All About the Iceni Women’s Series Races Beginning March 5

February 24, 2024

LAST UPDATED March 11, 2024

The Iceni Women’s Series is back! This popular women-only race series is celebrating Women’s History Month with a racing challenge each Tuesday in March. Powerhouses and strategists from category A through D are invited! See all the details below…

About the Name

In case you don’t remember your Roman history, the Iceni tribe was ‘peacefully annexed’ by the Roman Empire at some point before 47 AD, though it was allowed some autonomy. When the King of the Iceni tribe died and Boudicca I became High Queen of Iceni, the Roman Empire saw her unfit to rule and invaded the region. Iceni then led a revolt against the Roman Empire and regained its independence, along with the independence of several other tribes.

This led to the subsequent formation of the Comhairle, an alliance of the British tribes. Iceni had a major say in Comhairle affairs and became an important center of trade, military, and leadership. A prime example of women pulling society together, right?

Categories and Registration

This series uses standard A-D women’s categories, and category enforcement will be used. Categories will start and race separately.

Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/iceni

Schedule and Route Details

Each week features two different league times, which change slightly throughout the month due to daylight savings time. You will want to race the same league time each week if you are competing for the overall series win.

This year there are four distinct challenges over the month, with each week being a challenge in itself as riders look to maximize their series points.

Week 1 (March 5) 18:00 & 23:30 UTC

Route: Sugar Cookie
Length: 1 lap – 39km (24.3 miles)
Power-ups: Aero, Anvil, Feather

This is one of the first major races on Sugar Cookie, a new route released by Zwift in October 2023, and the points in this race are tricky! The first sprint is FAL, but the second and third are FTS – so while the first sprint could encourage breakaways, the pack speed will be undeniably an advantage in the second and third sprints. To finish it off, the fourth and final segment will be FAL followed by 15km more of racing for finish points, including a short, steep climb around 20 km. Sprinters might have a chance to bag major FTS and FAL points, but will have a hard time with the 900 meter climb and furious racing after the segments are done. Prepare your strategies well for this one!

Intermediate Points :

Stoneway Sprint: top 10 First Across the Line (FAL)
Acropolis Sprint: top 10 Fastest Through Segment (FTS)
Sasquatch Sprint: top 10 Fastest Through Segment (FTS)
Woodland Sprint: top 10 First Across the Line (FAL)

Finishing Points: 75 – 1 points depending on your finishing position in your category.

Week 2 (March 12) 3 Mini races

Ready for some sprint-climb time? In this challenge, we’re adding a twist by featuring three short races for racers’ enjoyment. Be sure to choose bike equipment wisely, as drafting is disabled in the first two races.

Race 1 (18:00 & 23:30 UTC) Tick Tock (custom length, 2.3 km/1.42 miles)
Drafting disabled. Finish points only – fast, flat racing for those with the ability to produce the highest watts
Race 2 (18:10 & 23:40 UTC) Bell Lap (4 laps – 7.9 km/4.9 miles)
FTS points on each lap at the prime as well as finish points – racers will need to choose their strategy for this mini race carefully, as the segment points are fastest through, but the draft is still OFF for this race!
Race 3 (18:35 & 24:05 UTC) Cobbled Climbs (1 lap, 9.5km/5.9 miles)
Drafting enabled. Finish points and segment points: FAL for Libby Hill, followed by FTS for 23rd Street. This is tricky, because the longer Libby Hill climb is immediately followed by 23rd Street, but those off the front after Libby Hill won’t benefit from that gap when trying to compete for FTS within a km!

Finishing Points: 50 – 1 points depending on your finishing position in your category on each mini race.

Week 3 (March 19) 18:00 & 23:30 UTC

Route: Royal Pump Room 8
Length: 1 lap – 27.8 km (17.3 miles)
Powerups: Anvil, Feather, Aero

We are off to Yorkshire for week 3 with 2 QOMs and one sprint segment in play. Again, racers will have to think about their strategy for this course, as only FTS is up for grabs on the first sprint (right out of the gates, where everyone will have fresh legs), and then the Yorkshire QOM and Yorkshire Reverse QOM come within 5km of each other. Racers will likely target one or the other QOM. However, your strategy for this course might have to be dictated by the powerups that you get – with the anvil and the feather in the mix, each racer will have to adjust on the fly to get the most out of them.

Intermediate Points :

Yorkshire Sprint Reverse: top 10 Fastest Through Segment (FTS)
Yorkshire QOM: top 10 First Across the Line (FAL)
Yorkshire QOM Reverse: top 10 Fastest Through Segment (FTS)

Finishing Points: 75 – 1 points depending on your finishing position in your category.

Week 4 (March 26) 18:00 & 23:30 UTC

Route: Casse-Pattes
Length: 1 lap – 23.9 km (14.9 miles)
Powerups: Feather, Aero, Draft

The last challenge of the series takes us to France, where riders, once again, will need to focus on their strategy to score the most points. Two sprints and two QOM’s are in play, all in the back half of the race, with the first up being a FAL sprint! (Breakaway, anyone?) But if you miss the FAL points there, you’ll have a good chance at FTS only a few kms later on the Aqueduct with a bigger group. So what will you go for? FAL, or FTS?

Intermediate Points: