Borrowing a rider
Finding an available rider from another club, the category rule, and reading the outcome.
When you're short, go to Riders. This page lists everyone who's marked themselves available for the selected race — including riders at other clubs.
Two kinds of row — read the sub-label
| Row | Sub-label | Button | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Agent | A Zwift ID | Claim | They have no club. Claiming adds them to your team permanently — no approval needed |
| Available | Their club's name | Request | They ride for someone else. You're asking to borrow them for this race |
⚠️ These are not the same thing
Claim is permanent recruitment. Request is a one-race loan. They sit side by side in the same table.
Who you're allowed to ask for
Your own category or below — never above. An A team can ask for anyone down to D; a C team can ask for C and D only.
✅ It's a fair-play rule
It stops a weaker team borrowing its way to a stacked line-up. A rider you can't request won't offer you the button.
After you click Request
The button turns orange and reads Requested. Nothing else happens until that rider's captain responds — and there's no notification when they do. You read the outcome off the screen:
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| The rider appears in your Starters, tagged Active and on loan from their club | Approved |
| The button goes back from Requested to Request | Denied |
| The rider disappears from the list | Another club got there first |
Approved loans land in your line-up, not your bench
If you go looking on the bench you'll think it failed.
Worth knowing
- No cap on how many riders you can borrow for one race.
- Several clubs can request the same rider — first come, first served, unless the race times don't clash.
- Ask early if you need someone in particular.