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?
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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!
Zwift’s popular ZRacing monthly series is well underway for April, and this week we’ve been on the brand-new Glasgow Reverse route. Have you raced it yet? Be ready for some punchy intervals!
The Zwift Big Spin series is now in makeup mode, so 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 how this weekend at 15 minutes past the hour.
Catrina has been leading this social ride for years, and it’s a friendly place for new and experienced Zwifting ladies! This week’s ride is a 60-minute event at 1.5-2.5 W/kg on Watopia’s short Temple Trek route. You’ll finish the route before the event is even half over, and it may be an adventure to see where the game routes everyone after that!
It’s been a while since we’ve featured a Chase Race, so here’s one that’s been around for years. Every Saturday, Team DIRT (Dads Inside Riding Trainers) hosts a chase race where the goal of the race is to have the riders in each category work together to fend off the riders in the other categories from catching. The lower the category, the higher the starting advantage will be.
If you’re looking to race with some of the best of the best, or just simply want a challenging race, the KISS 100 is where it is at. Every week, this iconic 100-kilometer race draws some of the top riders in each category.
The race will be taking place on the Big Foot Hills course in Watopia, with a custom finish at the 102.6km mark.
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!
Zwift Click Virtual Shifter Now Available As Standalone Purchase
Yesterday, Zwift added the Zwift Click virtual shifter to its store (see it here), allowing Zwifters to purchase this device as a standalone item for the first time.
The Click is selling for $39/£39/€39 and shipping to UK, EU, and US customers. Shop here >
Virtual shifting is arguably Zwift’s most important innovation in the past year or more, and this is a move by Zwift to increase its adoption by making virtual shifting available to owners of compatible trainers at a low cost.
Trainer Requirements
Since October 2023, virtual shifting capabilities have rolled out to the Zwift Hub, KICKR v6, KICKR Move, and KICKR Core trainers. You must have one of these trainers to use the Click, although more trainers will support virtual shifting in the coming months.
You do not need the single-sprocket Zwift Cog in order to use virtual shifting.
World Parkinson’s Day Awareness Ride Announced for Thursday, April 11
The Zwift community is collaborating this week to hold an event in support of Parkinson’s Disease research while providing a home for those with Parkinson’s or anyone supporting a person with Parkinson’s.
Rob Warner of the Zwifters Against Parkinsons (ZWAP) team tells me, “Our ZWAP numbers are growing and the word is getting out to many people of the importance of exercise for those of us with Parkinson’s. There is growing evidence that high intensity exercise especially cycling is not only slowing progression but may even reverse neurodegeneration of the disease.”
Event Details
The ride is scheduled for 4pm UTC/12pm EDT/9am PDT on April 11th, which is World Parkinson’s Day. It will be held on one lap of Watopia’s “Big Flat 8” for a total ride length of 31.5km with 109m of elevation.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. Exercise and cycling is proven to be beneficial. The ZWAP cycling club (ZWifters Against Parkinson’s) host activities on Zwift every day open for both people affected by PD and their supporters. 11th of April is the World Parkinson’s Day. ZWAP invite you to a social ride to support those affected by the disease and help us raise awareness about it including the importance and possibilities of exercise in general and cycling in particular.
In episode 45 of In The Drops, Ryan Condon joins us to talk about his Zwift journey from new starter to winning his first Zwift race. Additionally, Ryan fills us in on his latest marathon efforts and his upcoming Fan Dance challenge.
We also check out Jonathan Huber‘s recent AMAZING vEverest achievement with 8 times up the Alpe de Zwift, Rob Bane takes us through what we need to know to win in Stage 1 of this month’s Z Racing series, and Nathan finishes up with some highlights of the last Episode of FRR’s World Tour.
Don’t forget about a Zwift quiz at the end of each episode. Test your knowledge against other Zwifters and resident expert Rob Bane!
Zwift Releases Final Stats and Results from Record-Breaking Zwift Games
The Zwift Games wrapped up on March 31, and Zwift just released some fun community stats along with the final results of the elite races. Let’s dive in!
Record-Breaking Community Racing
Simply put, Zwift Games participation numbers broke all of Zwift’s previous records for race events!
Over 80,000 people participated in the Games
Zwifters completed over 215,000 races
The races themselves broke records in terms of field sizes, with almost 50 races attracting over 1000 starters and an average race attendance of over 250
The Zwift Games truly became the meeting place of Zwift’s racing community for the month of March. Zwift says, “Following the unprecedented success of the inaugural event, the Zwift Games is set to become an annual fixture and highlight of the Zwift racing calendar for years to come.”
Elite Results
Alongside the community events, elite races were held for a much smaller number of top riders who jumped through a number of qualification hoops designed to ensure fair competition.
Winners of each stage (Sprint, Epic, and Climb) took home $7,000 and won the gold Concept Z1 bike in game!
One of the things that truly sets Zwift apart from the other platforms is its community. In this week’s top video, we’ve selected a video highlighting this Zwift “feature.”
While it can be easy to get caught up in training and competition, it is important to take a breather once in a while and truly appreciate the community aspect of Zwift. Linda, aka Zwifting with Granny, shares her experience with the Zwift community in her latest video.
Spinning the Zwift Big Spin And Feeling Stronger!
As Matt gets back to riding on Zwift, he tackles the Zwift Big Spin. Watch as he provides an update on his recent training.
zPower Blows Up L’Etape du Tour de France Zwift Race
Watch as Erik Lee from Don’t Get Dropped Cycling races in the Virtual L’etape Du Tour de France against a rider using ZPower (aka, a ZPower Ranger).
Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift ONE Bundle now in Australia & Canada
Wahoo has recently announced that the Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift ONE Bundle is now available to ship to Australia and Canada. Get all the details in this video from Shane Miller!
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
