Indoor cycling season is the perfect time for you to sharpen your fitness for next year. In this week’s top video, learn about the Zwift Camp training series and watch as one rider tackles the first of the series: “Zwift Camp: Baseline.”
Other topics in this week’s picks include converting a garage into a home gym, beginners’ experiences on Zwift, and bike fitting on the Zwift Ride.
How Much Faster in 3 Months of Cycling? – Zwift Camp: Baseline
Benji Naesen tackles four benchmark workouts to get a baseline for his next 3 months of training with the Zwift Camp training series.
I Got Dropped in My First Zwift Race
After recently getting his Zwift set up, Luke Goldstone decided it was time to put himself to the test with his first Zwift race. Watch as he pushes himself to the limit on the virtual roads of Crit City.
Converting My Garage Into a Home Gym
Considering upgrading your home gym setup? Ryan Condon breaks down the logistics of turning his garage into a home gym.
I Started Indoor Cycling For 30 Days, And This Is What Happened
GCN guides two beginner cyclists through their first 30 days on Zwift. Watch as they tackle workouts, FTP tests, and races.
Zwift Bike Set up with Velo Tom – Bike Fit Advice
Struggling to stay comfortable on the Zwift Ride? Bike fitter Dougie Shaw shares tips for improving fit and comfort on the Zwift Ride.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
If you’re on a C or D team, you’ll be racing one lap of Everything Bagel, and this guide is for you. A and B teams will race two laps of Rising Empire (click here for that race guide).
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route
C and D teams will be on New York’s Everything Bagel route for a total race length of 34.9km with 527 meters of elevation gain.
This route is basically never flat, so you will need to stay alert and constantly modulate your power to maintain an ideal pack position throughout the race. Let’s look at the key sections of this race course…
New York KOM Reverse @ 2.9km (1.1km, 8.1%) (FAL + FTS): The NYC KOM Reverse climb is an interesting one, because it’s really two climbs. First you’ve got the lead-in of ~800m, then the actual timed segment which is 1.1km long. Make no mistake – the effort will begin at the bottom of the lead-in, and it will be an all-out slugfest because riders know that the big intermediate points will go to the group that makes the front selection.
Powerup at the KOM arch
The descent immediately following is steep and long enough that gaps can open up, especially if riders are supertucking, using anvil powerups (see below), or both! Watch out, especially if you are a lighter rider.
NY Sprint @13.2km (150 meters, -4.3%) (FAL + FTS): the first sprint segment of the race is a technical one. It begins with a kicker before the start line (be ready to work!), then the actual sprint is downhill and fast. Mind your pack position and timing.
Powerup at the Sprint arch
Glass road climb from 19.1-20.5km: though not a points segment, this climb is long and steep enough that it will force yet another selection.
New York KOM @ 24.4km (1.4km, 6.3%) (FAL + FTS): the second time up the NY KOM, but on the forward side this time. It’s steeper this way.
Powerup at the KOM arch
Again, expect a fast descent immediately following this KOM. Using a supertuck and/or an anvil can help you bridge up to riders ahead, attack your group, or just sit in the wheels and recover more easily.
NY Sprint Reverse @28.1km (230 meters at 0%) (FAL + FTS): riders, especially in groups, will carry a head of steam into this sprint from the just-finished descent of the NY KOM. You’ll want to consider how these higher speeds affect your approach to this final intermediate segment of the race, including the option of holding your anvil until you’re closer to the bottom of the descent.
Powerup at the Sprint arch
The finish here is flat and fast, with most of the final kilometers being slightly downhill. Tip: Typically, wins go to riders who sit in the draft as long as possible, as riders tend to poke their nose into the wind with long attacks on this finish.Be patient.
Powerups will be given at each arch, with equal probability to each of the three possible powerups. That means a total of five possible powerups are available throughout the race.
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 NY KOM (forward and reverse).
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, attacking on a descent, or going all in for the finish.
Anvil: makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. It won’t hurt you, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater. Use this on downhills. Pair it with a supertuck to go extra fast with zero effort!
Bike Recommendations
This race’s two key climbs 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!)
John Rice
J Dirom
Nathan Krake
Strategic Options
Points Distributions, Everything Bagel
This chart shows 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.
Central Park is an attritional place, especially when the course heads up to the glass roads. Climbers are going to love this race, because all the points are hidden behind tough KOMs, and the number of riders able to hold onto the front will continue to drop as the race progresses.
I predict riders will fall into three groups:
Made for this: Pure climbers will surf wheels on the paved roads, then light it up on the glass roads. Especially up the first KOM, they’ll push hard to drop as many riders as possible, so there’s less competition on the points segments up the road.
Puncheurs: If your VO2 power lets you compete on NY-length KOMs, 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 four? 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 following the KOMs!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
If you’re on an A or B team, you’ll be racing two laps of Rising Empire, and this guide is for you. C and D teams will be on Everything Bagel (click here for that race guide).
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route
New York’s Rising Empire is 20.7km long with 375m of elevation gained per lap. A and B teams will be racing two laps of the course for a total of 41.4km and 750m of elevation. Here’s the lap profile:
Let’s discuss the key parts of this route, from start to finish…
Glass Road Ramp @3.1km and 23.8km (800 meters, 5%): This first proper climb of the race arrives as you exit the paved tunnel and transition to glass roads, and it always drops some riders. That said, this is a points race, so smart riders will conserve their energy for the bigger climbs up the road that really count in the end.
New York KOM @8.5 and 29.2km (1.4km, 6.3%) (FAL + FTS): The first points segment of the race, New York’s KOM is no joke, boasting some double-digit inclines across its triple stair-step layout. Fair warning: the average gradient is 6.3%, but it’s much steeper in places.
Powerup at KOM arch
The descent immediately following is steep and long enough that gaps can open up, especially if riders are supertucking, using anvil powerups (see below), or both! Watch out, especially if you are a lighter rider.
NY Sprint Reverse @12.3 and 33km (230 meters at 0%) (FAL + FTS): How cruel of WTRL, to hide the sprint points behind an intimidating KOM! But it is what it is. Those who make the front group after what’s sure to be a selective first KOM will fight for the big points on this sprint segment, which begins slightly downhill and ends slightly uphill.
Powerup at sprint arch
New York KOM Reverse @15.8km and 36.5km (1.1km, 8.1%) (FAL + FTS): Shorter and steeper than the forward version of the KOM, the Reverse is especially punishing because there’s some significant climbing on the lead in. The climbing begins when you move from the paved to glass roads around 14.9km in, and it climbs steeply to the official start line of the KOM Reverse at 15.8. (It’s a bit confusing, because you’ll ride through the forward KOM’s start line first. But that’s not your start line! The KOM Reverse begins after you cross the forward KOM’s start line, then turn right.)
Powerup at KOM arch
Again, expect a fast descent immediately following this KOM. Using a supertuck and/or an anvil can help you bridge up to riders ahead, attack your group, or just sit in the wheels and recover more easily.
Powerup first time through lap arch
Once you ride through the lap arch, you’re halfway there! Lap two, of course, has the same key features as you see listed above.
Finish at Lap Arch (41.4km): The race ends on an uphill kicker ~200 meters long, but don’t wait until the road kicks up to start pushing! The fastest finish comes by pushing the power into the slight descent with ~500 meters to go, building speed you can carry all the way to the line. Both the feather or aero powerups are helpful here, with the aero being the most helpful at A/B speeds.
Powerups will be given at each arch, with equal probability to each of the three possible powerups. That means a total of seven possible powerups are available throughout the race.
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 NY KOM (forward and reverse).
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, attacking on a descent, or going all in for the finish.
Anvil: makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. It won’t hurt you, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater. Use this on downhills. Pair it with a supertuck to go extra fast with zero effort!
Bike Recommendations
This race’s four key climbs 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!)
J Dirom
John Rice
Nathan Krake
Strategic Options
Points Distributions, Rising Empire
This chart shows 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.
Central Park is an attritional place, especially when the course heads up to the glass roads. Climbers are going to love this race, because all the big points are hidden behind tough KOMs, and the number of riders able to hold onto the front will continue to drop as the race progresses.
I predict riders will fall into three groups:
Made for this: Pure climbers will surf wheels on the paved roads, then light it up on the glass roads. Especially up the first KOM, they’ll push hard to drop as many riders as possible, so there’s less competition on the points segments up the road.
Puncheurs: If your VO2 power lets you compete on NY-length KOMs, 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 four? 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 following the KOMs!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Cycling Time Trials Winter Series Begins Tomorrow, 600+ Riders Signed Up
Tomorrow, Cycling Time Trials (CTT) – the national governing body for time trials in England, Scotland, and Wales – launches their Winter Time Trial Series on Zwift. And they’ve clearly done a great job marketing the series, with over 600 riders already signed up for race 1!
Hayley Simmonds, a TT medal winner at both the European and Commonwealth Games and a former National Road TT Champion, is heading up the team running the winter series. She says, “I envisage the Winter Series on Zwift as being a great way for experienced testers to maintain and even improve their race readiness over the winter period. For anyone who is new to Time Trialing, then what better way to give it a go?”
Learn all about the series below…
Routes and Schedule
The series is 14 weeks long and begins this week, with races on Wednesdays at 7pm UTC (2pm EST/11am PST) repeating on Saturdays at 9am UTC (4am EST/1am PST).
Overall series rankings are points-based, with lower points being better. Points are earned in two different ways:
Finishing Points: 1st place gets 1 point, 2nd place gets 2 points, etc
Segment Points: fastest 5 through each course’s designated segment will get -5 points for 1st, -4 points for 2nd, -3 points for 3rd, -2 points for 4th, and -1 point for 5th
Course PB Points: each course (except mountain stages) is repeated twice in the schedule, plus there are two race events each week (one on Wednesday, one on Saturday). Riders who set a new series PB on a course will receive a -1 point deduction.
Championship Criteria
At the conclusion of the 14-week series, riders will be crowned as champions in their respective categories based on their best results in 7 races*. There will be both an open championship and a women-only championship.
* The 7 races must include at least 4 flat races, 2 rolling races, and 1 mountain race, as classified in the table above.
Key Rules
Entry Requirements
You must have a heart rate monitor paired to join these events, along with either a smart trainer or power meter connected as your power source.
If you want your results to count toward the Championships, you must be registered at ZwiftPower.
Riders are categorized based on FTP in watts per kilo:
A: 4-6 W/kg
B: 3.2-3.99 W/kg
C: 2.5-3.19 W/kg
D: below 2.5 W/kg
These are mixed races, but CTT says, “We’ll be producing an open leaderboard and female leaderboard for each category.”
Neutralized Equipment
Bike frames and wheels are neutralized for these events, so you can ride any setup from your Zwift garage that you’d like. Maybe it’s time to race that new Brompton P Line?
Questions or Comments?
It’s always fun to see an organization step into Zwift and use the platform effectively, hosting events that reinforce the organization’s mission and connect riders from around the globe. It’s also good to see a thoughtfully designed series structure. Nice work, CTT!
Got questions or comments about the series? Share below!
This round saw 9.5k racers compete across 216 separate divisions from every corner of the globe – in and of itself a massive coordination effort. Big thanks to the WTRL team for pulling this off season after season.
Given that this was a TTT where the times can be compared across zones, and now that all the results are in, I thought it would be worth taking a step back and looking at the ZRL landscape as a whole. Where are the teams concentrated? Which zones are more competitive? Who are the best of the best?
To answer this, I looked at the top team finishing time in each division across all 88 ZRL round 2 events that occurred last Tuesday. In the chart below, each bubble represents a division, plotted by the time of the fastest team in that division (lower on the chart is faster), with the size of the bubble corresponding to the total number of riders competing in that division:
Source: ZwiftPower, time based on 4th rider to finish event
Interestingly:
Clearly some zones are significantly more populated than others, with the Shamrock Open B Regular category having 6 distinct divisions while other zones have just a single division
While the overall riders are relatively concentrated in the Shamrock through Indigo zones, the fastest open times largely came from less-populated zones
This was not the case for the women’s field, where the Mint zone is both the most populated and also fielded the fastest times
There should be some re-shuffling of teams within divisions, with 3 out of the 8 fastest times coming from a team outside of division 1 in their zone. (Editor’s note: WTRL did some reshuffling after the race.)
The last topic to look at was teams that performed particularly well across zones and categories. While the underlying data is approximate at best, there are clearly a few organizations fielding top teams across multiple zones and categories:
Source: Team of the 4th-place rider in each event as defined by their ZwiftPower profile
DIRT continues to be by far the largest racing organization within Zwift, though the actual teams are organized by the many sub-teams within DIRT
Aeonian Racing Team appears to have fielded an impressive number of winning teams in the women’s leagues
Followed by some of the more popular event organizers on Zwift fielding 5 or more winning ZRL teams (Coalition, Rhino, SISU, OTR, and eSRT)
Overall, ZRL continues to be an impressive collection of racing teams coming together season after season, round after round. I would highly encourage anyone who has not given it a try to give it a go (many teams are always recruiting and quite welcoming).
For the ~10,000 of you racing this round all around the world, best of luck out there!
Virtual Brompton World Championship Arrives on Zwift
Today, Brompton + Zwift rolled out a slate of race events for the week of November 17-23, dubbed the Virtual Brompton World Championship (VBWC). This is the virtual version of the real-world BWC, which has been held in various venues and formats since 2008. And while the press release calls the VBWC the “world’s most stylish race” (debatable), we can all agree this will at least be a sight to behold!
Everyone will be on the new Brompton P Line bike (added to Zwift this week) for a race of “small wheels and big fun.” Show up, speed through London’s streets, and you’ll unlock the exclusive Brompton kit.
This series, like Zwift Unlocked, which ends the week before, replaces the regular ZRacing events as Zwift’s key races.
VBWC events are scheduled hourly for riders with a racing score of 700 and below, and a bit more intermittently for advanced racers at 650+ in order to assure large enough race fields. This is the same alternating category schedule Zwift uses for ZRacing events, and you can read more about it at zwiftinsider.com/zracing.
Everyone will be racing on Greater London Flat, for a total race length of 17.3km with 97m of elevation. Powerups will be given at each arch, with an equal chance of receiving a Draft Boost or an Aero Boost.
Before the virtual action begins, Zwift and Brompton will debut their collaboration at Rouleur Live (13–15 November). Attendees will get a first look at the ultra-limited Brompton P Line for Zwift, and a chance to test their sprint legs on a custom Zwift setup featuring Brompton bikes on modified Wahoo Kickr trainers.
One lucky individual will win a bespoke Brompton P Line for Zwift — the ultimate collector’s piece for fans of both worlds! (Winner will be drawn at random from all competition entrants who have a go on the Brompton at Zwift’s booth at Rouleur Live.)
Zwift Camp: Build begins this Monday, November 10. This is a 5-stage route-based workout series, with each stage lasting one week and focusing on developing power over a specific time interval.
My plan is to do each of the five workouts before their weeks begin, so I can write a post unpacking the workout and delivering some tips along the way. This post covers Stage 1’s workout on Glasgow Crit Six, but before we get there, let’s talk a bit about what Zwift Camp: Build is… and isn’t.
Setting Expectations
Zwift Camp: Build is the second in a series of three Camps planned for the 2025/26 season. We began with Zwift Camp: Baseline, which featured four workouts that pushed us to set maximal power numbers for 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 20 minutes.
Now we have Zwift Camp: Build, which features workouts where we repeatedly go hard across approximately the same intervals as Baseline used, to build fitness in those systems. (Important note: “approximately” is the keyword here, because the workouts aren’t precisely targeting 5-second, 1-minute, 5-minute, and 20-minute power intervals. Route-based workouts use distance instead of time-based efforts, so Zwift has chosen segments that come close to the target intervals.)
Lastly, in the spring of 2026, we’ll have Zwift Camp: Breakthrough. This Camp will feature some competition and analysis of our power performances.
Who Is It For?
These Zwift Camps are designed as an accessible entry into structured training and analysis. The workouts are fairly short, so the vast majority of riders will be able to complete them. And you only need to do one workout per week to complete the program, meaning most riders can fit Zwift Camp into their current training load.
If you’re a newer cyclist who hasn’t done much structured training, or if you’re a more experienced rider looking to bring a bit of focus and specificity to your training, Zwift Camps may be helpful.
But this isn’t a full-blown periodized training program like you get from a coach, TrainerRoad, or even Zwift’s own training program library. If you’re an intermediate to experienced rider who already trains with even a medium level of structure and specificity, you’ll probably find Zwift Camps don’t offer what you need. Yes, you can do the same Zwift Camp workout more than once to further train a particular system. But experienced riders will probably need to focus much more than one week and a couple of sessions on a particular energy system to see results.
With that said, let’s get into Stage 1’s workout!
Stage 1 Walkthrough: Neuromuscular (~5 Seconds)
The first stage of Zwift Camp: Build focuses on short-term sprint power. To do so, it puts you on the new Glasgow Crit Six route, which takes you on six laps of the Glasgow Crit Circuit for a total distance of 18.3km and 199m of elevation gain.
The key part of this route-based workout is the five maximal sprints on the Champion’s Sprint segment, which comes up at the end of each lap and takes most riders 12-15 seconds to complete. The route actually takes you through the Champion’s Sprint seven times, but if you follow the simple instructions on screen, you won’t sprint the first or last time through the segment.
I went into the workout with semi-tired legs, so I planned to just push hard for the final ~5 seconds of each sprint. (The on-screen instructions have you pushing hard throughout the sprint, but this is your workout, and you can do with it what you will.) I did do a longer sprint on the final effort, just to say I’d followed the rules somewhat!
You’ll notice some HUD changes in these route-based workouts. First, if you’re using virtual shifting, your current gear is shown top-center at all times.
Additionally, after your first sprint, the Splits and Ride Stats HUD elements automatically pop up. Ride Stats goes away after a few seconds, but Splits remains throughout the ride, automatically creating a new lap split at the start of each lap. (This auto-lapping is a handy feature some ride organizers might like to use!)
I actually found the Ride Stats HUD more useful for this particular workout, as I wasn’t chasing lap times. (The Splits HUD will be handy, though, in other workouts, including Stage 3, where we ride Volcano Circuit laps as a VO2 workout.) I liked the Ride Stats block because it showed my 5-second power best for the ride, giving me a target to beat.
The on-screen prompts make it clear that you are supposed to rest in between sprints. Even up the Clyde Kicker, your goal is to spin easy so the legs can recharge for another full-gas sprint effort.
I was riding this as a solo test event, so there was nobody else on screen for me to chase. That made it easy to go easy. Fair warning: if you execute this workout in a group event, it may be harder to dial it down and spin between sprints. (Because, as they say, if two cyclists show up, it’s a race…)
At the end of the workout, you’ll earn the Glasgow Crit Six achievement badge, along with a 360 XP bonus.
HoloReplay Tips
Zwift’s HoloReplay may be a very helpful feature in these route-based workouts, giving you a target to beat on each segment effort. Admittedly, I spent more time confused and slightly annoyed at HoloReplay during my workout than I did chasing the ghosts, but for future workouts I’ll try to be more intentional about chasing my previous self!
You’ll want to set up HoloReplay in a specific way so it enhances your experience without detracting from it. Here are the settings to use:
Note: if you set “HoloReplay Privacy” to “Public” instead of “Private”, you’ll get a second HoloReplay of yourself at each segment, which corresponds to your best effort currently listed on that segment’s leaderboard. This is the mistake I made when doing the Stage 1 workout, but really, it seems more like a bug, based on the description of what the setting does, and the fact I had “Leaderboard HoloReplay” set to “Hide”…
It powers maximal efforts lasting up to ~15 seconds
It’s like a high-powered battery in that it produces a lot of power quickly, depletes quickly, but can also recharge if you rest for a few minutes
It’s the least adaptable of your three energy systems
Sprint Training Tips
While this workout won’t lead to significant neuromuscular energy system adaptations – it is the least adaptable energy system, after all – it can help you improve your sprinting form and efficiency. And you can make big sprint gains by improving form and efficiency!
Whoever put together the script for this route-based workout seemed to know this, as there are several prompts which focus on form and efficiency, such as, “Think about your gear choice. Maybe try a quicker wind-up this time. Keep your body relaxed and ride efficiently.”
I would have liked to see more prompts like this, though, because many riders could use a bit of coaching to maximize their sprints! I hosted a ride called Sprintapalooza for years, where we rode short circuit routes with sprint segments, going all-in to set segment PRs and compete for the green jersey while working on our sprint form. Through that, I learned a lot about sprinting.
Here are a few tips to maximize your sprint power:
Proper gearing is very important. Too easy a gear and you’ll spin out without enough resistance to push against. Too hard and you’ll be mashing and unable to maximize your power either. Experiment with different gearing in your maximal sprints, and you’ll come to learn which one or two gears work for you in most situations.
Check your form: I’m a big fan of rocker plates, partly because they let me rock the bike back and forth naturally when sprinting on Zwift. If you have one, make sure you aren’t riding it backwards, and be sure to take advantage of its movement. (If you don’t have a rocker plate, your form will differ greatly from good outdoor form.)
Work on cadence: power on the bike is computed using two values: torque (how hard you’re pushing the pedals) and cadence (how fast the pedals are moving). Increase either of these, and your power goes up. Work on high-cadence drills and you may just find you’ve unlocked more sprint power!
Suggestion Box
Overall, I’d say this first workout of Zwift Camp: Build went well. The script was on point, and the course was a good one for sprint repeats. That said, here are a few ways Zwift could improve the experience:
Average segment power history: As mentioned above, I would love to see a HUD element that shows my power average across the target segment every lap, so I can see how those numbers are changing as the workout unfolds.
Improve the event description: Zwift likes to set up these massive event series with a pile of identical text dumped into each and every event’s description. It appears that’s what they’re doing with Zwift Camp: Baseline, too. Why not customize the text for each stage, and make it more useful? Share specifics about what we’re trying to accomplish in that session, and why it matters. And get rid of every word that isn’t needed.
More technique tips: especially when it comes to maximal sprints, form and efficiency are huge factors. Talk about that more during the session. Zwift could even link to further resources in the event description.
Questions or Comments?
Have you done this workout yet? Share your thoughts below, or any questions you may have heading into the workout.
Signup numbers are looking strong this weekend, so we picked some of the most popular rides and crazier events (12-hour group rides or banded PRL Full events, anyone?) See our five favorites below!
🤝DBR x Canyon x Cykelnerven Ultra Charity Ride
✅ Good Cause 　✅ Endurance Challenge 　✅ Popular
Are you ready for a mega endurance challenge? This event is 12 hours long and open-paced. DBR organized it on Watopia’s Flat Route Reverse (10.2km, 61m) so you’ll always have riders nearby and can even take a break if needed.
This is a charity ride, held to support Cykelnerve, raising awareness and funds for a world free of multiple sclerosis.
 Every donation helps in the fight against multiple sclerosis.

VirtuSlo’s popular 4Endurance League starts this weekend with a 49km, 502m race on France’s Gentil 8. With over 200 riders signed up when we put this post together, this is the most popular ride on our list!
The 4Endurance League is a 6-race series held over a 6-week period. This is race 1. You can find out about the other races and more league info in the event description.
Always a popular ride, this week’s Rubberband Joy Ride is a special one, since it’s on Zwift’s longest route: London’s PRL Full (173.5km, 2625m)!
The Bikealicious crew is always friendly, and this is a “keep together” ride, so as long as you keep pedaling you’ll stay with the group. It’s a good chance to grab this route badge if you haven’t done so yet, which comes with a whopping 3460 XP!
🥇 RiZZRL Veterans / Remembrance Day: Salute to Soldiers
✅ Unique Event 　✅ Newish Route
The RiZZRL races are always epic showdowns, and this week race organizer Ben has fired up a Veterans/Remembrance Day Salute event on Watopia’s Southern Coast Cruise (26.3km, 147m).
Riders are grouped by Racing Score, but these are mass start events.
âś… Popular Race 　✅ “Ladies Only” Option　✅ Unique Event
The Rocacorba Triple Dash combines three mini races into one fierce competition. There are two timeslots: 15:30 UTC/10:30 EST/7:30 PST for women’s only races, and 17:30 UTC/12:30 EST/9:30 PST for mixed. And there are prizes!
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!
