Zwift Hot Topic: PowerUps or PowerUgh?

June 12, 2023

LAST UPDATED June 12, 2023

In the Zwift Hot Topic series, each week we’ll bring up a popular discussion, controversy, question, or creative idea in the Zwift community. We’ll share a couple of different perspectives, but we want to hear your thoughts, too. So read on and chime in below!

Zwift recently made some changes to PowerUps, and I think most are welcome. The anvil and burrito, in particular, were in dire need of some tweaks. And the ghost may actually be useful now!

But I want more.

More changes, more choices for event organizers, and yes – more PowerUps!

I know, I know, some people aren’t a fan of these little bonuses during races:

I hate the randomness of them, and how they can be the difference between race won/race lost. Despite the naysayers, I find the Zwift racing experience very realistic, and power ups just make it a lottery.
Rachael Elliot

I’d prefer it if they didn’t exist – they ruin every race with a sprint finish (which, let’s face it, on Zwift IS almost every race) because no aero = no chance.
Stuart Crawford

The key anger with power ups is typically the randomness of them. When doing a route and one power up is vastly better than the others and you get the bad ones over and over there’s not much you can do but burn matches to stay in the race.
Chris Wallner

But others agree with me that they can add a needed element of skill to Zwift racing:

I like them. The anvil was too powerful but it’s been toned down. I like when races have the less powerful ones, like the ghost or feather or steamroller. It adds an element of tactics that’s missing from Zwift racing (vs real life racing).
Aki Sato

I also like that they can force you to think creatively if you get one that isn’t ideal. If you know other racers have an aero helmet and you’ve got a feather, you might try an attack on that last kicker instead of waiting for the sprint. I’ve seen others attack with a ghost PowerUp or a burrito when they probably wouldn’t have without it.

Zwift experimented with PowerUps during the 2023 Tour of Watopia. Why not make these experiments available to all event organizers?

Give us the option to…

Assign certain PowerUps to certain banners or arches, where everyone gets the same one at a particular arch. This seemed to go well in the Tour of Watopia. This takes out the “random chance” aspect, but it still keeps an element of skill in the timing and how you use them. Want a leg up on your opponents at the finish? Try baiting out their PowerUps with a test attack!
Give PowerUps at other locations. What if everyone got a feather just before the Epic KOM? How would they use it?
Change PowerUp length by a set amount. The Tour of Watopia doubled them, and when combined with the previous point, this led to some crazy fast climbs up the volcano. Or cut them in half for a “PowerUp-lite” experience where timing is everything.

And some ideas for new PowerUps:

Domestique: Give the PowerUp you’re currently holding to a teammate! This might replace their current PowerUp, get added to it, or only work if their PowerUp slot is empty. You would have to be able to select the person somehow – or maybe it would go to the closest member of your primary Zwift Club.
Thief: Like the Domestique, but more chaotic. Switch PowerUps with a random person around you. I can see this causing a lot of rage, but it makes me laugh, so I like it.
Team Car: Similar to the “Coffee Stop” feature, you’ll stay with your current group even if you stop pedaling. But be careful – if an attack goes off the front before the PowerUp ends, you won’t be able to follow it!
Tailwind: Eric Schlange suggested this on The Wrap recently, and I love the idea! It would give your entire group an aero boost. I can see this inspiring breakaways to form and work together, making racing more interesting.
Neutral Flag: This one’s a bit of a troll, and it’s probably too negative to be a good idea, but it makes me laugh. For a short time, the race is neutralized – all gaps stay the same no matter what you do. Sure, it can discourage attacks, but it could also help a break stay away!