Q&A Sub 2 with Leah Thorvilson

ZZRC Special Guest Ride with Leah Thorvilson

Route Waisted 8

Riders 172

I must say from the start …. Huge thanks to Leah for giving up an hour of her time to join us and answer so many questions in great detail . She not only provided some amazing content but joined in with the ZZRC banter . I don’t think she will ever be the same again

We settled in very well and Danny started the questions off with

“So I have a back ground as a personal trainer. I’m interested in your relationship with the coaching team . Did they ever present you with a session where you thought “what the hell, seriously ?”

Reply “ haha not really . I love a challenge , but I did used to get all of “on a 20 min climb” instruction living in a place where 5 mins climb was all I had .”

Leah explained that when she started zwifting , she was mainly just riding . No workouts , no races , it was just about trying to stay fit . So when Zwift academy came along it sounded like fun to mix it up and get stuck in to it .

She then noticed she was performing pretty well and she was allured by the potential for prizes

Got to admire the honesty . I think most people are motivated and if the reward is there .

Leah explained at the time semi finalists were given a kickr and a jersey and she was pretty motivated by that prize . Then once she was a semi finalist she started to think …. I wonder if I could win a trip to Spain ? I never in a million years thought I had a shot at the contract .

Leah was then asked about her running . Was it easy to combine the two , the answer was “yes and no …. If I’m not racing my bike it’s fine . Trying to do short punch efforts i notice running has a negative impact “

Her greatest achievement was a tough one to answer , there were many for different reasons. But she said “just living the experience was hands down the coolest thing she had ever done “.

But being 38 entering the world tour never having raced with more than 15 riders was terrifying . Her biggest regret was not managing to fine tune my pack skills enough to hack it and have more time .

Leah continued to give more insight by saying her least favourite is Crits , she hates them . Her favourite is anything with sustained climb or TT .

There was quite a few who agreed with Leah about the Crits . But we established that Leah was more about the safety at all costs so she would tail gun cross which she admitted was never a recipe for success .

Party pacing a fondo is her true favourite discipline , stopping at the aid stations and taking all the beer hand ups

We moved the questions onto her marathons .

Her first marathon was in 2004 , between then and 2014 she ran over 49 marathons and ultras

That was truly amazing effort , so many achievements made in 10 years .

Leah was forced to stop due to injuries and 4 surgeries in 3 years . Which was heartbreaking at the time but was also what brought her to zwift !

In her own words “ massive silver lining “

Then my favourite Italian changed the topic by mentioning food . There was controversy as Leah admitted to pineapple on pizza . Davide was not happy . I thought there was going to be a mass brawl between the pineapple  toppers and the pineapple haters

Leah made no apology for her behaviour. She stood firmly by her answer  she was definitely Team Pineapple .

Her favourite climb is Sant Hilari in Girona .

Meanwhile the ZZRC crew were working very hard keeping riders close to me as I held a steady pace throughout .

When asked about why she wanted to work for zwift , she did not hesitate with the answer .

“The product , the people , the constant reminder that Zwift changed my life, and of course the amazing community here “

Despite working for zwift, and being a very busy lady , Leah admitted that she is addicted to zwift and training .

What was Leah’s go to music . Great question , but the answer was so varied . “ you would laugh at my playlists. Truly a mix of everything from hip hop to country to worship music to electronic . I never know what I’m going to want to hear when the pain hits “

Her tips for riding 120k

Fuel properly ,more than you think you need to . Also hydration and depending on the weather plan for layers to shed if needed . Look for good steady wheels and try not to do too much work early on “

We covered 19.74 miles /31.8km

Climbed 499ft/152 m

Leaders average watts were 112 which equates to 1.85wkg