As a Content Specialist at Zwift, Leah Thorvilson has an integral role within the company and is responsible for programming many of the events on the platform. If you have undertaken a group ride or structured training session, chances are Leah has been responsible for setting it up. Leah’s association with Zwift dates back nearly 10 years because in 2016 she became the first ever winner of the Zwift Academy, an annual competition held on Zwift that gives riders from the platform an opportunity to compete for a professional cycling contract.
In 2023, aged 44, she became the USA Cycling Masters National Champion in both the time trial and road race for her age category. Leah returned this year to defend her titles.
US Masters Championship
Leah was successful in defending her Time Trial title and noted that “last year I was elated but this year as defending champion, it felt a bit different. I was still happy, but there was more of a sense of relief as I did what was expected than a feeling of overwhelming joy. I am content, but there is also relief from the pressure I put on myself to defend my title.”
In the Road Race, Leah finished a close second, being passed at the top of the short, final climb. As the climb crested and with 500 meters remaining, she had nothing left to close the gap after tackling the arduous event in humid conditions, which were not to her strengths.
With Leah’s remarkable accomplishment of 3 victories and a second-place finish in the last two years at the USA Cycling Masters National Championships, I wanted to connect with her to discuss how she has managed to stay at such a consistent high level of performance.
Self-coached
Leah noted that she is “self-coached,” which makes her success even more outstanding.
Underpinning Leah’s success is simple hard work and dedication where she explained that she “Put in a lot of work to mimic the repeat of last year’s success, but this year was harder to navigate and because of my age I need to lean into the higher intensity to maintain my peak. Last season there were natural ebbs and flows in my training, due to where racing fell on the calendar. There would be a period of building in volume and intensity, then I would taper for a race, then recover and build back again. This year one of the races on the calendar was cancelled, and the Pro Nationals were logistically too difficult to get to, so I had a block of time for 2 to 3 months with no race to cause that ebb and flow in my training. I just sort of stayed “on” the whole time, and I probably “over cooked it”. I didn’t feel as good as I did last year.”
Training
Fundamental to Leah’s training is the use of Zwift, the massively popular multiplayer online cycling and running platform that enables users to interact, train, and compete in a virtual world.
Leah explained that “I use Zwift in the mornings, usually 5 days a week. I find Zwift is the most effective and least stressful way to do intervals because you are not impacted by traffic or the need to find suitable terrain to execute your intervals. Probably 98% of my interval training is done on Zwift.”
To ensure she is comfortable with her time trialling, Leah would undertake regular sessions using her TT (Time Trial) bike, not riding with power but focusing on technique. Leah commented that it is important to “train with the kit you will use on race day.”
Baked in and around her Zwift and TT training, she enjoys group rides which are done outside, usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. These group rides tend to be challenging in effort, and also help to prepare her for riding with the peloton- something not replicable using Zwift.
If hard sessions are undertaken on a Tuesday and Thursday, then Leah undertakes easier sessions the following day. As she highlights “you can’t hammer everyday.”
Sunday would typically be an easy ride.
Training load
To reach peak fitness Leah would train for roughly 20 hours a week, with most morning Zwift sessions totalling 2 hours. Of those 2 hours, potentially 1 hour 30 minutes will be compromised of intervals and if a double session was undertaken, the evening ride would consist of 2 hours. When training on Zwift, Leah discussed the fact that she would choose intervals that would mimic segments in real life, for example she would tackle a 4-minute VO₂[1] interval that replicates the duration of effort required to complete a local climb.
A typical weekend ride would last between 3 to 4 hours. Leah identified that she requires a high training load to reach her potential, and key to her success has been learning what training is effective for her, which she tailors accordingly.
This is where having a coach can help identify what works and provide the necessary support and appropriate sessions.
Leah is highly motivated and is passionate about training. She does so much of it. Leah wants to see if she can improve on her results and recognises that it is “not easy.” Despite her recent victory, she is already planning her training regime for the last race of the season in November. After this, she will take a few weeks to rest before beginning training again in December. December will see her build her base before introducing lower intensity intervals in January and from there she will begin to tailor her training to fit around her 2025 races. I asked if she would go back to defend her Time Trial title and she explained that it all depends on “logistics” – a factor often overlooked on the European cycling scene where events are plentiful and accessible. In direct contrast one event in the USA may take 24 hours to drive to and can be very expensive to fly to.
Supportive family
To achieve success Leah is keen to shine the spotlight on her partner and Zwift who are fully supportive of her endeavours. She has learned to fit her training around her commitments such as work, which is why splitting her sessions to a couple of double days each week helps to obtain the volume of training required to reach peak performance. Leah has found a balance that works for her and is keen to stress is that you have to find what works for you. With extensive training comes many sacrifices, which means Leah has a full schedule and she joked that “I don’t have time for pets.”
Summing up
Leah’s success is remarkable and is a testament to hard work and the self-discipline she has on a daily basis. Undoubtedly Leah is a talented athlete but her self-awareness and her approach allows her to maximise her talent. I fully expect her to produce a strong set of results for the remaining part of the cycling season and if we can learn anything from Leah, it is that success comes when we fully understand ourselves as athletes and what works best to reach our own personal peak performance.
[1] VO₂ max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen your body can absorb and use during exercise. It measures your aerobic fitness levels.
