Zwift Racing League (ZRL) has taken racing to the next level on Zwift. It’s well-organized bike racing on an unprecedented scale, a multi-week team points competition held across timezones catering to thousands of teams. And that’s why serious Zwift racers show up week after week: because everyone knows ZRL is where Zwift racing is at its highest level.
With seven successful rounds completed, ZRL organizers WTRL continue to evolve their systems and tighten rulesets to provide a fair, engaging, and competitive platform for Zwift racing.
The next ZRL round begins November 8th, and it’s officially named 2022/23 Season – Round 2. We’ll use this page to display all the key info in one place, and update it as more info becomes available.
Ruleset Updates
See the latest version of ZRL rules on WTRL’s website
If you’re new to ZRL, you’ll definitely want to get familiar with the ruleset and scoring structures, as these will inform strategic decisions made as a team.
Timeslots and Divisions
Two new leagues have been created: ASIA and AMERICA S.
Teams and Registration
New teams can register now at wtrl.racing/zrl-registration. Team registration closes midnight UTC on Wednesday, Nov 2. You can have up to 12 riders nominated for your team. Again, see the ruleset for details.
Existing teams with 3 or more round 1 races are automatically reregistered.
Want to race, but don’t have a team? You can find a list of teams recruiting riders by visiting wtrl.racing/zwift-racing-league/#teams (“All Teams” in the ZRL menu). WTRL says an inquiry form will be available soon on that page, so you can click and ask to join a team that is recruiting.
Until then, you can track down the team’s contact info and message them, or simply post your info on the Facebook group to have teams contact you. Use tags so your post can easily be found by others using “popular topics”:
- If you are looking for a team, tag your post with the topic #zrlteamhunt
- If you are recruiting, tag your post with #zrlrecruiting
Tips for First-Timers
If this is your first time racing on Zwift, here are a few tips and links to get you started fast:
- You have to be signed up for ZwiftPower in order to participate. Instructions
- You must create a WTRL account as well – do so at wtrl.racing/registration
- The category you’ll race is determined by your FTP in watts per kilogram. Talk to your team manager if you have any questions on where you should race, or read this post from Zwift.
- Riders must use a power sensor to transmit power to the game – this would be a smart trainer, smartbike, or power meter. (You’re allowed to race B, C, and D categories with a “classic” trainer and virtual power, but your points are cut in half.)
- Heart rate monitors are required. (You’re allowed to race B, C, and D categories without a HRM, but your points are cut in half.)
- It’s really best that you have at least a few races under your belt before you try to join a team, so you know what sort of power numbers you can hold in a race.
Race Routes and Dates
Each ZRL round is made up of weekly races which are a mix of points races and team time trial (TTT) formats. Points race winners are the teams who amass the most total points by the end of the race, while TTT winners are the teams who complete the racecourse fastest (team time is taken from the fourth rider across the line).
“Intermediates” are sections on the course where riders compete for points. Intermediates may count for Fastest-Through-Segment (FTS) and/or First-Across-Line (FAL) points – see the scoring page for details.
Race #1: Roule Ma Poule
November 8, 2022 (Points Race)
You’ll want to be warmed up for this one, because it heads straight up the backside of the Petit KOM! Dropped riders will try to rejoin the front, but their efforts may be in vain given how flat the rest of the course is.
- 1 Lap of France’s Roule Ma Poule (27.2km, 263m elevation)
- PowerUps: Aero Boost (40%), Invisibility (30%), Steamroller (30%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
Race #2: Greater London Flat
November 15, 2022 (TTT)
Our first TTT of this round takes us on two loops of the fairly flat Greater London Flat route. This will be an exercise in formation and optimal pacing.
- 2 Laps of Greater London Flat (29km, 151m elevation)
- PowerUps: Draft Boost 🛈
Race #3: Two Bridges Loop
November 22, 2022 (Points Race)
This popular race course makes another appearance in ZRL, but this time the C/D groups are racing 5 laps… no easy task! (It was 3 last time this was raced). As always, the foot of the Hilly KOM Reverse will prove decisive. But so will the anvil powerups, which can be put to good use in at least two places on this route.
- A/B: 6 Laps of Watopia’s Two Bridges Loop (43.1km, 484m elevation)
- C/D: 5 Laps of Watopia’s Two Bridges Loop (36km, 404m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather, Draft Boost, Aero Boost 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- JWB Sprint Reverse (each lap)
Race #4: Sprinter’s Playground
November 29, 2022 (Points Race)
First raced in the finals of ZRL 2021/22 Round 3, this course was a painful exercise in match burning/conservation and teamwork. Who will attack which sprints? Can you break away and take max points at key portions of the route? One thing is for sure: you’ll need to keep your eyes open.
- 3 Laps of Makuri Islands’ Sprinter’s Playground (37.3km, 202m elevation)
- PowerUps: Draft Boost (30%), Aero Boost (40%), Invisibility (30%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Tower Sprint Reverse (3x)
- Castle Park Sprint Reverse (3x)
- Alley Sprint (3x)
- Railway Sprint (3x)
Race #5: Watopia’s Waistband
December 6, 2022 (TTT)
We’ve raced this former Rebel Route as a ZRL TTT in the past, and it’s flat and fast! With no significant climbs, the win here will be determined by your ability to maximize each team member’s contribution through efficient formations and smart rotations.
- 1 Lap Watopia’s Waistband (27.8km, 101m elevation)
- PowerUps: Draft Boost 🛈
Race #6: Cobbled Climbs
December 13, 2022 (Points Race)
Punchy climbers, rejoice! WTRL saved the Queen stage for the end. This route was first used in ZRL 2020/21 Round 3. It was murderous then, and it will be murderous now.
- A/B: 5 Laps of Richmond’s Cobbled Climbs (46.2km, 670m elevation)
- C/D: 4 Laps of Richmond’s Cobbled Climbs (37km, 537m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (40%), Aero Boost (30%), Steamroller (30%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Libby Hill KOM (each lap)
- 23rd St KOM (each lap)
March Championships
After the three rounds of the 2022/23 season, WTRL is planning a championship based on this season’s rounds. This will happen in March.
Questions or Comments?
We recommend checking out WTRL’s Zwift Racing League page for rules, team registration, results, and more. They also have a new Help Center with lots of useful info, and their Facebook page is the place to go for discussion of all things ZRL.
Feel free to share questions or comments below!
Fixed! There were a bunch of errors in WTRL’s original schedule… this is one I missed fixeding. 🙂
More ‘errors’ to fix next week with further amendments to powerups etc.
For the TTT races, it shows that the Draft power-up will be available?
Yep, Carl!
So it goes from No Drafing, to being able to Draft, to now enabling draft boost power-ups.
This will be interesting. More so on WTRL’s Facebook page after the first few races 🍿
Will also be interesting to see how teams use it. All at once, or let the weaker riders use theirs to get a bit of a break.
How many riders per event this season? Is it 6 or 8?
6
Big thumbs down for WTRL bringing powerups back. They never work right and every time they’ve suspended powerups (due to ever-present problems) race quality improves.
totally agree – because of the random nature they don’t add anything to the racing.
I so wish ZRL would split each category into high and low end, surely they have enough numbers to do this?
There must be a small mistake at WTRL’s end. Their website says 2x FAL&FTS for the three segments.They won’t let us ride two laps, I suppose.
Another thing: No points for the Petit KOM? Where’s the fun in that?
talking about Race#1
There isn’t an official segment for the reverse Petit KOM, so even though you go through the banner, it can’t be timed within Zwift, therefore no points can be offered.
WTRL still not implementing Category Enforcement which makes no sense 🤔.
maybe they are working on it for season beginning 2023
We’ve been enforcing categories for a while hence 0 Code 8 dq’s.
Thats because people are smart enough to ride under cat limits. How many Cat Bs were riding 4.3+ up innsbruck on the last race of last season but now cant possibly go above 4.2? Plenty in my own team sadly
In regards to the championship, will this apply to all categories? A-D will each category have a championship to determine the best in each respective category?
Unfortunately, not very attractive for non sprinters…
Note the ruleset says slightly different things about ZPower and HRMs to what is written above. Ruleset says C+D may use ZPower (50% penalty). And, no HRM seems to be a 50% point penalty in all categories.
When are WTRL going to realise that sprinters are riding below their category, by backing off after sprinting at 8W/kg as C cat riders. They need to look at the short power bursts and work that into category enforcement. Sprinters take all the fts and fal points every race and are clearly riding under their ability. And as for power ups, getting more like Mario kart than an ability race where luck of the power up can make a significant difference