How we started… CrushPod was founded in January 2021 by a group of seven women who met and became friends through the Zwift NGNM Community Ride ‘Women Crush Wednesday’. The founding seven came from hugely varied cycling backgrounds, from former top-flight champions to lockdown newbies. Their shared love of racing strong and having fun led them to crush their first Team Time Trial together – and CrushPod was born.
CrushPod is now a squad of over thirty women from eleven different countries who range in age from their twenties to their sixties, brought together by a collective love of cycling, a supportive and encouraging ethos and cake!
Our vision A united community of women from across the globe supporting one another to ride their bikes to compete, have fun and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
Our mission To inspire and encourage like-minded women to ride and race, both indoors and out, by providing a safe, supportive and fun community.
Our values
- We have PASSION for cycling (and cake). This drives us to ride and support one another to improve.
- We have INTEGRITY. We race fair and always respect the race rules and our fellow riders.
- PERFORMANCE is a collective effort. We support one another to achieve our cycling goals and reach our potential. We use our knowledge and experience to lift one another.
- We actively encourage PARTICIPATION. We work to provide events and a community that make cycling an inclusive sport for women of all backgrounds.
- We work in PARTNERSHIP. We actively support events and communities that are aligned with our vision through participation and promotion.
What we do now
Our team began as a single team racing the Zwift WTRL Team Time Trial. We now field two or three teams each week and are proud to have topped the podium in both the Vienna Latte and Vienna Frappe Leagues. In September 2021, we made our first foray into the WTRL Zwift Racing League series with three teams: CrushPod Wyrd (Cat B), CrushPod Skuld (Cat B) and CrushPod Verdandi (Cat C).
Our members also frequently race individually in other women’s series on Zwift. These include The Herd’s SHEries and Warrior Games’ Iceni Women’s Series.
As well as our racers, our team also includes Directeurs Sportifs who coordinate, organize, help prepare our strategy, offer coaching advice, and help us give our best in races.
Outside racing, we regularly enjoy the social atmosphere of the NGNM Women Crush Wednesday rides and have regular race recons together too.
You can see more updates from us on our Instagram @CrushPod_Racers
What next? We’re keen to do our bit to further our value of PARTICIPATION. One of our goals for the coming year is to create a series of competitive and fun race events for women of all cycling abilities. Watch this space for further details.
How to join us Does all this sound like something you’d like to get involved with? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Email