The third race of Zwift Racing League 2026/27 happens on Tuesday, October 6, and it’s a points race in Makuri Islands.

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

If you’re on an C or D team, you’ll be racing one lap of Urumaze, a course ZRL hasn’t used before. This guide is for you. A and B teams will be on Makuri 40 (read that race guide here).

Most riders will be unfamiliar with the Urumaze route, since it only launched in game August 2026. Let’s look at crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options!

Looking at the Route

The Urumaze route is 26.8km long, with 202 meters of elevation. It’s a figure 8 with two key climbs and a flat sprint finish:

This is a points race, and all 5 intermediates are flat sprints. Apart from those key intermediates, there are also two key climbs. Let’s talk about each key segment in order of appearance:

1. Tidepool Sprint Reverse @1.7km (0.31km, 0%): this pan-flat sprint signals the end of the route’s lead-in. It’s the first points segment of the race, and will be hit twice more!
2. Pain Cavern @3.2km (2.1km, 3%): although this isn’t an official points segment, it’s a crucial callout since riders will be dropped on this hard effort. This is our first and longest climb on the day, and it comes at us in three sections separated by short flat stretches. The pack typically stays together on the first section – it’s the second section (the longest and steepest!) through the figure 8 where things really break up. The final section is your last chance to close the gap to riders ahead (or keep pushing to drop riders struggling to hold on). See the Strava segment for details >
3. Tower Sprint @7.7km (0.32km, 0.4%): another flat sprint, although in this direction it has just a bit of an uphill to its start. If you want to top the FTS leaderboard, you’ll need to push extra watts up that false flat to begin the segment fast!
4. Tidepool Sprint Reverse @15km (0.31km, 0%): our second go at this sprint.
5. Festival Harbor Climb CW @18.5km (2.5 km, 2.1%): our second climb of the day, and another crucial non-points section where riders will be dropped. Expect stronger riders to attack this climb hard to grab FAL points on the Shisa Sprint Reverse and/or form a breakaway that may survive to the finish. See the Strava segment for details >
6. Shisa Sprint Reverse @20.2km (0.28km, 0%): this longish sprint comes just after the Festival Harbor Climb, so expect tired legs and a strung out pack.
7. Tidepool Sprint Reverse @26.4km (0.31km, 0%): one final sprint, but this one carries extra weight as your FAL points are effectively doubled, since you’re getting FIN points based on your position as well! All the more reason to go all-in in this final effort.

Read more about the Urumaze route >

Powerups

Everyone will receive an aero boost powerup in the pens. If you use it quickly before the Tidepool Sprint arch, you’ll get a 250 XP bonus there. Or save it for Pain Cavern or the Tower Sprint up the road!

You’ll get a 250 XP bonus each time through the Tidepool Sprint arch, as long as you aren’t holding a powerup when you go through that arch. The powerup setup for this race is rather confusing due to a combination of certain powerups being assigned to certain arches, while other arches award random powerups, and still other arches are invisible and assigned to award aero powerups!

As far as I can tell, this is how the powerup situation will unfold. (But don’t shoot the messenger if it turns out differently – there’s no way for me to test this on my end):

• Aero Boost given in start pens
• Mech Isle virtual start/finish: aero boost
• Tidepool Sprint Reverse @1.7km: 250 XP bonus
• Tower Sprint @7.7km: aero boost, draft boost, or feather (equal probability)
• Virtual start/finish for Castle to Castle @9.3km: aero boost
• Tidepool Sprint Reverse @15km: 250 XP bonus
• Shisa Sprint Reverse @20.2km: aero boost, draft boost, or feather (equal probability)
• Mech Isle virtual start/finish @22.5 (approximate): aero boost
• Tidepool Sprint Reverse @26.4km (0.31km, 0%): 250 XP bonus

Every physical arch you ride through that is not the Tidepool Sprint Reverse will give you a lightweight (feather), draft boost (van), or aero boost (helmet) powerup. Probabilities are equal for each.

Draft Boost (van): increases the draft effect you are experiencing for 40 seconds.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents) when you are already drafting off another rider (since this powerup only helps when you are drafting).

Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. This will be best used on the final 1.4km of the Brooklyn Bridge KOM, where the road is steepest and efforts are high.

Aero Boost (helmet): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents), especially when no draft is available (although it is still useful when drafting). Deploy this during the Manhattan Sprint.

Bike Recommendations

Bike recommendations for this race are simple, thanks to how Zwift has set up the current crop of in-game road bikes. You’ll want to pick one of the top “aero all-arounders”, the best of which are:

• Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 or SL8
• Cannondale Supersix EVO Lab 71 (Team Edition is even faster)

Wheel choice feels a bit trickier here, because we have the option of the most aero wheels (disc wheelsets), better climbing wheels (to help you survive the twowo climbs), or something in between. Zwift has strong options in each of those categories, so I’d say take your pick, depending on whether you want a bit of an edge on the climbs, on the flat sprints, or strike a balance between the two:

• Shimano DURA-ACE C99/Disc: the most aero wheels in game, but a bit heavy compared to non-disc wheels
• Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560: very lightweight wheels which also feature strong aero performance
• SwissSide HADRON Ultimate 650: a compromise between light weight and strong aero performance. A bit heavier than the Wake 6560, but also a bit more aero.

Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision.

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

For more info on bike and wheelset performance in Zwift, check out:

• Wheel Charts: For precise performance data on all wheelsets. and wheel performance.
• Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers for head-to-head comparisons of various frame and wheel combos.
• Fastest Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level: Determine the fastest setup available to you.
• Bike Frame Charts: For precise performance data on all road frames.

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!)

J Dirom

John Rice

Strategic Options

Points Distribution: Urumaze, 1 Lap

Chart shows the maximum points a team of 5 could earn in a race with 60 participants. Note that we designed the final sprint’s FAL points as FIN points, since that’s what they effectively are. To learn how ZRL points races work, see this post.

How will the race unfold, and what strategies will riders employ in the first points race of the season? Here’s what I predict:

• First Time Tidepool Sprint FTS: with most riders holding an aero powerup heading into the first tidepool sprint, and the pack at its largest and freshest, expect most or all top 10 FTS times to be set on the first go-around.
• Pain Cavern Attack: got a team full of stronger climbs but weaker sprinters? It would make sense to push hard up the Pain Cavern climb, to drop some sprinters so you stand a better chance of grabbing FAL points on the four sprints up the road.
• Selective Sprints: almost 60% of the race’s points are from sprint FAL (even more if you include the finishing Tidepool Sprint), but the powerups we receive from some arches are (somewhat) random. Riders will approach each sprint differently based on which powerup they’re holding, but make no mistake: riders will be targeting those sprint points, because that’s how you’ll win this race. Note: there’s still a question mark in my mind about how powerups will be given out in this race. I’ll try to get more clarity from WTRL before the race, and will update this post accordingly if that happens.
• Chasing It Back On the Flats: from the top of the Pain Cavern climb, you have ~5km of flat road followed by ~4.3km of descent. Expect riders dropped in Pain Cavern to work to rejoin during this section. Riders ahead will need to decide if it’s worth pushing the pace on what is otherwise a “recovery section” to hold onto higher FAL points.
• Punch Into the Final Sprint: the last sprint segment (Shisa) offer punchy climbers opportunities to attack off the front and take high FAL points by keeping the power/speed high through the sprint arch. It also offers a chance for a reduced front group to stay away for the final 6km if they can work together.

Your Thoughts

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

The third race of Zwift Racing League 2026/27 happens on Tuesday, October 6, and it’s a points race in Makuri Islands.

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

If you’re on an A or B team, you’ll be racing one lap of Makuri 40, a course we haven’t raced for three years. This guide is for you. C and D teams will be on Urumaze (race guide coming soon).

We haven’t raced this course in three years, and much has changed since that time, including the race setup itself. Let’s look at crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options!

Looking at the Route

The Makuri 40 route is, unsurprisingly, 40km long (40.3km to be exact). Along the way, you’ll cover 317 meters of elevation as you pass through major portions of each Makuri Island section: Yumezi, Neokyo, and Urukazi.

This is a points race, and all 5 intermediates are flat sprints. Apart from those key intermediates, there are also four key climbs. Let’s talk about each key segment in order of appearance:

1. Starting Climb @0km (1.5km, 3.2%): right out of the pens, riders will have to go all in for a few minutes as the first selection is made on the climb up to the Village Sprint. Keep your W/kg high enough, and you may just grab some FAL points on the Village Sprint!
2. Village Sprint Reverse @1.6km (0.15km, 0.8%): this sprint is short and flat, but comes after what is sure to be a tough starting climb. Who will have the punch to grab FAL, and who will be brave enough to save their legs and go for FTS?
3. Country Sprint Reverse @7.3km (0.15km, 0%): riders will grab some recovery and speed on the downhill after the Village Sprint, so expect this short and flat sprint to have high speeds and big power numbers!
4. Alley Sprint Reverse @16.1km (0.38km, -1.2%): after 8km of flat road following the Country Sprint, riders should once again have fresh legs to tackle the longest sprint of the race.
5. Castle Park Sprint @18km (0.22km, -0.7%): just 2km after the Alley Sprint, FAL points on this one may just go to some riders who are brave enough to attack on the Alley Sprint and stay away for a few minutes.
6. Festival Harbor Climb CW @25.8km (2.5 km, 2.1%): after a recovery descent through the cavern, expect riders to attack this climb hard in an effort to grab FAL points on the Shisa Sprint Reverse and/or form a breakaway.
7. Shisa Sprint Reverse @27.4km (0.28 km, 0%): this longish sprint comes just after the Festival Harbor Climb, so expect tired legs and a strung out pack. Same question as the Village Sprint: Who will have the punch to grab FAL, and who will be brave/crazy enough to save their legs and go for FTS?
8. Slot Canyon Climb @33.4km (2.8 km, 2%): the climb through the Slot Canyon is beautiful, but don’t get distracted by the visuals. Expect big attacks and the hardest sustained work of the day here, as this is the longest climb of the day and it finishes only ~4km from the finish line!
9. Finishing Climb @39.6km (1.3km, 2%): don’t get fooled by the lap banner near the start of this climb – this route ends at the virtual banner further up the hill!

Read more about the Makuri 40 route >

Powerups

Everyone will receive a draft boost powerup in the pens. If you use it quickly before the virtual banner, you’ll get a 250 XP bonus at the virtual lap banner. Or save it for the sprint up the road!

You’ll get a 250 XP bonus at each “lap arch” you ride through, but here’s a little insider secret for you XP farmers: there are invisible lap arches all over Makuri Islands. In fact, WTRL tells me you’ll receive a total of 5x 250 XP bonuses in the race, as long as you aren’t holding a powerup when you go through the arch! Here’s where those bonuses occur:

• Virtual start/finish line, just ~100 meters from the start pens
• Virtual start/finish for Sea to Tree, ~4.6km into the lap
• Virtual start/finish for Castle to Castle, ~11.8km into the lap
• Lap arch for Flatland Loop, ~39.9km into the lap
• Virtual start/finish line

Every arch you ride through that is not a lap arch (so, each of the five sprint arches) will give you a lightweight (feather), draft boost (van), or aero boost (helmet) powerup. Probabilities are equal for each.

Draft Boost (van): increases the draft effect you are experiencing for 40 seconds.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents) when you are already drafting off another rider (since this powerup only helps when you are drafting).

Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. This will be best used on the final 1.4km of the Brooklyn Bridge KOM, where the road is steepest and efforts are high.

Aero Boost (helmet): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents), especially when no draft is available (although it is still useful when drafting). Deploy this during the Manhattan Sprint.

Bike Recommendations

Bike recommendations for this race are simple, thanks to how Zwift has set up the current crop of in-game road bikes. You’ll want to pick one of the top “aero all-arounders”, the best of which are:

• Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 or SL8
• Cannondale Supersix EVO Lab 71 (Team Edition is even faster)

Wheel choice feels a bit trickier here, because we have the option of the most aero wheels (disc wheelsets), better climbing wheels (to help you survive the key climbs), or something in between. Zwift has strong options in each of those categories, so I’d say take your pick, depending on whether you want a bit of an edge on the climbs, on the flat sprints, or strike a balance between the two:

• Shimano DURA-ACE C99/Disc: the most aero wheels in game, but a bit heavy compared to non-disc wheels
• Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560: very lightweight wheels which also feature strong aero performance
• SwissSide HADRON Ultimate 650: a compromise between light weight and strong aero performance. A bit heavier than the Wake 6560, but also a bit more aero.

Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision.

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

For more info on bike and wheelset performance in Zwift, check out:

• Wheel Charts: For precise performance data on all wheelsets. and wheel performance.
• Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers for head-to-head comparisons of various frame and wheel combos.
• Fastest Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level: Determine the fastest setup available to you.
• Bike Frame Charts: For precise performance data on all road frames.

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!)

J Dirom

John Rice

Strategic Options

Points Distribution: Makuri 40, 1 Lap

Chart shows the maximum points a team of 5 could earn in a race with 60 participants. To learn how ZRL points races work, see this post.

How will the race unfold, and what strategies will riders employ in the first points race of the season? Here’s what I predict:

• Selective Sprints: over 71% of the race’s points are from sprint FAL, but the powerups we receive are random. Riders will approach each sprint differently based on which powerup they’re holding, but make no mistake: riders will be targeting those sprint points, because that’s how you’ll win this race.
• Punch Into the Sprints: the first and last sprint segments offer punchy climbers opportunities to attack off the front and take high FAL points by keeping the power/speed high through the sprint arch.
• Breakaway for Castle Park Sprint FAL: with the Castle Park Sprint coming just 2km after the Alley Sprint, a coordinated breakaway could gap the field after the Alley banner and stay away to grab FAL points on the Castle Park Sprint.
• Slot Canyon Attrition: over 84% of the race’s points will already be locked up before riders hit the final Slot Canyon climb. Riders who believe they may get dropped on this climb may go all-in for those sprint points, then get dropped on the Slot Canyon climb, leaving a reduced back to fight over the FIN points table scraps.

Your Thoughts

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

Pondering the Possibilities: Chase Races on Zwift

Chase Race Basics

In a chase race, category starts are staggered, with slower categories starting before faster categories. (This is why chase races are sometimes called “handicap races”.)

For example, a chase race may have these category start times:

• Category D – 12:00
• Category C – 12:03
• Category B – 12:05
• Category A – 12:07

Race organizers calculate start times to give faster categories a chance to catch slower groups near the end of the race, so the front of the race contains multiple categories as riders near the finish.

Chase races begin as team efforts, but end as individual efforts. That’s what makes the format so compelling. If your category’s pack isn’t working together to keep the speed up, they won’t be able to catch the group up the road and may be caught by a chasing group from behind. But chase races always end as individual efforts as you sprint for the line against your category, and often other categories as well!

The Now and Not Yet

Unlike some of the race concepts I’ve written about in this series, such as elimination and relay races, chase races are already happening on Zwift, and have been since the early days. Most chase races are long-running weekly events put on by the community, including DIRT Dadurday, COALITION Chase To The Underground, and Rhino Crash. But Zwift’s own Party Crashers and long-gone Beat the Bots events were basically chase races as well, even if they were classified as group rides.

Looking for a chase race? There’s no easy way to pull up a comprehensive list of upcoming chase races on Zwift, apart from listing all upcoming events with “chase” in the title on ZwiftHacks >

Chase races are already happening daily on Zwift, and they can be super fun. But the experience is lacking in four key areas, as I see it:

1. No time gaps to groups: Unless you have Sauce for Zwift running, or you’re really good at clicking through the rider list or watching ZwiftPower’s Live view, it’s hard to discern time gaps to other categories. Are you closing the gap to the group ahead fast enough? Will you be able to stay away from the group behind?
2. Bad start time gaps: Because courses, group sizes, and rider abilities vary, it’s not always easy (in fact, it’s nearly impossible) to set the perfect start times for each group. Sometimes rider organizers get it wrong, and that can cost you the race, no matter how hard you ride.
3. Team chat: If the other categories are visible in game, they can also see your chat messages. This makes it impossible to privately chat with your group.
4. Miscategorized riders: This is less of a problem nowadays thanks to category enforcement and better categorization systems, but it’s still worth mentioning, since just one overpowered rider in a group can throw everything off. (I was once in a chase race where a current pro rider joined the B’s and pulled us to the front in record time!)

Let’s look at how Zwift could take Chase Races to the next level!

Required Game Changes

If Zwift wants to level up their chase race game, they need to focus on implementing game upgrades that help ensure a consistently fun experience for everyone who joins. Let’s discuss three specific game upgrades that would address the key issues mentioned above. Each of these is a standalone improvement that could be used in other areas of the game. Implementing them together, though, would radically improve the chase race experience:

Category-Only Chat Option

This is the easiest feature for Zwift to roll out and, in fact, it may already be an event option I don’t know about. Simply put: ride organizers should be able to restrict chat visibility so only members of the same category see in-game chat messages. This would let riders communicate closely with their “teammates” without alerting other teams about their plans.

Time Gap UI

If Zwift added smarter time gaps into the HUD, everyone could see how far away the other categories are. It would take some doing to make this work in a useful way. For example – what time do you show for the group ahead? Do you show the rider who is furthest up the road from the group, or the group’s main “peloton”, or the closest rider to your group? Or maybe all three?

It would require no small effort to build this feature out so it’s intuitive yet informative. But it could be done, and could be used in typical Zwift scratch races and group rides.

Dynamic Pens

This is the coolest of the new feature ideas, IMO, because it would feel a bit magical.

What if you simply clicked to join the chase race event, and it automatically broke riders up into groups and set time gaps based on rider numbers, route, race length, and rider abilities? Done right, it would make races more fair and fun for everyone.

As a bonus, the dynamic pens idea could be leveraged for other Zwift race formats as well!

Fun For All

The end goal, of course, is maximizing the fun (funmaxxing?) for everyone. Whether you’re one of the slowest or one of the fastest, a well-organized chase race should deliver an experience of teamwork and competition for all riders.

Your Thoughts

What are your thoughts on chase races? Any improvement ideas I didn’t mention above? Chime in below!

Club Spotlight: Wahoo eSports

From the editor: This is the first in what we hope will be a series of articles highlighting Zwift teams. But we need your help to make that happen! If you lead a team on Zwift, we’d love to share an article telling the story of your team and what makes it special. Email [email protected] to get started.

From Community to Competition

What started in 2017 as a group of riders brought together by a shared love of cycling has grown into a thriving Zwift community with around 200 selected members to date — from riders taking their first foray into competitive racing to some of the fastest athletes in the world.

That journey has always been about more than results.

Early Days to the Big Stage

Wahoo eSports was established in 2017, at a time when Zwift racing was still finding its feet, and the idea of organized esports cycling was still very much in its infancy. Two of the club’s earlier sponsors helped the team get off the ground – Science In Sport (SiS) launched a new product (SiS Turbo), and Le Col‘s first-ever ‘indoor kit’ was a direct collaboration with the club. 

Since then, the club has grown and gained momentum alongside the sport, both in esports and out on the road. The club’s riders, both former and present, have competed across the Zwift racing calendar, taking part in all of the major events and race series over the years, including the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, Zwift Games, Zwift Grand Prix, and of course, the Zwift Racing League along with Wahoo’s own soon-to-be-announced Winter Series and its yearly Club Championship.

For the club, competing at the highest level has always been an important part of its identity. But it’s only one part.

Today, the membership stretches across all categories and abilities, both male and female riders, including a number of active professionals, national champions, and record-breaking athletes currently within the club. Just to name a few:

• Chris Dawson (5-time Irish Elite male XCO National Champion)
• Rick Van Urk (Dutch male Virtual National Champion)
• Mika Söderström (multiple Swedish Road, National TT, and esports Elite female Champion)
• Rachel Brown (CE:UK British Elite female National Champion)
• Lizi Brooke (British Women’s National 100-Mile UK Time Trial Champion) 
• Illi Gardner (3-time winner of the British National Hill Climb Championships, and holds the fastest two Everesting times recorded by a female rider)
• Zoë Thorpe (Silver medal in 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships and Bronze medal in 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships)

Former riders include Georgina Hunter-Bell, who has gone on to become the reigning World Indoor and European Champion in the 1,500 meters on the world stage, and Ed Laverack, former Continental Pro and 2019 UK Hill Climb Champion.  

Having riders capable, past and present, of competing at the very highest level is something we’re incredibly proud of — but what matters just as much is the community behind them.

Racing is Only Part of the Story

It would be easy to look at a club with riders competing in major Zwift events and assume that everything revolves around racing.

That’s not Wahoo eSports entirely.  

At its heart, Wahoo eSports is community-driven and run by riders from all walks of life, riding at different times of the day – and with an active Discord channel to keep us all together and in the loop. The club wants people to enjoy riding together, improving together, and being part of something bigger than simply chasing results on a leaderboard.  

There’s a place for the seriously competitive riders, but there’s also a place for those who simply want some company on the bike, a bit of motivation through the winter, or the opportunity to ride alongside people who share the same passion throughout the year.  

That mixture is what makes the club work. Our faster riders provide inspiration and experience, while the wider membership provides the energy, camaraderie, and atmosphere that keeps people coming back – and hanging out.  

Great Partners Make a Difference

As the club grew, we’ve also been fortunate to build relationships with some fantastic sponsors and partners who share our enthusiasm for cycling and esports.  

The club’s main title sponsor is Wahoo Fitness, whose backing has been hugely important to the club – also proud to work with EZ Loyalty, Precision Fuel & Hydration and Veloskin. Having companies like these involved allows us to support our riders, offer club-only discounts to the community while continuing to develop what the club can offer.

The club will be starting the 2026-2027 Zwift Racing League (ZRL) series with a new jersey design that’ll surely grab the attention of the eSports peloton.

Looking Ahead

After almost a decade of racing, riding, and building the community, the goal remains much the same as it was in 2017: bring people together on the Zwift platform through love of esports.

The club is always keen to welcome new riders from around the world who genuinely want to be part of the team.

Whether you’re male or female, an experienced esports racer or someone looking to take that next step, we’d love to hear from you. You don’t have to be chasing podiums to be part of the club — we have members that span all categories, and if you’re a B-category rider or better (A or A+) and fancy getting involved in the Zwift Racing League over the winter, there’s plenty of opportunity to get stuck in.

The competitive side of Zwift continues to evolve, and so will we. But the community remains at the center of everything we do. From a small club established in 2017 to a 200-plus strong community competing on some of the biggest stages in Zwift racing, it’s been quite a ride.

And we’re only getting started.

Prospective riders applying for membership can fill in this contact form: https://forms.gle/SquprCwiyqGhsvRW7

Find Us:

• Instagram: instagram.com/wahooesports
• Facebook: facebook.com/groups/344033917272573/