Team Movistar e-racing outfit to host talent ID camp on Zwift
Team Movistar is looking to add to its esports racing squad and plans a series of races in early February to identify potential candidates.
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Movistar will be hosting a talent identification camp on Zwift, scouting for riders to join its esports cycling squad.
The series of events beginning February 3 seeks to find the top five men and five women in Zwift to join the Movistar E-Team to race in the Premier Division of the Zwift Racing League.
“Movistar Team is excited to use [the Zwift] platform to offer new possibilities to its fans, supporters, and partners. The Movistar E-Team will enlarge our audience and ‘contact points’ with our fans. We cannot wait to begin this adventure. Being the first WorldTour team to have its own E-Team is an amazing opportunity,” said Juan Pablo Molinero, Movistar Team’s chief marketing officer.
Those named to the Movistar E-Team will be provided with:
- one-year, renewable contract
- a Canyon road bike (in real life and in Zwift)
- Movistar Team kit, equipment, and official products
- access to Movistar team coaches, trainers, physios, nutritionists
- invites to Movistar Team training camps and cycling tour trips
How it works
Two Zwift community racing events will be held on February 3, one at 7 p.m. GMT and one at 7 p.m. EST. All riders will be assigned the Canyon Aeroad and Zipp 454 wheels to ensure equipment parity in the events. Racers will take on two laps of the Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop route in Zwift. The top three male and female performers in each event will earn invites to the Movistar Team Challenge to be held Wednesday, February 10.
Movistar has already sent invites to the top 300 ranked men and women in the Zwift, and the riders who progress from the February 3 event will join the other ranked riders.
Following the event on the 10th, qualified riders will then have the opportunity to race another, invite-only elimination race. This race will narrow the field to 50 men and 50 women who then will progress to the next round, which consists of two more elimination races, further whittling the field to the top 20 men and top 20 women.
In the final event, racers will not only be judged on their performances in Zwift, but also for their ability to work in a team dynamic, and thrive in front of a camera as a media personality. While contestants performances are important, Movistar delegates will also be evaluating how candidates might mesh with the Movistar team and its values. As such, Movistar Team may use two out of 10 open positions on the esports team at the team’s discretion.
The minimum requirements for competing in the Movistar Challenge are:
- Heart rate monitor
- Direct drive trainer and external power meter
- Height and weight verification
- ZwiftPower account (race performance will be compared against historical Zwift data)
- Strava account (race performance will be compared against historical data)
Any rider to be in contention will be subject to additional verification procedures as required by ZADA. As the Spanish-based squad is not currently looking to add juniors to its esports team, all entrants must be at least 18 years of age as of March 1, 2021.
Full details of the event are available on the Zwift event page.