The sixth and final race of Zwift Racing League 2022/23 Round 1 happens Tuesday, October 18th. We’re in Watopia racing on former Rebel Routes, and for the first time that we can remember, A/B riders are on a completely different route than C/D riders! That’s right: A and B riders are racing on Eastern Eight, while C and D races Downtown Titans.
This post covers the Downtown Titans route for C and D categories. If you’re an A or B racer, check out the post covering Eastern Eight.
Let’s dig into the race, including tips for bike choice, powerups, strategy, and crucial segments.
Looking at the Route: Downtown Titans
Downtown Titans began its Zwift life as a Rebel Route (published March 2020), but was adopted into the game 2 years later. The thinking behind this route was to cover the newest (Titans Grove) and oldest (Hilly) KOMs in Watopia.
C and D racers will complete one lap of the course, for a total of 25.4km and 295 meters of climbing. Let’s look at the key segments in order of appearance:
- Titans Grove KOM Reverse: didn’t we just race this in race #5? Yes we did. Let’s have another go! It’s a draftable climb, so sit in the wheels and time your jump just right. Or just try to survive and hold a wheel so you can stay in the mix.
- Hilly KOM: this climb is almost exactly the same length as the Titans Grove KOM Reverse… but it’s steeper (5.5% vs 4.4%). That difference may not seem like much, but mark our words: this climb will force a major selection in your race. Save your legs for this climb, and do all you can to hold onto the front pack over the top!
- JWB Sprint: not a short sprint, riders approach the JWB differently depending on whether they’re chasing FTS, FAL, or just trying to survive.
Read more about the Downtown Titans route >
PowerUp Notes
While powerups were originally planned for this race, WTRL has disabled all powerups due to ongoing Zwift bugs which award powerups inconsistently.
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
While this route has a bit of climbing, the climbs are short and not steep. We recommend the Tron bike for its balance of aero and climbing performance, as it outclimbs the pure-aero Venge+Disc combo by ~1s on the crucial Hilly KOM.
An aero setup like the Venge+Disc is a good pick if you’re confident you can hang with the front over the climbs, but you plan only to contest the sprints.
Looking for that perfect all-arounder? See Tron Bike vs Top Performers for more speed rankings.
More Route Recons
Many events are now being planned each weekend on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re not familiar with this course, jump into an event and do some recon! Here’s a list of upcoming Downtown Titans events.
Si Bradeley
Strategic Options
Points Distribution, Downtown Titans
These charts show the maximum points a team of 6 could earn in each race.
Of the race’s 513 potential points (for a team of 6), 405 will be earned in the last 7km of the race (from the top of the Hilly KOM onward). That’s 79% of the points!
What strategies will C/D riders employ in race 6? Here’s what we predict:
- Ease after Titans Grove KOM Reverse: riders won’t push hard to keep a gap after the Titans Grove KOM Reverse, because they know if they created a gap on this climb, they’ll create a bigger one on the Hilly KOM.
- Big Attack on Hilly KOM: riders with strong 2-minute w/kg will push hard up this climb, forcing a selection that will drop some sprinters, opening up more points for the punchy climbers on the JWB Sprint and at the finish line.
- Post-Sprint Counterattack: cagey non-sprinters may sit in for the JWB Sprint, then attack on the kicker into The Esses (2.3km from the finish) to drop the tired sprinters and ensure a higher finish for themselves. A long solo attack here may also be a smart strategy for a non-sprinter who has a sprinter teammate in the front group.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
only one lap I assume Eric for C/D racers? not the ‘At 54.1km this is the longest route we’ve raced this season’
yeah this piece of copy has been left in from the A/B race description – phew thought it was 2 laps.
Just one lap, yea. Fixed the copy above. 25.4km total!
Is it a custom distance? Whenever I’ve raced or ridden this route it’s been 24.7km (except for ZRL playoffs last season, when it was changed to 26.1km due to a Zwift bug)
Not a custom distance. Just 1 lap.
I’d be interested to hear more about your hill-climbing test on the Hilly KOM and Titans Grove Rev if you have them. I’m also wondering what the times would look like at more C/D power levels. Say 250w. Also since they are very short climbs does aero start to win at say 400w?
I’d like to hear more about your Hilly KOM testing and hopefully Titan’s Grove Rev KOM testing. What are time savings for an avg C/D rider? I assusme that the faster you climb the more important Aero would be. Neither of these climbs are steep so it would seem for someone that could do 400w for the climb that Aero would be faster due to the increased speed. Love to see your test on those climbs and hear your thoughts. Might be cool to know what the break point is for a couple different ability riders. Maybe it’s 6% grade for a 75 KG rider at 300w or 4% for a 75kg rider at 250w. At what grade/wattage is aero better than lighter weight bike.
Eric. Your note about the powerups being disabled. Is that left over from last season’s playoff semi-final which was on the same route? Or is there a new powerup problem?
New problem. WTRL tells me all powerups are disabled for this final race.
Gotta say this is too similar to the last race. Why not something in Yumezi or Harrogate? With the steep pinch over the Hilly KOM I reckon the results will be identical even though it was a hilltop finish last race. There is a 45kg rider in our Cat that casually cruises up climbs at 5wkg (199w to sneak under for C grade) and the rest of us pick up the pieces.
meh – 2 laps would be better craic