[Neither Zwift nor TrainerRoad are market leaders in the indoor cycling space, but they are among the most popular platforms available and have long been competitors for two different sets of consumers within the indoor cycling market.

Zwick.

Zwift provides instant motivation for indoor cycling with its virtual world, group rides, social connections, and competitive scene. TrainerRoad's data-driven, machine-learning approach to training, on the other hand, motivates and coaches and trains toward future goals. Many cyclists, myself included, use both.

However, recent developments suggest that the two companies may be about to merge, with the larger of the two, Zwift, reportedly on the brink of acquiring a competitor; a report from DC Rainmaker initially seems coincidental, but quickly gains momentum toward that claim A series of events were unearthed.

First, on January 12, Zwift founder and CEO Eric Min shared a post on Instagram from his hotel room in Reno, Nevada, where TrainerRoad's headquarters are located.

Min, who lives in London, England, previously spent time at Zwift's headquarters in California. But this is only the first in a series of events that continue to link the two companies. In the weeks since then, Zwift's CEO has joined the TrainerRoad club and follows Pearson on Strava.

The most compelling evidence, however, actually comes from a survey Zwift released to its users the day after this Instagram post. The survey, originally reported by Cyclingtips, was over the possible launch of a hefty subscription to the platform called "Zwift Premium."

The additional features included in Premium are not only similar, but identical to those currently offered by TrainerRoad, and many of the terms used are taken directly from the TrainerRoad playbook.

'Adaptive Training' is the machine learning algorithm currently used by TrainerRoad; 'AI workout recommendations' is the equivalent of TrainerRoad's TrainNow feature, and 'automatic FTP detection' is the The "automatic FTP detection" would be the soon-to-be-available FTP Predictor, leaked (perhaps intentionally) by TrainerRoad CEO Nate Pearson. The last upgrade, "Take Your Workout Outdoors," is Outside Workouts, which has existed on the TrainerRoad platform for years.

Cyclingnews has reached out to both companies for comment, but has yet to hear back.