How did you get into cycling? My husband trained and competed in cycling, so he introduced me to outdoor training.
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? Racing since 8th February 2021
Are you part of a Virtual team? eSRT
What do you love most about racing? Fun to do the little extra and now have a team that supports you.
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? iTT or points
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? I have not had many yet but last memory of Tour de Boudicca 5.0 was fun!
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? BOTH
What is your favourite food to eat post race? Oats
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Try! You do your best and compete also against your self – and you quickly get better!
A big Zwift series is ending, while a new one is just beginning. See them both below, along with an epic charity event and two metric centuries led by community teams!
✅ Popular Event ✅ Endurance Challenge ✅ Jersey Unlock
Norseman Xtreme Triathlon has a history of pushing Zwifters to their limits, and this weekend Norseman and Zwift have organized a series of rides to do just that while raising funds for childhood cancer research and treatment.
This weekend is your last chance to ride Zwift Big Spin events! If you want to get in more spins (do you have the Atomic Cruiser yet?) or just knock out a stage you missed, stages are scheduled every 3 hours this weekend at 15 minutes past the hour.
✅ Beginner Friendly ✅ Fun Unlocks✅ Women Only Option
The 6-week Spring Training workout series began this week, making this weekend your last chance to get the first workout done. It’s called “Sweet Spot Foundation”, and the goal is to help you build your endurance base.
Join one of the most popular and long-running teams on Zwift for a metric century ride with two pace options: the “Cake Crusaders” in C (2.5-3.2 W/kg) start the ride, then the “Bombers” in B (3.2-4 W/kg) begin 15 minutes later, with the goal of chasing down the C riders. Both groups will be on Watopia’s Sugar Cookie route.
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!
Why? Because it wasn’t as easy as simply clicking to join a Zwift event. I had to find a team and wrap my head around all that Club Ladder racing involved strategically and logistically. So I kept putting it off, until several weeks ago when I finally took the plunge.
And I’m so glad I did.
What Is the Zwift Club Ladder?
The Club Ladder is a community-powered league using a team-vs-team race format. Two teams of five riders show up at an agreed-upon place at an agreed-upon time and go head-to-head! You earn points based on your finish position: 1st place gets 10 points, 2nd place gets 9 points, and 10th place gets 1 point.
The team with the most points wins the race. Your goal is to move up the ladder of teams by winning, and there are three timezone-based ladders.
How big and active is the league? The current round has 181 active teams, with most teams (I assume) racing at least once a week.
The Club Ladder website includes a captain’s area where team captains log in and challenge other teams to races. I don’t know how all the scheduling logistics and rules work, but I know my own team’s flow goes something like this:
Captain Diogo will ping us on Discord about a week before the potential race with a question: who is available to race on X date at X time? (We basically only race Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, right around 11:30 my time.)
If we have enough to make a team, Diogo confirms with the other team that we’re in. Then a course is chosen. (I’m not sure how that choice is made, but I know Diogo often asks us to vote on which course we’d like.) For this race, we chose 7 laps of Scotland’s Glasgow Crit Circuit.
Once the date/time and course are locked in, a private event is created and both teams get the private signup link.
This particular race was against SRT Surströmming, and once the riders had signed up, the Club Ladder website generated power charts for the teams to use in their planning:
Based on the other team’s power numbers, Captain Diogo put together our team plan. I won’t copy-paste that here, but basically our goal was to keep the pace high and attack each kicker, with the goal of dropping SRT riders. As Diogo says, “The sooner we leave any opposition rider behind the easier it gets.”
The Start
This was my sixth Club Ladder race, and I think every race has started out the same: hard! Zwift races always start out with a solid effort, but Club Ladder races are different. Someone always sprints off the line, which forces the other team to chase since a single rider can get away and stay away when there are only 5 riders (the opposition) willing to chase.
We call sprinting off the line “doing a Chilly” as our teammate Chilly is known for this move. But my guess is, every Club Ladder team has a Chilly. Sprinting off the line seems to be table stakes for Club Ladder racing, and occasionally, someone gets dropped by this hard push. That’s a tough way to start a race!
Today, I was the Chilly. So I pushed pretty hard, leading the pack out of the pens. But it was clear before we even reached the Champion’s Sprint arch that I wasn’t going to drop anyone in this opening stretch. So I sat up and caught my breath to prepare for the first Clyde Kicker.
The Clyde Kicker is the key feature of this circuit. It’s only a 15-20 second climb, but it’s the most common place for attacks to launch, legs to get softened, and riders to get dropped. I used my feather powerup on the first Clyde Kicker, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself finishing the climb in 5th, with no major attacks going away.
As we hit the little kicker after the chicane near the end of the first lap, teammate Josiah (our strongest rider) put in a big attack and went off the front. Once that happened, it was our job to sit in the wheels, forcing the other team to do the work to reel Josiah in. Classic racing tactics.
As SRT riders pushed to bridge up to Josiah, I pushed to hold their wheels, ensuring that we’d still have the numbers if they were able to bridge up.
The Middle… and Steering
Teammate Benjamin got dropped as we finished our first lap, but one of their riders was dropped with him, taking the sting out of it. Hopefully Benjamin could outsprint him in the end. That left 4 riders from each team in the mix!
Josiah was caught on the next Clyde Kicker, then Diogo attacked on the descent, steering to the far right.
Can we talk about steering for a minute, in the context of Club Ladder races?
Nowhere in Zwift is steering more useful than these races. With so few riders on course, you can’t count on a massive peloton’s draft. Steering ability lets you make attacks that are harder to follow and optimize your line in turns. Simply put, if you don’t have steering in these races, you’re at a disadvantage. And the more riders who do have steering, the bigger a disadvantage it is to not have it!
This was clear when Diogo attacked. Their one rider with steering followed Diogo’s line, while their other three riders were out of Diogo’s draft, having to work together to keep pace. Nobody got dropped, but it’s these efforts that pile up and lead to riders getting dropped down the road.
Next came Josiah’s kicker, where he kicked again. Their team chased, and we covered the chase. Over the Clyde Kicker Josiah kept a 4-5 second gap, and SRT’s hard chase dropped one of their own teammates! Now we had a decision to make – do we push hard to keep that rider dropped, while potentially catching Josiah up the road? Or do we keep surfing the wheels in hopes that Josiah can stay away?
Josiah off the front through the Clyde Kicker, with an SRT rider falling off the back in the chase
We pushed the effort, with teammate Fred pushing hard on the front of our group and Captain Diogo reinforcing on Discord “They have two off the back, we need to keep pushing.”
We kept the speed up, and at the end of the third lap Josiah was still a few seconds up the road, and we had a 3v2 rider advantage in the chase group. Now we eased, trying to strike a balance between staying away from the two chasing SRT riders without closing the gap to our teammate who was off the front.
SRT’s strongest rider on the day (aptly named “D. Speed”) closed the gap to Josiah over the next Clyde Kicker, and I just sat on his wheel to ensure he didn’t get away in case Josiah was tired and dropped off the front.
Then we hit Josiah’s kicker again. And Josiah attacked. Again! What a beast.
This time SRT didn’t chase. Josiah had worn them down! Now the three of us in the main pack just had to sit on the two SRT riders’ wheels, forcing them to do the work to try to keep Josiah within sight.
Only one rider in the front pack lacked steering at this point. We kept steering towards the center, leaving the non-steering rider in the wind. I felt for poor “B. Shannon”!
Poor B. Shannon, out in the wind!
The Finish
Josiah had 20 seconds heading into the last lap, so we were pretty confident that he wasn’t getting caught. Now it was time for some team tactics to take advantage of our 3v2 situation.
But before we could make our move, SRT’s Shannon fell off the back at the bottom of the Clyde Kicker, and his only surviving teammate, D. Speed, attacked hard as soon as it happened. (Probably the right move, since a 3v1 is tough to win!)
Chasing down D. Speed
D. Speed didn’t have enough to get away, though, even when he attacked with an aero powerup on the descent and steered to optimize his line. Teammate Fred chased him down, while I chased Fred. Captain Diogo fell off the back, but with no one nearby, had an easy run in for 5th place.
The final 500 meters were cagey indeed. Fred and I knew D. Speed had already used his aero powerup. D. Speed swerved off the front and onto our wheels, then swerved right as we turned onto the finishing straight and began sprinting.
I activated my aero boost and stayed in my lane, not wanting to give any draft to D. Speed. Fred had swerved over to D. Speed’s side and activated his aero boost as well! I swerved to Fred’s side, making our two avatars meld together as D. Speed dropped back to 6…7… 8 meters behind.
Fred and I crossed the line at virtually the same time, with the game giving me 2nd place overall.
~615 watts for ~17 seconds… that’s what it took to hang on up the Clyde Kicker each of this race’s 7 laps. Typically the effort is so high on the last lap that I have nothing left for the final sprint. But this race was different! Since SRT was forced to chase, I could sit in the wheels and recover. My legs were fresher than they’d ever been for the final sprint, and it showed in my power numbers.
Every Club Ladder race I’ve done has felt very different from the others, but they’ve all been much more strategic and interesting than a typical Zwift scratch race. This race was, though, was the most strategic-feeling one yet. Josiah’s attacks made it interesting and laid a solid foundation for the rest of my team’s strong performance.
As a result of our win, we moved up the Club Ladder rankings. I also got a ZwiftPower ranking boost. Hurray!
Questions or Comments?
Have you tried Club Ladder racing yet? What are your thoughts? Share below!
Zwift version 1.63 begins its phased rollout today. It’s a minor game update, but badge hunters will be happy to see that some formerly event-only routes are now free rideable. See details below…
8 Routes Opened
The eight event-only routes Zwift created for Tour de Zwift 2024 and the just-finished Zwift Games are now free-ridable (or runnable, in the case of one of them):
If you haven’t completed these routes yet, and want to grab that route completion badge and XP bonus… Ride On!
Brake Sensitivity Adjustment
For Zwift Play users, brake sensitivity can now be adjusted in Settings, ranging from maximum sensitivity to off.
Our guess is that most Zwifters who choose to adjust this setting will just slide it to “off” because they’re annoyed at accidentally bumping their brakes. This setting lets you use Play steering and other features without worrying about hitting the brakes.
In the future, though, when Zwift modifies game dynamics to make braking a useful action, this slider may prove useful for dialing in your braking feel.
Steering Fix
The previous update introduced a bug which caused riders with connected steering devices to automatically steer towards the center of a lane after 4 seconds. This issue has been fixed.
Treadmill Connection Fix
Some Zwifters had problems connecting their treadmills after the previous update. This update fixes that issue.
More Release Notes
Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:
Virtual Shifting: Fixed an issue in workouts where shifting quickly after starting a Free Ride block could result in the current gear being reset to 12.
In-game achievement banners are now displayed for a longer period to make sure you don’t miss a celebratory moment.
Fixed an issue that could potentially make it difficult to dismiss the Ride Report when navigating with a keyboard, Apple TV remote, or Zwift Play.
Fixed a potential crash that could occur when capturing a screenshot.
Android: Fixed an issue that could cause screenshots to not be saved on some Android devices.
All Aboard Zwift’s Surprise “XP Express” Tuesday Events
If you’re looking to level up quickly, Zwift has just posted a set of “surprise” events on the next two Tuesdays (April 16 and 23rd). What’s special about the events? Double XP!
These events may be of particular interest to newer Zwifters looking move up levels, or perhaps also to veteran Zwifters trying to hit level 100 before Zwift increases the level 90-100 requirements soon.
Events are classified as rides (not races). They are 45 minutes long, with no leader or stated pace, and are scheduled every three hours.
Since its introduction nearly two years ago, the Zwift Insider Tiny Races have taken the racing scene by storm. Watch as a strong endurance cyclist tackles the series!
We’ve also selected videos about the Zwift Play Controllers, Zone 2 training for Zwift racers, the latest Zwift updates, and more Tiny Races.
4 Back to Back Zwift Races
Tyler Pearce, better known as The Vegan Cyclist, races in Zwift Insider’s very own Tiny Races. Can he consistently place well and snag the win?
Zwift Play Controllers – First Impressions
Ryan Condon shares his first impressions of the Zwift Play Controllers after recently receiving them for his birthday. He also does his first race using steering and the Play Controllers.
Zone 2 Training for Zwift Racing
After a bit of time off of Zwift racing, Max from The Watt Life shares his insight into how zone 2 training can benefit Zwift racers.
Zwift v1.62, Streaks, Level 100, and more!
Shane Miller, GPLama, gives details on Zwift version 1.62, updates on streaks, details on upcoming leveling-up changes, and more.
Zwift Tiny Races: Four Races in One Hour || Will We Survive to the Finish?
Both riders from Team Saunders Tri tackle the Zwift Insider Tiny Races. The Tiny Race series is a very unique and challenging set of races that is known to push riders to their limits. Can these two riders survive to the finish of the race?
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Norseman Xtreme Triathlon has a history of pushing Zwifters to their limits, and this weekend Norseman and Zwift have organized a series of rides to do just that while raising funds for childhood cancer research and treatment.
There are two event options: a 12-hour ride that unlocks the coveted black Norseman jersey, and a series of shorter 1-hour events which unlock the white Norseman jersey. These are group ride events, not races, but there is no stated pace or ride leader, so don’t expect them to feel like a social ride!
Norseman Charity Marathon 12 Hour Ride
The event description for this ride starts off with: “This is not for you. Nothing personal. But it’s not. This event is for people with fight. And resilience. And minds tougher than their bodies.”
Intimidating! But it should be. This is a 12-hour event held on Watopia’s tough Four Horsemen route. Late join is allowed, feather and aero boost powerups are in play, and if you finish the event you’ll unlock the black Norseman jersey.
For the rest of us mortals, 12 1-hour events have been organized beginning at 6am UTC Saturday/2am EDT Saturday/11pm PDT Friday.
These events are on Watopia’s Mountain Route. Late join is allowed, feather and aero boost powerups are in play, and if you finish the event you’ll unlock the white Norseman jersey.
The “Hopp Children’s Tumor Center Heidelberg” (abbreviated: KiTZ) is a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and Heidelberg University (Uni HD). At the same time, it is a therapy and research center for oncological and haematological diseases in children and adolescents. The aim is to scientifically explore the biology of childhood cancer and severe blood disorders and to closely link promising research approaches with patient care.
How did you get into cycling? In 2018 a work colleague bought a road bike on a Cycle to Work scheme. She spent ages doing all the research of what the best value bike under £1000 was, and I figured if she had found a good deal, I should also get in on it! Then, since I lived 30 miles from work, and it was a Cycle to Work scheme bike, I figured I should probably try actually cycling to work, and that was really when the obsession started. It escalated to making detours to my 30 mile route, then finding longer and longer events to try. I got into bikepacking, audaxing, and then last year I started ultra racing.
In terms of Zwift, I joined it briefly during the pandemic when we weren’t really meant to go outside for longer than an hour, but it mostly just got me into indoor training rather than virtual cycling, and I ended up just using my trainer for workouts. A couple of years later I decided to try Zwift again, and got into the club/racing side of things which has made it so much more fun.
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? Since ~May 2022, so nearly 2 years. Though I did one singular race back in 2020!
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes! I race with NeXT p/b Enshored, who started up a women’s team last year. I also regularly ride Thursday WTRL TTT with the Euroaliens at INC.
What do you love most about racing? The uncertainty – you never quite know what’s going to happen, and for me that’s exciting. That and the ability to race as a team and try different tactics to see what happens – I would say racing is where I learn most about myself and my teammates.
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I’ve never actually done a chase race, though the concept seems fun. Probably points races are my favourite, since they can become quite tactical.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? I haven’t managed to participate in that many outside of ZRL. I really enjoyed Fearless in 2022, and then Tour de Boudicca in January this year (I really liked that the events were over consecutive days, as it felt like for that weekend there was a whole community buzzing around the races!) But honestly I am not that fussy – what makes a series fun for me is to have high participation – so often women’s fields can be tiny on Zwift.
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Outside the most memorable is easily the Transcontinental Race last year – cycling from Belgium to Greece in 10 days is something I will not easily forget! Inside I have lots of small memories. One that sticks in my head lots is the time I snapped the drive belt of my trainer about 40 seconds into a race. I was high on race adrenaline for quite a while after but couldn’t cycle to get rid of it.
What is your favourite food to eat post-race? Sticky toffee pudding! Though it doesn’t often happen… In reality I normally have a protein shake and some toast/cereal, which is more practical but definitely less exciting.
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Make sure to warm up first (ALL Zwift races start hard), and make sure you’ve Zwifted a bit beforehand to know how drafting and powerups work. There are some great beginner race series to get started, so look out for those.
More than anything, expect it to take a little while to get used to virtual racing and familiarise yourself with the courses – you’ll learn lots across the first few races. And if you can find a team to help you get started (there are loads), definitely make the most of that!
