How did you get into cycling? Cycling has always been a big part of my ski training, I loved the long endurance rides on weekends. In 2018 I got pulled into Ecycling on Zwift where I found my competitive me again and where I can fully unwind my skillset.
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? Since 2019
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes, Aeonian Racing Team
What do you love most about racing? I love the whole race prep, getting everything on point and tuning up the excitement before the race and then execute and call off everything I have been working on.
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I have not really a specific favorite, if I need to name some it would be TTT, Scratch and Point races.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? Not particularly women only – the Tiny Race series is pretty cool.
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? My first World Championships in 2023 – I don’t race outdoors.
What is your favourite food to eat post race? Cinnamon Bun
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Don’t expect anything, just push the pedals and hang on as long as you can and see where you are and go from there.
Any upcoming race are you looking forward to? All the races 🙂 Most excited about World Championships in October and the Qualifiers for it.
Kathrin’s avatar on the gold Tron bike she earned by winning the Zwift Games overall in 2024.
All About Video Screenshots: How To Record and Use Video Snippets in Zwift
Everyone loves a good photo, but moving pictures can be much more compelling, especially in the context of video gaming action.
Zwift rolled out their Video Screenshots feature in the first half of 2023, making it easy for many Zwifters to save video snippets of their activity for sharing on Strava or other platforms. Here’s an example of a video from a recent race:
Read below to learn all about Zwift’s Video Screenshots feature.
Recording a Video Screenshot
The Video Screenshots feature records 15-second video snippets of game play. These snippets are automatically recorded in certain cases, but recording can also be manually triggered.
If you have Video Screenshots enabled, most of the highlights you’ll want to capture are automatically saved. Automatically captured highlights include:
Taking a segment jersey
Setting a new PR
Finishing a challenge or mission
Gaining a level
Unlocking an achievement
Finishing an event
Completing a workout or training plan
Completing a new route
Completing a goal
You can also manually trigger a 15-second video screenshot by clicking the button highlighted below in game or in the Companion app. This will save a recording of the previous 15 seconds of gameplay to your device.
On a PC or Mac, you can also hit F9 on your keyboard to trigger a video screenshot.
Once you click to a video screenshot, you’ll have to wait 5 seconds before clicking to record another.
Supported Devices
Due to the processing power required to record video screenshots, this feature is only supported on higher-powered Windows PC, Mac, iOS, and Apple TV devices. It is not currently supported on any Android devices.
See the “Device Compatibility for Capturing Video” section of Zwift’s support page for details on supported devices.
About the Video Files
Video Screenshots are saved as .mp4 files with H.264 encoding, and are automatically downscaled to a maximum height of 720 pixels regardless of the resolution in which you’re running the game. Audio is encoded using AAC at 48 kHz. Files are typically ~4MB in size.
Video files are saved to the following locations, where you can access or delete them whenever you’d like:
iOS: Apple Photos app
macOS: Movies/Zwift folder
Windows: Videos/Zwift folder
Due to limitations on Apple TV, your video recordings aren’t saved in a location you can manually access. They’re saved to temporary memory in your Apple TV, and will be deleted eventually by the OS.
Uploading to Strava
You can choose up to one video screenshot to upload to your Strava activity, along with up to five photos. This is done on the End Ride screen:
The first video screenshot recorded during your activity will be automatically selected for upload, but you can click to ignore a video and add a different video if you’d like.
Turning Video Screenshots On or Off
If your device supports Video Screenshots in Zwift, you’ll see an option to enable/disable the feature under Settings>Preferences:
The option is enabled by default, but you can disable it if you’d like.
A Note about CPU Usage on Windows
In tests on multiple Windows PCs, we’ve seen Zwift’s CPU usage increase by around 20% when Video Screenshots are enabled:
If you have a strong enough PC this shouldn’t impact your game experience, since the Video Screenshots feature is multi-threaded and won’t use the same CPU core that Zwift heavily uses for gameplay.
That said, riders on weak or overloaded systems may see an impact. If you notice your system performs poorly with Video Screenshots enabled, simply disable it.
Questions or Comments
Do you use Zwift’s Video Screenshots feature? Got questions or comments about how it works? Share below!
“Punchy Power” ZRacing Series Details (August 2024)
Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series. In August, the series takes on routes with climbs that require a strong w/kg punch. Additionally, the series is continuing to test Zwift’s new Zwift Racing Score in certain events!
Read on for details about race routes, the overall monthly GC competition, and more…
Punchy Power – August’s Route Schedule
Here are the routes we’ll be racing in August (click route for details):
The ZRacing series consists of monthly sets of weekly races. Each race is scheduled for seven days (Monday through Sunday) and timeslots are consistent week to week.
Races are scheduled hourly times each day at 10 minutes past the hour, so there are plenty of available times to find a race.
Zwift Racing Score will continue to be tested this month on certain ZRacing events. Zwift has made some changes this month, adding one more scored race to the list and slightly adjusting the score bands that group riders:
July’s Bands
725-1000
575-725
400-575
225-400
0-225
August’s Bands
700-1000
550-700
425-550
250-425
0-250
Scored events will occur at 0810, 1110, 1710, 1810, and 2210 UTC each day. These time slots will use 5 categories, except the 1710 and 1810 time slots which will use 10 categories.
IMPORTANT: if you want to compete in the monthly GC (see below), you’ll want to race the “normal” events, not these scored events, because the scored categories don’t line up with the GC categories on ZwiftPower.
Monthly GC on ZwiftPower
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.
Zwift has been testing their new Zwift Racing Score in recent weeks. Today’s top video details the new categorization system and includes thoughts from a frequent Zwift racer.
We’ve also included videos about a Zwifter’s vEveresting experience, gains from periodized training, and a young Zwifter’s father-son birthday race!
Goodbye Zwift Racing Categories A, B, C, D!
Zwift recently started testing Zwift Racing Score-based categorization. Watch as Ollie, Not Tadej Pogacar, tries it and shares his thoughts.
I Didn’t Expect Everesting To Be This Brutal
How hard is vEveresting on Zwift? Road to A tells viewers everything they need to know about the Everesting cycling challenge. Additionally, he shares details about his brutal experience.
FTP 323W From 12 Weeks Of Base Training // Periodized Training 2024
Leonard Goh has been trying periodized training for the last 12 weeks in an attempt to increase his fitness. In this video, he shares how he incorporated Zwift and ultimately gained 30 watts on his FTP.
Goodbye Sandbaggers! New Zwift Racing Score
Has the introduction of the Zwift Racing Score finally eliminated sandbaggers from Zwift races? Erik from Don’t Get Dropped Cycling smashes this month’s ZRacing series and provides his thoughts on the new system.
Zwift Says I’m in C Category | What Could Go Wrong?
Ethan Courson, junior cyclist out of Florida, helps his dad in his birthday Zwift race. Can Ethan help his dad snag a birthday win?
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Level Up Your Wahoo KICKR CORE with this Foot Hack
The Wahoo KICKR CORE has been a very popular trainer since its debut in 2018. As Wahoo’s first direct-drive trainer priced below the magical $1000 mark, the CORE basically had the specs of a quieter KICKR v3 (2% accuracy, 12lb flywheel) with a more basic, slightly less stable base.
The CORE’s base, it turns out, can be a bit annoying in certain situations. Its two steel legs have slip-on rubber caps for feet, meaning:
You can’t adjust the left/right tilt of the trainer by adjusting the feet, as you can on higher-end trainers like the Wahoo KICKR
The rubber caps can work their way off the legs in certain scenarios, tilting your setup and possibly marring your floor
The ability to adjust the trainer’s left/right tilt is underrated, in my opinion. Not only can it compensate for uneven floors, it can also compensate for a less-than-perfectly built trainer! As it turns out, welding a trainer so your bike mounts at a perfect 90 degrees isn’t as easy as it may sound. In fact, it may surprise you to learn that one thing Zwift measures for Zwift Ready certification is how close to perfectly vertical a bike mounts on each test unit!
With tens of thousands of KICKR COREs set up in training spaces around the world, I’m sure there are a fair number of Zwifters who have had to place shims under one side of their trainer, or pop the rubber foot back into place. And with the KICKR CORE shipping with the Zwift Ride smart frame, even more of these trainers are landing in homes.
So when Zwifter Heath Brockett from New Zealand emailed me with a handy KICKR CORE hack, I knew I had to share it with the rest of you! Here are his pics:
As you can see, Heath has upgraded his KICKR CORE to effectively have the foot setup of a standard KICKR.
Parts List and Tools Required
Steel M10 rivet nuts (4): Heath says, “not aluminum and not stainless steel as the steel ones are easier to set.” Here’s an Amazon link to a 50-pack, but you’ll save money picking these up at your local hardware store.
Steel M10 half nuts (4): these are used to lock the threads in whatever position you want. Half nuts are used so the stack height is as low as possible. Probably best to pick these up at your local hardware store, too.
Round Plastic Caps (4): Heath used these 42mm caps made for 3-5mm wall thickness. That’s a New Zealand-based website, though, and I wanted to source parts on Amazon. My measurements show the legs to be 40mm across with 2mm walls, meaning a 40mm cap like these from Amazon would do the job.
Feet (4): Heath splurged and bought two sets of KICKR AXIS feet from Wahoo, as you can see from the pictures above. These are definitely the premium option, and they even add a bit of left/right sway to the setup! You could also buy a generic, heavy-duty foot like these on Amazon for a much lower price. Just make sure the foot is heavy duty enough to support the load, and the M10 bolt is short enough to fit inside the leg.
The only tool you’ll need that most folks don’t already own is a rivet nut tool. Here’s one on Amazon for $36 which also comes with the steel rivet nuts listed above.
You’ll also need a drill to bore out the hole for the rivet nut.
Wrapping It Up
With the four feet installed, you have the ability to adjust each one independently for a perfectly dialed-in setup. Of course, you’ll probably want to raise the front of your bike to compensate for the added foot height.
Hopefully this helps a Zwifter or two!
If it helped you out, or you have a question or comments, post below.
Hometown: Sebastopol, California USA (but identify as Welsh)
How did you get into cycling? I turned 50 and realized a substantial weight gain was going in the wrong direction. Got my first bike, climbed my first hills, and fell in love. Lost 18kg and never looked back. Suffered a serious crash, but recovered and rode my first centuries. Love hilly rides, despite never believing I’ll make it to the top until I’m standing there!
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? I did my first races during Zwift Academy 2019. Began working with coach Theia Friestedt of 360 Velo through her Women’s Cycling Challenge and loved the structure. More serious training since then helped me gain strength, going from CAT D to C. It has also gotten me faster and stronger outdoors.
Are you part of a Virtual team? I helped Stephen Whitcombe launch Team Velos in 2021, and race on our mixed teams in TTT and our women’s team in ZRL. It was thrilling to win our division in our first season together! Our core values at Velos are to support riders at all levels, and our group rides are designed to help riders develop strengths with loads of support. We are so proud to count among our members UCI world champions on the British Masters track (Melanie Dobbins and Lynney Biddulph), yet treat all our racers from A-D like champions for every achievement.
What do you love most about racing? I love the challenge to improve my own performances. But most of all I love the support all our teammates provide each other, training and racing: especially my women teamies on Velosipedes!
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I enjoy all styles of racing, but there is a special magic one experiences in TTTs. Velos hosts several mixed teams in the WTRL series, and enthusiasm is off the charts.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? Tour of Boudicca. It is flawlessly run, offers a great range of race styles, and is available in multiple time zones.
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? This has to be our most recent Velos team meetup on Mallorca in April 2024. It was a magical week, with everyone supporting one another to complete spectacular long and hilly rides. Being able to put my CINCH Cycling training into practice – climbing, descending, and paceline riding – was a true dream! At 67 I am reluctant to tackle racing outdoors, but am considering trying TTs after being inspired by teammates racing outdoors.
What is your favourite food to eat post race? I always reach for a balanced shake with carbs, plant protein and banana. Chocolate always works! But my true favourite food is pre-ride: pumpkin-oatmeal pancakes!
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Set your own goals. Make a plan, then train and race to the plan. Remember that all you can control is your own race, so win YOUR ride. And have FUN!
Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? I am taking part in the Team Velos Tour of Giants, our first stage race inspired by the Critérium du Dauphiné, as well as the Zwift Women’s Racing Series. Every race has been challenging, as it should be!
We typically highlight interesting community events in these posts, but this weekend we went with all Zwift-owned events since there are some interesting things going on in that space. See our picks below!
Zwift’s Hill Climb Racing Club has been holding events regularly for over a year, but this weekend’s events are special since they’re hosted on the new Oh Hill No route!
Hill Climb Club races aren’t like normal scratch races: all that matters is your time up the selected climb segment. This weekend, that climb is The Grade, so you’re doing two things in this race: competing with others, and taking an FTP test!
✅ New Roads ✅ Unique Event ✅ Kit Unlock ✅ Popular Event
The Tour de France is almost done, which means we don’t have many more chances to take on the TdF-themed climb events in the Climb Portal!
This Sunday is the last stage of the tour, and it’s a time trial. It’s also our first chance ever to ride the La Turbie + Col d’Eze climb, which is what the pros are racing in the closing TT of this year’s TdF. This climb’s no joke: it’s actually two climbs, with a bit of descent in the middle. 15.2km total length, with 616 meters of climbing.
Zwift Academy 2024 was announced this week, and Zwift is hosting lots of “welcome rides” to orient first-timers to the program. Zwift says, “In this ride, we’ll guide you through this year’s exciting program and offer insider tips and strategies to maximize your performance. Don’t miss it!”
The rides are open-paced, 30 minutes long,and hosted on Zwift’s new Mayan Mash route. (30 minutes isn’t enough to finish the route, but you can keep going once the event ends to unlock the badge!)
Looking for a longer race this weekend? Check out the Epic Races from Zwift. They alternate route every hour, and the odd hours this weekend are 6-lap races on the newish Loop de Loop route. That means 74.7 of racing, including 6x up the Hilly KOM!
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!
