Prøve GULL - Gratis
From Marathon To Peloton
CYCLING WEEKLY
|May 24, 2018
Former runner Leah Thorvilson was thrown in at the deep end of bike racing after winning the Zwift Academy series. Swapping sneakers for wheels wouldn’t be straightforward…

Leah Thorvilson was a gritty, ambitious long-distance runner. The American had won her hometown marathon in Little Rock, Arkansas, four years in a row, achieving a personal best of 2:37:26 in 2012. However, a string of injuries followed, leading to a bone graft operation and 12 weeks on crutches. No longer able to run, she began using a turbo trainer and for 2016 joined the Zwift Academy series of virtual races — the winner of which is offered a pro contract with Canyon-SRAM.
“Being confined to indoor training for two months, I saw the Zwift programme as a way to make the training tolerable, fun, and motivating,” Thorvilson recalls. “My aerobic fitness transferred to cycling very easily, but I had never thought what it might be like to be a professional cyclist.”
Almost by accident, she won the series and, just like that, secured a spot on Canyon-SRAM.
“It was like a dream come true. Suddenly I had the chance to be a professional athlete.” As a former runner, the learning curve was inevitably steep. “Until you’re in it, you can’t imagine everything that’s involved. I had the engine, but that alone wouldn’t make me a good cyclist.”
Denne historien er fra May 24, 2018-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA CYCLING WEEKLY

Cycling Weekly
ALL BLAZED OUT
Cycling ignites passion but too much pressure and expectation can burn it away. Psychologist and racer Steve Mayers tackles the delicate issue of burnout
8 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
WE CAN BE HEROES!
\"From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads\" is a quirky David Bowie lyric - but to James Briggs it was the inspiration for a life-changing bike ride
6 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
Meet the UK's newest hill-climb
The Zig-Zag Hill-Climb is the UK's freshest grassroots race, and is now open for entries
3 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
BATES VOLANTE TRACK BIKE
A rapid late '30s beauty, with unique, shapely tubing and flowing forks
1 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
WATT WORKS FOR ME ANNA HENDERSON
As she prepares for the Rwanda Worlds, the TT specialist talks veganism, being coached by her boyfriend, and loving Pilates
2 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
Bäckstedt blows away competition
Welsh rider wins under-23 women's time trial in dominant fashion to take ninth world title
3 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
GOODBYE BUT NOT FAREWELL
Fresh from his Tour of Britain retirement party, Geraint Thomas sits down with Chris Marshall-Bell to look back on his extraordinary two-decade-long career
7 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
CERVELO S5
The latest S5 delivers aero gains, reduced weight and enhanced comfort
4 mins
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
Tour de Romandie
Passing vines, Condor's Carlo Clerici leads Cilo's Hugo Koblet at the 1953 Tour de Romandie, potentially on stage four to Martigny.
1 min
September 25, 2025

Cycling Weekly
Should I be wearing an aero jersey?
Drag-cutting designs boost your speed but there's more to it than 'smooth and skin-tight'
2 mins
September 25, 2025
Translate
Change font size