This year's Zwift Academy Finals have come to a close, with Alex Morris and Luca Vergalito winning and earning professional contracts for the 2023 season.

Alex, a Brit, and Luca, an Italian, became professional athletes on the Canyon Slam and Alpecin Deceuninck development teams, respectively, topping the final five female and male finalists.

The Zwift Academy talent search program has proven over the past seven years that Zwift can identify and develop athletes who can perform at the highest level.

The 2020 winner, Jay Vine, has already won two stages at this year's Vuelta a España, proving the effectiveness of the program and the high level of winners. This will soon be made available as a video series on Youtube.

Alex, a 22-year-old British rider, is new to cycling and this summer completed a degree in chemistry and physics at the University of Bath. Already a level 34 Zwifter, she finished second in the Lancaster GP road race earlier this year, beating many of Britain's strongest female riders for the third time in road history. After a grueling week of testing, Alex was named the women's winner.

"I never thought at the beginning of the week that this moment would come. It was on the plane ride home that I found out I would be a professional player next year," Alex said.

Alex will graduate from the women's professional peloton in 2023 and will have the opportunity to run the biggest race in the world. Competing in the Tour de France Femme is an obvious goal and ambition.

"Tour de France Femme avec Zwift - I had the opportunity to watch the first stage in Paris this year at the Skoda Cycling Academy and was impressed by the atmosphere of the race and the crowd support. I think the addition of a women's version of the race in France is very exciting and will lead the way for women's cycling in the future."

Luca Vergalito, a 25-year-old from Milan, holds a master's degree in sports science and has made a splash on the Italian Gran Fondo scene this year. Luca is a level 39 Zwifter and was impressive all week at the Zwift Academy finals, winning the rider of the day award more than once.

Luca's performance in the finals impressed Christophe de Kegel, Alpecin Deceuninck's performance manager.

Luca has had the chance to grow with Alpecin Deceuninck's continental team and recognizes the high-profile opportunities offered by the Zwift Academy.

"I am very grateful for the way Zwift has given me a way to get noticed. I am very excited to join the Alpecin Deceuninck development team next season to test my mettle in the most important races and learn to race from many of the world's best athletes.