Cyclists love exploring new roads, indoors and out. So it’s no surprise that Zwifters are always happy to hear news of fresh roads coming to the platform.
Zwifter James Eastwood recently posted an image on the Zwift Hype Facebook group that appears to show new dirt Zwift roads.
Digging a bit further, the image came from the latest Companion app update, which includes a new map folder called “gravelmtn”. Piece the images in that folder together and you come up with this:
We can’t tell from the map what the elevation profile will look like, but with a name like “Gravel Mountain” we would guess there’s some climbing involved! If this map is designed like Watopia’s Fuego Flats, the dark parts of the map would be the mountains, while the light part is the flatter land. That means this map definitely has lots of potential for climbing, but of course Zwift could have the roads tunneling into the mountains if they’d like.
Comment from Zwift
We reached out to Zwift for an official comment. Here’s what they said:
Gravel Mountain is the code name for a new experiential event-only map developed by our game team as they explore new ways to build maps and worlds with greater efficiency. As an experiential map, Zwift will be hosting invite-only events to test this map for stability and eventually, new features. While we are unable to confirm when this map will be broadly available, we’re excited about what this new, faster, iterative approach means for Zwift and for map innovation in the future.
Zwift’s statement is quite interesting, and something we’ve never heard them say in the past. “New ways to build maps and worlds with greater efficiency” is welcome news for Zwifters who love shiny new roads. Calling the map an “experiential” map is an interesting choice of words, too. It leans into the idea that Zwift will want Zwifters to share their experience (perhaps via an end-of-ride survey) so Zwift can further improve this new, faster development process.
Note also that Zwift has clearly stated that Gravel Mountain is an “event-only map” so like Crit City and Bologna, it won’t be in the monthly guest map rotation. Instead, you’ll have to join an event held on the new map/course in order to see it.
Lastly: Zwift says they’ll be hosting invite-only events on Gravel Mountain. That means the events won’t be public and open to all Zwifters, but rather only open to those specifically invited. Interesting! We hope we get an invite.
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When?
That’s always the question, isn’t it? Zwift has been quiet about this new map, but our guess is initial events will be held in the next 2-6 weeks, since it’s been added to the Companion app.
Why So Much Gravel?
If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that Zwift has released a lot of gravel-centric features in the past few months:
- New gravel bike frames
- New gravel bike wheels
- New gravel surface for Tour of Watopia
- And there’s talk of an UNBOUND gravel training program arriving soon
Some Zwifters have complained about this gravel focus, saying they don’t like gravel in game since it just rolls slower and creates dust. But others enjoy the change of pace, the fresh twist it brings to race strategy, and the way virtual gravel emulates IRL gravel, at least in terms of increased workload per mile.
Gravel is a huge trend in cycling, increasing in size in recent years in relation to other sectors like road. One gravel pioneer said, “You know something is here to stay when Shimano dedicates a groupset to it.” (This was in reference to GRX, the gravel-specific groupset launched by Shimano in 2019.) Gravel’s popularity is particularly evident in the USA, but it’s spreading worldwide. The number of gravel events in the USA has skyrocketed in recent years, although this change was somewhat muted by Covid.
So it’s no surprise that Zwift would try to tap into the gravel market. But will a dedicated gravel world prove popular with Zwifters? And will this new world’s roads use the new gravel surface which rolls faster than the Jungle dirt?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
Your Thoughts
Share below!
Gravel’s fine.
But what about mountain biking? The lack of progress made since Repack Ridge came out is extremely disappointing – even though it still features heavily on Zwift’s advertising.
Agreed. Repack is awesome- for like 10 minutes. At least make a closed loop option for it
Repack Ridge has been unplayable for a long time due to the noclipping bug when exiting the route.
Actually, despite the clipping issue, that’s the only segment I get full points on consistently, if I understand what you mean
What are you talking about? I do it all the time with no issue
Repack Ridge is great, but I agree, Zwift need’s more mountain biking
That’s super interesting! Didn’t Eric Min say that they don’t think the game needs a lot of new roads (or something along those lines, he said it in a podcast some time ago)? If they develop tools to make those worlds/roads faster that would be quite the paradigm shift i feel like.
As someone who uses steering, I think gravel/dirt are the best environments for it and I’d like to see more options there. I don’t understand complaining about the ‘gravel focus’. Zwift has plenty to offer road riders- fast and flat, rolling, short climbs, long climbs, pacers. If you’re just concerned about KPH and a clean field of vision there are plenty of options to go fast. I think Makuri is a good example of a variety of terrains and options and it shows that Zwift isn’t focused or over focused on just one thing. As you said, the variation in race tactics and workload- those are good things about gravels that can help put more variation in your training, and without ending your ride actually chewing on dirt (and bugs) like you would in the real world.
Excited to see what comes of it
I hope we runners get a chance at “trail running” on it too- would love the variety this would seem to offer!
That would be very cool. Although, such a thing would be pretty rough on a Zwift-enabled treadmill.
“the way virtual gravel emulates IRL gravel, at least in terms of increased workload per mile.” Does zwift not already require an increased workload per mile compared to riding/racing IRL? Zwift has been designed to be harder already. Maybe I’m soft and will just ride up a mountain if I want it harder but why is this a selling point for dust clouds and trying to be trendy?
No, I’d say it’s generally agreed that miles on Zwift come easier than they do outdoors. Average speeds are a bit higher, but significantly higher if you’re with a pack.
As part of the over 75 set my experience is just the opposite. Outside there are traffic lights, stop signs et al for a break. On Zwift if you stop pedaling you are stopped dead very quickly. I can do 35 mile+ rides outside but in Zwift it’s a real grind for me.
And just as importantly I can ride with others in my age bracket and take advantage drafting. Since Zwift doesn’t not offer senior only events or (now) senior only clubs…
Last week I ran across another rider, aged 76, and we had a great time pacing each other in the Cat C Chase race. Of course all the other Cat C took off at twice our power and we got left in the dust.
And it would be nice if there was another pace partner that was 1.0-1.7 level.
There is a pace partner D Diesel that rides at 1.5. Sounds like exactly what you’re looking for.
Nope Diesel Dan is just too fast for me. Everyone in the group hovers right around 2.0+. And he sprints down the hills where I’m trying to catch my breath. It’s kind of like every bike group describing a ride as 15-17 mph and then taking off at 19-21.
I just saw that ZHR Masters is having group races where there is an “E” group for 70+ years. Gonna try that tomorrow.
Also I do the Crit City races level D and I usually find 1 or 2 riders that form a pace group and we still get lapped after 7 or 8 circuits.
I agree with you Eric. I can put down a lot more miles in Zwift than I can IRL. Maybe because I don’t have an IRL road bike. IRL I can average 14-16 MPH on my Diverge, Zwifting I can easily average 20+MPH.
From my experience, in the flat lands of Ohio with similar equipment IRL versus what zwift has, assuming you don’t have a head wind IRL, the speeds are similar when cruising. It’s not until you start taking breaks for water, coffee, stop lights, etc. do the speeds really start to differ if I’m steady on the pedals. As for being in a pack, it’s not uncommon to average 28-30 mph, even in a local crit for an hour. I’ve also done some fast flatish road races over the years where we have averaged over 30 mph for those, so I don’t think zwift speeds a a-typically. I think people lack IRL experiences riding at these speeds and assume it made up. As one of the other comments suggested, I think that most people ride poorly optimized bikes or with a parachute IRL, but then the switch to Zwift and get a $17k Specialized or tron bike and don’t have to worry about terrible aerodynamics in your equipment or position.
From my experience, in the flat lands of Ohio with similar equipment IRL versus what zwift has, assuming you don’t have a head wind IRL, the speeds are similar when cruising. It’s not until you start taking breaks for water, coffee, stop lights, etc. do the speeds really start to differ if I’m steady on the pedals. As for being in a pack, it’s not uncommon to average 28-30 mph, even in a local crit for an hour. As one of the other comments suggested, I think that most people ride poorly optimized bikes or with a parachute IRL, but then the switch to Zwift and get a $17k Specialized or tron bike and don’t have to worry about terrible aerodynamics in your equipment or position.
It will be interesting to see how this new gravel is different ( which i hope it is). I would like more of a repack ridge feel to it with a single track feel. The speeds will be relative so it doesnt bother me but i think they should experiment and play around with it. Racing could be much smaller groups and more intimate. And introduce weather conditions. I was a beta tester and i volunteer….
Zwift is quite a big deal now and if it was a console game this expansion would be a huge deal.
Zwift is chasing a trend rather then listening to its customers. This is yet another distraction from fixing bugs and implementing long requested enhancements.
And quite frankly, Zwift can’t even do gravel well- a recent ‘experiment’ with a gravel stage of Tour of Watopia brought odd changes in resistance, square pixelated dust and other graphics anomalies on AppleTV.
Heres’s a novel concept for Zwift- fix the glitches that are introduced with every new release before doing anything else.
Maybe that’s what they are trying to do. They titled it “experimental.” They didn’t reach out to the public, the public asked them.
(There isn’t a condensending tone here, just a friendly reply)
They titled it experiential, not experimental. 2 different things…
I agree. The Apple TV experience on the gravel ToW stage was not a pleasant ride, (cadence going wildly from 70-180rpm) especially combined with the Tacx Neo ‘road feel’ it felt weird.
I am happy to see it as I have a grx group set bike and I like gravel without the hardcore mountain bike stuff much more … Each has its place though and I also MTB so don’t hate on me for liking one … If they drop gravel events in like a Zwift dirty kaza like event I bet you will get some takers … Do make sure to force the bike to be one of them … doesn’t have to be the best as one can force folks to actually obtain a bike if they want a better race or event setup 😎
I never understood the gravel thing on Zwift. It’s not even close to gravel irl. When i want to ride gravel i do it on real gravel.
How would you make zwift gravel more like real gravel?
To be honest I’m starting to think gravel isn’t actually a thing in real life either.
My point is, i don’t need gravel on Zwift.
I’m very happy that it is an event only. Virtual gravel doesn’t really exite me as much as a long route would do.
Dust clouds make it barely playable even on top-end machines. They shoud prioritize fixing bugs, releasing the new UI and making the game run smoother instead of releasing new routes.
I’m looking forward to it. Something different, a change of scenery. I’m also eagerly awaiting the release of a few of those new ToW routes — Downtown Titans, Three Little Sisters, and Eastern Eight. Any word on that yet?
I have no info on the routes but my suggestions is don’t hold your breath. Find an event on those routes and join it.
Just download Zwift Prefs and ride whatever course you want whenever: https://zwifthacks.com/zwift-preferences/
“Invite-only events” definition: friends of Zwift, corporate sponsors and Zwift influencers. If Zwift needs test events then make them open and limit the number of entrants if needed. BTW Clubs development appears to have gone dark since the upbeat Zwiftcast interview in February with the project lead.
Pretty sure the latest Tweet from Zwift shows a new gravel route.
Which tweet? I don’t see anything obvious at first look?
https://twitter.com/GoZwift/status/1507661885918826501?s=20&t=7JTdQM9iUJg6oYhR8BOIQw
I don’t recognise the dirt section with the sunflowers at the start.
Looks like Makuri temple climb area.
There are sunflowers on “cut across” road in Makuri, I saw them today. The only route that uses that section of road I believe is Two Village Loop https://zwiftinsider.com/route/two-village-loop/ It’s the section right after the start in the top left.
personally I want Zwift to go to less maps. Ideal world, Watopia, MI, Europe (France Paris London, ETC) Americas (New York and Richmond) have the tunnel like MI islands has to connect the different parts. I mean does anyone get excited when Paris is the guest world??
Fully agree. And while we’re at it, please include Bologna in the Europe map as well
Have you ever thought of newbies? The world gets so large, it’s hard to get an overview! Also a lot of event only routes are hardly used. Would love to see more races at the former rebel routes or even Bologna. With more and more routes that won’t be a the case.
So just something to think about, the advantages of more routes are discussed often, the disadvantages not 😉
Zwift needs two worlds. Watopia and ‘world’. All those tiny and undeveloped worlds make no sense. I’d love to free ride bologno and then take a tunnel into paris to then do france.
I can do without excessive gravel dust. I do gravel riding IRL and its not half as dusty as in Zwift.
I remember that Zwift was going to extend Makuri Islands to the same size as Watopia. With this gravel project, this apparently now has a lower priority on their roadmap. Just like rowing, and steering, and running, and mountainbiking, and ,,,
Yeah, what’s up with that “bridge to nowhere” in Neokyo? Is there another route lurking somewhere? Another project mothballed.
Oh wow! New route? Yay!!!! Oh wait. It’s gravel? And invite only? And event only? Meeeeeeeeeeh
The new map has two routes according to their “Game Dictionary” API (https://www.zwift.com/zwift-web-pages/gamedictionary)
“Gravel Mountain”
Distance: 5.1809km
Elevation: 52.6m
Available for cycling & running
Event only
No time trial
No route badge (so far)
“Gravel Mountain Reverse”
Same data as above, just the opposite direction
Both routes start within a paddock with 5 pens, which I can’t see on the map at the moment. Also, the routes cannot be ridden in laps which is probably a bug
Great find. Doesn’t the “0” for laps just mean no lap counter rather that can’t ride laps?
Also, looks like there are badges for forwards cycle and run, but no reverse badges.
I am very sure “0” this flag indicates whether you can ride multiple laps on that route. I also dug around the minified code on zwift.com and they use this flag to calculate the total distance of a race.
Where do you see the achievements? The last achievement “Handful of Gravel” (183) is for a different route in Watopia.
Anyway, I assume the “0” will eventually become a “1” and we might see an achievement once things are officially released.
Spoiler.
Zwift Gravel Mountain Preview Ride – YouTube
Are we still expecting this to go somewhere, is it on hold, or will it never see the light of day?
When I talk to ZwiftHQ about it, I get the sense that this was created almost as an experiment and that maybe those who pushed for it aren’t with the company any longer… or priorities have shifted.
So my bet is, we don’t see it used any time soon. And maybe not ever.
I like the idea of a dedicated gravel world. If they take features from iconic gravel races and bring them in would be great for the platform. People are tribal. Roadies, Mountain Bikers, and Gravel Grinders want their venues to maintain a certain purity that drives them in their goals and motivations. I would enjoy going into a world where I don’t have to debate what bike is the best for this map and do I need to do a swap. Opens up a lot of options for bikes, wheels, and diverse terrain. Maybe a few dogs to chase the cyclists.