Tiny Race Series – January 20 Routes and Last Week’s Results
See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.
Zwift Racing League 2023/24 Round 3 Week 1 Guide: Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop
The first race of Zwift Racing League 2023/24 Round 3 happens Tuesday, January 23. We’ll be in Watopia for one scratch race lap of the Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop route.
There’s much to discuss including bike choice, strategic options, and crucial segments. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route: Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop
All categories are racing one lap of Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop for a total of 19.2km with 156 meters of elevation. Here’s a Veloviewer profile of the loop:
But perhaps the ZwiftHub profile does a better job of showing what we’re in for:
As you can see, the big feature of this route is the climb beginning 9km into the race. This climb is the beginning of the Epic KOM Reverse segment, but we’ll end the segment early, bypassing the bulk of the Epic KOM.
This key climb begins with ~1km of steeper climbing (8%+), winding up two switchbacks before crossing a bridge with a draftable 3% gradient. This is where the peloton will stretch until it snaps as stronger climbers push hard to force a selection.
Turning left after the bridge, we’ll take the falsely flat Epic KOM Bypass road for 2.5km before turning another left and beginning our descent back to Ocean Boulevard. From this spot, chasing riders have just over 6km to bridge to riders up the road. Some will, some won’t. But the finish line will come quickly!
This route ends on the classic Watopia finishing stretch: we ramp up from the ocean tunnel with 1.5km to go, hit a false flat for a few hundred meters, descend a slightly downhill twist into downtown Watopia, then go all-out on flat roads to the finish line. Hope you saved your powerup!
Read more about the Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop route >
PowerUp Notes
Every rider will receive a single aero powerup when riding through the start banner just a few hundred meters into the race. Will you burn it during the race to chase back on, or save it for the final sprint?
Aero Boost (helmet): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds. Use at higher speeds (flats and descents), especially when no draft is available (although it is still useful when drafting.)
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
An all-arounder like the Tron bike is a good choice for this race since the most arduous efforts and key selection will happen on the climb up to the Epic KOM bypass. The climb is short, though, and the Tron bike will save you less than a second over a super-aero setup with disc wheels.
So if you’re confident you can hang with the front group up and over the hill, go with a super-aero finisher such as the Venge + Disc combo since all the points in this race will be earned at the finish line.
See Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot) for more nerd-level detail on frame and wheel performance.
More Route Recons
Many recon rides are now being planned each week on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and do some recon! Here’s a list of upcoming Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop events.
Si Bradeley
Strategic Options
How will the race unfold, and what strategies will riders employ in the first race of round 3? Here’s what we predict:
- Major selections at the base of the Epic KOM Reverse: expect the field to shrink by 30-50% on this climb. Your 2-3 minute W/kg will be crucial.
- Chasing it back: once the climbing is finished, riders who have been dropped from the front group will want to chase back on. But will the front group allow it? Team communication will be vital.
- Saved helmets: we only get one aero powerup during this race. Those who save it for the finish’s flat, fast sprint will have a distinct advantage over those who do not.
- A wild finish: there are several strategic options in the final 1.5km of this race, especially with a reduced pack. You can always leave it to the final sprint (most will), but why not send a teammate up the road on a long attack while your sprinters sit in, or attack with multiple teammates in a leadout train for your sprinter?
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Zwift Insider Kit Now Available from Verge Sport
Zwift Insider Kit Now Available from Verge Sport
We’ve teamed up with Verge Sport to develop the most advanced indoor cycling kit on the market, and our custom store is now open! Zwifters worldwide can order our custom indoor kit (see pictures below) or a more outdoor-friendly version of the same design.
Verge Sport’s “Pain Cave” indoor line was developed from the ground up in a months-long collaboration between Verge Sport and Zwift Insider, and the result is something we’re very proud of. Never before have we worn a kit so dialed into the unique needs of the indoor cycling environment! Friend of the site Nathan Guerra (Zwift Community Live) recently shared on The Wrap podcast:
“The first time I rode in this Verge kit, I rode I think for almost 8 hours. And I was like… ok… didn’t even notice it was there. Definitely had no problems. Eight hours of riding indoors can cause problems, I don’t know if anyone’s noticed…”
To read the full story on the development of the kit, as well as a review, visit Review: Pain Cave Indoor Cycling Kit from Verge Sport.
The Zwift Insider kit from Verge Sport matches Zwift Insider’s in-game kit, including the “Ride Smarter / Rider Harder” text on the legs:
Thanks to Verge Sport’s on-demand custom kit capabilities you can order your Zwift Insider kit whenever you’d like, with a delivery time of 3-4 weeks. No ordering windows!
Our team store includes the indoor “Pain Cave” version of our kit, as well as an outdoor-friendly “Strike” jersey+bibs and base layers, all in men’s and women’s versions.
As a bonus, if you order a Pain Cave kit (jersey and bib shorts) you’ll get a free matching turbo headband and turbo towel.
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
Guide to Direct Drive Trainer Cassette Spacing
Guide to Direct Drive Trainer Cassette Spacing
There have been a myriad of posts over the years asking for help with getting a bicycle’s rear derailleur to index and shift correctly when installed on a direct drive trainer.
The conventional wisdom is to either use the cable barrel adjuster to re-index the rear derailleur, add/remove spacers behind the cassette to better match the spacing on the bike wheel, or some combination of both.
There’s another way.
⚠️WARNING
The shims (spacers) used here for tuning cassette offset from the dropout face were not originally designed for this purpose. Rather, they’re for taking up excess space on a freehub body when using fewer cogs than the freehub was designed to accommodate.
Installing more or thicker shims than were needed for their original purpose may result in insufficient threads for the lockring to secure the cassette. Tightening a lockring with only a couple of threads engaged can strip the threads on the freehub body.
You should ensure there is sufficient thread engagement between lockring and freehub body if attempting this solution.
This process assumes your bike is in good working order and the derailleur hanger is straight. Derailleur alignment is often overlooked by bike shops when delivering customer bikes and alignment tools (like the Park Tool DAG-3 34) aren’t commonly owned by the home mechanic. If in doubt, please bring your bike to a reputable bike shop to check derailleur alignment before attempting to tune your drivetrain.
Before You Begin
- Chains and cassettes should have similar levels of wear or they will tend not to shift well, may skip, and be overly noisy. Provided your bike is in good working order (per the assumption in the section above), the sure-fire way to eliminate this as a source of problems is to transfer the cassette from your bicycle to your trainer.
- Alternately, if your bike chain has zero wear, putting a brand new cassette on the trainer that is identical to what’s already there (number of cogs, number of teeth per cog, same brand and spacing) effectively matches them. (If you have problems, though, go back to step 1.)
- You will need some basic bicycle tools such as a cassette lockring tool and chain whip. I’m going to link to some Park Tools, specifically the least expensive versions you need.
- Additionally, the process below requires a digital caliper with a depth gauge, and you will likely need a set of cassette spacers of varying thickness (unless you happen to get lucky and have one on hand of the perfect thickness).
Matching Cassette to Dropout Spacing
Here we go!
- Remove your rear wheel from the bicycle and lay it on a surface you don’t mind getting greasy. (I like a yoga mat in my flat for this type of work.)
- Take the digital caliper out and zero it. (It should read zero when closed.)
- Use the depth probe end to measure the distance between the cassette lockring and the hub axle. NOTE: if this is a QR axle type hub, you want the wide part of the axle which contacts the drop-out, not the narrow section that sticks out farther. Ensure you’ve aligned the caliper with the axle as best as possible – misalignment will throw this measurement off. CAVEAT: the thickness of the cassette lockrings on your bike and trainer must match for this to work. If they don’t, you’ll need to account for this in your calculations.
- Write the above measurement down. This is the distance between your cassette and the drop-out on the bicycle. We’re aiming for the exact same distance on the trainer so your rear derailleur “sees” the trainer as being identical to the bike vis-a-vis shifting.
- Repeat step 3 above but this time on the trainer. Write this number down. If the two numbers are the same, great! Install the bike and test it out.
- If the trainer and bike cassette to dropout spacing don’t match, note the difference to the closest 0.1mm increment.
- Remove the cassette from the trainer. Take note of any spacers already installed and how thick they are. (The caliper jaws are ideal for this.)
- If the cassette to dropout spacing on trainer is less than that on the bike wheel, you need to remove spacers or install a thinner one. If the cassette to dropout spacing on trainer is greater than that of the bike wheel, you need to add spacers.
- Once you’ve added/removed spacers to match wheel spacing, reinstall the cassette, install the bike and give it a test ride.
Comment
My “trainer bike” gear indexing was already pretty close to matching between road and trainer use. Until I figured the above out, I was fine just spinning the rear derailleur barrel adjuster when moving the bike on and off the trainer.
However, adding a single 1.5mm spacer brought the two into perfect alignment (within 0.1mm). Zero adjustments necessary between the two! To me, this is the more elegant solution.
Measuring the Wheel
Tool & Parts
I’m not endorsing any specific brand, merely providing examples of functional tools. I appreciate the quality, availability, and warranty of Park Tool but there many other respectable brands such as Shimano’s “Pro Tools” line, Pedro’s, and (money-no-object) Abbey Bike Tools.
- Park Tool HCW-16 – combination chain whip and pedal wrench
- Park Tool FR-5.2 cassette lockring tool (you’ll need an adjustable wrench to use this)
- Generic digital calipers
- Drivetrain spacers by Problem Solvers 60 and WheelsMfg
- Park Tool CC-4 5 chain wear tool (not specific to this guide, a chain wear tool is just a good idea to have on hand. Measure your chain regularly for wear and replace earlier than later – a worn chain will result in poor shifting and chew through cassettes and chainrings. If you’re diligent, other drivetrain components can last through several chains)
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
Zwift Grand Prix: Round 6 Epic Points Race Report
Zwift Grand Prix: Round 6 Epic Points Race Report
The penultimate round of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix traveled to London for 69.7km of racing on The PRL Half. Both the men’s and women’s fields took on four ascents of Box Hill plus 50km of rolling roads before a frantic final sprint.
Watch the Livestream
Just like Round 2 of the Grand Prix, Round 6 featured a time cutoff: five minutes for the men and seven minutes for the women. There were also four intermediate sprints along the way, each at the Box Hill KOM banner. With nearly two hours of racing, four sprint primes, and hundreds of points on offer at the finish, the Zwift Grand Prix audience was in for a treat.
Elite Men
More than 70 riders started the first ascent of Box Hill in the Elite Men’s field, but it wasn’t long until the attacks started flying. At the top of the first KOM, Coalition Alpha put two riders in the top 5 to grab a handful of prime points, while 2023 UCI eSport World Champion Bjoern Andreassen (Wahoo Le Col) went on the attack down the descent.
A few kilometers later, Chris Dawson (Wahoo Le Col) launched the first major attack of the race, holding his advantage all the way to the second sprint prime atop Box Hill.
Lap 3 turned out to be the crux of the race as Johan Noren (Team Swedish Zwifters) attacked on the early slopes of Box Hill. In a long and drawn-out sprint, Stefan Van Aelst (ABUS – Synergy) beat Brian Duffy Jr (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) to the line, ahead of Michal Kaminski (Coalition Alpha) and Andreassen.
Suddenly, half the peloton was dropped, and less than 30 riders were left at the head of the Elite Men’s race. After taking a few moments to catch their breath, Martin Meartens (Toyota Elite ECycling) launched the breakaway of the day, going solo with 23.3km to go.
A few kilometers later, Noren attacked out of the field but got stuck in no man’s land between Maertens and the peloton. Nevertheless, both riders kept pushing, and the disconnected pair made it to the top of Box Hill to take first and second-place prime points. Noren finally caught Meartens with around 10km to go, but the duo couldn’t hold off the charging peloton led by NeXT eSports pb Enshored and Coalition Alpha.
As most riders readied for the sprint, Josh Harris (BL13 p/b Level Velo) shot off the front with 800m to go and quickly got a huge gap. The Australian held his effort all the way to the line, taking an emphatic win ahead of a hard-charging pack.
Bart Van Den Eeckhaut (Toyota Elite ECycling) won the bunch sprint for second ahead of Andreassen, Vujasin, and Duffy Jr. Viewers stared at the livestream anxiously, awaiting the final point totals for each team.
Once the points were all added up, NeXT eSports pb Enshored emerged as the Round 6 victor, narrowly ahead of Wahoo Le Col and Toyota Elite ECycling. ABUS – Synergy finished 4th, which meant that NeXT eSports pb Enshored was closing in on their overall lead. With one round left to go, here are the Elite Men’s Overall Standings.
Elite Women
As soon as the men’s race finished, the action switched back to the Elite Women’s race which had already blown apart on the first ascent of Box Hill. Lou Bates (Coalition Alpha) took maximum points over the QOM, which would become a familiar sight over the next 40km.
Bates won the lap 2 sprint prime ahead of her own teammate, Mary Wilkinson, as the field continued to shatter behind.
For the third lap in a row, Bates won the sprint prime atop Box Hill, while Movistar eTeam and Wahoo Le Col continued to gather points from the lower places. The lead group was down to 14 riders with 28km to go, but that didn’t stop Selene Colombi (Team Castelli p/b Elite) from going on the attack.
The Italian rider had been setting a hard pace each time up Box Hill, marking herself as one of the strongest riders in the race. Colombi was reabsorbed by the pack on the flat roads of London, but she went on the attack for the last climb up Box Hill.
Colombi’s effort split the field again, but it was no surprise to see Bates coming around her to take maximum points in the QOM sprint. But as soon as the sprinters sat up, Colombi pressed on the pedals and went straight over the top, moving into a solo breakaway with 15km to go. After getting caught on the descent, Colombi attacked again, this time going clear with only Eleanor Wiseman (Saris | NoPinz) able to follow.
This would turn out to be the winning breakaway, as Wiseman beat Colombi to the line 25 seconds ahead of the chasing peloton.
Koistinen (Toyota Elite ECycling) beat Zoe Langham (Wahoo Le Col) in the field sprint. But when the Round 6 results were revealed, the day’s winner was abundantly clear. With a grand total of 1,517 points, Coalition Alpha absolutely dominated the Elite Women’s race ahead of Wahoo Le Col and Toyota Elite ECycling. It was one of the biggest winning margins in Zwift Grand Prix history.
Coalition Alpha extended their lead atop the Zwift Grand Prix overall standings, amassing a total of 155 points ahead of Aeonian and Wahoo Le Col.
Coming Up Next
The final round of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix will take place next Thursday, January 18th. Both the men’s and women’s fields will race one lap of Royal Pump Room 8 in a Points Hunter format. There are four intermediate sprints along the route, but only one power-up – the Feather – is available at the start banner.
Once a rider scores points, they will be removed from the race, but only 14 riders will be able to score before the final sprint, which offers points to the top 6 riders. Series points have been doubled for Round 7 of the Grand Prix, which means that neither ABUS – Synergy nor Coalition Alpha has sewn up the overall win. With one round of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix remaining, the winner-takes-all $10,000 prize purse is still up for grabs for both men and women.
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of January 13-14
It’s that time of year when Zwift is especially busy, and so many cyclists are putting in long base miles to build fitness for the outdoor season ahead. This weekend we’re featuring lots of group rides, some of which are quite long! See our picks below…
✅ Popular Event ✅ Kit Unlock ✅ Highly Competitive
Tour de Zwift 2024 is well underway, ridiculous bucket hats and all. The group rides and weekend races have been packed, so whether you’re looking for a big group to spin with, or a high level of competition, you can find it with TdZ.
This weekend we have access to Stage 2 and Stage 3 TdZ “Epic” races, on two laps of Scotland’s The Muckle Yin (47.1km, 562m elevation) or 1 lap of the Makuri 40, respectively (40.3km, 312m).
Stage 3 also kicks off on Saturday, so this weekend is your first chance to knock off one of the stage 3 routes in Makuri Islands.
Multiple time slots all weekend
Tour de Zwift: Ride details and event signup at zwift.com/tour-de-zwift/ride
🤝 Hoy’s Doddie Aid Coffee and Cake Ride #3
✅ Popular Event ✅ Celebrity Leader ✅ Good Cause ✅ Kit Unlock
The popular Doddie Aid rides are back, raising funds and awareness for “My Name’5 Doddie Foundation,” which aims to find effective treatments for the currently incurable MND/ALS. Join Sir Chris Hoy and friends on a Sunday social ride every week through February 3rd.
This week we’re on two laps Watopia’s Waistband, and Hoy will be leading the group at a 2.5W/kg pace. Complete the ride to unlock the 2024 Doddie Aid kit!
Sunday, January 14 @ 10am UTC/5am EST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4014272
🤝 Vatternrundan Group Ride Series #1
✅ Unique Event ✅ Jersey Unlock
The Vätternrundan event is a 315km ride around Sweden’s Lake Vättern. The Swedish Zwift Riders (SZR) team is hosting group rides to help Zwifters train for the IRL event, but you can use it to build endurance for any longer event.
This is the first ride in the series, and it’s 90 minutes long on Watopia’s Waistband at a pace of 1.8-2.2 W/kg.
Sunday, January 14 @ 8am UTC/5am EST/12am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3942307
🤝 January Resolution Ride
✅ Beginner-Friendly ✅ Jersey Unlock
Pas Normal Studios is hosting rides to help you complete the Strava January Resolution challenge of riding 1250km in January, and they’re proving quite popular!
This week we’ll be riding for 60 minutes on Watopia’s Coast Crusher route at a pace range of 2-2.5 W/kg.
Sunday, January 14 @ 4pm UTC/11am EST/8am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4020253
🤝 Vikings Valhalla Sunday Skaal ride
✅ Endurance Challenge ✅ Beginner-Friendly ✅ Unique Event
We’ve featured this event several times in the past, as it’s always well-attended, well-led, and offers two pace options. Experienced leaders and sweepers do their best to keep the groups together, even on long rides!
This week category C will ride at 2.3-2.7 W/kg on Volcano Circuit CCW for 102km, so you can cross off your 25 Volcano Laps badge! Or choose category C for a 1.7-2.2 W/kg pace on 1 lap of The Uber Pretzel (128.8km).
Sunday, January 7th @ 8:05am UTC/12:05am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4089426
How We Make Our Picks
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!
Your Thoughts
Do other events stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!
Four Ways To Ride (Almost) Any Zwift Course at Any Time
While Zwift contains 10+ worlds and 200+ routes, only three worlds (and their corresponding routes) are shown on the homescreen when selecting a route to run or ride:
Watopia is always available, and the other two worlds (Makuri Islands and New York in the screenshot above) rotate on a set schedule that changes monthly (see the Zwift course calendar).
Zwift restricts the available worlds to keep roads feeling “busy” since the social side of fitness is part of Zwift’s special sauce. But what if you are more concerned with riding a particular route than having other Zwifters nearby? Maybe you’re chasing route badges, or trying to finish a tough workout, and you have a particular route you’d like to ride that is in a world that isn’t on today’s schedule.
The good news is, it’s pretty easy to access the route you want. Here are four ways to do it…
Method #1: Fake Workouts
This is going to be the easiest method for most people.
Simply choose any workout from the homescreen, click “Start Ride”, and the game will pop up a window asking you to select a world and route. This gives you access to all the free-ridable routes in the 10 open worlds (so no Bologna or Crit City).
Once you’re on your chosen route, you can get out of your workout by tabbing through the intervals or skipping them using the Companion app. (Tip: if you use this trick regularly, you might consider creating a simple, short, custom workout that is just a minute of free riding, so you don’t even need to skip the interval.)
Method #2: Meetups
Meetups are perhaps the next easiest way to access the 10 open worlds. When you create a Meetup, you select which world and route it’s on, and you have access to all the open worlds and routes, just like the Fake Workouts hack delivers.
There are two hassles with the Meetup method, though:
- You must invite a friend to the Meetup. This has to be someone who follows you. Some people have created second trial Zwift account for just this purpose!
- You must give the Meetup a start time/date. That means you can’t just pop into your desired map… you may need to wait a few minutes.
Learn all about Meetups on Zwift >
Method #3: Club Events
While Clubs are meant to be gathering places for groups of Zwifters, anyone can create a Club and host events from it.
Club events give you access to the same 10 open worlds as the two methods above, but also (somewhat oddly) let you create events on Crit City’s “The Bell Lap” route (but not Downtown Dolphin).
There are two hassles with the Club Events method:
- Creating your Club takes a few minutes: you only have to set your Club up once, but it takes a few minutes to set the various options.
- You must give the event a start time/date. Like Meetups, this means you can’t just pop into your desired map… you may need to wait a few minutes.
Learn how to create Club events on Zwift >
Method #4: <world> Tag Hack
The <world> tag hack is perhaps the most common hack used by Zwifters over the years. Nowadays the ease of the Fake Workouts method has diminished its use, but it still holds a special place in the hearts of many.
So how does it work?
You have a prefs.xml file in your Zwift user directory (which is in your Documents/Zwift directory on PC/Mac). Before starting up Zwift, open this file in a text editor like Wordpad and simply add one of the following tags to force Zwift to place you in your desired world.
To ride Watopia, add: <WORLD>1</WORLD>
To ride Richmond, add: <WORLD>2</WORLD>
To ride London, add:<WORLD>3</WORLD>
To ride New York, add:<WORLD>4</WORLD>
To ride Innsbruck, add: <WORLD>5</WORLD>
To ride Yorkshire, add: <WORLD>7</WORLD>
To ride Makuri Islands, add <WORLD>9</WORLD>
To ride France, add: <WORLD>10</WORLD>
To ride Paris, add: <WORLD>11</WORLD>
To ride Scotland, add: <WORLD>13</WORLD>
This text should go just after the opening <ZWIFT> tag near the top of the file. (If you place it inside of a section like “<DEVICES>” then it will not work.)
Important: Do not insert bogus values into your preferences file! Invalid values will just make Zwift behave unpredictably or even crash. Follow the instructions above carefully and you’ll be safe.
Using Zwift iOS? This method can still be used, but it’s more of a hassle. Here’s how to accomplish this same hack on your iDevice.
Using Apple TV? You’re out of luck when it comes to <world> tag hacking.
Sample
Here is a sample prefs.xml file which forces Zwift to always allow Richmond access (added text is bold):
<ZWIFT>
<WORLD>2</WORLD>
<DEVICES>
<LASTCADENCEDEVICE>720996</LASTCADENCEDEVICE>
<LASTPOWERDEVICE>720996</LASTPOWERDEVICE>
</DEVICES>
<CONFIG>
<RICHMOND_BRANCH_PREFERENCE>0</RICHMOND_BRANCH_PREFERENCE>
<BRANCH_PREFERENCE>4</BRANCH_PREFERENCE>
</CONFIG>
<WORKOUTS>
<USE_ERG>1</USE_ERG>
</WORKOUTS>
</ZWIFT>
Shoutout to ZwiftHacks
If you’d rather not edit your prefs.xml file directly, you can also use the handy ZwiftPref (for MacOS) or Zwift-Preferences (for Windows) tools from ZwiftHacks to accomplish the task via a simple user interface. (These tools let you tweak other Zwift settings as well.)
One Final Caveat
The title of this post says “(Almost) Any Zwift Course” because the methods above only give you access to Zwift’s “open” worlds. Bologna and Crit City are considered event-only worlds, so you can’t hack your way into them using these methods (although Club events will get you into Crit City).
Additionally, the methods above may still not get you into certain “event-only” routes like Watopia’s 2022 Gran Fondo or France’s France Classic Fondo. (Some methods, like Club events, will get you access to certain event-only routes. It may be best to do a bit of experimenting if you have a particular event-only route in mind.)
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
My Top 10 Zwift Clubs Feature Requests
My Top 10 Zwift Clubs Feature Requests
I have a confession to make.
I “own” one of the largest Clubs on Zwift, but I’m not sure what to do with it.
Zwift Insider’s Club has 33,012 members. But what can I do with all of them? I host Club events, but those see limited attendance unless they’re included in Zwift’s public calendar and/or I invest a lot of resources into hyping them up. I participate in the Club chat, but it’s so limited that conversation is hindered.
Zwift’s special sauce is its social side, its community. The heart of Clubs is to enable and build this community, to make what’s good about Zwift even better. But the limited feature set means even large Clubs have mostly become simple containers for events.
It wouldn’t take much to move the needle. Some polishing of existing features, some building out of capabilities, and Clubs could make a huge impact on the Zwift landscape.
I certainly don’t have all the answers. But as a Club owner, I know what I’d use! So today, I’m publishing my top 10 Zwift Clubs feature requests. Enjoy!
Events
Races
Right now, Club owners can only create group ride and group workout events. No races. I’m not sure why races still aren’t allowed, but this seems like a quick add that would excite certain Club owners. Let us hold races, including time trials!
In a related ask: Club events aren’t currently “seen” by ZwiftPower, since they’re considered “private” events. Part of allowing Club owners to hold races should include making those race results visible on ZwiftPower, including ranking points.
Automatic “Public Upgrade”
It’s a well-known fact among Zwift Club owners that Club events get very limited signups unless they’re placed on the public Zwift calendar. There’s no clear system for getting your event onto the public calendar, but Zwift could make it happen so easily, while at the same time encouraging Club owners to advertise their events.
Simple signup requirements could be defined which, when met, automatically upgraded the event to public visibility. Something like this:
- 5 signups 7 days prior to event
- 10 signups 4 days prior to event
- 20 signups 2 days prior to event
These numbers could even automatically “flex” based on Zwift signup traffic, requiring more signups during the winter months than in the summer months.
Of course, if a Club owner wanted an event to remain private to the Club, they could toggle that option.
Improved Club Event Visibility
Right now, events from your Club(s) are mixed into the overall events feed in Zwift Companion and not shown at all on zwift.com/events, even if you’re signed in. Additionally, Club events look just like normal public calendar events in your Companion feed. As far as I can tell, there is no indication anywhere that it belongs to a Club, even if you click to see the event’s details.
I’d love to see a “My Clubs” option added to the Companion app event filters, so I could check it and see only upcoming events from Clubs I’m a part of. Additionally, there needs to be some sort of visual indicator telling me that an event belongs to a Club, and which Club it’s a part of. Lastly, these same filters and visibility improvements should be in effect at zwift.com/events for logged-in users.
Recurring Events
Many Clubs hold similar events every week, but there’s no way to mark an event as recurring so it automatically gets created each week and you don’t have to set it up again and again.
Yes, Zwift’s events team can set this up, and that setting is in place, I’m sure, for hundreds of events every week. But this should be a setting that all Club admins have access to, as it would make the creation of repeated events much simpler.
More Configuration Options
I still have to email Zwift’s events team weekly to ask for custom powerup configurations for Zwift Insider’s Tiny Races. (God bless you, James Bailey and Leah Thorvilson!)
The problem is, there are lots of event configuration options that Zwift’s events team can access, but Club owners cannot. I’m not proposing we should have access to all of them, but just being able to use some key ones would let us create more interesting and engaging events, especially once Club owners are allowed to create races.
Configuration options I’d love to access:
- Toggle which Club kit is unlocked when finishing an event
- Choose from one or more pre-approved branded event banner images
- Choose which kit should be used for the event
- Race rules: category enforcement, hardware enforcement
- Custom powerups
- Assigned bikes/wheelsets
- Category pen timing and visibility (important for races)
Club Chat
Clickable Member Profiles and URLs
I’m not gonna lie: this one drives me batty. Probably because members names are blue in the chat, which is the universal color for a hyperlink. But tapping on a member’s name or profile pic does nothing!
In a similar vein, URLs aren’t clickable when pasted into messages. I would love to share helpful zwiftinsider.com links when people ask questions in the chat, but I cannot.
Member Tagging
Right now, you can either allow notifications for all messages in a Club’s chat, or turn off all notifications for that Club. But shouldn’t there be something in between those two? Member tagging. Let us tag a member, and by default let people be notified only if they’re tagged. (Maybe even give the Club owners the ability to tag @everyone, although that may be playing with fire…)
More
These last three features are, admittedly, bigger asks than the requests above. But they would also take Zwift Clubs to the next level!
Custom Club Workouts
Zwifters can already design custom workouts in game. And we can host Club group workouts based on a limited library of in-game workouts. What if we could hold Club events using custom workouts?
My guess is this would require a big rework of how Zwift handles custom workouts today. But I think we’d see a lot of IRL clubs and coaches using this feature.
Custom Kit Designer (Or At Least a Pathway)
If I had a nickel for every time someone has asked, “How do I get my club’s kit into Zwift?” I’d be a millionaire. Everyone wants it. Very few get it.
How awesome would it be if Zwift built an online kit designer (like many custom kit makers have today) which allowed you to design a club kit for use in the game?
Barring that, would if Zwift could offer a clear pathway to getting your kit into the game? Something like this:
- Your Club must have at least 250 members
- You must supply the digital artwork in a format that makes it easy for Zwift to transfer it into the game
- Approximate wait time is 1 week
You’d have Club owners clambering to meet the requirements and get their kit into the game.
Club Leaderboards
This is an idea I’ve heard knocked around Zwift HQ for years, so I know it’s on their radar. Leaderboard stats would include metrics like total distance, total climbing, average climb/distance (so smaller clubs could compete with larger ones), active hours, leaders jerseys grabbed, segment PRs set, and much, much more.
Club Leaderboards would be super fun and build Club camaraderie. There are actually two types of leaderboards Zwift could roll out:
- Intra-Club Leaderboards: just for members of one Club
- Inter-Club Leaderboards: all Clubs together in one place, competing using their combined stats
I’d love to see them both.
Your Thoughts
What do you think? Are my feature requests sensible? Do you have other ideas for important Club features? Or maybe you don’t see a need for more Club features? Share your thoughts below!
Tiny Race Series – January 13 Routes and Last Week’s Results
Tiny Race Series – January 13 Routes and Last Week’s Results
See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.
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