The answer to my question could easily be the topic for a college thesis.

Has there been a noticeable improvement of the overall fitness of cyclists since the introduction of apps like Strava and Zwift?  Pushing pro riders aside, I have to wonder if these new tools are creating a generation of riders that are simply stronger and faster than similarly trained athletes from 10 years ago. 

Strava allows for riders to challenge themselves and each other in a way not possible before.  Personally, I push myself harder on segments to see how I stack up (I don't) and continually compare to previous efforts.  Great way to measure overall fitness.

Then comes the indoor-training revolution that includes Smart trainers combined with apps like TrainerRoad and Zwift.  There is little doubt in my mind that these have allowed for thousands of cyclists to keep up their fitness better throughout the winter, fine-tune their summer training when weather sucks or during time constraints, etc.  I came out of the winter training period far stronger than I have in years past for the simple reason that I could actually put in the the time easier.  I could push myself harder without the mental tax.

I'm surely not alone so just have to wonder how this improvement in fitness has spread across the board.