Ride Virtually Alongside Cyclists Like Nelson Vails and Rahsaan Bahati With Zwift’s Black Celebration Series

From Bicycling

Starting in February, Zwift will be holding a year-long Black Celebration Series designed “to celebrate the history, athletes, heritage, and joy the Black community brings to Zwift from around the world,” according to the company’s press release.

The rides (and runs) will all take place in Zwift’s virtual rendering of New York, the home of renowned Black cyclists like Major Taylor, the first Black cyclist to win a world championship, and Nelson Vails, a 1984 Olympic silver medalist. Each ride will be an hour long and held at a pace of 1.5 to 2 w/kg.

“It’s important to come together as one community, and we will continue to provide further opportunities for all as part of our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging,” Zwift CEO and co-founder Eric Min said in the press release.

Zwift members will have opportunities to virtually ride with prominent cyclists like Vails; Ama Nsek, a member of pro cycling team L39ION; Rahsaan Bahati, an elite crit racer; and cyclists from Black Cyclist Network and Level Up Cycling Movement. Below is the time and date for a few of these rides:

• Group ride with Vails—Saturday, February 6 at 7:30 a.m. PST

• Group ride with Bahati—February 9 at 9:30 a.m. PST

• Group ride with Level Up Cycling Movement—February 20 at 1:30 p.m. PST

Community leaders from the Black Cyclist Network will host five rides every week, and Nsek will lead a weekly ride as well. Click here for a complete schedule of the Black Celebration Series.

Zwift will also be partnering with and donating to the Los Angeles Bicycle Academy, a nonprofit program that aims to make the sport of cycling more accessible to youth in underserved communities. The academy’s founder, Damon Turner, has coached elite cyclists such as Bahati, Justin Williams, Cory Williams, and Coryn Rivera.

“We’ve designed these initiatives to celebrate Black athletes and community leaders while, at the same time, taking the opportunity to educate both our external community and our internal employees on the struggles and systemic racism which the Black community has faced in sport and in society at large,” Lisa Bourne, Zwift’s senior director of diversity, inclusion, and social impact, said in the press release.

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