Zwift is bigger than it’s ever been. I think it’s because cycling is a really accessible sport to the fans but when you go into the virtual world, you’re even more accessible to your fans. All of a sudden, you’re coming across people in the virtual world of Watopia that you might never have stumbled across in real life. So, if I’m totally honest, my fan engagement has been better than ever before.

My following is increasing week by week and it’s just because of the possibility to really engage with fans on Zwift. You do there rides or join events and you can chat with one another on the companion app and it’s really cool. I think people really appreciate us making the time to ride with them and answer their questions. That’s the biggest part I enjoy in Zwift – the social aspect and the possibility to really engage with your fans.

MEN’S STAGE 3 WINNER – JAMES PICCOLI (CANADA) OF ISRAEL START-UP NATION

Talk us through the last few hundred metres – that looked exceptionally tough.

I saved my featherweight power-up for the last couple of hundred metres. We knew it was going to be steep for the line and I figured I could hang on for the downhill recovery for a little bit and use that long sprint to have a good chance and that’s what I did.

Have you had a lot of experience on Zwift, so you knew when to save the power-ups?

A little bit of experience. We have an awesome team and Sjors [Beukeboom] our media manager who is like a Zwift wizard and we also have a couple of coaches who are really good with the platform and have given us a few tips and tricks - everything we need to know to get the most out of the platform.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster for the team – a win on day one, out of the picture yesterday, and a win today. There’s lots to play for in this Tour for All.

Absolutely. We’ve had a lot of experience with Zwift; the whole tour has been riding a lot. We came super prepared and it’s nice to get a win today.

On a more personal note, it must have been a frustrating year for you. You’re quite late to the WorldTour, you tried out in Europe many years ago; you went back home and got some brilliant results over the last season or two that leapt you up to the WorldTour again – a big opportunity and one at the moment you’re not able to take, so how are you able to keep your motivation at this time?

At Israel Start-Up Nation, we are super lucky. The team has been so supportive through all of this; everyone’s sticking together and we’re holding our heads up high and I love to ride my bike anyway so I’m living the dream right now where I get to ride my bike all day. I’m lucky to live somewhere where I can ride outside. I’ve been training well and having fun and am really excited to race and get back.

The team has been riding a lot on Zwift and raising money for your own charity – tell us about that.

Team ISN [Israel Start-Up Nation] started to raise funds to secure masks for hospitals and I was so inspired that I did a little epic ride of my own last Saturday. I did my local climb 100 times to try and raise funds and secure medical supplies for retirement facilities and homeless shelters here in Montreal and we’ve raised almost $20,000 to date, which is really, really cool and it’s been such a positive response.   

What have the responses have been like from your fans on social media?

I’m not that famous of a bike rider to be honest! But I’ve had a lot of fun riding on Zwift. Cycling fans have been looking for something to watch and virtual racing has been a little bit of a life saver. Also, my friends and family have been excited to watch the races on Zwift.

Not sure of how aware you are of your surroundings when you’re focussing but you saw the volcano - how strange is it to be cycling in these virtual environments?

We’ve had some experience, the team and I, riding on Zwift – we’ve organised some charity rides – so we knew a little bit of the world and parkour but it’s awesome to be able to ride the trainer and not have to stay at the wall for a few hours.

How much have you been chatting to other riders during this time in general and also during this week?

At Israel Start-Up Nation, we’re really supportive; we have a big group and we stay in touch and we’ve been cooking up some plans for Zwift racing. We take a good look at the courses and have some tips and tricks from our staff and other riders so we definitely have a super supportive group and this week has been a lot of fun.