This page includes route maps and basic details for all Zwift routes on the Crit City course.
Keep in mind this is an event-only course, so the only way to ride Crit City routes is to join a group event. Once the event begins you may choose to exit the event and free-ride the course as long as you’d like.
Looking for other courses? Jump to Watopia Routes, London Routes, New York City Routes, Innsbruck Routes, Richmond Routes, Yorkshire Routes, Bologna Routes, or Makuri Islands Routes.
Downtown Dolphin is one of two routes on the racing-focused Crit City map released in the December 6, 2019 update. Featuring dead turns, an uphill prime section, a lap counter, and sharp corners with sightlines on city streets, this route’s layout nicely replicates the visuals of a downtown crit.
Downtown Dolphin is one of two routes on the racing-focused Crit City map released in the December 6, 2019 update. Featuring dead turns, an uphill prime section, a lap counter, and sharp corners with sightlines on city streets, this route’s layout nicely replicates the visuals of a downtown crit.
Route Basics
Length: 1.9 km (1.2 miles)
Elevation: 8 m (26‘)
Lead-In: 0.1 km (0.1 miles)
Map: Crit City
Start & Finish
Since this is an event-only route, riders will always begin in the start pens located just after the lap banner when riding in the Downtown Dolphin direction. This means you’ll ride nearly 2 laps before the lap counter shows 1.
Restriction: Event Only
Achievement Badge: none
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
Prime Climb
Downtown Dolphin
Strava Segments
Strava SegmentsBike Selection
This route is quite flat, so aero rules the day. Get the most slippery frame and wheels you can afford!
Route Description
Beginning at the start pens, you ride toward the city center portion of the route. Look ahead and if your race is broken up enough you may see riders coming down another section of road toward you.
In this first section, the older portion of the city, you’ll be mostly hemmed in by buildings. As the city closes in the road tilts up slightly–a false flat which will slow riders, increase resistance, and bump up power numbers.
Past the Watopia mural on your right, with the spinning Zs across the street, you’ll round the second right-hand turn and encounter a Zwift eSports stage complete with riders on trainers, spectators, and big screens showing videos of avatars in action.
Zwifting in Zwift? Zwiftception.
An eSports stage complete with competitors and big screens
Hang another sharp right and you’ll pick up speed quickly as the road tilts downwards at 2% for this entire straightaway. Look ahead and notice the start/finish banner–this is another place on this well-designed route which allow you to catch sight of riders who are well ahead or behind.
Look ahead to spot the finish banner and any riders up the road
(Crit racers know if you’re able to get off the front far enough that the peloton no longer sees you, you stand a better chance of staying away. It’s harder to chase what you can’t see.)
Starting the prime section
You’ll make another two lefts before things get crazy as the road turns right, pavement turns to brick, and the prime section begins! This 200-meter, 4% incline is the only timed segment on Crit City, and it’s where you’ll see attacks each and every lap.
The prime climb tops out at 6%. Short and punchy!
The first of two “dead turns” is coming up, at the end of the straightaway containing the prime banner. Make this 135-degree turn and enter the more open and modern “business park” portion of the city which includes a sort of virtual Zwift HQ as its centerpiece. HQ includes more Zwifters (runners and riders) out front.
A virtual Zwift HQ
Next, we’ve got a fun little set of racetrack-like rollers where you’ll want to keep your speed high and make sure you don’t lose the wheel ahead! Look ahead and you’ll spot the lap banner–still 400 meters away, but this is another chance to see riders who are well ahead or behind.
Rounding the final turn into the finish
Complete the 180-degree turn, passing the Scotty inflatables and more virtual Zwifters, and it’s ~200 meters flat and straight on to the finish.
Time for another lap!
Bell Lap is one of two routes on the racing-focused Crit City map released in the December 6, 2019 update. Featuring dead turns, a rolling uphill section, a lap counter, and sharp corners with sightlines on city streets, this route’s layout nicely replicates the visuals of a downtown crit.
Bell Lap is one of two routes on the racing-focused Crit City map released in the December 6, 2019 update. Featuring dead turns, a rolling uphill section, a lap counter, and sharp corners with sightlines on city streets, this route’s layout nicely replicates the visuals of a downtown crit.
Route Basics
Length: 1.9 km (1.2 miles)
Elevation: 8 m (26‘)
Lead-In: 0.1 km (0.1 miles)
Map: Crit City
Start & Finish
Since this is an event-only route, riders will always begin in the start pens located just before the lap banner when riding in the Bell Lap direction.
Restriction: Event Only
Achievement Badge: none
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
Bell Lap
Strava Segments
Bike Selection
This route is quite flat, so aero rules the day. Get the most slippery frame and wheels you can afford!
Route Description
The Bell Lap route traverses the map in a counter-clockwise direction, so you will begin by exiting the start pens and turning right to ride through the lap banner. This more “open” portion of the course could be described as the sort of park-like, modern section of Crit City.
Watch for attacks up the twisty section!
At the end of this straightaway, you will hit the first sharp turn, a hairpin that takes you into a twisty, rolling uphill climb toward Zwift HQ. This is where attacks happen on each lap, so stay attentive!
Virtual Zwift HQ
After the twisties you’ll be on a false flat riding past the virtual Zwift HQ building. The next dead turn is coming up, a 135-degree turn which takes you onto the straightaway containing the prime banner. There is no time prime section in this direction, though, so just ride through the banner and enjoy the short descent–it’s the longest downhill you’ll get at Crit City!
The longest descent at Crit City
After the descent over the prime brick the road flattens for a moment, then turns right, bringing you into the older, city center portion of the course.
You’re now on a false flat climbing, toward the eSports stage. Turn left and the road tilts down slightly–wave to the spectators at the eSports stage but stay attentive because the finish line is just up the road!
Watopia mural
You’ll quickly pass the Watopia mural, turn a left, and now as the course begins to open up again there is just one turn left before the finish. Mind your position in the pack, because if you’re not near the front going into the final turn you’ll probably never get there!
Start/finish
Looking for race tips on Bell Lap? Check out this No Breakaways episode featuring top-ranked racer Scott Gleason sharing advice with amateur Deven Destefano on how to best race this popular circuit:
I haven’t yet raced one of these, so I suspect simply toeing the line will answer my question. But, I’ll ask it anyway… You mention that “Crit racers know if you’re able to get off the front far enough that the peloton no longer sees you, you stand a better chance of staying away. It’s harder to chase what you can’t see.” Does that mean that during a race, zwift does not display the rider list on the right side of the display? I know the time splits displayed there are dubious, but that display and the map immediately above… Read more »
Yes, Chris, you can see other riders on the minimap. This certainly negates SOME of the advantage of getting away, but it doesn’t take away all of it. Actually seeing the riders up the road is a better carrot than seeing them on a map!
Do racers have numbers “pinned up” and (if the differently-scored fields are on-course concurrently) is it possible to distinguish a rider from one field from a rider from another field?
So far all the races I’ve seen have been single-field races… that is, you only see the category you are racing. And this is how it should be on this course, because mixing the fields would get really confusing on such a small lap.
No numbers pinned on, no. Although I hear that may actually happen in the future, which would be kind of cool!
It may be called Crit City and have “crit races,” but without any steering, braking, or possibility of crashing, other than a change in gradient, it doesn’t seem to me to have any of the technical elements that make a crit a crit. Doesn’t this basically still come down to primarily just TT ability on a game that has you go around a bunch of corners? It may offer a bit of a visual diversion from other Zwift road races, but that doesn’t make it a crit.
agreed. it feels like a TT; more interesting though. For me it is a TT pace basically most of the time
Very interested in your thoughts on the quickest way through the rollers. I’m pulsing power on the little climbs and holding back on the mini descents. The logic is to try and maintain constant speed through the rolling hill segment. I’m wondering if power up during the descents is quicker to build up a sort of slingshot effect.
Really wish this was another world we could choose. I have done one Crit City race and really enjoyed it, but rarely are these races scheduled at times that work for me.
Hi Eric – wondering if you can help me with this. I can’t seem to join races in Crit City, even though I’m signed up and on my bike ready to go – it just doesn’t pop up as an option. It shows I’m ‘joined’ because the alternative is ‘leave’ but nothing else. Any advice?
Are you in game, riding? Or waiting on the screen before that, where events are listed? Gotta be in game to get the invite. I know, it’s a little odd…
Ah that might explain it! Was searching for it in the same place you select ride locations / routes. Let me try that and see if it works ☺️
Hi, Where are the course routes?
Apologies. We’re working on upgrading the route pages and these were broken! Fixed now, available above.