How Zwift elevated my performance

Promotional feature in association with Zwift

When Uno-X Mobility’s Magnus Kulset crashed out of the Pays de la Loire Tour race in April, badly injuring his wrist, he was naturally frustrated because the spring is when professional cyclists are coming into their best form; any time off the bike has potential to disrupt the rest of their season. “I was unable to hold the bars and I couldn’t ride outside for three weeks: it simply wasn’t possible,” the Norwegian says.

Yet Kulset had a plan to ensure that he didn’t lose any condition. “I’ve been using Zwift a lot since Covid, and when I injured my wrist I used it every day to get my training done,” he says. “I was doing long rides of five hours in zones one and two, the same as I would have done outside, and also interval efforts. If it wasn’t for Zwift, none of this would have been possible and it would have taken me a lot longer to get back to form.”

Twenty-four-year-old Kulset, who is one of four siblings who either ride or work for the Uno-X team, credits Zwift with not only helping him to recover from injuries and illnesses but for getting him in competitive shape during the Scandinavian winters that are typically dark, cold and wet. “For people like myself who come from colder places, Zwift is a really important part of our winter training,” he says. “If I am home in Oslo, I use it basically every day because I can’t go outside to train. If I look at my training compared to six years ago, I wasn’t able to do five hours training inside, but now I can and it makes a huge difference when you’re building a base. If I need to do four hours of intervals, Zwift makes it much more doable and enjoyable.”  

Kulset is fortunate that each winter he decamps to the sunnier climes of southern Europe for several training camps with his team, typically beginning racing in late January or February. But thanks to Zwift, he’s able to satisfy his competitive tendencies all year. “During December especially I do one or two Zwift races a week – and more if I’m allowed by my coach,” he says. “It has a positive impact on my condition as I’m able to go harder than I can when just interval training.”

Using Zwift to aid recuperation, as well as elevating one’s performance, isn’t a story that is unique to Kulset nor professionals. Lena Kolumna is a climber and runner from southwestern Germany, but she had to put an abrupt stop to all of her sport when she suffered cartilage damage in her knee, requiring major surgery. “I was told to go cycling as it would be good for my knee and I needed mobility, but because I live in a hilly area it wasn’t really possible to go outside,” Kolumna says. “So I bought a smart trainer and found Zwift.”

Whereas Kulset is an experienced pro, Kolumna is, in her own words, “a complete amateur”. What ties them together is that Zwift accelerated their return from injury. “In the beginning I was just riding flat routes, barely pushing 90 watts, but as my knee got stronger and the weeks and months went by, I was cycling more and more, doing hillier and mountainous routes, and even found my competitive spirit and did a few races,” Kolumna says. It wasn’t long before Zwift races formed a regular part of her rehabilitation. “I moved up to the Zwift Racing category D and I was even disqualified from one race as I was too fast! I was told to race with slightly faster guys, but that meant being last again!”

Kolumna attempted to ride outside after a few months, but when the pain proved too much, she returned to the comforts of Zwift. “I still couldn’t get out of the saddle when climbing, so it meant another year of riding indoors until I could,” she says. 

Now fully recovered, three years on from the injury, Kolumna is back outside doing her favourite activities: running, hiking and climbing. She still uses Zwift in the winter to maintain her fitness levels, and is forever thankful for how “it helped me get back to doing my other sports”. She adds: “Without Zwift, my recovery would have been very different and definitely much slower. It was all a lot of fun and helped me in my recovery. It was the very best thing that could have happened for my knee.”