Zwift<\/a> says the development team will focus on under-19 riders, and has \u201clong-term financial support” from both the platform itself and “private donors\u201d.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s mission is simple: \u201cto put a North American rider back on the top step of the Tour de France<\/a> podium within a decade\u201d.<\/p>\n A twenty-year wait and a huge opportunity Explaining the rationale behind the new development squad, Min notes, \u201cNorth 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.\u201d<\/p>\n It has, Min points out, been more than twenty years since \u201ca North American rider stood on the top step in Paris\u201d.<\/p>\n We presume Min is referring to Lance Armstrong<\/a> \u2013 who won his last Tour just over 20 years ago in 2005 \u2013 though the Texan isn\u2019t afforded a namecheck (likely because he\u2019s officially no longer a Tour winner<\/a>).<\/p>\n Instead, Min references a desire to return to \u201cthe eras of Greg LeMond, Andrew Hampsten, and Steve Bauer, when their performances in the Tour de France lifted cycling into mainstream culture.\u201d<\/p>\n Min says cycling \u201c\u200b\u200bdeserves a bigger future on this continent\u201d, and his answer is to invest in the young North American talent, with the hope that they\u2019ll go on to perform on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n This is echoed by Canyon\u2019s founder, Roman Arnold, who says, \u201cFor us, there is no better investment in cycling than the next generation”, and that his answer to Min about being involved was \u201can easy \u2018yes\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n An enormous commercial opportunity There\u2019s no doubt that being involved with the next North American rider to win the Tour represents an enormous commercial opportunity as well.<\/p>\n According to a 2005 article by NBC News<\/a>, sales of Trek bikes \u201cincreased from less than $50 million in 1990 to $500 million\u201d by the end of Armstrong\u2019s reign that year, having supplied bikes to the Texan\u2019s team for all seven of his Tour de France \u2018wins\u2019.<\/p>\n At the time, a spokesperson for Trek told NBC, \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not difficult to imagine that getting in on the ground floor with North America\u2019s next Tour de France winner \u2013 hopefully one that stands the test of time \u2013 could therefore prove a similarly fruitful business decision for those involved.<\/p>\n \u201cA generational commitment\u201d One thing Min is keen to point out is that this isn\u2019t the typical short-term, two to five year deal sponsors typically offer cycling teams and development programmes. <\/p>\n \u201cJunior development cannot be a two-year experiment. It has to be a generational commitment,\u201d says Min.<\/p>\n Min adds that he sees the new teams as a \u201cpermanent platform for North American riders\u201d and that he wants the development squad to \u201cbe here long after our first champion carries the Yellow Jersey into Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n As well as founding partners Canyon and Pedal Mafia, the team will also have \u201csporting and pathway support\u201d from Canyon-sponsored professional teams, Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech, Fenix\u2013Premier Tech, and Canyon\/\/SRAM.<\/p>\n This echoes previous development arrangements Zwift has had with Canyon-sponsored professional teams, such as the Zwift Academy<\/a>. The Zwift Academy is a global talent identification process which has seen riders such as Jay Vine and Neve Bradbury<\/a> convert success on the virtual indoor cycling app<\/a> into enduring careers in pro cycling.<\/p>\n The team will act as a \u201cbridge between this program and the WorldTour\u201d, says Philip Roodhooft, General Manager of Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech and Fenix-Premier-Tech.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zwift has announced a new junior development team for North American riders, with an ambitious goal of unearthing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-731963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Katarzyna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/681193-TdFFaZ-2-421e1e-original-1781169670-scaled.jpg\")
The team will have support from Canyon-sponsored pro teams, including Canyon\/\/SRAM. Zwift<\/p>\n
\n![\"Mathieu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260302_SvB_EOS-R_IMG_9899-scaled.jpg\")
Could the next North American rider to win the Tour do it on a Canyon bike? Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n
\n![\"Mathieu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/681194-20253009_Zwift_0049-ef2919-original-1781169736.jpg\")
Zwift already supports riders such as Mathieu van der Poel (far left), who rides for the Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech team. Zwift<\/p>\n