Zwift Racing League Week 2 Guide: Everything Bagel (C/D Points Race)

The second race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 2 happens Tuesday, November 11, and we’re in New York City for a climby points race.

Don’t understand how ZRL points races work? Read our explainer >

If you’re on a C or D team, you’ll be racing one lap of Everything Bagel, and this guide is for you. A and B teams will race two laps of Rising Empire (click here for that race guide).

There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!

Looking at the Route

C and D teams will be on New York’s Everything Bagel route for a total race length of 34.9km with 527 meters of elevation gain.

This route is basically never flat, so you will need to stay alert and constantly modulate your power to maintain an ideal pack position throughout the race. Let’s look at the key sections of this race course…

New York KOM Reverse @ 2.9km (1.1km, 8.1%) (FAL + FTS): The NYC KOM Reverse climb is an interesting one, because it’s really two climbs. First you’ve got the lead-in of ~800m, then the actual timed segment which is 1.1km long. Make no mistake – the effort will begin at the bottom of the lead-in, and it will be an all-out slugfest because riders know that the big intermediate points will go to the group that makes the front selection.

Powerup at the KOM arch

The descent immediately following is steep and long enough that gaps can open up, especially if riders are supertucking, using anvil powerups (see below), or both! Watch out, especially if you are a lighter rider.

NY Sprint @13.2km (150 meters, -4.3%) (FAL + FTS): the first sprint segment of the race is a technical one. It begins with a kicker before the start line (be ready to work!), then the actual sprint is downhill and fast. Mind your pack position and timing.

Powerup at the Sprint arch

Glass road climb from 19.1-20.5km: though not a points segment, this climb is long and steep enough that it will force yet another selection.

New York KOM @ 24.4km (1.4km, 6.3%) (FAL + FTS): the second time up the NY KOM, but on the forward side this time. It’s steeper this way.

Powerup at the KOM arch

Again, expect a fast descent immediately following this KOM. Using a supertuck and/or an anvil can help you bridge up to riders ahead, attack your group, or just sit in the wheels and recover more easily.

NY Sprint Reverse @28.1km (230 meters at 0%) (FAL + FTS): riders, especially in groups, will carry a head of steam into this sprint from the just-finished descent of the NY KOM. You’ll want to consider how these higher speeds affect your approach to this final intermediate segment of the race, including the option of holding your anvil until you’re closer to the bottom of the descent.

Powerup at the Sprint arch

The finish here is flat and fast, with most of the final kilometers being slightly downhill. Tip: Typically, wins go to riders who sit in the draft as long as possible, as riders tend to poke their nose into the wind with long attacks on this finish. Be patient.

Read more about the Everything Bagel route >

Powerups

Powerups will be given at each arch, with equal probability to each of the three possible powerups. That means a total of five possible powerups are available throughout the race.

Bike Recommendations

This race’s two key climbs definitely make us steer away from pure aero setups and look at climbing bikes and all-arounders instead. Because while a more aero setup has a pure time advantage on laps of the full course, that time advantage evaporates if you get dropped on the first climb!

Our recommendation, then, is to use the new ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels paired with one of these bikes:

• S-Works Tarmac SL8
• Cannondale SuperSix EVO LAB71
• Pinarello Dogma F 2024
• Canyon Aeroad 2024
• Specialized Aethos

Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision. A fully upgraded Aethos will outclimb the other four frames, but that’s not the case when comparing un-upgraded versions.

Related: All About Zwift’s New “Bike Upgrades” Functionality >

See Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers for more nerd-level detail on frame and wheel performance.

More Route Recons

Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.

Additionally, riders in the Zwift community do a great job every week creating recon videos that preview the courses and offer tips to help you perform your best on the day. Here are the recons I’ve found (comment if you find another!)

John Rice

J Dirom

Nathan Krake

Strategic Options

Points Distributions, Everything Bagel

This chart shows the maximum points a team of 6 could earn in a race with 60 participants. To learn how ZRL points races work, see this post.

Central Park is an attritional place, especially when the course heads up to the glass roads. Climbers are going to love this race, because all the points are hidden behind tough KOMs, and the number of riders able to hold onto the front will continue to drop as the race progresses.

I predict riders will fall into three groups:

• Made for this: Pure climbers will surf wheels on the paved roads, then light it up on the glass roads. Especially up the first KOM, they’ll push hard to drop as many riders as possible, so there’s less competition on the points segments up the road.
• Puncheurs: If your VO2 power lets you compete on NY-length KOMs, but you’ve also got some pure watts in your sprint legs, you may just be in the sweet spot to grab a lot of points in the race. (Alternatively, if the climbers rip your legs off on the KOMs, but you still survive in the front group, you can at least repay the favor by taking the sprint points.)
• I’m a survivor: Not sure how you’ll fare on one KOM, let alone four? You’re not alone. At least ZRL’s FAL points structure gives everyone something to fight for. Remember: every point matters, and sometimes you can chase back on the descents following the KOMs!

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!