Zwift Racing Score Updated: Change Indicators, Increased Volatility, and a New Floor

Note: for the lastest news on Zwift Racing Score, see our post What’s happening with Zwift Racing Score?

Zwift began testing their new Zwift Racing Score (ZRS) metric in early July, with the goal of rolling out results-based race categorization heading into the 2024/25 indoor racing season.

Since that test launch, Zwift’s game team has been looking closely at ZRS results and Zwifter feedback. Recently they announced plans to launch ZRS in October, while also sharing details of the latest tweaks made to the ZRS system…

Floor Score Change Indicators

Race results now include more transparency about hitting or establishing a minimum/floor score. We’ve received a lot of questions and confusion around why the resulting score from the most recent race result does not match the current score listed in the profile page. Race results… have been updated to accurately show when a racer encounters their floor with new indicators:

Zwift

Here’s what these new arrows look like, and what they indicate:

Why the change?

Your ZRS can change for three reasons:

1. Your power metrics change, which increases or decreases your “seed score”
2. You finish a race and thus earn a fresh ZRS result based on your finishing position
3. You do nothing, and your score decays slowly over time

If you hit a power PR during your race which boosts your seed score, this may impact your overall racing score independent of your actual race placing. With the new arrow indicator, you’ll know if your score is being influenced by a new, higher floor value.

Conversely, you may get a low race result based on your finishing position, and this may cause your overall score to drop all the way to its lowest possible value. In this case, the new arrow indicator will tell you you’ve hit your floor (which is now 15% lower than your seed score, see below).

Increased Score Volatility

We have begun slowly increasing score volatility, or how much a score can change from the result of a single race. It was useful in early days of testing to ensure scores didn’t vary too wildly from race to race, but the data (and your feedback) is showing we can release the handbrake a bit. This change won’t be immediately apparent, but as racing continues, we will start to see an increase in how quickly scores move.

Zwift

Why the change?

Score volatility is a challenging setting to get right when it comes to race scoring. You want scores to change quickly enough that riders feel a since of progress and movement when warranted, while also being quickly placed in the correct pace group. But you also don’t want a single result to affect score so dramatically that it places a rider in an unrealistic category.

Zwift has been testing the scoring system at a lower volatility setting, but they’re finding that some riders aren’t being moved up to their proper category quickly enough. Increasing volatility should help.

New Score Floor

Starting today, your score can drop 15% lower than where you were seeded. Before this, your initial seed also served as your floor or minimum score. Our original seed algorithm tried to undershoot the prediction slightly to account for this, but we’re seeing many cases where people finish in the bottom half of the field consistently and their scores are not allowed to drop any further. This creates a poor racing experience for those racers since they are never able to adjust to their ideal category. Now that the floor is slightly lower than seed, we hope that this provides the flexibility required to ensure the model works for everyone.

Zwift

Why the change?

Simply put, some Zwifters should be moved down a category, but the system wasn’t allowing for that because it kept them pegged at their power-based seed score. This change reduces that lowest possible score by 15%, which will allow some riders to drop further, hopefully getting them into a lower category where they can feel more competitive.

Additional Changes

Zwift says two more changes will be coming in the next couple of weeks:

• A more accurate seeding and floor formula that increases the threshold of what we consider a “quality power curve”: this is a bit cryptic, but Zwift tells me they’re looking for ways to use cleaner data for a more consistent seed score.
• Support for filtering general classification standings on Zwift Power by racing score ranges: showing more ZRS data on ZwiftPower would be welcomed by all, certainly.

Join a Scored Race!

I’m not sure how Zwift will be rolling our ZRS in October. Which events will used ZRS for categories? And will only those events affect your score (as it is now), or could other races that use other categorization methods also impact your score?

We’ll find out soon enough. Until then, try some races using Zwift Racing Score! Here’s a list of upcoming ZRS test races: zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftlabs

Questions or Comments?

Have you been participating in scored races? If so, how has the experience been for you? Post below. You may also chime in on the (massive and growing) Zwift.com forum thread!

The first race of Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 1 happens Tuesday, September 10, when we’ll be in France for one TTT lap of the Douce France route.

This is about as straightforward of a TTT course as we can get. But experienced riders know that team time trials are rarely straightforward! So let’s discuss route details, bike choice, and all things TTT…

Looking at the Route: Douce France

France’s Douce France route is 24.8km long, with 136m of elevation gain. This is the reverse (counterclockwise) version of France’s R.G.V. which has been raced many times as a ZRL TTT.

Apart from three sections it’s flat and fast:

Rather than take you through a turn-by-turn, let’s just discuss the three key sections of this course from a TTT perspective.

First, Les Intestins (0.6-3.4km). After a lead-in of approximately 500m you will turn right and begin the twistiest section of the course, which we nicknamed Les Intestins. This is a challenging section in a TTT because it’s impossible to remain in TTT formation around the turns which twist right and left while undulating up and down.

Don’t stress about staying single-file here. Rather, have designated riders taking pulls, with the team massing behind. And if you happen to poke your nose into the wind, give a little extra gas to help boost your blob’s speed.

Second, The Jigsaw (3.5-7.8km). Immediately following Les Intestins, a series of looping turns which are never flat may challenge your team’s togetherness just a bit. Once you leave The Jigsaw you’ve got a bit of flat road before the last little hiccup: the Aqueduc.

Third, the Aqueduc KOM (10.1-11.1km). This short climb is the biggest uphill on the route. You climb a total of 20m over 1km of tarmac, making this average 2%. This is actually a series of three short ramps, beginning around 10.1km in to your race.

As with any uphill on a TTT, your goals here should be to keep the team together while keeping your speed high. Strong climbers will want to fly off the front, while heavier riders will tend to sag off the back. Keep your team together, regain speed on the downhill, then fly on the flat to the finish.

Read more about the Douce France route >

Bike Frame + Wheel Choice

This week, bike choice is easy: grab your most aero TT setup! The CADEX Tri is the fastest frame in game by a solid margin, and the DT Swiss disc wheels are the fastest wheels. If you don’t have access to that setup (level 40+) then see this post to determine the fastest TT setup available at your level.

Whatever you do, do not use a road frame. Because just like in real life, even a “slow” TT frame is much more aero than a road frame.

Route Recon Videos and Resources

Here are some recon videos. You may also be interested in the short but sweet recon notes from LevelVelo.

In the Drops

Casual Creations

TTTips

Team Time Trialing on Zwift is a challenging mixture of physical strength, proper pacing, and Zwift minutiae like picking a fast bike and understanding drafting in a TTT context.

Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams who can keep their speeds high over cobbled roads, sneaky short rollers, and false flats. Staying in formation while surging your power for these rises is challenging, especially if riders use various Trainer Difficulty settings.

Climbs like this week’s Aqueduc KOM also present an opportunity to gain or lose lots of time over a short distance. You will want a target pace and attack plan for this section to ensure your team is climbing as fast as possible.

Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on the abilities of each rider. We highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.

If you really want to go down the TTT rabbit hole, check out Paul Fitzpatrick’s zwift-ds.com site. We also highly recommend using Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!