One day late and only one ride to report, but it's a pretty long one (by Mre's standards). It goes down as the manager's second longest virtual ride in terms of distance and time since buying his bike a little over a year ago.
Perhaps someday in the future a century virtual ride will be achieved. For now:
Spoiler
Ride #5: October 14, 2021
42.5 Miles | 1,983 Feet | 82.16 Points
Team Update
Still no MG racing action from our boys yet. Eager to see some of them hitting the road at the ongoing Continental Championships in the coming days/weeks. Mre is especially excited, since they can't earn any ranking points to try and catch him.
It's another goose egg week as Manager Mresuperstar was unable to find any time or motivation to get on his bike. Too busy with work — aka getting his squad prepared for the upcoming season. Which, according to an inside source, will be getting underway very soon. Wooooooo!
Team Update
None of our riders have featured in the Continental Championships yet, but that kind of moves to the background with the 2021 MG season on the horizon.
Here is our Zwift Pro Cycling preview for the January races:
The season-opening stage race doesn't exactly suit any of the riders we have on the roster. But, instead of bringing a lackluster squad, we have Simon Yates to test the sprints and Cattaneo as captain to hopefully shine on the Stage 3 ITT. Goal: Top 10 GC/Stage Top 5.
Prologue and five flat stages gives us a prime opportunity to unleash our new sprinter Swift with leadout support from Cavendish and crew. Swift won this race in 2012 and 2015, claiming eight total stages here in his career, along with two point jerseys and the U25 competition. We expect a strong sprinter's start list and heavy crosswinds. Perfect terrain for Russians Cherkasov and Kurianov. Goal: Stage Podium.
Past: 23rd GC Rick Zabel (2018), 24th GC Roman Maksimov (2018).
Busy week with the MG season getting underway, but Manager Mresuperstar did manage to get one hard, quick ride in to keep the blood pumping and the legs turning the pedals over. Details can be found below:
Spoiler
Ride #6: October 30, 2021
10.2 Miles | 192 Feet | 14.04 Points
Team Update
The first attack of the Pro Tour season goes to...
Stepan Kurianov, racing for us on loan from Gjensidige. The energetic Russian won all the intermediate sprint and KoM points on route to lead the KoM and U25 competition after the first day of the season-opening Tour of Tasmania. He collected his first 10 Pro Tour points (equal to 40 Zwift points).
Sprinter Simon Yates also collected a few points when he finished 6th on the stage (one spot short of completing our unofficial team goal for the race of a Top 5 stage finish, but he will get another shot at it on a hilly Stage 2).
The PR team has found Mresuperstar, and is forcing him to report the truth after missing last week's update. In those 14 days... Mre only managed to put out one ride while his team is starting to collected points to track him down.
Spoiler
Ride #7: November 8, 2021
13.1 Miles | 933 Feet | 31.76 Points
Team Update
The first Pro Tour race of the season at the Tour of Tasmania didn't exactly go to plan GC with our best finisher being Mattia Cattaneo in 16th. Our top point scorer rides for us on loan from Gjensidige, Stepan Kurianov, who won the KoM competition in large part due to his Stage 1 breakaway.
Next up was the six-day Tour of Qatar. Newly signed sprinter Ben Swift placed 6/4/26/11/6 on the five flat stages to take another 16th overall in GC. Kurianov, along with our other six riders, collected five points for finishing the race.
A contractually obligated statement was made by Mresuperstar this week, "I've let myself down and I'm embarrassed. The team might me laughing at my misery now, but I still have a little bit of time to turn this Zwift Training Challenge around. I might not win, but I wouldn't want to be the cyclists I do end up beating."
The team could be heard laughing and pointing fingers at a couple of cyclists.
Spoiler
Ride #9: November 15, 2021
8.0 Miles | 747 Feet | 22.94 Points
Ride #10: November 29, 2021
22.3 Miles | 1,054 Feet | 43.38 Points
Ride #11: December 7, 2021
21.5 Miles | 929 Feet | 40.08 Points
Ride #12: January 25, 2022
20.7 Miles | 856 Feet | 37.82 Points
Ride #13: January 27, 2022
15.5 Miles | 124 Feet | 17.98 Points
Team Update
A lot has happened over the last four months, as the team currently sits 11th in Pro Tour rankings heading into what used to be Mre's home Grand Tour - the Vuelta a Espana - when he was the manager at Desigual. Some of the highlights:
- Simon Yates is a Top 5 rider in the Pro Tour with 869 points! The Brit won three stages at the Giro d'Italia to finish second in that points competition. He also had a solid classics seasons with a 3rd at LBL, 7th at AGR and 8th at FW.
- Xuban Errazkin, at 25yo and wearing the Spanish NC jersey, won his first career Pro Tour stage with a surprise attack on Stage 3 of Paris-Nice.
- Mattia Cattaneo podiumed with 3rd behind heavy hitters Silvio Herklotz and Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier at Pro Hallstatt Classic, while co-captain Ryan Eastman finished just outside the Top 5 with a sixth place at the Giro d'Italia.
- In the team's first goal race of the season at Milano San Remo, the team failed to achieve its target of a Top 3 finish, but still impressed the sponsors by placing half of the team inside the Top 20: Clement Russo (7th), Nicolay Cherkasov (10th), Simon Yates (12th) and Jhonatan Narvaez (17th).
- Flat beast Stepan Kurianov, on loan from Gjensidige, stunned the Pro Tour field with a surprise attack to earn runner-up honors at the Rund um Koln and one of the best finishes of his budding career so far.
- From youth to experience, fan favourite Ben Swift showcased he isn't just a legend on a retirement tour by winning in front of his home supporters on Stage 4 of the Cheshire Cycling Tour. His first victory of the season marks Mre's 99th Program Win over the last decade. Who gets Win No. 100?
Spoiler Alert... It's Ben Swift after back-to-back wins at the Vuelta a Espana!
- All results so far can be viewed on the updated Race Results page.
While updates haven't been consistent, Manager Mresuperstar has been trying to get on his bike more regularly. The warmer weather also means more outside riding and putting a pause on the Zwift subscription. After a little debate, the riders will allow Mre's outside miles to count in this ongoing "Zwift" challenge.
At the end of the day, enjoying the bike ride is what counts. Mre's latest rides:
Spoiler
Ride #14: February 11, 2022
18.1 Miles | 1,183 Feet | 41.76 Points
Ride #15: February 16, 2022
16.0 Miles | 482 Feet | 25.64 Points
Ride #16: February 23, 2022
20.0 Miles | 524 Feet | 30.48 Points
Ride #17: March 14, 2022
15.0 Miles | 628 Feet | 27.56 Points
Ride #18: March 24, 2022
21.0 Miles | 919 Feet | 39.38 Points
Outside Rides #19-24: April 5-May 4, 2022
61.4 Miles | 1,345 Feet | 88.30 Points
Team Update
The last update ended with Ben Swift winning a pair of stages at the start of the Vuelta a Espana to capture Mre's 100th win in Man-Game History. Swift went on to podium a few more stages, while GC leader Mattia Cattaneo snuck just inside the Top 10 GC with a 9th place overall.
Some other highlights from our last update:
- The legend Mark Cavendish surprised everybody at the Tour de Suisse by rolling back the clock and winning a bunch sprint on Stage 5. It was the 35yo's first victory for Zwift Pro Cycling in his first season with the team.
- Facing a daunting team goal of a capturing a GC podium at the world's most famous bike race, the Tour de France, Ryan Eastman came one spot short following a massive surge in the third week of racing. Eastman placed fourth behind home favourites Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier, Romain Sicard and Jan Hirt. Eastman is the third American cyclist to finish in the Top 5 of the TDF in the last five seasons (Dombrowski 2nd in 2019 and Phinney 2nd in 2017).
- The last notable result comes from Ben Swift firing off again with an incredible opening day sprint victory at the SAA Tour d'Afrique. His fourth stage win of the season lead to him finishing 10th overall. Swift currently sits 36th overall in the individual point standings with 748 points.
The only two Zwift riders with more points are co-leaders Simon Yates (869pts, 26th) and Ryan Eastman (782pts, 34th). Not too bad for a so-called "washed up" sprinter trying to prolong his career.
- All results so far can be viewed on the updated Race Results page.
The last month of the MGUCI season has arrived. Here is an overview of how Mre's Zwift Training Challenge is progressing and how the Zwift Pro Cycling team is trying to avoid relegation. We begin with Mre's rides over the last month:
Spoiler
Outside Rides #25-26
55.9 Miles | 1,687 Feet | 89.64 Points
Team Update
From the middle of the Pro Tour pack a short while ago to fighting for our top flight lives. The last five races have exposed our lack of depth and have plummeted Mresuperstar back into a relegation battle -- yet again.
The only notable recent result goes to youngster Xuban Errazkin winning the Balkans International U25 competition despite finishing outside the Top 10 overall of the general classification. It's not much, but it's something.
Basically, to get to the root of the problem, the lack of scoring over the last five races can be summed up by having no team captains on the start line. Our top four PT point getters this season (Simon Yates, Ryan Eastman, Ben Swift and Mattia Cattaneo) all watched the collapse from the side of the road.
That said, the riders that did race didn't show much fight either. Only three breakaway appearances on 18 possible opportunities, and possibly the worst stage result in program history with no rider finishing inside the Top 100 on Stage 3 of the Tour of Northern Europe.
So, now we sit in 17th place in the Pro Tour standings -- one spot clear of relegation -- with Aegon - Peroni just 127 points back and Amaysim Cervélo also lurking 238 points back. Both teams will more race days still be used.
We only have three hilly races left: Japan Cup, Grands Prix Cyclistes and Giro di Lombardia. So, our fate will effectively be decided by all the training we have pumped into Simon Yates over the years.
Either Yates thrives or Mresuperstar drops to the PCT for a third time.
- All results so far can be viewed on the updated Race Results page.
Mostly doing this update to talk about the MG team success, but Mresuperstar did manage to get on his bike yesterday for a quick loop around the neighborhood ride. Not much, but every point counts in Zwift Training Challenge.
Spoiler
Outside Ride #27
8.7 Miles | 328 Feet | 15.26 Points
Team Update
All hail Simon Yates. A memorable, miraculous, majestic, month of October from the punchy sprinter has saved the Zwift Pro Cycling team from dropping to the PCT division next season.
Yates dazzled with wins at the Japan Cup and Giro di Lombardia. His 10th and 11th victories under Mre's watch ties him for second-most all-time with Tejay Van Garderen and Omar Fraile. He stands alone as Mre's first monument winner.
Yates finished the season as the 14th best rider in the PT Individual standings, which helped lead his team to 16th in the PT Team standings.
The team, however, failed to complete any team goals this season. 0/5.
- All results for the season can be viewed on the updated Race Results page.
We didn't want this update to completely be about Simon Yates (even if he does deserve it), so we would also like to share how our youngsters have progressed after gaining another year of experience as professionals.
Sorted by alphabetical order (and ages are next season):
Talent Progression
Simon Carr
24 Years Old | 3 > 4 | Potential 4 | Training — Hills
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
66
68
72
56
70
69
69
55
58
69
62
58
57
67
69
75
57
72
70
70
55
59
71
64
59
58
Two years into his pro career and Simon Carr has yet ride for the manager paying his wages. This past season, Carr rode for his hometown team of Eurosport x GCN, which will sadly be closing up shop and folding.
Matteo Jorgenson
23 Years Old | 1 > 3 | Potential 6 | Training — Stage Race (x2)
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
70
70
70
69
72
71
63
68
65
68
64
68
68
71
74
72
72
75
74
67
68
65
69
64
68
71
Matteo Jorgenson, aka America's next great stage racer, most notably helped Volcanica - Fox leader Andrei Amador win the Tour of California this past season, while finishing 40th overall in the process.
Juan Pedro Lopez
25 Years Old | 3 > 4 | Potential 6 | Training — Climberv1
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
65
73
70
58
69
69
71
55
60
74
69
62
62
66
76
73
59
70
71
73
55
60
76
72
63
63
Juan Pedro Lopez had a quiet season results wise on loan at Cedevita last season, but gained valuable experience from team leaders Eduard Alexander Beltran, Jose Alarcon and Tadej Pogacar.
Jhonatan Narvaez
25 Years Old | 4 > Max | Potential 4 | Training — Fighter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
68
71
76
68
70
70
73
61
72
73
71
66
66
70
72
77
69
71
71
74
62
73
74
73
67
67
Jhonatan Narvaez often gets overshadowed by Simon Yates. But, make no mistake, he is strong enough now to start getting his own results.
Federico Olei
26 Years Old | 4 > Max | Potential 6 | Training — Sprinter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
67
66
72
62
71
70
66
50
73
73
62
62
69
69
66
73
62
73
71
72
51
75
75
62
62
69
Federico Olei finally reaches his full potential and gets the recovery boost to hopefully be the effective leadout man we are looking for.
Clement Russo
27 Years Old | 4 > Max | Potential 4 | Training — Sprinter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
71
65
73
65
72
73
68
67
74
76
66
64
65
73
65
73
65
73
73
76
68
76
78
66
64
65
Clement Russo was brought in during the Omar Fraile sale and now completes his development to add some more sprinting depth.
Jake Stewart
23 Years Old | 1 > 2 | Potential 6 | Training — Fighter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
69
62
68
67
66
70
62
68
69
69
64
66
69
71
62
69
68
67
71
63
69
70
70
66
67
70
Jake Stewart sadly didn't get the 1>3 upgrade like everybody else (ran out of money) but still improved in his loan season at Polestar Cycling.
Jaume Sureda
26 Years Old | 3 > 4 | Potential 4 | Training — Hills
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
70
62
68
60
68
68
66
64
74
75
70
64
60
71
63
71
61
70
69
71
64
75
77
72
65
61
Jaume Sureda spent last season learning from Aramco DP's Fabio Jakobsen and spent most of his training sessions riding sharp hills like every good sprinter at Zwift should.
Harold Tejada
25 Years Old | 3 > 4 | Potential 6 | Training — Stage Race
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
66
72
70
67
68
72
67
57
59
68
65
63
67
67
75
72
69
70
74
70
57
59
69
66
64
69
Harold Tejada got to spent last season as domestique here at Zwift, riding in support of Mattia Cattaneo and Ryan Eastman. He completed his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a Espana.
Aviv Yechezkel
28 Years Old | 4 > Max | Potential 3 | Training — Fighter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
72
55
63
64
70
71
69
75
63
72
69
69
64
74
55
64
65
71
72
70
76
64
73
70
69
65
Aviv Yechezkel finally maxes out at 28 years old, but should still have a few good years ahead of him as a cobble support rider.
Louis Visser
24 Years Old | 1 > 3 | Potential 2 | Training — Sprinter & Fighter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
69
63
69
68
70
71
67
65
70
70
74
68
67
71
63
70
68
72
72
68
65
72
72
75
68
67
Louis Visser, once a stagiare fighting to earn a professional contract, is finally showing signs of improvement after riding this past season with BWT Hyundai N Cycling.
Nickolas Zukowsky
24 Years Old | 1 > 3 | Potential 5 | Training — Time Trial & Fighter
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FT
DH
PL
65
62
68
67
68
67
67
60
69
69
74
65
68
68
63
69
70
70
69
69
61
70
71
77
66
71
Nickolas Zukowksy gained two levels of experience last year with Assa Abloy despite their manager going MIA for the duration of the season.
Point Standings
RDs
Points
Simon Yates
42
5,752
Ryan Eastman
52
3,128
Ben Swift
58
2,992
Mattia Cattaneo
46
2,272
Xuban Errazkin
63
1,376
Stepan Kurianov
88
1,244
Mresuperstar
27
854.76
Jack Burke
65
748
Clement Russo
81
744
Nicolay Cherkasov
72
632
Jhonatan Narvaez
79
568
Mark Cavendish
87
476
Daniel Eaton
83
444
Eric Young
75
364
Carter Jones
64
336
Luca Wackermann
74
336
Federico Olei
67
280
Harold Tejada
87
252
Benat Intxausti
71
228
Brendan Rhim
74
216
Aviv Yechezkel
55
196
Carlos Verona
71
196
Lewis Stroll
53
192
- Every one mile recorded on Zwift equals 1 point.
- Every 50 feet of elevation gained on Zwift equals 1 point.
- Man-Game cyclists will have their Pro Tour points given a x4 multiplier.
- Competition starts: Once the Man-Game transfer window closes.
- Competition ends: 2021 Man-Game WC Elite RR race is posted.
Narvaez is such a cool rider, can do a job for the team no matter what the ask is from him! At 69 TT he also won't be a massive detrement to a potential TTT piece in GT. Also interesting route chosen for Zukowsky, glad that he found a home after my FA blunder for him this year!
Now I remember why Jorgenson was really high up on my "talent shortlist", but after having signed Schmid and Nairo, I just couldn't go any higher. If REC is actually a factor in the game (still not so sure about that), he'll have a hard time in GTs, but he'll definitely rock the smaller tours!
In general, you've got a huge bunch of talents - which makes PT survival an even bigger achievement, congrats!
Juan Pedro Lopez had a quiet season results wise on loan at Cedevita last season, but gained valuable experience from team leaders Eduard Alexander Beltran, Jose Alarcon and Tadej Pogacar.
Thank you for trusting me with Lopez
It's true he didn't get many results or days in the breakaway, but he did get a fair few RDs and I'm sure he was a helpful domestique. He should be a fun rider for you next season
The end of Zwift Training Challenge has arrived with the World RR Championships being held last week. Let's see how many last-minute points Mre was able to pick up on his trusted gravel bike before suffering a season-ending puncture.
Spoiler
Outside Rides #28-32
65.5 Miles | 2,838 Feet | 122.26 Points
Team Update
Zwift Pro Cycling ended the season with four national champions. But before we praise their accomplishments, we would like to confirm that Zwift Pro Cycling will be returning to the Pro Tour next season with another stylish new kit!
Spoiler
Much appreciation to jersey designer hillis91 for this masterpiece.
Earning the rights to wear a special NC jersey next season were:
We shall wait to present those jerseys until we have finalized our 2022 roster.
As for the World Championships held stateside here in New York, our best team results included Daniel Eaton and Ryan Eastman winning bronze medals with Team USA in the Team TTT, Lewis Stoll taking fourth in the U23 ITT and lastly Mattia Cattaneo slotting in fifth in the elite ITT.
I have stalled long enough, let's present the Zwift Training Challenge standings!
Final Point Standings
RDs
Points
Simon Yates
42
5,752
Ryan Eastman
52
3,128
Ben Swift
58
2,992
Mattia Cattaneo
46
2,272
Xuban Errazkin
63
1,376
Stepan Kurianov
88
1,244
Mresuperstar
32
977.02
Jack Burke
65
748
Clement Russo
81
744
Nicolay Cherkasov
72
632
Jhonatan Narvaez
79
568
Mark Cavendish
87
476
Daniel Eaton
83
444
Eric Young
75
364
Carter Jones
64
336
Luca Wackermann
74
336
Federico Olei
67
280
Harold Tejada
87
252
Benat Intxausti
71
228
Brendan Rhim
74
216
Aviv Yechezkel
55
196
Carlos Verona
71
196
Lewis Stroll
53
192
- Every one mile recorded on Zwift equals 1 point.
- Every 50 feet of elevation gained on Zwift equals 1 point.
- Man-Game cyclists will have their Pro Tour points given a x4 multiplier.
- Competition starts: Once the Man-Game transfer window closes.
- Competition ends: 2021 Man-Game WC Elite RR race is posted.
Recap: Goal for next season is breaking into the Top 5. A little gutted not to get 1,000+ points this time, but that's life getting in the way.
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
Jhonatan Narvaez 
Louis Visser
