Zwift and Canyon launch junior team that aims to accelerate North American riders to men's and women's Tour de France success

Zwift is set to launch a new junior men’s and women’s cycling team in 2027, targeting the development of North American riders with the ambitious goal of producing a Tour de France winner within the next decade. The team, which will be officially unveiled in late 2026, will receive backing from Zwift, bike manufacturer Canyon, and clothing brand Pedal Mafia. It will also benefit from the expertise and support of established teams such as Canyon-SRAM, Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Fenix-Premier Tech. The squad will include riders from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, competing across both European and North American races, with former La Vie Claire rider Roy Knickman appointed as sports director. The initiative stems from a recognition of North America’s diminished presence in professional road racing’s highest echelons, particularly the Tour de France, where no rider from the region has triumphed since the early 2000s. Zwift co-founder Eric Min highlighted the continent’s importance as a cycling market and expressed a commitment to reversing this decline by investing in a sustainable development pathway. The new team aims to fill a gap in the current racing calendar, which offers limited opportunities for young North American riders to progress towards European road racing’s elite level. This project arrives amid a broader resurgence of interest in cycling, bolstered by events such as the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and the growing profile of women’s cycling. Zwift’s involvement goes beyond mere sponsorship, with Min emphasising a long-term vision supported by an endowment to ensure the team’s stability and growth. This approach aims to eliminate the financial uncertainty that has historically hindered junior development programmes, establishing a permanent platform dedicated to nurturing talent both on and off the bike. The organisation’s commitment reflects a belief that junior development requires a generational investment rather than a short-term experiment, with the ultimate ambition of seeing a North American rider claim the Yellow Jersey in Paris. While North American cycling currently boasts several successful riders on the world stage, including women’s Olympic and world champions Kristen Faulkner and Magdeleine Vallieres, and men like Isaac del Toro and Sepp Kuss, there remains a notable absence of Tour de France stage wins among the region’s athletes, especially in the women’s race. The new junior team seeks to provide a clearer and more structured pathway for emerging talents such as AJ August and Artem Schmidt, who have recently achieved their first professional victories. With partnerships already in place between North American development squads and WorldTour teams, this fresh project aims to consolidate and expand opportunities for the continent’s next generation of cycling stars.