Zwift has rolled out a fresh Mission for June focused on exploring Watopia, our favorite virtual cycling paradise. You can complete the mission by completing (for the first time) any three Watopia routes. Of course, the big idea here is to ride some of the new Watopia routes releasing this month! (Watch for news on Watopia’s “The Grade” expansion launching mid-June.)
Note: signups opened earlier this week, but the Mission doesn’t begin until May 31.
Getting Started
To begin the Mission, select the mission card on your homescreen and click to register:
Once you’ve registered, clicking the mission card will show your Mission progress.
Completing the Mission
After registering for the mission, complete at least three different routes in Watopia that you’ve never completed before.
Want to finish the mission by riding totally new routes? Watch for news on Watopia’s “The Grade” expansion, which includes several new routes releasing mid-June!
Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series, and in June we’re heading to the seaside to race four different coastal routes, including one that hasn’t yet been released.
Read on for details about race routes, the overall monthly GC competition, and more…
New: Power Meter Required
New this month, Zwift is requiring all racers to use a power meter, smart trainer, or smart bike when entering any Zwift-owned race events. Virtual power, which is based on a speed sensor on your wheel, is being disallowed due to unreliable power accuracy.
This hardware requirement removes “zPower Rangers” from the mix, especially in the A category where riders with dodgy virtual power often land.
Sea Breeze – June’s Route Schedule
Here are the routes we’ll be racing in June (click route for details):
* we don’t yet have details on this route, but assume it is part of the Watopia “The Grade” Expansion happening mid-June. We’ll add a link to route details once we have them.
The ZRacing series consists of monthly sets of weekly races. Each race is scheduled for seven days (beginning 1:10am UTC on Monday and running through to the next Sunday). Timeslots are consistent week to week and month to month.
Races are scheduled 23 times each day at 10 minutes past the hour nearly every hour, so there are plenty of available times to find a race.
Each monthly series includes a time-based GC (general classification) tracking riders’ best finishing times for each week’s race. The overall winners in each category for the month are the riders with the lowest overall time for that month’s set of races.
With over 150 weekly timeslots available, riders can race each week’s event multiple times and try to better their finishing time. Tip: the fastest times usually come from the largest race fields!
You must use a heart rate monitor to show up in ZwiftPower results for this series.
Each month’s ZRacing series has a unique achievement badge, which you can unlock by finishing every stage for the month. There are no makeup events, so if you miss a stage, you miss out on the badge and competing in the GC.
One and Done
Zwift has planned these events to deliver a solid 1-hour workout, so each race should only take around 1 hour to complete, including your warmup and cooldown.
Pondering the Possibilities: Beat the Bots on Zwift
Today, we’ll focus on a race format that was unveiled over the weekend as a Zwift Labs event: Beat the Bots. These events are set up on Zwift as group rides for now, but let’s be realistic: we were racing to stay away from the bots, then sprinting to the line to beat out teammates at the end.
And I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords. So let’s dig in!
Beat the Bots Basics
Beat the Bots events, as organized in their first iteration over the past weekend, work like this:
There are just two groups of riders: the humans (group A) and the bots (group B).
Humans leave 14 minutes before the bots
The bots are holding 5.6 W/kg.
Both groups ride on Watopia’s Big Flat 8 route (31.5km, 109m of elevation).
The goal is simple: to cross the finish line before any bots catch you.
Ride Experience Notes
I did this event yesterday, in the 8am PST timeslot (see Strava activity). I basically treated it like a faster group ride, averaging 234w (2.7 W/kg) and finishing around 4 minutes before the bots. (I say “around” because I have no way of knowing, since those stats aren’t tracked or shown anywhere. But more on that later.)
The experience was fun, and certainly different from a typical Zwift group ride, scratch race, points race, or TT. It was most comparable to a chase race, except we weren’t working to catch any riders up the road. Instead, our whole goal was just to stay away from the bots.
So you end up feeling like you’re working as team with other riders in your group, which is very different from the feeling you get in a typical Zwift race. Of course, once you’re a few hundred meters from the line, all bets are off, and you sprint to the finish with whatever legs you’ve got left!
The biggest thing lacking in the overall experience, I think, was not knowing how far back the bots were. The only way to figure this out was to click through the rider list until you found the bots. It took me around 10 clicks to scroll all the way back. Then you could look at their distance, compare it to your distance, and do the math to figure out how far back they were.
(This isn’t a criticism of Zwift, by the way. I love that they’re doing these “quick and dirty” Zwift Labs events, testing out formats to see what works and what doesn’t before putting more development time into polishing them.)
Here’s some of the feedback being shared in the Zwift Labs Club chat, where Zwift has asked people to post feedback for ZHQ:
Fun For All
How can these events be made more fun for everyone? This is an important question to answer when it comes to any ride format in Zwift, because Zwift needs to remain an inclusive platform where everyone can find motivation and fun, regardless of fitness level.
There are different directions we could go in how these races are set up. Some Zwifters have suggested breaking riders up into standard categories so slower riders (cat D, for example) could be released before faster riders (cat A), giving everyone a group to ride with and different time gaps so everyone is working at approximately the same relative effort level to stay away from the bots.
But I want to flip that idea on its head a bit, because breaking it up into categories like that just makes it into a standard chase race, with the addition of bots being the fastest group that is released last. That doesn’t feel novel enough to me.
What if we categorized the bots instead? All the humans leave en masse, then the bots leave as a group too, but some bots are faster than others. Perhaps something like this:
A bots: 5.6 W/kg
B bots: 4.8 W/kg
C bots: 4.0 W/kg
D bots: 3.5 W/kg
Basically, you want each group of bots to be stronger than the corresponding category of humans, so if they’re able to catch up to the human racers, humans can then do their best to sit on those bots’ wheels to the finish.
If the race was structured in this way, riders could track their fitness progress by seeing which bots catch them each race. You might get caught by all four bot groups the first time you race, but as you get stronger, you may only get caught by the B and A group… and eventually, maybe you’ll stay away from all the bots!
The Zwift Labs events are actually group rides, which meant riders could take coffee breaks. Ha!
Why Join a Beat the Bots Race?
Beat the Bots races would be a special experience for two reasons:
Teamwork: you need to work with the group of riders you’re in to stay away from the bots. This fun team aspect isn’t seen in most Zwift race formats.
Experiential fitness progression: as mentioned above, you can track how much stronger you’re getting by tracking how long it takes the bots to catch you from one event to the next.
Work as hard as you want: every rider, regardless of fitness level, can get a good workout in this format.
A special “virtual-only” format: this is a format that doesn’t really have an outdoor equivalent, and there’s something extra fun about that.
Required Game Changes
What would Zwift need to implement in order to make Beat the Bots work well as a native race format? With the disclaimer that I’m not a game developer or platform engineer, here are a few things I can think of:
Orientation UI: riders need to know what they’re signing up for, and how the event will work. On-screen messaging should explain this clearly and succinctly.
Bot tracking UI: the event would be more engaging and motivating if you know where the bots are on course, how fast they’re closing the gap, etc.
Results Screens: a race results screen at the end of the event would be nice, and perhaps the existing results screen could be modified to show which riders got caught by which bots.
Post-ride chat: since you’ve worked with “teammates” throughout the event, it would be nice if the game kept you in “event mode” after you cross the finish line, so you can chat with other riders before returning to the open Zwift world.
Your Thoughts
Have you tried to “Beat the Bots” yet? What did you think? Share below!
Zwift version 1.66 begins its phased rollout today. This is another light update, but watch for news next week on Watopia’s “The Grade” expansion releasing mid-June!
Ghost Powerup Changes
The cloaking (or “ghost” or “invisibility”) powerup makes you invisible to other riders for 15 seconds. It’s event-only, so you only see it in races where organizers have requested it to be enabled.
Several months back, Zwifters noted that Zwift had added a slight shadow beneath riders, and that shadow was visible even when the rider and their “real” shadow were hidden while using a ghost powerup. This slight shadow became affectionately known as “The Smudge”, and eagle-eyed Zwifters began using it to track ghosted riders:
The Smudge of a ghosted rider…
Additionally, it’s long been known that if you’re cheeky enough to wear Fire Socks in a race, the fire trail is visible even if your rider is hidden thanks to a ghost powerup. Back to the Future vibes, for sure!
A ghosted rider using fire socks!
Today’s update makes two changes to the ghost powerup. First, if you’re wearing Fire Socks, the fire trail is hidden while the powerup is active. Secondly, The Smudge is also hidden.
These two changes make it so riders using the powerup are indeed invisible.
More Release Notes
Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:
Fixed an issue that could cause the “Weekly Goal Met!” banner image to be blank.
Le Col has partnered with Strava to run the 8848 Challenge for several years now, and it’s a popular one! This year’s event starts on June 1st.
The challenge is to “Record 8848 meters of elevation for a chance to unlock the Limited Edition Le Col x Strava 8848 Jersey.” You must do the climbing between June 1-30, 2024, and the climbing can be done outdoors or on virtual rides (like Zwift). Read on for more details…
Why Do It?
Two reasons:
As a cyclist, it’s always good to do more climbing. This challenge gets you on the hills!
Completing the challenge earns you a free (or deeply discounted) IRL jersey (more below).
The Jersey Deal
If you complete the challenge in a single activity, you’ll unlock a voucher to get the jersey for free (you must still pay shipping and handling). If you complete the challenge over multiple activities, you’ll earn a £100 voucher, so the jersey will cost £65.
If you’re curious about jersey specs, it looks like the 8848 jersey is Le Col’s “pro aero” jersey, which you can read about here. I also reviewed the jersey in my Tour de Zwift 2024 kit review here.
Subscribers Only
While anyone on Strava can join and complete the challenge, you must be a Strava Premium Subscriber in order to unlock the free or discounted jersey deal.
Additionally, you must sign up for Le Col’s free club (LC__CC) in order to get the jersey deal. Sign up here >
Looking for more tips? Here’s a helpful video from Le Col, created for last year’s challenge. It covers planning your month, choosing a climb, pacing, and fueling:
More on vEveresting on Zwift
If you’re looking to get a free jersey by completing the 8,848m of climbing in one Zwift activity, there are lots of articles and videos out there from folks who have completed this monumental challenge. Here’s a Zwift Insider post from Zwifter Ron Chatfield sharing his vEveresting experience.
Pondering the Possibilities: Elimination Races on Zwift
Today we kick off the series with a well-known race format: the elimination race.
Elimination Race Basics
Fans of track cycling will already be familiar with elimination races. The basic idea is that riders are removed from the race based on their position over the line on particular laps.
There are lots of options here: it may be the last rider(s) who is eliminated (known as the “miss and out” or “devil take the hindmost”), or it could be a “win and out” format where the first rider across the line is removed and given first place, the first rider on the next lap is given second place, etc.
Lap count can vary, of course. Additionally, eliminations may happen on every lap, or at some other lap interval (every other lap, every third lap, etc).
This is how elimination races basically work in real life, on the track. But how would they work in Zwift?
Elimination Races On Zwift
If there was a velodrome in game, races could have very short laps and thus more options for elimination. Currently, though, the shortest lap route in Zwift is Crit City at 1.9km, which takes around 2 minutes per lap for a fast A/B race pack. New York’s LaGuardia Loop is the next shortest at 2.8km.
The challenge with longer laps is that you can’t eliminate just one rider per lap from a pack of, say, 50 riders, if laps take 2 minutes apiece. Unless you want a really long race.
But this is a video game, right? So there are ways to make this work. In fact, what intrigues me most about Zwift is that it allows cyclists to do things that are impossible in real life, but make indoor riding really fun.
The game could auto-calculate how many riders will be eliminated on each lap based on the organizer’s target race length, chosen course, and the number of starters. Two theoretical race examples:
With an estimate of 14 laps completed in 30 minutes, you’ll need to eliminate 8 riders per lap in order to have 11 riders left to contest the top spots on the final lap.
With an estimate of 12 laps completed in 40 minutes, you’ll need to eliminate 2 riders per lap in order to have 3 riders left to fight for the last 3 places on the final lap.
To make things even more strategic, every banner on a course could be used as an elimination point. So Watopia’s Hilly Route, for example, would eliminate riders at the Hilly KOM banner, the JWB Sprint banner, and the lap banner. This option would give an advantage to those with course knowledge and greatly increase the list of courses that could host an elimination race.
Fun For All
Zwift wants all racers to have a fun race experience, and getting booted partway into your event isn’t much fun. What could happen in Zwift’s virtual world to make the experience better for eliminated riders?
Here’s an idea: allow riders to continue racing after elimination. Once eliminated they would become invisible to anyone still in the race, but the eliminated rider could see all the racers (including other eliminated riders) and keep riding until the event was finished.
It’s fun when Zwift races emulate IRL races. But it’s even more fun when those races function in a way that is impossible IRL but improves the experience for Zwifters!
Why Join an Elimination Race?
Why would Zwifters pick an elimination race over some other race format? Several reasons I can think of:
It’s a great sprint workout, since you’re doing a hard interval at every elimination point.
It’s exciting/engaging. There’s no sitting in and spinning to the finish. You’ve got to pay attention to avoid elimination.
Fresh strategy is required. Whatever works in scratch or points races probably won’t work in elimination races. You’ve got to figure out how to maximize your chances in this format.
Multi-lap events become more interesting. On a route like a Velodrome or even Crit City, this adds excitement and a new dimension to each route, instead of feeling like you’re just racing on repeat.
It emulates an IRL race format. Elimination races are well-known in the track cycling world, and this would bring that format into the game.
Required Game Changes
Elimination races can already be held in Zwift – sort of. The race organizer can join the event, watch the race, and message the riders to say who was eliminated. Riders just need to obey the organizer. We’ve seen this in some top-level elite races. The community has done it themselves, as well:
What would Zwift need to implement in order to make elimination races work as a native race format? With the disclaimer that I’m not a game developer or platform engineer, here are a few things I can think of:
Orientation UI: riders need to know what they’re signing up for, and how the event will work. On-screen messaging should explain this clearly and succinctly.
Elimination UI: what happens when you’re eliminated? Does your listing in the rider list change color? Does your avatar become transparent, or perhaps glow a different color? Does a message pop up on screen?
Elimination Logic: organizers would need to have a set of options available for configuring their event (how many riders are eliminated per lap, on which laps) including the option to let the game decide elimination parameters automagically based on race length, route choice, and start list size.
Results Screens: result logic would need to be specially created for elimination races, as it would be different than scratch race results.
Helper UI (Optional): the game could somehow highlight the riders at risk of being eliminated, so you know if you need to move forward.
Your Thoughts
First: what do you think of the possibility of elimination races on Zwift? Would you give ’em a go? Can you think of any improvements to my ideas above?
Secondly: what other race formats would you love to see on Zwift, and why? Share below. Your idea may spark a future post in this series!
How did you get into cycling? Used to ride as a child and then about 10 years ago started again on a hybrid to get fit and was hooked – had my first road bike pretty soon after that!
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? Started racing ZRL in 2022 but have been riding on Zwift since 2018. I really rate using it for workouts to improve fitness and performance.
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes – Rocacorba Collective and Kent Velo Girls occasionally.
What do you love most about racing? The team spirit, sense of challenge, and achievement.
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I like points for the multiple chances to gain points but you can’t beat an all-out scratch race.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? ZRL
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Not so much a race as more of a personal challenge but there’s an IRL Rocacorba Collective training camp once a year where one of the highlights is riding up the Rocacorba climb with Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. I did this in both 2022 and 2023. In 2023 I improved my time by 25%. All the Zwift races and workouts definitely helped me achieve that and I already have a time in mind for this year’s camp.
credit @dexaxars.studiocredit @dexaxars.studio
What is your favourite food to eat post race? Dinner is normally eggs and beans on toast – getting the post race carbs and protein in. Plus it’s super simple and quick to cook.
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Choose a route you know, have your own goals for the race, have a pre-ride snack, do your warm up in the pen and most importantly enjoy it!
Any upcoming races you are looking forward to? Not a race but have the Chase the Sun challenge in June. Riding from East to West across the UK (300km) between sunrise and sunset.
This weekend we picked events that are unique or special in some way. So we ended up with not one but two Zwift Labs events, plus the longest scheduled ride of the weekend, a popular women’s race, and more. Enjoy!
Zwift Labs events kicked off this week, and you can give the first event type a try: the Mountain Mullet! In these events – designated as rides, not races – the group rides the Volcano Climb route (23.3km, 203m), and at the top of the climb everyone gets a Big Wheel for a fun descent and ride to the finish.
Zwift’s popular Women’s Racing Series is in its fourth week, and Saturday is your last chance to finish week 4’s stage. It’s a simple scratch race on 1 lap of Watopia’s new Mountain Mash route (6km, 335m). Bring a climbing bike!
Here’s a long ride with a twist – there are two length options (100km or 100 miles), but everyone rides on the same route and starts together. This week the ride is on Watopia’s Big Flat 8 route.
Want to try another Zwift Labs event? Beat the Bots begins on Sunday, and it’s a duel of human vs machine. Join the A pens and start 14 minutes before the bots. Work together to stay away from the bots until the finish of 1 lap of Watopia’s Big Flat 8 (31.5km, 108m)!
“What’s the longest group ride scheduled this weekend,” you ask? This one. The team at INC are taking on London’s The PRL Full at a 3-3.5 W/kg pace. Can you hang?
We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:
Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
Is it for a good cause?
Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?
In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!
New Routes Arriving Soon: Zwift Teases The Grade Expansion
UPDATE May 30, 2024: Zwift has updated the map shown when viewing your activities at zwift.com/feed, so you can see the new roads that will be added with “The Grade” expansion releasing mid-June.
Here’s an animation to show the differences between the current live map and the new one releasing soon. Along with new roads it looks like we get new start pens at the base of The Grade, a new lake near the Epic KOM, and… less snow on the Epic KOM. Global warming?
Zwift also shared this teaser short of “The Grade” on their socials today:
The teaser includes partial maps, full names, and distance + elevation for 5 different routes. I’ve overlayed the new routes on the existing Watopia map to show where they’ll be located, and have included a bit of commentary as well. Enjoy!
Oh Hill No
This looks to be the pure FTP test route. The distance of 7.8km indicates that it is circuit, taking you up The Grade KOM segment then back down to loop around and start the route again.
Glyph Heights
This loop begins in the Mayan Jungle, traveling counter-clockwise to the bottom of the Jungle before turning left onto the new road which takes us across to The Grade. Climb up the hairpin portion of Oh Hill No, finish the last bit of the Epic KOM, then descend the Epic’s backside and head back to the Jungle to complete the loop.
Elevation Evaluation
Zwift’s teaser only included around half of this route, but my guess (artfully added in yellow above) is it includes the first 2/3 of the Epic KOM forward, the rest of the coastal road to the LAX roundabout, and the connector road that takes you from that roundabout across to the base of the Epic KOM forward.
My only question is: where is the spawn point?
Peak Performance
The longest of Zwift’s teased routes, Peak Performance begins on the new road the crosses from Oh Hill No to the coastal road. It appears to be a figure 8, but where exactly it goes is anyone’s guess. My guess is that it will loop through downtown Watopia and hit either the Volcano KOM or Hilly KOM.
Coastal Crown Loop
Zwift didn’t give us much to go on, did they? You start on the descent of Oh Hill No, apparently (which seems a bit odd). Based on the length, I bet this turns right at the bottom of Oh Hill No, follows the coastal road toward the Jungle, then turns right again onto the new cross road that takes you back to the Oh Hill No descent.
New Roads
If we combine all the roads in Zwift’s teaser, we can see that the new routes will be mostly using existing roads, with something like 11-14km of new roads being added (highlighted in white below).
