Tanja Elas (Canyon-SRAM) used her extensive Zwift experience to win the third stage of the Virtual Tour de France on Saturday.The former Zwift Academy winner said improving her wattage, reading the race, and PowerUps in the game Learning how to use it is everything, he said.

"I've done a lot of racing on Zwift in the last few months and I could see my wattage increasing and improving," Erath said after winning the third stage on the newly released R.V.G course on the upper half of Zwift's French map. 'I can tell you from my own experience that experience also plays a big part. It took me 30-35 races to understand how to read the course and use special features like PowerUps. It takes experience to stay on top of your game."

The Zwift Academy program began in partnership with Canyon-SRAM in 2016, and since then four athletes have won the contest and earned racing contracts on the women's professional circuit with Canyon-SRAM Erath won the 2017 edition of the Zwift Academy and has continued to race on the Women's WorldTeam every year since.

In a post-race press conference, Erath said she had virtually not raced as much as she used to and only competed in the Zwift Pro-Am Race Series last year. However, she has been reacquainting herself with the Zwift platform over the past few months since the racing season was interrupted by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

"Everyone thinks that winning the Zwift Academy gives you a lot of Zwift experience, but I have only competed in two Zwift races. Last year's Pro Am series with the team and especially this race at Coronavirus have greatly increased my experience and made me fall in love with Zwift racing and the community as a whole. It's great that Zwift has given me the possibility to race and stay motivated during this time.

The women's two-lap R.G.V. 24km circuit began with a 12km flat, followed by an intermediate Pave sprint, an intermediate Akeduk climb, and another intermediate Baron sprint before finishing at the marina, for a total of 48km.

Erath won stage 3 from a small group sprint ahead of time trial world champion Chloe Dygert (Twenty20) and April Teisey (Drops).

"I started to pick up speed around 290 meters to go and used up all my power from 200 meters to go. I'm very, very happy. I've done a lot of racing on Zwift in the last month and it's really helped me stay focused and motivated, not only to keep my fitness up, but to make huge gains in my fitness.

"When I heard about the Virtual Tour de France, I dreamed of a stage win, and as a Canyon-SRAM Zwift Academy winner, a stage win on the new Zwift course designed specifically for the Virtual Tour de France is quite special script," Erath explained.

Erath confirmed that he will not be racing the fourth stage at Casse-Pattes and the fifth stage at Chalet Reynard, but will be racing the sixth stage of the finale on July 19 on the virtual Champs-Elysées.

"Of course, I will compete in the final stage of the Champs-Elysées. It's a big race, both real and virtual, so I'm looking forward to that stage and will do my best to win a stage for the second time," said Erath. Even though it's virtual, I'm looking forward to it because it's special to have a female rider in the Tour de France. It's a great thing for women's cycling and a great opportunity for us."