From football to the Zwift Academy: meet the Scottish rider determined to turn pro alongside Mathieu van der Poel

The last few months have been a rollercoaster for Zwift Academy finalist Elliot Bain. In the blink of an eye, the 21-year-old economics student has gone from lecture halls in Glasgow and what he describes as his "amateurish" pain cave set up in his Mum's house, to finding himself rubbing shoulders with WorldTour stars like Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen in Spain after initially making his first steps into domestic UK racing just last year.

"It’s been a fascinating experience," Bain told Cycling Weekly in Dénia on the Spanish Costa Blanca as he reflected on his time with the Zwift Academy. "You've got to try to take the most from it that you can and be a bit like a sponge, soaking it all up."

According to Bain, it’s difficult to highlight just one aspect of spending time with riders like Van der Poel that he considers the most important, or to choose a single piece of advice that he’s received from the Dutchman which he thinks will stand him in good stead.

"It hasn't really been a case of them exclusively giving you advice," he said. "But it's important to listen when riders like him [Van der Poel] speak at dinner and keep an eye on what they're doing so you pick little things up where you can."

He explained to CW that his interest in cycling is a relatively new thing. The Glaswegian was first and foremost a footballer growing up, but he took up riding for fitness during the Covid pandemic when his first sport wasn't able to take place, and then an injury ended that dream too.

"It meant I couldn't really play or train the same," Bain said of the injury. "It was from there that I really started to ride my bike a lot more and realised how much I enjoyed that. I've played all over the pitch over the years, but typically I'd regularly play in midfield. The characteristics of playing there do translate to cycling fitness wise."

"I was always naturally quite fit," he continued, "I actually won the regional school cross-country running champs at school and stuff like that, but I guess you never really know how it's going to go when you switch to a different sport, it's always difficult at the start. You never know how it will translate. But if you're good at sport in general and naturally athletic then I think that usually helps you get going at the beginning."

Fortunately for Bain, he more than got going, quickly earning a place on a Scottish amateur road team. He then spent time in recent months cutting his teeth in the school of hard knocks that is the British racing scene, putting in a series of promising performances in several National A and B races around the country before his journey eventually brought him to the academy.

Bain had just a handful of opportunities to impress and secure a contract with the Alpecin-Deceuninck development team, a stepping stone to one of the biggest men’s WorldTour squads in the sport.

How did he cope with that pressure with a potential life changing opportunity at stake? Simply by staying grounded, smiling and enjoying it every step of the way, says the 21-year-old.

"I haven't shown the level here yet that I think I really have, but I still think that I can get back to that and hopefully be good enough to reach it [being a professional]. I'm ultimately not too stressed about it. The degree that I'm doing is hopefully going to give me good job opportunities otherwise. So for me I'm just trying to enjoy it all and keep training and keep being positive. If I can keep enjoying doing it, we'll then see where it takes me."

The Zwift Academy finals are currently being aired on GCN, with the winner set to be announced this weekend. The four men competing for a spot on Alpecin-Deceuninck's development team are Noah Ramsey, Mattia Gaffuri, Friedrich Klein and Bain. They spent a week in December at Alpecin's training camp, where the winner was decided.