Back in November Zwift hosted the first set of gamified, steering-required events on Repack Rush and Crit City. Over the holiday break they made some changes based on rider feedback and have set up a new month of gamified events. Here are all the details!
First, the Basics
Steering required: You must have a steering device paired to Zwift to participate in these events. The list of compatible devices includes:
- Zwift Play
- Elite Sterzo Smart
- Elite Rizer
- Wahoo KICKR Bikes
- Jetblack Smart Turn Block
Gamified elements: the two race courses feature gamified items you won’t see on other Zwift courses:
- Blue Boost Pads: increase your speed by 10kph
- Red Hazard Pads: decrease your speed by 15%
- Green Time Deductions: remove 0.2 seconds from your overall time (available on Repack Rush only)
- Boost Powerup: increases your speed by 10kph with each charge (available in Crit City only)
Repack Rush Events
The Repack Rush route has been updated to include the same dynamic functions as the Crit City course, including boost pads that swap to hazards or slide across the road, as well as time pick-ups which slide across the road.
Zwift has scheduled the Repack Rush events in a back-to-back Tiny Race-style format, with 4 races scheduled within an hour.
The 1-hour blocks are scheduled at the following times on Wednesdays and Sundays:
- 1pm UTC/8am EST/5am PST
- 8pm UTC/3pm EST/12pm PST
- 11pm UTC/6pm EST/3pm PST
- 2am UTC/9pm EST/6pm PST
- 6am UTC/1am EST/10pm PST
See upcoming Repack Rush races >
Crit City Rush Events
The gamified Crit City course has been updated, reducing the number of static boosts/hazards and increasing the number of dynamic ones.
But the biggest and most interesting change is how Zwift is awarding speed boosts at the lap arch. In this new set of Crit City events, riders at the front (top 10%) will get one boost, while riders in the middle (70% percent) will get two boosts, and riders in the back (remaining 20%) will get three boosts.
Just like the initial test events, only riders who have used all of their boosts in the previous lap will receive additional boost charges.
The 3-lap (6km) races are scheduled on Mondays and Saturdays:
- 1pm UTC/8am EST/5am PST
- 8pm UTC/3pm EST/12pm PST
- 11pm UTC/6pm EST/3pm PST
- 2am UTC/9pm EST/6pm PST
- 6am UTC/1am EST/10pm PST
See upcoming Crit City Rush races >
Share Your Feedback
Zwift wants feedback on the new moving boost pads and hazards in both worlds, as well as the boost power up changes in Crit City. They told us, “We are also looking to see if there is an interest in creating a lapped experience on repack or if the short, snappy route is what people most enjoy.”
Share your thoughts on this forum topic.
I tried Repack Rush yesterday again for the first time in a while. The steering on my Kickr Bike V1 was awful – sluggish and vague, with a bit of auto-steering constantly trying to pull me into the centre of the road. Makes it kinda pointless. Anyone else get this?
I also hate the green timer beacons as there is no way to know exactly where they are in space. They need to be on the ground or have a shadow so you know if you are actually anywhere near them.
I think you’ve already indirectly answered this, but am assuming I can’t use companion app on phone mounted on my handlebar to steer on re-pack like in the Beta version?
Correct. Steering via tilting your phone running Companion app hasn’t been enabled in years.
Please consider adding that to: https://zwiftinsider.com/find-zwifts-new-mountain-bike-steering-course/. I spent this morning ride trying to debug my system to figure out why I couldn’t get the turn arrow.
Any word as to if/when the play controllers will be available in Canada?
Late last year I did two Zwift Play-enabled races, a crit and Repack Rush. The crit was pretty fun, but there was only one other rider in the Repack Rush ‘race’ and his avatar didn’t move at the start. I was hoping there would be a lot more adopters of the Play controllers. I’ve really enjoyed mine, but it may be a while before there are enough users to actually have a decent turnout for races.