Zwift has announced a multi-year sponsorship with the US-based L39LION of Los Angeles team to promote diversity in the sport. The team, led by founder Justin Williams, and the online riding and training platform are both based in Los Angeles.

To celebrate the partnership, Zwift and L39ON will host two social rides on December 22.

"We are excited to have Zwift's support," Justin Williams said when the deal was announced. [Like L39ION, Zwift is not afraid to challenge the norm. We have seen Zwift do great things to promote women's cycling. We are excited that they also share the same ambition to promote diversity."

"Thanks to Zwift and the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, Cory (Williams) is able to represent the United States for the first time! Zwift gives us a platform to share our mission with a global audience. Zwift gives us a platform to communicate our mission to a global audience. We are excited to work together to spread L39ON's mission around the world and help Zwift achieve its goals around diversity and inclusion."

For the past three years, Zwift Academy's talent search program has provided Zwift's amateur riders with a path to a secure place on a professional team. This year's men's and women's finals will be held on December 19.

Zwift will work with L39ON to support rider development and encourage more participation at the grassroots level with the goal of helping more people discover the joy of cycling.

"L39LION is a great force of energy that aligns very well with our brand, and we couldn't be happier to partner with this team," said Eric Min, co-founder and CEO of Zwift. [This is more than a sponsorship deal, we have big plans to work together and improve diversity and inclusion in cycling. Justin is one of the most influential figures in the sport and we have a platform to help him get his message out to a global audience.

The theme of diversity, or lack thereof, in professional cycling is not a complicated one, as Williams recently explained in a Cyclingnews feature interview.

The simple fact that few riders from the BAME community race within the ranks of the World Tour or pro teams shows an imbalance, while the racist behavior within the peloton and on social media surrounding certain riders shows a need for greater accountability and education.

Williams, who has been fighting discrimination in cycling since entering the sport, explained that diversity in the L39LION is both natural and inevitable.

Justin and his brother Cory have trolled the American racing circuit, winning countless national titles between the two of them and joining America's absolute elite.

In a short period of time, L39ON has become a major player in American cycling, with plans recently announced for a continental team alongside a national team. Not only that, but it has also signed two high-profile women's World Tour riders, Kendall Ryan and Skylar Schneider.

"Me and my brother have been the two best racers in America for the last couple of years, but we didn't have a home or a team," Justin Williams told Cycling News.

"We were kind of left out in the cold, so we started the team out of necessity to keep doing what we wanted to do. We can take the helm, have a voice, and help people understand that we are not diverse. We are trying to get to a position so that others don't end up like us."