The third race of Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 2 happens Tuesday, November 26, and we’ll be in the Big Apple for a race on futuristic glass roads. New York’s Mighty Metropolitan route has never been raced in ZRL, apart from a TTT in 2020. As a scratch race, it’ll be an entirely different animal!
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, tricky bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route: Mighty Metropolitan
WTRL’s site says the route is 20.5km long, but it’s actually only 20.1km. Not that you’ll be paying much attention to such things… you’ll be busy maintaining a good pack position on NYC’s constantly rolling roads.
As you can see, this route is rarely flat. So my first bit of advice is: keep your eyes open. You want to maintain an efficient pack position in the draft, unless you’re attacking. And you’ll need to boost effort on small kickers, but you can also sometimes ease off the power on small descents to conserve energy.
With that said, here are notes on the key sections of this course:
Climb to the Upper Level (3.3-4km): this climb begins when the road turns to glass at the short tunnel. It gets steep in parts, up to 9%, so even though it’s short, punchy w/kg attacks can have a big effect.
NY KOM Reverse (8.6-10.2km): the biggest climb on this course is the KOM, and it’s got some steep bits, including a 15% section at the very start! Twice as long as the earlier climb, and with steeper bits, this will be a key selection point in the race. (To eliminate any confusion: the actual climbing begins at 8.6km, as stated above. But the actual start line of the NY KOM Reverse is at 9.1km.)
Anvil Powerup at NY KOM arch @10.2km
Big Descent (10.3-11.7km): the biggest descent of the race comes mercifully just after the biggest climb. Use your anvil here if you really need to catch onto some wheels, or save it for a later descent.
Descent with a Punch (15.2-16.4km): the next sizeable descent comes as you leave the glass roads and return to asphalt. The trick with this section is hammering up and over the short kicker for 10-15 seconds as the road turns right, intersects, and tilts uphill. A well-timed hammer will keep your speed high over the top and onto the descent that follows. A poorly-timed hammer will get you dropped from your pack!
Last Place for an Anvil (18.1km): still got your anvil? Use it when the road tilts downward at 18.1km, because the road will only be steep enough for the anvil to kick in (-1.5% or more) for the next ~400 meters.
Finish at Lap Arch (@20.1km): the classic Central Park Cat Hill finish requires a bit of everything – timing, w/kg, and luck! Earnest final sprints will begin around 19.9km after you hang a left and the road tilts upward, but only the riders who can sustain the w/kg up the steeper bit and to the line will have a podium shot!
Read more about the Mighty Metropolitan route >
PowerUp Notes
This event is giving just one powerup: the Anvil, at the top of the NY KOM. Use it wisely!
Anvil: makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. The amount of weight added is based on a percentage of your body weight, and that percentage increases as riders get lighter. It won’t hurt you, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater.
Use this on downhills. Pair it with a supertuck to go extra fast with zero effort!
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
The key moves on this course will happen on the two key climbs mentioned above, and the finish is uphill. The strongest strategy is typically to pick a bike that helps you when your effort is highest. So the bike of choice for this race is definitely a light yet aero all-arounder.
(Side note: lots of folks like to use ZwifterBikes.web.app when choosing frame and wheels for a given course. I don’t know exactly how these course time estimates are computed, but here’s my one caution: in scratch and points races, the bike that turns in the fastest overall course time may not be the best bike for the course. This week’s race is a great example.)
To get some hard numbers, I ran a few bot tests at 5 w/kg up the NYC KOM Reverse segment. Here are the results, from best to worst:
- Specialized S-Works Venge + DT Swiss Disc: 2:59.4
- Pinarello Dogma F 2024 + DT Swiss Disc: 2:58.93
- Tron: 2:58.78
- Pinarello Dogma F 2024 + ENVE 7.8: 2:58.55
- Specialized Aethos + Roval Alpinist: 2:58.53
Three important notes on the results above, though. First, these times are for the official NYC KOM Reverse segment, but the climbing actually begins 500m before the KOM start line, meaning time gaps between bikes on the full climb will actually be about 50% larger than what you see above.
Add to that the second point, that these tests were run at 5 w/kg. If you’re riding at a lower pace, the gaps will be larger! As an example, I did 3 w/kg tests of the Specialized S-Works Venge + DT Swiss Disc and the Pinarello Dogma F 2024 + ENVE 7.8 combos:
- Specialized S-Works Venge + DT Swiss Disc (3 w/kg): 4:36.99
- Pinarello Dogma F 2024 + ENVE 7.8 (3 w/kg): 4:35.05
So at 5 w/kg the Pinarello is 0.85 seconds faster. But at 3 w/kg, it’s 1.94 seconds faster!
Lastly, while the Specialized Aethos + Roval Alpinist is a bit faster on the climb, it will be slower everywhere else. Is that tiny advantage worth what it will cost you in higher-speed sections? I don’t think so.
In the end, here are my top two recommendations for this course:
See Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot) for more nerd-level detail on frame and wheel performance.
More Route Recons Resources
Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
J Dirom
Zwifty Zwifter
The Syco-List
FemmeCycle Collab
John Rice
Strategic and Attritional
Attritional. That’s the one word I would use to describe races on this course. (Lumpy, punchy, and painful would also fit.)
With its two key climbs and never-ending rollers, the route is tailor-made for riders who can punch repeatedly, forcing the pack to chase. The team element of ZRL could make this even more interesting, if teams can coordinate attacks, sending riders up the road while teammates sit on the opponent’s wheels.
One fun aspect of Mighty Metropolitan is that the major climb comes halfway through the race, leaving time for riders to chase back on if the front riders can’t keep their speed high enough!
Here’s what I know for sure: the races will be action-packed, and wins will go to riders who can ride the course efficiently while punching when needed. And it will be needed, over and over again!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
