The transformed Premier League has turned into the Zwift Grand Prix. There are 6 rounds that run from September 23rd to January 20th, with Men and Women racing a week apart in an equal distance, equal payout, equal time coverage series.
As a quasi-contributor to Zwift Insider and a rider/director of a league team, I wanted to give an unfiltered behind-the-scenes look at the action. Look for a recap after each round of the Grand Prix.
Elite Zwift (or “esports”) racing is evolving. Starting as individual-based special events, to a team-based series, the next generation of racing is getting very creative with race formats. Races started as standard scratch races, then evolved to points-based races that still heavily favored finish points.
The ZRL format in the community league led the charge at making bike racing on Zwift unique by adding fastest timed segments and points along the way that overshadowed the finish. The last season of the Premier League took these evolutions and made the racing even more aggressive and exciting.
For 2022-23 Zwift has pushed this further to embrace the creative ways Zwift can present bike racing. The new Zwift Grand Prix has invited the best teams on Zwift and created new styles of racing that could only happen in esports. This comes with new equipment rules and a team of people paid to ensure the racing is as fair as possible. Also, it isn’t just for bragging rights: teams are fighting for almost $30,000 in total prize money. The six-round series starts in September and runs until January.
Men’s Round One Coverage
Round one is called Parcours Picker. This version of racing is a 5-race series. Each of the 12 teams gets 5 riders and they must split up to put one person in each race. This creates a small 12-person race experience. The 5 races are also quite different. Race 1 is a points race on the Neokyo Crit Course. Race 2 is a 4km gravel hill climb. Race 3 is a hilly points race. Race 4 is a time trial. Race 5 is a very condensed points race on Downtown Dolphin. Teams need to score as many points as they can in each race and the totals determine the final team placings.
You can watch the race here with the always great Nathan and David:
Race 1
The first race had the least points on offer but it also had some of the hardest points to get. The top three at each sprint point got points and just four spots to earn them. This was also the first time we have seen 12-person racing at this level.
The new format, on a rarely used course, saw Ben Hill (AERO) hit off first, sprinting for the lap banner. The only problem was, there were no points available there. The real sprint followed and Ben almost got dropped. Seggebruch (Canyon) opened the season with top points in a devastating sprint. What looked like what was going to be a slow race with timing-heavy sprints quickly turned into a tactical race as the pack slowed and attacks flew.
Polley (Toyota Cryo RDT) hit out hard and got over 7 seconds on the group. In the pack no one wanted to work. Without teammates it was a game of chicken for the riders in the pack, hoping someone’s patience would break and start to pull. Once the field opened their sprint the gap closed but Polley held on for top points.
What immediately followed changed the rest of the race.
Bruhn (NeXT pb ENSH) countered and Mading (Wahoo Le Col) bridged up. They wasted no time working together and behind, the pack was again looking at each other. Bruhn and Mading got a great gap and easily took the third set of sprint points. Eventually the pack had to start sprinting for the final point available which helped close the gap but it didn’t close it all the way.
With a kilometer to go guys started jumping and sprinting. People sat up, people countered. Riders got across only to have the aggressive break riders go again. The race finished strung out and was a great preview of what the Zwift Grand Prix can be. Chaos and unpredictable. Fortune Favors the Brave.
Race 2
Race two was a gravel hill climb in Makuri Islands. Probably one of the most notorious climbs on Zwift, the ZRL has made many trips here. Often bike choice is a big consideration as a gravel bike rides much faster up it. Zwift even has gravel climbing wheels available that are even faster!
For this race, however, all equipment was neutralized. Just in case, I used the Crux with the gravel climbing wheels, which is what I ride IRL. (Bike choice did in fact make no difference however.)
If there was ever a Vo2 max test for a race it was Sea to Tree. The race was 4km in total length and the first kilometer was flat. We all waited until the actual climb because, I for one, misjudged how long the lead-in was, but I was also absolutely terrified of how hard the race would be. I wasn’t wrong, and the hillclimb turned into a group version of a ramp test.
Teugels (ABUS), the favorite, put the pressure on and hit the wind and pulled away with raw force. Brannlund (Movistar) was able to get across and with a kilometer to go they traded blows while the pack chased 3 seconds back. On the wooden bridge to the finish arch, Teugels had one more devastating kick and pulled away. Behind we all sprinted with whatever was left. 10 guys within 7 seconds after a 4 minute all-out effort. Ouch.
Race 3
Tour of Tewit Well is a deceptively hard course. The first sprint points are at the top of a tactical uphill section and the roads after are undulating. One particularly tough kicker on course is probably one of the steepest sections of road on all of Zwift. Points for this race were on the finish and the Yorkshire climb. Six deep for each. Power-ups included the newly-buffed Anvil.
The race started with Eddy Hoole (Toyota Cryo RDT) jumping to the front, spinning an uncharacteristically steady cadence. He pushed the pace while the pack saved for the effort up the Yorkshire climb. The pace got higher and higher and Pim van Diemen (Movistar) jumped first, exploding off the front. Duffy Jr (NeXT ENSH) caught his wheel and showed perfect execution to come by Pim’s incredibly powerful jump.
What happened next was the fear of all Zwifters: falling off the draft and getting blown out the back on a descent. Three riders missed the pack over the top and were left trying to chase as singles down the hill. My teammate Charles (Velocio) and Eddy, still feeling his starting effort, were left stranded. It is rumored they are still on course.
Sam Hill (AERO) also missed the sprint and found himself off the back, but unlike Eddy and Charles he had the Anvil. If you raced last week in the ZRL you know how powerful it is now. He dropped the hammer, er anvil, or hammer on the anvil, forging weight and watts to close the gap. Unfortunately, there is no rest on this course and the next big climb saw the field going all orange up the exceptionally steep roller.
The pack flew up the climb but eased over the top as everyone was praying for a break in the pace. Luca Zanasca (Castelli pb Elite) felt the weakness perfectly and attacked, finding the hardest part of the race and making everyone really question their life choices as he surged away.
His gap swelled as everyone chose to rest over chasing. With one roller to go, the pack slowed while Luca pressed on. Jo Pirotte (ABUS) attacked on the last roller, and despite the obvious point of attack, his speed split the field. From there it was all downhill to the finish. He expertly used an anvil of his own to press his gap. Behind, Duffy and Havot (Hexagone) also had anvils and used them to drop the pack and chase Jo. Duffy did most of the work to pull Pirotte back and Havot was patient and able to spring off them to come in second behind Zanasca, whose 30 second gap turned into less than 5 sec because of the power of the Anvils.
Race 4
Race 4 was a standard TT. What makes this better to watch on Zwift than outside, is everyone starts together but drafting is off. So you get to see the gaps in real time. Unfortunately, it’s still not the most exciting thing to watch.
There was one interesting bit that added a fastest-timed segment on the sprint point in the second half of the race. What AERO did was give up on higher finish points and have their rider Squillari (AERO) ride steady then nuke the sprint. Scored them 3 points without needing a rider with World Tour power, because that is what it took to win this event.
Ollie Jones (Canyon) put in an incredible ride at 6.6 W/kg for 12 minutes to win the TT. Take a look at this result board. When 5.6 W/kg scores you 11th, the level is high.
Race 5
The final race of the Parcour Pickers was a 5 lap race at Crit City with points four riders deep at the sprint banner each lap and then one more set of points at the finish. This race had double the points of the previous races.
The race started slow and tactically like the first race of the series. Sprint one and two were a game of watts and execution. On the third lap things got more spicy and Dawson (Wahoo Le Col) jumped early with a burrito and used a good slingshot and an undraftable avatar to take top points. It is hard to use the burrito in a positive way and he really showed us how it’s done.
The next lap was the beginning of a master class. Several turns before the sprint point Vujasin (Canyon) executed a perfectly timed Ghost to shoot out of the pack and catch everyone off guard. Lionel held on for top points but didn’t stop. He stayed on it and pushed his gap out. Behind the pack couldn’t stay organized and Vujasin had the power to be uncatchable. A brave move executed with absolute perfection. Taking top points for lap 4 and 5 and as well as the finish.
Final Results
Four teams have clearly separated themselves from the pack, showing how much depth they have. The bottom 5 teams, including my own Velocio team, will have to get creative to score points and stay out of the bottom.
What’s next?
The Women’s race is on September 30th at 2pm EDT. Watch it below:
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