Zwift Grand Prix: Round 2 Mountain Points Race Report

Below you will find the full press release from Zwift covering the second round of the Zwift Grand Prix. Not familiar with the Zwift Grand Prix? Read all about it >

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Round 2 of the Zwift Grand Prix was one of the most feared and hyped rounds in the history of Zwift racing. Both the women’s and men’s Grand Prix fields were set to climb the Alpe du Zwift, a brutal 12.2km climb with an average gradient of 8.5%.

Among the climb’s 21 hairpin turns, there were three intermediate sprints, which awarded the first five riders over the line with extra points. The majority of the points were up for grabs on the finish line atop the Alpe, but there was a twist.

A time cut-off of seven minutes for the women and five minutes for the men eliminated nearly half of each field. Having a superstar climber could change the game in the Zwift Grand Prix, and that’s exactly what unfolded on Thursday. 

Women’s Race

The women took off from the start pens just outside the jungle in Watopia, with 17.1km of road in front of them. There was plenty of tension but no attacks before the start of the Alpe, but it only took a few meters for Aeonian to start pushing the pace. 

Just four minutes into the Alpe, only 11 riders were left in the front group, and that number shrunk again when Maria Holdcroft (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) accelerated for the first intermediate sprint. A counterattack followed, and suddenly, there were five riders left in front. Get used to these names, because these riders would take this breakaway all the way to the finish: S. Etienne (Hexagone), Kristen Kulchinsky (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24), Katie Hill (Aeonian), L. Harris (Toyota Elite ECycling), and Gabriela Guerra (Saris | Nopinz). 

Less than 3 km into the climb, Etienna went off the front, and she was never seen again. The Frenchwoman powered to a triumphant victory and a blitzing time up the Alpe that struck fear into all those riders trying to make the time cut. Guerra sprinted for second place atop the Alpe, while Hill came across the line in third. 

The seconds ticked by as the 7-minute cutoff approached, and only half the field would make it to the finish in time. Once the points were tallied up, it was Hexagone who took top honors with 1052 points, with Aeonian in second with 917 points, and Coalition Alpha with 780 points in third. 

Men’s Race

After a short intermission, the men’s race kicked off from the start of the Road to Sky, and it didn’t take long for a breakaway to form. Multiple riders attacked on the dirt in an attempt to break away before the Alpe, but it all came back together before the road tipped up. 

Matt Gardiner (Saris | Nopinz) kicked off the climb with a 10w/kg attack, and the front group exploded in the first kilometer of climbing. Andy Nichols (BL13 p/b Level Velo) came from behind to win the first intermediate sprint ahead of Chris Dawson (Wahoo Le Col) and Gardiner. 

Just behind the first few riders, Lennert Teugels (ABUS – Synergy) was already starting to make his move, which was being closely marked by Lionel Vujasin (Coalition Alpha), Martin Maertens (Toyota Elite ECycling), and David Talbott (Saris | Nopinz). 

As the dust began to settle, the aforementioned trio caught Teugels, but there was still one rider to add to the front group. Dan Turek (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) bridged across solo from the chase group, making it five riders at the front with 10.5km still to climb. 

At the second intermediate sprint, Maertens began to show his strength by beating Turek to the banner, while Vujasin caught Teugels just before the line to take third. 

With 6km to go, Turek was distanced from the front group, whereas Talbott had fallen almost a minute behind. Maertens continued pushing the pace so much so that Vujasin started drifting backward with 1.8km to go, and then there were two. Maertens and Teugels came around the final bend of Alpe du Zwift side-by-side, but then the German made his move. Dropping the pre-race favorite with just a few hundred meters to go, Maertens took a dominant win atop Alpe du Zwift and started the five-minute countdown for everyone else. 

As the five-minute marker came and went, three riders heart-breakingly missed the time by a single second. Then, it was time to add up all the points. 

After one of the hardest races in Zwift Grand Prix history, ABUS–Synergy took the win ahead of Coalition Alpha, Toyota Elite ECycling, and NeXT eSports pb Enshored. While each of these teams placed a rider in the top four on the stage, it was ABUS–Synergy’s overall strength that propelled them to victory in Round 2 of the Zwift Grand Prix. 

Coming Up Next

Round 3 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix features the first split race schedule of the season. Both races will integrate with the Zwift Racing League, with the Grand Prix races occurring on Thursday before the ZRL takes on the same exact course the following Tuesday. 

First, the men’s race kicks off on Thursday, November 9th, with a 29.3km scratch race around the London Loop Reverse. The following week, the women race 15.3km around the Glasgow Crit Circuit, featuring a total of 11 intermediate sprints during what promises to be an explosive points race.

Zwift Grand Prix: Round 1 Points Hunter Race Report

From the editor: below you will find the full press release from Zwift covering the first round of the Zwift Grand Prix. But before we get to that, it’s worth noting that steering was accidentally enabled for this round – in violation of the rulebook – so Zwift chose to annul the results of the race for series standings.

Out of respect for the athletes’ efforts, all teams will be paid an additional $500 in start money, and the last race of the series will offer double points. The following race reports were written prior to that decision, and while Zwift is confident that steering settings did not influence the outcome of the race, no series points are being awarded following round one.

Not familiar with the Zwift Grand Prix? Read all about it >

Watch the Livestream

The Zwift Grand Prix kicked off with two thrilling races around the 2015 UCI Worlds Course in Richmond. 16 men’s and women’s teams risked it all in the Points Hunter format, which rewarded (and punished) daring, all-out attacks. 

There were eight intermediate sprints in total, plus finish line points available for the Top 8 riders. But the twist was that, with each sprint, any rider who scored was then eliminated from the race. Of the 80 men’s and women’s riders who started, only 26 riders would end up scoring points for their respective teams. 

Men’s Race

Joel Lewis (BL13 p/b Level Velo) was determined to be one of those 26 riders when he took off from Kilometer Zero. The Brit went solo to take the first points of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix for BL13 p/b Level Velo. The breakaway trend continued for the entire first lap – in fact, each of the first four intermediate sprints was won by a solo rider: first it was Lewis at Monument Avenue, then Johan Norén (Team Swedish Zwifters) at Broad Street, then Rinus Verhelle (ABUS–Synergy) at Libby Hill, and finally Dan Turek (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) atop 23rd Street. 

At the end of Lap 1, less than half the peloton was left at the front of the race. But that didn’t stop the attacks from flying before the next sprint. The peloton was strung out in a very long line at the Monument Ave sprint, where four riders scored points, led by  Jasper Paridaens (ABUS–Synergy).

By the midpoint of the race, ABUS–Synergy led NeXT eSports pb Enshored and BL13 p/b Level Velo in the team standings, with just a few sprints remaining. Last year’s Zwift Grand Prix Champions, Coalition Alpha, were yet to score a single point, along with Movistar eTeam, Hexagone, and Beastmode p/b Rose. 

At Broad Street, the points went to a messy breakaway that turned into a 500-meter sprint. They were led across the line by Sébastien Havot (Hexagone) and Vidar Mehl (Movistar eTeam).

Brian Duffy Jr (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) and Lionel Vujasin (Coalition Alpha) broke away from the peloton to take the top points at Libby Hill, and suddenly, there was only 3.5km to go.  At the final intermediate sprint atop 23rd Street, Andy Nichols gave BL13 p/b Level Velo a huge points haul with first across the line, while Marc Mäding (Beastmode p/b Rose) and Niki Hug (NeXT pb Enshored) followed in second and third.

After 31km of racing, only 900 meters were left when Michał Kamiński (Coalition Alpha) broke away from the lead group, while Zwift legend Lennert Teugels (ABUS–Synergy) gave chase. But the Belgian was overtaken by none other than the UCI eSport World Champion, Bjoern Andreassen (Wahoo Le Col), with just a few hundred meters to go. The rainbow jersey caught Kamiński on the line to take the win and move his team up to 7th in the overall standings. 

After eight sprints and 32km of full gas racing, ABUS–Synergy won Round 1 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix ahead of NeXT eSports pb Enshored and BL13 p/b Level Velo. 

Women’s Race

Round 1 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix continued with 80 women blasting out of the start pens in Richmond, prepared to race through the same exact course as the men. Just two kilometers into the race, Wahoo Le Col launched a full-team attack that put everyone else on the back foot. But with every rider’s legs being relatively fresh, the peloton was all back together ahead of the first intermediate sprint. In the end, there were three riders who sprinted for the points, and we had to go to the photo finish before it was declared that Emily Ehrlich (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) grabbed the points. 

L. Harris (Toyota Elite ECycling) launched a brilliant move to win the sprint on Broad Street, and then it was Coalition Alpha who took control of the race on Libby Hill. G. Paul and Lou Bates broke away from the pack, with Paul taking the points and Bates continuing on to 23rd Street. The British rider did just enough to hang on and win four more points for Coalition Alpha, who suddenly had a huge lead in the overall standings. 

Just before the end of Lap 1, Katie Hill (Aeonian) put in a huge attack to go solo before the next sprint. She ended up gaining nearly a minute on the peloton before taking the Monument Ave sprint, and there were a few big-name teams yet to score. 

A. Roberts (Aeonian) won the next intermediate sprint at Broad Street, which meant that Aeonian moved to the top of the leaderboard with less than 10km to go. Everyone knew what was coming: the brutal combination of Libby Hill, 23rd Street, and the climb up Governor’s Street to the finish. Amongst the hesitation, Maria Holdcroft (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) and K. McCarthy (Rocacorba Collective) broke away just before Libby Hill, just as Vujasin and Duffy Jr had done in the men’s race. Both riders put their respective teams on the scoreboard, and there were only 12 riders left in the peloton as they flew down towards 23rd Street. 

A. Verhaaren absolutely smoked the cobblestone climb to earn top points for Aeonian, who were dominating the leaderboard with only the finish line points to come. With 600 meters to go, Kristen Kulchinsky (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) went to the front and began to gap the three remaining riders. But Gabriela Guerra (Saris | Nopinz) closed the gap, and the pace slowed with 450 meters to go. 

All of a sudden, Sandrine Etienne (Hexagone) came flying by the leaders with her Aero powerup and only the finish line was in sight. Guerra kicked, then Kulchinsky, and then Lizi Brooke (Wahoo Le Col). But it was Brooke who timed her sprint perfectly, kicking around Guerra and Etienne in the final 200 meters to take the win for Wahoo Le Col, who won the finish line sprint in both the men’s and women’s races. 

Guerra’s huge finishing effort vaulted Saris | Nopinz to second place overall, while Team Swedish Zwifters rounded out the podium at the end of Round 1.