Since launching, Zwift have added or updated their road networks 32 times. On 11 of these occasions, they added a new world, or 2 worlds as was the case with Paris and France both dropping at the same time. The other 21 updates have been to expand possibilities in existing worlds with either large new networks or a few simple connector roads.
Watopia accounts for 14 of these as Zwift’s largest world. Makuri Islands and London have both had 2 updates, and France, New York, and Richmond just 1 each. That means Paris, Crit City, Bologna, Innsbruck, and Scotland have never been updated and remain today as they were at launch.
Interestingly, Zwift hasn’t launched a new world for 3 years (Scotland was launched at the start of 2023). If you look at the release timelines in this article, you can clearly see a change post-2020. The rate of new km’s has not changed dramatically, but the rate of new releases has definitely slowed, and if you look at the launches of new worlds, this has almost stalled.
If we use Paris + France as the chronological midpoint, we had 8 new worlds before COVID and 2 new worlds after it. Scotland was a small world in terms of map size with around 15km of new roads, but Makuri Islands has been a huge addition with 3 large segments released in stages.
The trend has been to add roads to existing maps. We know Watopia is constantly being extended, but the last 2 updates have been on the rotation worlds of France and New York that many probably thought would never be updated.
That got me thinking: what about the other rotation maps that we’ve previously seen as “finished?” Can they be updated and given a new lease on life, too? What updates be time efficient enough to have a chance of implementation, yet have a big enough improvement to make them worth the effort?
Aside from a world’s total road length, what often makes a big impact is the number of junctions and connecting roads which open new route options for racing and free riding. The Epic KOM bypass was a short addition but created many new routes. Some maps have many junctions and connectors, but others are much simpler and therefore have very few route options. The worst of these “limited” worlds are:
- Bologna – 1 road
- Crit City – 1 loop
- Paris – 1 loop
- Innsbruck – 2 loops
- Richmond – 2 loops
- Yorkshire – 2 loops
As an example, if you ignore Ven-Top, the original France map was also only 2 loops and offered very few route options. In early 2025, Zwift added 2 new roads, amounting to just 3km of tarmac, yet the result was a plethora of new routes and therefore increased value to all the existing roads.
Here are my thoughts on quick-win expansions with increasing difficulty.
Innsbruck
Innsbruck routes all fall into 1 of 2 categories. Those that go up the KOM, and those that don’t. If you avoid the KOM you have 2 options, Legsnapper or Legsnapper Reverse. Ignoring the KOM portion as being a big project to expand, the lower single loop circuit has many interesting features, but everyone usually just saves their legs for the Legsnapper each lap. What if there was a new short 400m long road opposite the pens taking you straight to the bottom of the Legsnapper? Better warm up well for those race starts, although that’s just 1 of many possibilities.
The Red road on my map does just that, but also creates 2 crit-style loops which can be combined or isolated in many ways. Laps of the northern loop gives you little respite from the Legnapper, while the southern loop is rather gentler other than the rise over the railway bridge which may become a valid attack point. Perhaps you fancy 10 Laps of the southern loop with a Legsnapper afterparty or Pretzel routes to break your legs in both directions?
I’ve also added a second Blue road which is also 400m long and opens more options, but I don’t think it adds enough extra value. It could, though, serve as an alternate connection. The best bit is that both these roads exist in real life, and much of the graphics for them appear to already exist in Zwift’s map.
Yorkshire
This is probably the least tarmac for the most possibilities. The red road offers the biggest wins with just 600m of road needed, plus most of the graphics of the environment will already exist. A shortcut between Otley Road and the top of the KOM will create a Pot Bank bypass or pretzel options, although it doesn’t play nicely with the KOM banner position.
There are also 3 similar length connection options shown in Blue. Any one of those would add a different dynamic and again should mean limited effort compared with the reward. The most northerly of the 3 is my preference as a KOM bypass, but all are equally viable. None of them work nicely with the KOM segment, but the most southern works with the sprint just fine. Just 1.5km of new road and how many new route options? Anyone fancy Yorkshire KOM repeats? As with Innsbruck, these roads also exist in real life, too.
Crit City
This is the only fictional route on the list, and the smallest map in the game with just 2km of roads. Despite being an event-only map, it’s a very popular race map with races here several times every day. There are also plenty of options for alternate routes without straying too far from the pens. Many of the side roads are visible from the current route, and as it’s not modelled on a real location, Zwift do not need to replicate, just create what they want.
Given that crits are very short circuits, adding 2km of extra roads should be possible and offer many new potential routes. Going further though and adding the Blue roads would transform the map. Who knows what lies on those roads as they don’t exist yet, but I’m curious what the Zwift design team’s imagination can do with them. (And yes, the map looks like a running mushroom.)
Bologna
This is an interesting world, as it’s just 8km of road, up and down a hill. Like Crit City, the map is event-only and tends to only be used for occasional time trials. The route starts quite flat for the first 6km before turning quite sharply, both right around a hairpin and up a brutal climb. These factors mean the route is rarely ridden, and I’d bet many casual riders don’t even know it exists.
The climb portion follows the Portici di San Luca (the longest portico in the world) to Santuario Madonna di San Luca, a shrine at the top of the climb where you do a 180-degree turn and return to the start. The route only follows the portico for roughly half of its total length, however, as we deviate from its route at the hairpin. The map design team would have to do more work than adding a mere 400m link road, but any additions here may bring this map out of obscurity and allow regular racing on it.
The portico stretches along the shown red road to the Porta Saragozza, after which there is a maze of narrow roads and further porticos which Zwift can use to create a circuit back to the start pens and finish banner. We would now have an interesting ~10km loop with a reverse option, and an afterparty finish for the daring. As with Innsbruck’s Leg Snapper, the climb in Bologna renders the rest of the route into conservation mode. Offering an alternate section without the climb would create compelling alternative routes for an otherwise little-used map.
Paris
This map came out alongside France during the COVID pandemic to host a virtual version of the 2020 Tour de France. I can’t fault it for being limited in scope, as it was rushed out alongside a bigger map and was intended to replicate the iconic TdF finishing circuit, which it does very nicely. However, as a single loop, it has just 2 route options which are largely the same other than sprint and finish line locations, and is therefore only really used for racing.
Recently, the tour has added an extension to this route which goes north, meandering through Paris to take in some short but tough cobbled climbs around Montmartre. The entirety of this new section can be traced on the Zwift route map already (although it really tested my MSPaint skills), but I highly doubt it’s been rendered in game beyond some low-resolution outlines. This would take a bit of work to achieve, but would make this iconic route even more interesting, varied, and current to the real-life route.
Richmond
I almost didn’t add this map, it’s been updated once already, and I don’t see any easy or valuable additions. The map as it is, bears similarities to my proposal for Innsbruck, with 2 loops, 1 flat and one with punchy climbs. A quirk, though, is that when the map was updated to be rideable in both directions, the junctions circled in red and the road between them don’t quite work as expected. I’m not even sure if you can do a proper U-turn here, as it’s actually 2 roads rather than 1. The sprint is only on 1 of the roads for example.
Another quirk is the 2 roads alongside each other I’ve circled in blue. I’ve seen many Zwifters propose a junction here. It would be very little work as no extra road would be needed, but I’m not sure how much value it adds. I’m more interested in what possible routes lie north, south, east, and west to expand this map, and I have no idea if any gains would be worth the effort.
Other Maps
For me, the other maps are fairly strong and don’t have any low effort and high return options. (Not that I think adding 400m or road is low effort, but relative to adding the long rumoured Mt. Fuji to Makuri Islands, it is a walk in the park.)
London has a lot of route options already, and a lot of variation too. There are certainly options to travel further north and take in the sights of Oxford St, Leicester Square, St Paul’s, and Covent Garden, but that would be a lot of work, and I’m not sure it would add any new dynamics.
France has just had an update, but many would love to see an alternate route up/down Ven Top. I’m just not sure how many riders would go up there vs the time to make it.
We can assume Makuri is not finished, as there is an enticing bridge to nowhere leading east from Mech Island before the canyon.
New York has just had a huge update, but the map is very linear, with essentially 3 additional circuits dotted along a long and flat (apart from escalators) road. I would imagine it is too much to ask for an alternate route from Prospect Park to Central Park on the east side of the Hudson, especially not so soon after this previous update.
Watopia is almost certainly not finished, and there are many ways they could expand it, from simple link roads to large updates. There are also plenty of roads to nowhere teasing us with potential new routes! (The blocked-off mine entrance as you descend towards the jungle, and the barriered road by the southern Tempus Fugit turn around are 2 good examples.) A quick search on the forums will show you many riders’ dreams and ideas for new roads such as linking Jarvis to the base of the Alpe.
Of course, as Zwift’s biggest map, it also has hundreds of possible routes available, as last year’s ZRL route design competition showed. For example, the Southern Crit (below) is one I’d like to see. Try to make your own here: zwiftmap.com/watopia
Wildcard
My final option for minimal effort and maximum reward is Gravel Mountain. It must be in the game, as I managed to ride it last year due to a glitch, and it seems to be basically finished. Ok, I get it, lots of people are gravel averse, including myself, but at the same time lots of people don’t like climbing, or crits, or TT’s, or workouts, or racing, or steering, or RoboPacers, or even cycling. I know some who only use Zwift for running. So why not put a nearly finished map to use and let people ride it?
What About You?
What map expansions would you like to see? Share below!
A great analysis and well thought out suggestions. Hope they are implemented. As I’m sure everyone feels, would always love to see a new world…..
Great ideas, me personally would be an end of event only routes. Just make everything rideable. More portals in worlds according to calendar, not just France and Watopia.
For Bologna map, it would also be amazing if they’d do the descent from the top of San Luca, the same way as Giro dell’Emilia or the TdF 2024 stage. With the addition of this and the two roads you’ve drawn, it would make a decent Italian map
Absolutely! I’ve made this circuit on BikeTerra and, before that, RGT, and it is spectacular. This would be #1 on my list of expansions. It’s not particularly complex, and allows for exciting and challenging circuit races. The Biketerra route is here: https://biketerra.com/routes/9390
I know Repack Rush is physically in the way, but I miss Repack Ridge. It was my favorite course, visually, in the game (maybe competing with the Golden Forest in Yumezi).
I’d love to see them bring it back with a few small changes. Let steering work there like everywhere else (but leave the game features intact – or not if it’s too much work), let anyone ride whatever bike they want there, and make it loopable (you ride there from the desert pens – or give it is own pens – and do a race of 3-5 laps or whatever, and I’d be soo happy.
Also, I miss being able to use the exit of Repack Ridge (except on the minimap) as my landmark to start my all in attack on the Titan’s Reverse KoM.
I’d like to see Repack Rush Road get a little smoothed out and offer it as a bypass to Titans Grove… that alone could open up so many new nice routes with so little effort.
There was however the hidden addition of a gravel mountain segment added into the game a few months ago, being on roads that are near the coastal road; what’s going on with that I’m unsure of.
As it is a bit of a shame Repack Ridge is just simply gone.
Great article!
I would love to see Gravel Mountain be made available, but then I’m a Dirt Runner.
Greta suggestions! Personally I’m very motivated when I see new routes added to go and ride them immediately. The New York routes were a welcome addition. How about adding more routes in Italy, for example Rome, Milan or Florence and around Tuscany. How about adding a Spain world and adding routes around Girona. I’ve ridden IRL around Girona and its a great area. I know adding new worlds is a BIG ask, but worth thinking about. Still, I like whenever new routes are added to existing worlds.
Can’t help but feel that Carcasonne is a big omission from the France map at the moment!
If they add Carcasonne, they need to have a meeple lying in a field somewhere as an Easter Egg. Board game people know what I’m talking about.
Nah it’s just expansion for the sake of expansion. Keep the real worlds as they are. But keep making WATOPIA and Makuri bigger.
however. They need a rideable tunnel from WATOPIA to Makuri without the need for starting a new ride.
I thought about that Montmartre Tour-de-France loop the other day too, would really love to see (and ride) that and it would be a nice racing route.
Agree. As it is today, Paris is only “special” because of the traditional final stage of the TdF, it is not really an interesting course, but with the IRL TdF heading into the gradients of Montmartre, this simply needs to be done!
The Montmartre circuit would be great. Urban routes may be a modeling challenge, but Zwift has handled it spectacularly with the New York expansion. And I do wonder what they would do with Moulin Rouge.
I’ve ridden this circuit on BikeTerra. The placement of Montmartre is interesting: still far from the finish, but not so far splits there won’t stick. And of course the view from Sacre Coeur is stunning, even in a game (with some imagination). https://biketerra.com/routes/6690
Absolutely, the Montmartre loop would be definitely my favorite – that would make the Paris world far more attractive!
Switzerland was “in the works” before covid, then cancelled when they moved the pro world championship to Italy.
My guess is that the ties with the UCI are finished.
Agree to expand Italy. Add the Stelvio.
There is the open slot of a climb on the backside of Alpe de Zwift. Stelvio could go there, in Watopia.
I like the idea of just continued expansion in watopia. Riding in Innsbruck, Scotland and Yorkshire can be a bit drab. Your proposed ideas would certainly help spice it up a bit
In my ideal world zwift does the following.
Merge Paris into France. Turn France into a world for all the cobbled classics. With so many empty valleys in the France world surely they could make it work.
Merge London and yorkshire
Connect Innsbruck to scotland
Connect Richmond to the crit course
While having the UCI partnership helped zwift grow in the early years it has left us in a situation where we have all these isolated worlds with little to nothing going on in them. I’m sure many enjoy them but I only pay them a visit when Zwift has big events forcing me to.
On the way to the top on ven top route i saw small road looks like very good for MTB expansion 😁
Maybe er big roundabout in Watopia with portals to all the different worlds on zwift.
That way you could ride from Watopia though a portal to eg. Makuri then back though the portal again to Watopia and to another world in one ride.
That way you could combine all the world in one single ride, and it would make alot of new routes possible.
I love this idea.
Put a portal on top of AdZ, so the rider can either descend back to Watopia, or drop down into France.
Why is the Alpe not on the France map?
Maybe because it already has Ven-Top
The Alpe was put in Zwift well before the France map existed.
It could also be an alternativ route up Alpe du Zwift something like the real route via Col de Sarenne. It could lead to some road on the other side of the Alpe maybe connected to Jarvis Island, that way the Alpe du Zwift would not be an end station.
France needs at least one shorter loop created, I’d link up the bases of Petit KOM and Petit KOM Reverse more directly to create something similar to Grand Central in New York, that takes ~20mins at race pace if you can hold just under 3W/Kg up the climb. Petite Douleur, especially with the long lead-in, is just a bit too big for racing popularity with the masses
France and Zwift in general needs some more moderate climbs similar to the cat 4 (263-524 feet at 3%+ gradient) Petit KOM, or better still, some cat 3 climbs (525-1050 feet at 3%+ gradient).
I’d move Paris routes to France, to give another smaller race route option and open up a world slot.
I wonder if they could/should add the Gravel Mountain (or a modified version of it) into the Fuego Flats… it would be cool to implement somehow the white bridge right next to the desert start pens. On the other hand, it would mess up the latter part of the name Fuego Flats.
How about portals form one map to the other to link all maps?
I really like the UCI worlds maps and want to see more of them. Dropping a yearly ”worlds map” would be amazing. That shouldn’t exclude adding and expanding the fantasy worlds as those cater to different players.
and ohhh…. I want one map… just one short map…. a VELODROME!!
I had a somewhat random thought about this recently – Paris-Roubaix finishes in a velodrome, so why not add a velodrome to the France map allowing for a P-R type finish as well as velodrome racing?
So agree about a Velodrome – if anything entices me to try other avenues of virtual cycling it’s the lack of a velodrome and all the types of racing it opens up. Zwift has the numbers to make this a very good option
Fantastic article. Innsbruck in particular appears so easy (??) to expand, and create a bunch of interesting new routes: one short connector creates two shorter loops, a figure 8, and pretzels. Yorkshire, too, can be given new interest with just a short section of additional road.
If Zwift were to implement this, no doubt plenty of people would complain ‘is this all?’. However, most would see the value in easy wins and new routes, especially where they draw people back to worlds they probably haven’t ridden in years.
For Yorkshire I’d rather the main roads were kept largely the same, as it keeps the “world championships” course identifiable and a bit special. Instead look at building out from Harrogate and adding in some of the rest of actual Yorkshire. You can do a bit of London style cutting out the gaps between famous sections, but chucking in Buttertubs, Rosedale Chimney or the various bits around the moors and dales.
With Innsbruck it’s worth noting that they included the “short course”, there is a longer finishing loop past the leg snapper that’s a bit vicious. That seems a good one to add.
But then going off the zwift metrics, hills aren’t very popular and more of Fuego flats would be more appreciated. Maybe time for a Dutch/Fenland map instead?
Hi Eric. ‘Wishful thinker’ here. Zwift should replicate the Mallorca 312 route as a new world, and make literally dozens of rides, TTs and climbs out of the fresh tarmac. Or maybe fix the bugs they had with Sa Calobra and put it back in the climb portal along with the repaired Stelvio climb. They were as good as built too. 🙂
i am feeling we need these expansions as well (you did mention Watopia is still nowhere near done): more coastal express roads around the other islands like a East Coast (around the large desert coast past the oasis, maybe even more inland on this island have a pyramid circuit and spiral climb so a deserty twin to the volcano), a West Coast (extending the South coast around the Alpe du Zwift so this one starts my forking off near the Sandy Coast goes around the Alpe du Zwift and meets where the jungle decent is (end could be through that blocked off jungle decent mountainside area) maybe even a climb that meets up with the Alpe du Zwift summit starting near the most western point of the west coast if you see where I’m talking about. Then I feel Watopia will also start using the completely hidden (on Zwift’s maps) area that Strava marks “Banie” (we only have Teneu) on the most western parts of that remote island. Watopia I feel, even though big already, is nowhere near completely finished. And yes, still waiting on Mt Fuji.
Someone already noted it, but in addition to expanding the Paris map, it would really seem obvious to merge Paris with the rest of France. This would make for great races that start in France and then end in Paris. I would also love if Bologna was expanded, having lived there it would be great to add some excursions out into the countryside as well.
Would love to see Bologna expanded as well. As it is it’s never on the world rotation either so honestly I bet many casual Zwifters don’t even know it exists or have never ridden it. Even doing a minor expansion on it then unlocking it into the rotation would be an easy win for Zwift IMO. It would essentially be a new world for many Zwifters.
Thoughts of Italy seem really nice.
It would be nice to add the island of Mallorca. It’s the right size to just use the whole island as a roughly a 50 x 60 mile diamond shape canvas to sample a subset of IRW roads as Zwift routes.
Very interesting concepts…I guess it does sort of make no sense that a road is modeled and not rideable. I cannae figure why not. Like not every road has to be on a route even. Just electronically over it and voila. Weird.
Some of you commenting have read a different article than I did. Oh wait. It doesn’t seem like you read it at all…not even the words “quick” and “high impact” in the TITLE. Humbug.
🙄🤪
I am personally a fan of the scotland map and scenery and would love some new tarmac on this map.
Otherwise i agree with many here and would find it very clever if maps could be connected via portals or something like that.
Also summarizing maps like Paris + France or London + Scotland, Richmond, Bologna etc. all the smaller ones. Currently it feels disjointed and “distant” when you are riding on these maps and not Watopia, Makuri and maybe France.
Although i get it, that Zwift do not want to have all maps always as active maps so make sure the main maps have a lot of zwifters online.
I agree about the Scotland map: very nice design details, and a good variation of terrain.
With Innsbruck, I’d like to be able to have a mid-range climb – longer than the Leg Snapper, but not as long as the full KOM. They could do a cut through at the village of where you get that right/left chicane turn about 60% up the climb and it would come out halfway down the downhill. And that road does exist in real life – between the towns of Lans and Igls. Maybe even put a sprint point along that road too.
That circle in Crit City would be so great for elemination races if they would make a banner at the north and south spot on the circle.
Great article, Eric! I agree that there is quite a bit of “low hanging fruit” that Zwift could utilize for road expansions in the various worlds without a huge amount of extra work. Here is a brief list of the changes I’d prefer:
1) Add Mount Fuji to Makuri Islands – this world badly needs a “hors categorie” epic type climb in addition to what exists already.
2) Make Repack Ridge in Watopia free rideable and not dependent on having steering available. When that was released (pre-pandemic circa 2019 IIRC), the deal with trying to steer using your smartphone if you didn’t have a steering unit in your smart trainer set up was IMHO stupid and a complete waste of Zwift users’ time!
3) Remove the event only status from the Bologna world, and they may as well add in your proposed short expansions. I just finished fully upgrading a Zwift MTB frame, which is an elevation based upgrade, and was looking for something different to do as opposed to doing a climb portal or climbing in one of the available worlds in rotation. I realized it has been a long time (a few years for sure) since I rode in Bologna, and the climbing part would assist me in achieving my climbing numbers for that session, only to find out that Zwift has made it event only, and can’t even be accessed anymore via the prefs.xml file hack! (I put a comment in my copy of the file to remind me LOL)
4) Your proposed Yorkshire addtions, even if only one, would be welcomed. I rode in Yorkshire the other evening (the same session where I was looking to ride in Bologna), and that world is really a good one if you are riding a frame that elevation upgrade based – I took a big chunk out of what elevation I needed to get by doing two laps of the 2019 Worlds Harrogate Circuit.
5) The addition of another world, perhaps Italy with an immediate integration of the Bologna course, or as others have previously posted, Girona in Spain, would certainly be very welcomed!
All great ideas! Are you listening Eric Min?
Great ideas. I really enjoy the new France routes as it has given a lot of life to the France world so I hope Zwift sees this and will work on that.
Paris: The new TdF loop seems like the most obvious one to be added. Hopefully this summer as possibly last year was too soon to keep up with the development. On top of that I would like to see some more roads around Paris, for example the road next to the Eiffel tower that was used in the Olympics.
Bologna: expanding the climb with the loop that is used in rl races would also bring that world to life. But as the tdf was there a few years ago and nothing happened, I dont think Zwift is bothered with this world.
Innsbruck: shortcut on the climb through ‘Dorfstraße Lans’ to ‘Hilberstraße IGLS’ so there can be races on 10min climbs instead of it always being 20min+.
France: Ventoux other sides so a loop is possible there.
Watopia: Desert shortcut to Titans Grove. Alpe dHuez balcony road. Marmotte road would be cool but as it has a lot of climbing not many will ride it.
As a designer of virtual worlds, I appreciate Zwift’s balance between gameplay, visual splendor, and performance. The proposed level design changes in this post have implications for all of these facets. Some of the tradeoffs aren’t apparent without knowing how the computational loads of the scenes are managed. And these have to work on devices as wide-ranging as Apple TVs, Android phones, and gaming PCs. For me, the visual design and the presence of other riders are how Zwift stands out from its competitors. They have developed an aesthetic that is compelling and cohesive, but simulates enough of the real world to impart veracity for its training efficacy. Simulations that aim to duplicate the real world often suffer from insufficiency in detail. You find yourself looking for what is missing rather than what is there. That said, some of the Zwift routes are better executed than others.
Neokyo is one of my favorites. When it was released, I shared it with my team as a great example of virtual world design. The rest of Makuri Island is ok, much like France, with enough variety to keep interest, but I’d love to see another anchoring experience, such as Mt. Fuji or Kyoto, to really pull it together.
Bologna also has a nice design. This does a good job of referencing a very iconic real-world space. I’ld love to see this be part of a much broader Italy. The villas in Watopia aren’t quite enough.
Alpe de Zwift is my favorite route in Zwift. However, this is due to how this route works in the real world, with the climb broken down into 22 segments that take a few minutes each. Zwift’s visual treatment is okay, but could be enriched with some details like Dutch Corner and the village at the top.
I wish Richmond Park could be redone. It was such a staple of my riding when I lived in London, and the Zwift treatment doesn’t do it any justice.
The recent New York City expansion is also a disappointment. Too many grey, characterless buildings. The tunnels don’t have the unique character of the subway system and are more like what I would expect in Dubai. Times Square is underwhelming, particularly compared to Neokyo. And I really don’t get the escalators. Surprisingly, there aren’t any reinterpretations of the iconic architectural styles of NYC as represented by the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, or the Guggenheim (that would be fun to ride up and down). The Statue of Liberty is in the public domain and would give some more NYC vibe.
I know a lot of people like to give Zwift crap but it’s wild to me it runs well-enough across so many devices. Especially mobile! That’s crazy from a development/software POV. I’m with you here. For its short comings it’s an incredible game/fitness app.
Well, being from Belgium, I really think we deserve a world 🙂 Endless possibilities with cobble stones, flats, climbs, … Just think about all the Classics…
I so agree…given they expanded the France world to include some Roubaix-type flat cobbles, I’d love to see another expansion to include some Flanders-esque cobbled climbs…
While new routes and expansions to current worlds (I don’t need another map, just expand what is available!) is always on my wish list every year, what I truly want is the ability to teleport from robo-pacer to robo-pacer within the same world without losing my drop bonus.
I have already sent this directly to Zwift HQ. It is a follow-on to the original idea I sent them on the KOM bypass years ago. It is the best ‘bang for the buck’ – (Image attached)
I know it won’t happen as it’d be more of a major expansion but there is fun to be had with expanding the Scotland world.
Add in a Subway entrance in Glasgow to ‘fast travel’ to routes like the “5 Ferries Cycle” (76 miles with 5 ferries and 2 islands involved). You only cycle part of the islands so the rest of them could form parts of other routes – Around Arran, Bute Bash etc
I would of course be happy about new worlds, but also about adding more mountain passes to the France map and expanding Watopia so that you can ride really long, varied routes there.
Since France first came out I’d assumed there were “Tro Bro Leon” sectors coming at some point to add more route options…. but not so far…..
Something really out there… add the Roubaix velodrome to the France map. With the newish cobblestone tech, a Zwift Marina to Roubaix would be something.
I also like the idea of mapping another epic Col or climb on the back of the Alpe and connecting it in another way. Something else hors catégorie. Doesn’t have to even be a French hill, just in the same 3000+ ft and 20+ turns style.
As a lifelong Richmonder, I’m sad you almost didn’t make the map. I’ve thought for years they should add the iconic local Riverside Dr. route that goes along the south side of the river, but it would take *quite* a bit to add it. Riverside rides a little like the Intestines in France with gorgeous views of the river in both directions, a couple of shockingly steep sections, and could end, going west, with the 5-minute “Old Gun” climb that every local strong-boi secretly thinks he can KOM if traffic allows.
The map could also include Byrd Park, which hosted a summer crit series in ye olden dayes, and has seen years of cyclocross racing.
The Richmond map has potential, but it would have to be a big investment to bear any fruit.
In France you could still add routes that go to the Ven-10 turnaround to make some hillier loops than Casse-Pattes that require zero new roads. In fact, Casse-Pattes itself plus that detour would be a really nice loop, IMHO…
And I realize it would take some effort, but I really think Makuri needs one decent paved climb. It doesn’t have to be huge (aka Mt Fuji) – anything with at least ~200m vertical would do, IMHO, though I would personally prefer something in the 300-600m vertical range.
Really good analysis. I have been riding Zwift regularly for 3-4 years and have never once ridden Bologna.
I would also like to see some modification of the climb portal to make it friendlier to mountain or gravel bikes. For that matter, it would be great to have a mountain/gravel only world for variety (and without the campy steering thing they once rolled out, which I wish was still active). With the general hate of the jungle circuit among Zwift riders, though, I don’t see that it would ever be a high priority.
Adding on to your idea of expanding from the barriered road off of Tempus Fugit, I have hoped that Zwift would expand from their toward the pens at the other end of Tempus Fugit–basically, on the other side of the railroad tracks. With this, I would hope for two things:
This two-part dream I’ve had for quite a while.
I rode Gravel Mountain last year with Bryan my son who wrote this article. It was a glitch & not meant to be open. It got closed very quickly! It was a superb loop with gravel all the way.
I think a Stelvio climb from the blocked-off mine entrance as you descend into the jungle would be awesome! I mocked it up a while back. It would increase the map size of Watopia substantially though!
I don’t see why we even need to have separate worlds. Why didn’t they just add a section to Watopia where you go through a tunnel or something and you find yourself in France at the other end? (I see that others have expressed similar sentiments).
Maybe it’s for technical reasons. If so, fine. But I prefer to ride in big, well-populated worlds, so let’s add to the big maps we already have (Watopia and Makuri Islands) and stop adding silly one-offs for various promotional partnerships (looking at you, Richmond). If you don’t want to ride in a world with lots of other riders, it’s not hard to create a private event (though it could be easier).
The recent Watopia and Makuri Islands expansions have been great, and beautiful. I know it’s not the same for everyone, but I really get a benefit from riding in a location that’s aesthetically pleasing (side-eye to the new monotonous slog over the Brooklyn Bridge). Beautiful courses make the ride so much more enjoyable.
In any case, I like the idea of small changes that would create more routes from the existing roads – but I’d definitely take more pretty roads if it’s on the menu!
Love these, thought I’d add one of my own. No new routes, just free ride only
blob:https://zwiftinsider.com/d074e707-febc-46d5-8255-196783771b48
These are my ideas for Watopia. Coming from the map, my suggestions would be in this order.
1) Yellow color road
Why: if you want to leave the Southern Coast, then come back without going through the desert roundabout (or you want to go to the jungle side of the souther coast) you have to climb one of the two island climbs preceding the Epic KOM. The yellow road approximate placement would fix that.
2) The Dark Brown color road
Why: I did a few Fondos in 2025, and all the ones I did went to the jungle and back to Downtown Watopia at least once or twice. This again includes the island climbs preceding the Epic KOM. The Dark Brown road coming off Jarvis would fix that. And I strategically placed it at the closest part of Jarvis to land so it would only require a short bridge.
3) The Light Brown color road (and blob)
Why: This could be a me thing, but Zwift only having a 4.8mi circuit of dirt plus the bridge is sad. The approximate location of the light brown road and blob would give room for another dirt circuit, which I would love.
4) The Light Blue color road
Why: If you go up Mayan Mountainside and Itza KOMs, you either have to go up The Grade, or down the other half of The Grade. The approximate location of the light blue road would allow another (and possibly less steep) way up to and down from that intersection.
those are all my suggestion; Ride On!