Peak Zwift season is underway, as evidenced by the number of riders jumping into Tour de Zwift events! That’s our headline event this week, but we’ve also got four other popular (and possibly crazy) rides to feature. See my picks below!
Tour de Zwift is the biggest annual tour on the platform – a celebration of discovery across all Zwift worlds! It kicked off this week with stage 1, which runs through Sunday. Hundreds (sometimes thousands) of riders are joining each event, so you’ll always have some company.
The Vätternrundan group ride series is back for another year, and it looks to be as popular as ever! The premise of the series is simple: rides increase in duration from January 11 to March 1, with the goal of preparing you to handle many hours on the bike when the IRL race day arrives in June. (The Vätternrundan Group Ride Series is part of Vätternrundan’s official training program.)
Of course, you can use this to train for any endurance ride you may have planned this Spring/Summer. This week’s kickoff ride is 90 minutes long, on Watopia’s Waistband, and there are two pace group options (1.8-2.2 and 1.5-1.8 W/kg).
Take on the January Resolution Challenge with the folks at Pas Normal Studios! To complete the challenge, ride a total of 1000 km during the month of January. Mix and match outdoor with indoor rides, make them long or short… all that matters is the total distance ridden.
This is a rather crazy event, which is exactly why I picked it. 300 minutes on the Champs-Élysées loop in Paris! The nice thing about riding on a shorter circuit (it’s only 6.6km long) is that you can find a group at any time. But you can also try to challenge them! Or just challenge yourself!
How many km can you ride in 5 hours, or how many laps? Who will win the green jersey?
The popular new TT series from Cycling Time Trials (CTT) – the national governing body for time trials in England, Scotland, and Wales – is back after its holiday break.
Saturday is your last chance to complete week 7’s race on three laps of Richmond’s The Fan Flats (19.5km, 36m), which is a repeat of the third week’s race. Set a course PB and you’ll earn series points to boost your overall ranking!
We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:
Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
Is it for a good cause?
Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?
In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!
How the Race Was Won: Drunken Intersections on the Neon Shore Loop (TTT)
The first race of Zwift Racing League Round 3 happened on Tuesday: a team time trial on the new Neon Shore Loop in Makuri Islands. While the very climby list of routes selected for Round 3 struck a bit of fear in my “overmuscled” heart, this looked like the sort of race my team (Coalition Delusion) could win…
Heat Training: Fool Me Once…
You may recall that the last TTT we won was in NYC, despite me mistakingly doing a hard heat training session the day before that definitely limited my race efforts.
This time around, I made sure I didn’t push too hard the day before. I rode the first event of Tour de Zwift at an easier pace, then turned off the fan and road easy for another 15 minutes to get just a bit of heat training in, to keep my adaptation level up. (More on heat training in an upcoming post… I’ve been doing a lot of it, and learning a lot along the way!)
Planning Our Race
Heading into the race, my team was chatting about all things course and strategy as usual. Captain Neil had our pull order worked out, with a bit of help from the Zwift TTT Calculator:
It was William’s first time riding with us, but we knew the drill: call out when you’re on deck. Call your stopping time when you get to the front. Call when you’ve got 5-10 seconds left in your pull. Call out if there’s a gap.
Basically: stick to the plan, and communicate well. Chris M would be our DS on the day, since he wasn’t riding. Always nice to have a non-riding DS for TTT weeks!
The new Neon Shore Loop route seemed fairly straightforward as a TTT course, since it was essentially flat, with three short and draftable climbs thrown in to make things interesting. We would hold formation on the flats, trying to hold our target power on our pulls, then push as hard as possible on the climbs. It’s proved a winning formula thus far… and we had no better ideas. Let’s race!
The Race
We began our race in Neokyo with around 10km of flat roads. This is a lovely way to start a TTT, especially if you’ve got some new team members. It lets you work on the fundamentals: hitting your pull targets, rotating smoothly, communicating clearly.
Most TTTs aren’t on intersection-heavy roads like Neokyo, so perhaps I just haven’t noticed this issue before. Or perhaps it’s because I can easily see what I’m missing now that the draft indicator is live!
This may not be a popular opinion, but I think it’s time to allow steering in these races. Maybe I’d change my mind after actually racing a TTT with steering (I never have), but I really like the idea of being able to control my left-right position.
I was on the front, taking my third rotation on the day, when we hit the first little uphill: the riser to the second level, which takes us to the Rooftop KOM. I bumped my power up from my target (370W) to just over 400W, to keep speeds high on the climb without blowing myself or my teammates up. It seemed to work well, which was a good sign for me: it meant I was riding strong enough that teammates who are better climbers weren’t coming around me on uphills. But as we crested the top and Will began his pull, a gap opened up to Captain Neil, who was valiantly riding his second TTT of the day.
A bit of instruction from Chris for the front to ease, and we were back together for the start of the Rooftop KOM. We stayed roughly in formation on the lower part of the climb where speeds are high as you stairstep between slack climbing and flat road. Then it was time for my fourth pull as we hit the spot where racers traditionally attack, so I let everyone know I would just hold steady power and try to pace us to the top of the KOM.
Climbs can be messy in a TTT, and it can really simplify things if you know a particular rider is just going to keep it steady to the top.
I probably should have kept my #6 camera view live during this entire pull, but I didn’t activate it until I heard Chris ask me to ease up a bit, as a gap was forming. It’s never easy to hit that perfect pace in a situation like this, because you basically want to push as hard as your team can possibly go on a climb, since that’s where you can make up a lot of time in a TTT scenario.
Anyway, I eased, we regrouped, then we came over the top and settled in for lots of descent and flat roads, all the way down to Urukazi.
As usual, I had Sauce for Zwift running so I could see time gaps to nearby teams. It was showing that we were catching riders ahead, and pulling away from the team behind. Good signs! But it ain’t over ’til it’s over…
The next big effort we’d face would be the Pain Cavern, and as we were getting close to it, teammate Will had to skip some pulls. We made the call to have him do one last suicide pull in the run-in to Pain Cavern, and he executed it perfectly, holding the target pace until he blew up. We came around and kept pushing on, rotating through our remaining riders.
As I started my pull, we were in the middle of the figure 8 portion of the Pain Cavern, where racers typically attack. I eased a bit to keep the team together, then the road flattened and speeds ramped up as we exited the cavern with 2km to go and a team just a few seconds ahead!
Shorter pulls are often the way to go in the final 1-2 minutes of a race, as legs are tired but you want to finish fast. With 1.3km left in the race I came to the front and announced I’d be pulling for just 30 seconds, but pulling hard to catch the team ahead. Let’s go, boys! I do love a good carrot.
We passed the team with 900 meters to go, and I dropped a Ride On bomb as their lead rider waved. Class! Then Fabian came to the front and three down one last pull before rotating off with 500 meters left. Go go go!
Everyone on the team was pushing hard, a sort of friendly final race to empty the tank and not be last across the line. If it was a race, I guess I pipped Andrew at the line:
Heading over to WTRL’s website, we learned that we had indeed taken first place:
WTRL has placed us in the B2 division this round, which seems a bit odd since we took second place in B1 last round. Perhaps WTRL will re-sort the divisions after this race?
On the other hand, given the hilly nature of every other race this round, perhaps B2 is exactly where we should be. Because while our TTT result would have beaten all the B1 teams as well, our strength as a team has never been found in the hills.
Personally, I was happy with my performance in this race. I felt like my heart rate was a bit lower than usual, possibly a product of all the heat training I’ve been doing. And I was able to consistently put in 1-minute pulls, which I haven’t always been able to do.
We wrapped up the day with our traditional team photo:
KICKR CORE 2 Firmware Update Supports Bridging of Zwift Ride And Click v2 Controllers
Yesterday, Wahoo released updated KICKR CORE 2 firmware (version 2.5.4 / 3.5.4) to enable the trainer to bridge Zwift Click v2 or Zwift Ride handlebars.
What is “bridging,” how does it work, and why does it matter? I’m so glad you asked! Let’s dive in…
Bluetooth Bridging
“Bridging” refers to a device’s ability to act as a hub or “go between,” connecting one or more Bluetooth devices to another. Why is bridging useful? Mostly because Apple TV limits you to connecting to only two Bluetooth devices (for example, your trainer and HRM). This isn’t a big deal when all you’ve got is a trainer and heart rate, but with more and more riders using Zwift controllers (often for the benefits of virtual shifting), people are finding themselves hitting this connection limit:
Bridging consolidates multiple Bluetooth connections into one. Only your KICKR CORE 2 needs to be connected to your Zwifting computer (in this case, Apple TV), but it will send along the datastream of the additional devices it is bridging.
Note: another way around the Bluetooth connection limit is to use a trainer that can connect via WiFi or Direct Connect… read this post for details.
When the KICKR CORE 2 was released in September 2025, it already had what Wahoo calls the “KICKR Bridge” feature, but this only worked to bridge heart rate monitors.
Yesterday’s update added bridging support for Zwift Click v2 and the controllers on the Zwift Ride handlebars. This means you can connect your trainer, HRM, and controllers, using just one Bluetooth connection. (Or, I suppose, if your KICKR CORE 2 is connected via WiFi, you’d be using no Bluetooth connections at all!)
This should simplify connection and startup for Apple TV users, who are a huge segment of the Zwift population. Why? Because Apple TV is a simple and affordable device for Zwifting!
Test Results
I’ve been using the new firmware for a couple of weeks here in the Zwift Insider Lab, and it’s been working well! I’ve mostly used it with the Click v2 controllers, and here’s what you see on the pairing screen when you first click the “Controls” box to pair:
Unlike bridging for other apps, this bridging is done automatically when you’re using Zwift. According to Wahoo’s support docs, “The Zwift game ignores the heart rate monitor stored in the trainer/BIKE’s firmware, but once a CORE 2 or BIKE PRO on current firmware is selected in the Zwift pairing screen, Zwift will have the trainer search and bridge any available compatible heart rate monitors and/or Zwift controllers.”
I’ve even tried some “officially unsupported” connection schemes, like pairing the classic Zwift Play controllers via Bluetooth, while the Click v2 is connected via bridging. Notice the bridged device has a little trainer icon next to it, while the direct Bluetooth connections use a Bluetooth icon (and a green icon signifying the use of Zwift protocol):
This scheme works well, though I’ve occasionally seen the Play controllers respond slowly, while the Zwift Click v2 remains very responsive. Not sure what that’s about.
Overall, the updated KICKR Bridge works well on Apple TV, PC, or any other device that can run Zwift.
Upgrading Your Play + KICKR CORE 2 Firmware
To start connecting to your Click v2 or Ride controllers through the KICKR CORE 2 bridge, you’ll want to make sure your controllers’ firmware is up to date, and also update your trainer’s firmware.
Update your controllers via the Zwift Companion app. Click More>Equipment>Your Controllers to update. Here’s what I saw when I connected to my Click v2:
Update your KICKR CORE 2’s firmware via the Wahoo app.
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route
Yorkshire’s 2019 Worlds Harrogate Circuit is 13.9km long with 245m of elevation gained per lap. A and B teams will be racing three laps of the course for a total of 41.6km with 737m of elevation, while C and D teams will race two laps for 27.8 km with 492m of elevation. Here’s the lap profile:
As you can see, this route is never flat. Racing well on this course requires constant heads-up riding, and the ability to put in hard 1-3 minute efforts to maintain position on climbs.
Out of the start pen you’ll get a feather powerup at the lap arch, then the road turns a hard right, and the first climb begins. The Otley Road climb is 1.8km long and averages just 3.1%. Even though this isn’t a points segment, efforts will lift, and you can expect some riders to get dropped.
Tip: With a rather low average gradient, speeds will be high enough for drafting to play a significant role, so hold onto those wheels!
A few lumps and bumps bring us to the steepest descent on the route, down Pot Bank. Play this one right with momentum and/or powerups and you may be able to bridge up to riders ahead. Play it wrong, and you’ll get dropped!
Then we climb up a bit from Pot Bank, descend to the river, and begin the Yorkshire KOM, our first points segment. At 1.2km and 5.5% average, this is the second key selection point for the race, and the place where the biggest efforts will happen each lap:
You’ll get an aero powerup at the KOM arch, perfect for use on the upcoming sprint or perhaps the finishing sprint on the final lap.
Descend from there and turn a hard left onto Cornwall Road, AKA Millionaire’s Row. A short climb will sap the legs, then you’ll turn a hard right and hit the Yorkshire Sprint start line, the second points segment on each lap. The finish line isn’t even visible until the final ~10 seconds, so this is a tricky sprint for sure!
Grab a feather powerup at the sprint arch, then enjoy the short descent before proceeding over a couple of lumps and a quick climb back to the lap start/finish banner.
That’s one lap done. But you’ve got one or two more to go!
For this race, specific powerups will be given at each arch:
Feather at Lap banner
Aero at KOM banner
Feather at Sprint banner
Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. These will be most helpful on the steepest parts of the Yorkshire KOM.
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.) Useful if you’re contesting the sprint for points, or going all in for the finish.
Bike Recommendations
This race’s sawtooth profile 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:
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.
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!)
These charts show 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.
Because the Harrogate Circuit is laid out the way it is, all the points are “hidden” behind challenging short climbs. If you get dropped before the top of the first Yorkshire KOM, you’re out of the running for significant KOM and Sprint points, as well as finishing points.
That said, this is the type of course where lots of riders will get dropped. If that includes you, remember: in ZRL, every point counts. The points you earn by continuing to push from the chase group may just be enough to put your team over the top.
What sort of strategic decisions will we see in this race?
I predict riders will fall into three groups:
Racing snakes: Riders with high ~3-minute power to weight would be well-served to attack the early climbs to thin the pack and drop sprinters. Once the big selection is made, the front pack will just need to keep the pace high enough to stay away and mop up all the big points. (It worked for MvdP in 2019… until he blew up!)
Puncheurs: If your VO2 power lets you hold your own on climbs, 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 two or three, plus that blasted Otley Road climb? 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!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Zwift ended 2025 with abang, bringing the highly requested draft indicator to the game. As we head into 2026, one Zwifter shares 7 things that he thinks Zwift should add in 2026!
Also included in this week’s picks are videos about FTP tests, Tour de Zwift 2026, brutal Zwift races, and fitness testing.
7 Things Zwift Should Release in 2026 (Everyone Would Love This)
Adam from Road to A shares 7 features that he thinks Zwift should add in 2026.
My first FTP test – With my new Zwift bike!
Moloko Cycling shares why she got the Zwift Ride, sets up the Zwift Ride, and tackles her first FTP test on Zwift.
Tour de Zwift 2026: Watch This Before You Ride
Bike Bonk Biff shares everything you need to know about Tour de Zwift 2026.
My FTP Went Up After This Brutal Zwift Race | London Uprising
Dead Last Cycling tackles stage 4 of the Fresh Outta 25 series. Watch as he pushes himself to the limit and sets a new FTP!
My First Zwift FTP Test In 2 Years
For the first time in nearly 2 years, Giorgio Coppola tackles an FTP test to see where his fitness is at.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
This is the flattest race of round 3, so enjoy it while you can, pure-power riders… the climbs are coming!
Let’s dig into this new course and look at bike selection and more!
Looking at the Route: Neon Shore Loop
Neon Shore Loop is a brand-new route in Makuri Islands… so new, in fact, that none of us have raced it yet! It was created just for ZRL, and unless you take advantage of one of the recons held the weekend before the race, the first time you see this route will be during your TTT.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everything about this route is new. It’s made up of roads most of us have already raced, after all. They’re just arranged in a slightly different fashion than we’ve ridden them in the past.
At 34.1 kilometers in length, with 258 meters of climbing, this is the flattest race of Round 3. Like most routes in the Neokyo/Urukazi areas of the Makuri Islands map, this route is quite flat, apart from a couple of key climbs of similar length. Here’s the route profile, not including the 1.1-km lead-in:
Let’s break this route into key sections:
Flat Start (first 9.2 km): Settle into your team rotation and keep those watts high.
Ramp Up to 2nd Level @9.2 km (200 meters long): This quick ramp up to the elevated road is short enough that you can hit it hard, keep your speed up, then recover a bit on the short flat before the Rooftop KOM begins.
Rooftop KOM @10.5 km (1.9km, 2.7%): This climb isn’t particularly long or steep, and it is certainly very draftable. The first 2/3 of this climb is a series of stair-steps which pitch up then flatten out continually, keeping pack speeds high. Then there’s one final ~700m steady climb to the line before the road flattens in the final 50m.
Descents and Flats @12.5-24.8 km: Heavier riders, settle in and enjoy the longest section of the race without any climbing! This takes you out of Neokyo and down the Slot Canyon to the base of the Mech Isle Corkscrew.
Mech Isle Corkscrew @24.8 km (500 meters, 3.6%): This dirt climb isn’t long or steep, but since it’s dirt, it’ll be slow due to increased Crr. The harder you can push, the better. Remember, in a time trial, you want go harder when you’re going slower!
Descents and Flats @25.3-29.8 km: Several more minutes of descent or flats will let your legs recover a bit for the final Pain Cavern climb back to Neokyo level.
Pain Cavern @29.8 km (2.1 km, 3%): This will be the toughest climb of the day, since you’re near the end of the race and legs are tired. Again, you’ll want to push hard here, as speeds will be slow.
Finishing Flats @31.9 km to finish: Once you’re out of the Cavern, it’s a flat run-in to the finish at the Alley Sprint arch. Get back into formation and empty those tanks!
Bike choice here is simple: go aero. On a route like this, where the roads is mostly flat or downhill, and the only climbs are short and slack, weight simply doesn’t matter enough to trade it for aero performance. Aero is everything! The best setup by far is the CADEX Tri frame paired with the DT Swiss Disc wheels, but you’ll need to be at level 40+ to access this sweet rig:
Many recon rides are planned each week on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and familiarize yourself with the route! Find a list of upcoming ZRL recon rides 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. I’ll add recons below as I find them, but please comment if you find a useful one that isn’t yet listed!
Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams with big pure-power riders who can keep their power high on the front while staying in single-file formation to conserve in the draft behind. Extra seconds can also be gained by pacing smartly, ramping up the effort on short climbs and recovering a bit once you’re up to speed on the short descents.
On a course like this week’s, I recommend all team members set their Trainer Difficulty to the same value so you’re all feeling the gradient changes similarly. (When one rider has it set to 100% and another 25%, the first rider may ramp up power much more than the second when a climb hits, which can make a mess of your team formation.)
Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on each rider’s abilities. I highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.
Lastly, if you want to go further down the TTT rabbit hole, I highly recommend Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.
Tips and Tricks for Conquering the Tour de Zwift 2026 Ultimate Challenge
Tour de Zwift 2026 begins today, and thousands of riders are joining each event! (I just rode in the kickoff event, in fact, and there were over 1,100 riders in my event!)
It’s Zwift’s biggest series of the year, and the beauty of these popular events is that you can complete each stage at whatever pace you’d like. Whether you’re pushing yourself to the limit or just doing an easy zone 2 effort, everyone’s welcome, and no one rides alone.
There are 6 stages, each lasting a week, and each stage offers three route lengths: long, standard, and short. Ride just one of the route options and you’ll get credit for completing that week’s stage.
But some riders want a bigger challenge, so this year, once again, Zwift is holding “The Ultimate Challenge.” Completion requires you to ride all 3 route options on each stage, for a total of 18 route completions. Lots of riders have already begun the challenge by knocking out a stage or two today, the first day of TdZ!
But what does it actually take to complete The Ultimate Challenge, and what special unlocks do you get? Let’d dive in…
Total Distance, Elevation, Etc
I put together a quick table listing each stage’s route, length, elevation, time estimages at 2 and 4 W/kg, and the XP you’ll earn if this is your first time finishing the route (read more about route badges):
So completing The Ultimate Challenge requires you to ride nearly 575 kilometers and climb almost 7,000 meters. That will take you over 21 hours at 2 W/kg, or 15 hours at 4 W/kg.
How To Finish the Challenge
The simplest way to finish the challenge and check your progress is to click the TdZ card on your homescreen, then pick what you’d like to do. All the stages include a card you can click to free ride the route “on demand” by yourself:
In addition, the current week’s stage lists group ride and race events that you can join:
The on-demand option means you don’t have to wait 6 weeks to finish The Ultimate Challenge. In fact, some riders will certainly finish it this week!
Hack #1: TdZ Credit on Non-TdZ Rides
Personally, I think riding in actual TdZ events is far and away the most fun way to finish The Ultimate Challenge. Those big group rides let you push as hard as you want, offering plenty of challenges for those looking to push their limits.
That said, you don’t need to select a route or event from the TdZ picker to receive completion credit. In fact, if you join a non-TdZ event held on a TdZ route, you’ll get credit for completing that part of TdZ as long as you finish the route!
You can also pick routes and free ride them using the standard route picker, the My List tool, or any other method.
Hack #2: Structured Workouts
If you want to complete The Ultimate Challenge, but you also have structured workouts you want to knock out, just pick the route you want to free ride from the TdZ screen, then go Menu>Workouts once you’re riding. From there,you can pick the workout you’d like to ride, while also finishing the route. Just make sure you finish the entire route!
Hack #3: Entry-Level Bike 5% Boost
If you have a fully-upgraded Entry-Level bike in your garage, be sure to use it on the ride where you finish The Ultimate Challenge and get that final 11,000 XP. Entry-Level bikes that are fully upgraded give you an extra 5% XP earnings boost, which turns those 500 XP bonuses into 525 XP, and that 11,000 XP bonus at the end into 11,550!
Stefan from my 5v5 Ladder team was once again trying to coach me out of a mid-summer slump. If you’ve ever been on a Ladder team, you know the chat quickly turns into a general discussion of all things Zwift racing. Because Club Ladder runs year-round, those chats never really go quiet in the off-season. Instead, teammates become people you banter with week after week, sharing every small victory and setback.
Stefan’s advice was well-intentioned: take a rest day. I took it as a challenge.
It was July 2024, and I was complaining about being tired for a Thursday afternoon race after doing WTRL Duathlon the night before. That comment got me thinking: what would happen if you ditched structured training altogether and just raced every day?
So I tried it.
I started with 30 races in 30 days. Then 80+ races in 90 days. Before long, I found myself in the “Top 25” most active racers on ZwiftRacing.app. But every three months the stats reset, and it all felt a bit hollow – until December 2024, when Tim from ZwiftRacing.app added a History tab to each rider profile.
Suddenly, full-year totals were visible: races, podiums, wins. Looking back at my 2024 numbers, I saw 251 races, 93 podiums, and 34 wins.
I figured I could do more. And so a 2025 challenge began, aiming for 300 races, 100 podiums, and 50 wins.
The Logistics of Racing (Almost) Every Day
I’m based in Chicago, and most of my racing happens during lunch breaks – assuming meetings allow. If I have calls between 11:30 and 14:30 CST (17:30–20:30 UTC), racing options shrink fast. With many low-attendance community races removed from the calendar, meaningful racing outside those windows is limited, aside from the hourly zRacing events.
Weekends were a particular challenge with young kids in the house. Saturday activities became stressful once “it would be nice to race today” turned into “I have to race today.” Knowing there was only one race per hour created real friction at home.
Zwift’s lack of on-demand racing becomes trying, particularly in these low-popularity slots. Unlike most video games, there are no bots and no instant lobbies – you can only race at a set time against whoever shows up. That sometimes meant racing late in the evening in a pen where the only other rider dropped out. At that point, I’d happily take robots over an empty pen!
There were days I raced alone just to keep the streak alive. Occasionally, I leaned on formats like Tiny Races, where multiple short races count individually. It would be easy to inflate totals that way, but that wasn’t the goal. The goal was more simple: race as often as possible and see whether fitness would follow.
Chasing Podiums and Wins
So, how to judge success? Zwift racers joke about “little virtual trophies,” but there’s no denying they’re motivating. Even if no one else cares who won in Crit City last Tuesday, seeing a podium on your profile feels good.
The problem is defining what actually counts.
Zwift has long struggled with multiple results sets thanks to disqualifications and the opt-in nature of ZwiftPower. If you’ve raced on Zwift, you’ve probably seen an eighth-place in-game finish turn into second-place on ZwiftPower. That’s a podium. Hooray! But should it be?
Even worse is ZwiftPower’s time-based randomization – introduced to prevent racing in group rides – which can occasionally interfere with legitimate race results. Over the year, I lost more than a few podiums in WTRL Duathlon due to mismatches between systems:
Yes! Alright! 2nd Place! Until ZwiftPower weighed in with the sad trombone…
At the same time, does a third-place finish in a four-rider field really deserve the same excitement as third out of 70? And worst of all, a 1-of-1 finish counts as both a win and a podium when neither really happened.
Between races that didn’t count correctly and others that arguably shouldn’t count at all, podium stats became more noise than signal. Fun to look at, but not something to judge success on. Eventually, I dropped podiums and wins from my annual goal just to reduce frustration.
Fortunately, new APIs from Zwift now allow third parties to pull results directly from Zwift itself, meaning we can finally see results for non-ZwiftPower riders. ZwiftRacing.app has already integrated this, and ideally other organizers will follow. Soon, “if it’s not on ZwiftPower, it didn’t happen” may be a thing of the past.
A Year of Ranking and Categorization Systems
Over the course of the year, I raced under nearly every system Zwift currently uses: Category Enforcement (CE), Zwift Racing Score (ZRS), legacy ABCD categories, vELO, age-based pens, and even events with no categories at all.
None of them are perfect, but some are clearly better than others.
Category Enforcement (CE)
Category Enforcement does a good job limiting climbing speed, which helps make hilly courses feel fair. Power-based categories are a boon to riders near the top of their category, but those near the bottom are often doomed to uncompetitive races. On flat courses, unlimited watts in a w/kg system means some heavy riders are simply unmatchable.
Having raced on both sides of the dividing line in ZRL last year, I can say with confidence that being at the top of a category is definitely more fun. As a “barely B” rider, I struggled mightily under CE, but found a niche in crits where I could just about hang on and occasionally sneak a podium or win.
Legacy “ABCD” Categories
Legacy ABCD events are increasingly rare, and when they do appear, they often feature baffling rule sets: no pen enforcement, “see everyone” enabled despite staggered starts, and even late joining allowed. Even as someone who races nearly every day, I found myself irrationally irritated by a late joiner “winning” after only riding the final two kilometers – often from the wrong category. It’s hard to imagine we ever raced like that, but Zwift has clearly come a long way!
Zwift Racing Score (ZRS)
Power-based categories are mostly gone now that Zwift Racing Score was adopted for most races in 2025. ZRS aims to improve matchmaking using results, but frequent racing exposes a key weakness: inflation. Unless you finish dead last, score losses are minimal. Race often – especially in small fields – and your score tends to drift upward over time.
My own experience reflected this. Despite modest power numbers, I quickly found myself above 700 ZRS, locked into top pens against former A+ riders. Meanwhile, riders I’d been competitive with in the lower half of ZRL B fields under CE spent much of the year hundreds of points lower. Climbing against riders with 900+ ZRS capable of holding 6+ w/kg was a brutal reminder of why we had power-based systems in the first place!
ZRS is a major step forward, but if it takes ~100 races to settle and most riders only race once or twice per week, it may be a long time before the majority of riders truly find their level.
vELO
Let me preface this by saying I really like vELO as a concept. It has become my primary barometer for race performance because it answers a simple question: did you perform better or worse than expected, given the competition?
As a categorization system, vELO has meaningful advantages over both CE and ZRS. It avoids hard power caps while still considering power enough to prevent legacy A+ and C riders from landing in the same pen. The prediction model’s terrain modifiers are especially impressive, accurately identifying where riders with certain power profiles will struggle. (A rider who’s Gold with no sprint, for example, might be classified as Silver on Crit City.)
Unfortunately, race series can’t use those terrain-adjusted values for pen allocation. Worse, points-based series will ignore them entirely. I learned this the hard way by losing more than six months of vELO progress in just a few climb-heavy Dirt Racing Series events back in the Spring!
vELO 2.0, slated for 2026, will absolutely tighten this up. Today’s vELO is great, but the new version promises to be something really special.
Age-Based Racing
Age-based formats like WTRL Duathlon and the Inox Masters League have promise, but Zwift’s five-pen limit creates complications when more than five age groups race together. Results rely on post-race ZwiftPower adjustments, leaving riders unsure of their finishing position until well after the race ends.
There’s also no power limit, so, as with ZRS, you can end up with D and A+ riders in the same pen. That’s rarely compelling for the former, but with popular series like Inox Masters running short, punchy races, many riders can at least feel competitive. These were terrifying affairs as I did them, but afterwards, I remembered them fondly. The definition of Type 2 fun!
Everyone Together
Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve come to believe that the best categorization system might be none at all.
Some of the most enjoyable races I did all year featured “everyone in E” with a ZRS range of 0–1000. These weren’t mass-start events that still created winners and losers based on who could hang with the category above. Instead, they were true “everyone together” races. Riders naturally sorted themselves into groups, and success was measured by beating the riders around you – not chasing a podium.
HERD Winter Racing deserves special mention here. Those Friday events were consistently some of the most engaging races on the calendar.
The Advanced Pen Hack
While not a separate categorization method, the Advanced Pen felt like a revelation compared to the chaos that often defines zRacing. With a 650+ ZRS requirement, fields were more predictable and largely free of sandbaggers and “October Surprise” riders with artificially low scores after a summer outdoors.
Racing against 900+ ZRS riders was still brutal, but the hard cutoff minimized downside for riders near the bottom. When you’re predicted last, vELO and ZRS losses are small, and with stronger riders intentionally shedding points, you could even gain vELO while finishing near the back.
It almost feels like a hack: if you want to look good on paper, race Advanced Pen. Just be prepared to get dropped!
Unranked Racing: An Opportunity Area?
All of this raises an obvious question: why don’t we have more unranked races on Zwift?
Outside of WTRL Duathlon, Team Time Trials, and Chase Races, almost everything “counts.” That creates a real disincentive to race when you’re anything less than 100%, which is a shame, because racing against others is often the strongest motivator Zwift has.
Zwift’s “Friday Night Fun Races” were a welcome exception. Dinosaur costumes, big-head mode, tricycles, and sub-20km races sounded like an excuse to take it easy. Instead, three of my top five all-time 20-minute power efforts came from those events.
There’s something freeing about knowing there are no consequences for blowing up. I’d love to see more races like this appear on the calendar in 2026.
So – Did Racing Every Day Improve Fitness?
By January 2025, I was a recently relegated C rider adjusting to a new Zwift Ride setup and learning to sprint properly after switching to clipless pedals. By mid-year, I was solidly back in B, winning races and feeling confident in my sprint (though naturally climbs will forever remain an Achilles’ heel).
On paper, I improved. vELO rose from low Sapphire to high Emerald. ZRS climbed from the low 500s to over 700. Estimated FTP (eFTP) jumped from 298 in 2024 to 323 in 2025. I was setting new power PBs almost weekly.
The grind, in chart form.
In practical terms, though, the picture was more mixed.
Racing every day makes you very good at racing – specifically at 25–30 minute efforts. Over the year, I became exceptionally good at standing up and driving high watts for 30–60 seconds to close gaps.
But being good at repeated anaerobic surges doesn’t build endurance. Long rides all but disappeared, and my weight actually increased as the year wore on. While I might comfortably beat my former self on Glasgow Crit Six today, I’m fairly sure “old me” would have the edge on Alpe du Zwift.
In racing nearly every day, I didn’t become a better all-around cyclist. I became better at Zwift racing.
Year-End Numbers
According to ZwiftRacing.app, my 2025 looked like this:
313 races
58 wins (19%)
152 podiums (49%)
1 DNF (A black mark!)
Min vELO: 1479 Sapphire
Max vELO: 1800 Emerald
Final vELO: 1783 Emerald
Racing was nearly all I did, which my somewhat embarrassing Zwift Spinback highlighted in clear detail!
Zwift Spinback highlighted 2025’s depravity. But what was I doing on those 17 rides that weren’t races?
Final Thoughts
Racing can absolutely make you fitter… for racing. But when it crowds out everything else, something gets lost.
Over the year, I skipped group rides, fun activities like The Big Spin, tours like Tour de Zwift and Tour of Watopia, and much of the social side of the platform. Instead of riding primarily with my clubmates, I became a lone wolf – joining whatever race fit the time slot I had available that day.
My interactions with other riders dwindled to a “GLHF” in the pen or the occasional dinosaur joke on Friday nights. Zwifting became an obsession focused on results and metrics rather than fun and fitness. At some point, it kind of stopped being fun.
I like to think both Stefan and I were right. You can race yourself fit – but if racing comes at the expense of everything else, you may end up fitter at Zwift and poorer at things that matter even more.
So this year, I’ll remember to keep it light. We’re all here just trying to get fit, blow off some steam, and hopefully have a good time doing it. Ride On 2026!
A quick bit of news for anyone shopping for a new trainer in 2026…
First: Zwift and Wahoo are already holding a “Big New Year Sale” ending on January 5. If you’re looking for a great deal on the Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2, or the KICKR V6, this is a great time to do it!
But just yesterday, Zwift launched an additional 10% discount available on the KICKR CORE 2 trainer to EU and UK customers. Just use the discount code “EXTRA10” at checkout!
Price includes 1 free month of Zwift ($20 value) for new subscribers only.
Clearly, Zwift is looking to move some inventory in the UK and EU markets. This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen on the CORE 2 for UK and EU customers.
About the Wahoo KICKR CORE 2
The original Wahoo KICKR CORE’s longevity and reliability proved nothing short of startling, especially considering its price point. First released in 2018, the KICKR CORE is the “little brother” to Wahoo’s flagship KICKR trainer, and its hardware has remained unchanged since release.
It did, however, receive significant firmware updates to enable auto-calibration and Zwift virtual shifting, allowing it to become the de facto trainer paired with the Zwift Ride smart frame.
But competition in this price range is strong. September’s release of the KICKR CORE 2 brought premium features to Wahoo’s mid-budget workhorse, updating it to the standards set by the latest smart trainers.
What’s New?
New or upgraded features on the KICKR CORE 2 include:
WiFi connectivity for fast, reliable connections and automatic firmware updates
Race mode for near instantaneous response
Bluetooth bridging of heart rate and other sensors to consolidate connections (great for Apple TV users)
New flat leg design for easier, more stable setups
Improved multicolored LEDs indicate connection and trainer status
Redesigned flywheel lowers product weight while slightly increasing inertial load for better road feel
Reduced setup friction and waste: easier unpacking and assembly
Key Specs
Max Wattage: 1800W
Max Incline: 16%
Max Decline: -10%
Power Accuracy: +/-2%
Connectivity: WiFi, ANT+ FEC, ANT+ Power, Bluetooth FTMS, and Zwift Protocol
Cassette: sold with 11-speed cassette or Zwift Cog
Supported Hubs: 130/135mm QR, 12×142, and 12×148 Thru Axle
Note: shopping links in this post are affiliate links to Zwift and Wahoo. Your purchase through these links helps support Zwift Insider, so thank you in advance!
