Looking for a new smart trainer? Learn about the history and different types of smart trainers from our first video this week. Additionally, we’ve selected videos about all-out Alpe Du Zwift attempts, Zwift’s new gamified racing, tackling the Four Horsemen course, and an amazing Zwift Racing League comeback.
10 Years of Direct Drive Smart Trainers // Generation I vs Generation II
If you’re in the market for a new smart trainer, I would highly recommend taking a look at GPLama’s video comparing different trainers across the years.
Can I Break 50 Minutes on Alpe Du Zwift?
Max from The Watt Life has been hard at work training to break 50 minutes up the Alpe each day. Watch as he gives a recap of his previous attempts and commentates over his sub-50-minute attempt up the Alpe.
NEW Gamified Crit City | Zwift Play Test: Gabi vs Nathan!
Watch as Nathan and Gabi Guerra test out the new gamified Crit City race format. Can Nathan hold Gabi off for the win?
The Four Horsemen on Zwift!
Ryan Condon is currently on a mission to improve his fitness and lose weight in the process. In his latest video, he tackles the Four Horsemen course after two unsuccessful attempts.
Zwift Racing League Comeback After Disastrous Start
After some technical difficulties, Scott, aka Zwifter, chases from the back and sees how many spots he can gain in his team’s Zwift Racing League B1 race.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Zwift has rolled out a fresh Mission for December, and it’s all about accumulating distance. See below for details!
Note: signups opened this week, but the Mission doesn’t begin until December 4.
Getting Started
To begin the Mission, select the mission card on your homescreen and click to register:
Once you’ve registered, clicking the mission card will show your Mission progress.
Completing the Mission
To complete the mission and earn the achievement badge, accumulate at least 365 kilometers (227 miles) of riding between between December 4-31.
Do It All
For many serious Zwifters, 365km in a month isn’t much. So why not make it interesting? Accumulate the required distance by riding every road in Zwift, which will put you at ~387km if you do it perfectly with no repeats.
Virtual Velo Podcast, Episode 34: WTRL’s Martin Carew on Zwift Racing League
The Zwift Racing League is quite possibly the largest community-based racing league in the world. Does it also have the most cheaters, cruisers, and sandbaggers?
WTRL’s Martin Carew is here to say he’s doing things on his end, but can he and is Zwift doing enough? In episode 34 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Chris and Si ask those questions and more!
Martin explains the built-in anti-cheating system he has in place, the challenge of finding the perfect balance between credibility and inclusivity, and the limitations he faces.
Plus, the guys introduce a new recurring feature they call “Cycling Shorts”: a complete rundown of cycling esports headlines, insider information, investigative reporting, and industry trends. Another way that the Virtual Velo Network is your central source for cycling esports!
Chris also shares insight from his conversations with Eric Min, USAC’s Jim Miller, Matt Stephens, and other cycling dignitaries while covering the Star Track Benefit for Cycling Weekly.
Follow the Virtual Velo Podcast on Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Castbox, RadioPublic, or Podbean.
Zwift’s annual fondo series is a popular tradition where thousands of riders push themselves to finish long rides. The series kicks off this weekend, and Zwift has made some fun changes this year:
A progressive route schedule which gets slightly longer each month, using new routes each month
An expanded event schedule for more availability
A fresh kit to unlock each month
Here are all the details about this year’s fondo series…
Zwift Fondo Schedule
Fondo weekends will happen once a month for three months, beginning this weekend and ending the last weekend of January 2024:
November 30, 2023 – December 3, 2023 (Feast Fondos)
December 29, 2023 – December 31, 2023 (Holiday Fondos)
January 26, 2024 – January 28, 2024 (Gourmet Fondos)
Each weekend’s fondos kick off Thursday morning at 5am UTC (12am EST, Wednesday 9pm PST) and are scheduled every three hours until Monday 5am UTC/12am EST/Sunday 9pm PST).
Each month will feature different routes, most not used in Zwift fondos of years past. Riders can choose between a short, medium, and long route (traditionally called the Bambino, Medio, and Gran Fondo, respectively). As the series progresses each month, the short, medium, and long options get slightly longer.
Here are the routes for this weekend (Nov 30-Dec 3):
This year, you can unlock a different fondo kit each month by completing any of the three fondo distances. Here’s a shot of all three kits:
These kits are exclusive, meaning they will never be available anywhere else. A true badge of honor!
Is this a race?
Officially, no. But hundreds (possibly thousands) of riders will turn out for each of these popular “fun race” events, and the front of each category will certainly be filled with strong riders going all out.
With so many riders taking part, everyone should be able to find a group going at their desired pace. You do you!
How the Categories Work
Unlike other Zwift events, the A, B, and C groups don’t refer to rider strength or fitness. Instead, they correspond to route and distance options:
How Many Kilometers (or Miles) of Road Does Each Zwift Map Have?
A Zwifter recently asked me how many miles of roads are in Watopia, and I had to confess, to my abject shame, that I didn’t know.
So I set out to find the answer. It took some doing – lots of clicking on route details and mousework on Strava – but I’ve computed road length estimates for every map in Zwift as of October 15, 2025.
Note: I didn’t double-count road length in the above table. For this calculation, a 10km stretch of 2-way road is worth 10km, not 20km.
That’s Not All, Folks
I didn’t include the experimental Gravel Mountain map in the list above since it’s never been open to the public for free riding or events. This map contains a single loop of dirt road that is 5.2 km (3.2 miles) long.
Also not included on the list are Zwift’s Climb Portal roads, since I wasn’t quite sure how to best count them. They aren’t freely accessible roads, plus they technically exist in two places and are thus seen as different roads by Strava if you ride them in Watopia or France. That said, it’s worth mentioning that there are currently 421 km (261.6 miles) worth of Climb Portal roads spread across 44 different climbs which rotate on a set schedule. That’s a lot of new “tarmac!”
Add the Gravel Mountain loop and colorful Climb Portal roads to the list above and you’ve got 834.7 km (518.7 miles) of roads in Zwift.
This weekend we’ve selected a fundraiser ride, the first race of a new series, an interesting group ride with a bonus race at the end, the Zwift Academy races, and an imperial century.
🤝 INC – fundraiser for #glennthecancerwarrior (avg 2.2 – 3.0wkg)
✅ Good Cause
Join team INC member Glenn Utteridge as he leads a ride to raise funds and share his experience battling stage 4 colon cancer while recovering from crash-related major injuries.
✅ Popular Event ✅ Highly Competitive ✅ Fresh Event
With roughly a month before Christmas, join eCKD for their Christmas Party race series. A race will be taking place each Sunday before Christmas, starting this weekend. Riders will receive points for each result and the top three results will count toward final GC placing. Expect a solid turnout and high-quality competition!
The first stage of the series will be taking place on The Big Ring, a newer course that is flat with a few rollers here and there.
The Amersham RCC Winter Series is in its sixth year, taking place every Sunday during the indoor season. It is a traditional group ride with a kick! Up until the last lap, the leader will be holding ~2 w/kg. However, once riders reach the last lap, riders can choose to race it. In order to count in the final ZwiftPower results, riders must be behind the leader when the lap starts.
This weekend’s event will be taking place on the Fine and Sandy course in the Makuri Islands.
✅ Popular Event ✅ Highly Competitive ✅ Sweet Unlocks
For those participating in Zwift Academy, there are several opportunities to complete the first and second races. These races are a great benchmark to see where fitness levels are at.
For race 1, categories A and B will be racing 2 laps while C and D will be racing 1 lap of the Rolling Highlands course. For race 2, categories A and B will be racing 3 laps while C and D will be racing 2 and 1 lap on the Cobbled Climbs course, respectively.
Looking to complete an imperial century with company? The DIRT Hot Hundo features two different categories where riders can ride at their own pace and find others to group up with. For some of the rides, leaders will be present to help create a group.
Both categories will be riding on the Douce France course for 100 miles (161 kilometers).
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
Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!
This week’s top 5 Zwift videos include advice for attacking in Zwift races, an indieVelo intro, Zwift’s new gamified Crit City, Zwift Academy workout 2, and the Zwift Academy Tri Team’s Kona experience.
When Should You Attack In A Zwift Race? – Learning Zwift
Looking to improve your Zwift racing tactics? Zwift Analysis Network shares tips on where you should be attacking in order to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts.
indieVelo: The App That is Shaking Up Indoor Cycling
Tariq Ali from Smart Bike Trainers shares in-depth details on IndieVelo, an up-and-coming indoor cycling platform. Learn details about racing, notable features, pricing, and more.
Testing Zwift’s New Gamified Crit City
Watch as Scott from KOM Hunt TV shares his racing experience in the new gamified mode in Crit City. Learn details about the new format, personal thoughts on his experience, and more.
Zwift Academy Road Fatigue Fighter // Workout 2
Sarah from Everything Is Photogenic provides a deep analysis of the second Zwift Academy workout. Learn all about each of the different parts of the workout to give yourself a preview of what’s to come!
2023 Zwift Academy Tri Team – Ironman World Championships, Kona
The 2023 Zwift Academy Tri Team recently raced in Kailua Kona for the 2023 IRONMAN World Championships. Get an inside look at the race and the final days leading up to it!
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Zwift’s fresh southern coast expansion on Watopia added 19km of beautiful rolling roads along the ocean, opening up lots of possibilities for longer Watopia routes.
Today we introduce the next southern coast-inspired Rebel Route: The Roads Less Traveled! Zwifter Shawn McAfee sent in the initial idea for this route, but we tweaked it just a bit so it includes all four of the rarely-traveled road sections Zwift added back in December 2020. In fact, this route covers three of those four roads in a direction no official Zwift route covers. That’s pretty cool!
Watch for Squatch!
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! Rebel Routes are also included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
We begin by selecting Sugar Cookie as our route, which spawns us near the Jungle pens and routes us correctly for the first ~26km of the ride.
Ride down the Jungle Circuit’s dirt road in the forward direction and go through the Jungle lap arch. This is the start/finish line for our route.
Next you’ll turn right onto the new southern coast road. You’ll hit the Stoneway Sprint, Acropolis Sprint, Sasquatch Sprint, and Woodland Sprint before climbing away from the coast and back into Saddle Springs where you’ll head up the short climb and take a right into Titans Grove.
Enjoy the Titans Grove rollercoaster, wave hello to the dinosaurs and put in a good dig on the Titans Grove KOM before descending the rollercoaster and heading out of the grove, turning left toward Watopia.
You’ll hit Ocean Boulevard next. Turn right here toward downtown Watopia, then a quick left to go up the Hilly KOM. You won’t actually climb the whole KOM though, because you’ll turn right halfway up onto the KOM Bypass. This is the first of our “roads less traveled” for which this route is named.
Turn right after the bypass to descend through the statues and past Hank’s Gas Station, then turn right after the 360 bridge onto another road rarely used. This little spur spits us out at the JWB Sprint banner – turn left here, ride through the Italian Villas then take a right to wind your way down to the Fishing Village.
Stay on the main road through the village and down into the ocean tube, then turn right at Sequoia Circle to head toward the Epic KOM. You’ll climb the foot of the Epic KOM and go over the suspension bridge, but then you get to skip the rest by turning right onto the “less traveled” Epic KOM Bypass road.
At the end of the bypass stay straight to head toward the Jungle. Ride past the Jungle pens where you ride began, descend to the dirt road, but this time turn left onto the Jungle Circuit’s reverse direction. Cross the suspension bridge, descend through the dust, then turn right onto the Mayan Bridge cutoff – the last of our four “roads less traveled”.
Cross the bridge, climb up and out, then turn left. Almost there! Just keep going downhill, enjoy the beautiful cave colors, then cross the Jungle arch for a second time. You did it!
Profile
This profile is best described as “rolling” in character. The longest climbs are the Titans Grove KOM and the foot of the Epic KOM, but neither of these is more than a few minutes of effort.
Getting Started + Lead-In
The easiest way to get started is to choose “Sugar Cookie” from your Watopia route options. This will auto-navigate you all the way to the turnoff for Titans Grove, where you’ll need to turn right.
Turn by Turn
Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete The Roads Less Traveled after starting from the Sugar Cookie route:
The third race of Zwift Racing League 2023/24 Round 2 happens Tuesday, November 28, and we’re in Watopia for a flat and fast team time trial.
Let’s dig into crucial sections along with bike choice notes and a trainer difficulty tip!
Looking at the Route: Watopia’s Waistband
Some ZRL riders will remember this course well, as we raced it as a TTT back one year ago in Round 2 of the 2022/23 season. Additionally, Thursday TTT enthusiasts will be quite familiar with the route, which began as a Rebel Route back in May 2019.
The route totals 27.7km and 101 meters of climbing including the lead-in, and all categories will race the same distance.
This is one of the flattest routes in all of Zwift, so most of your winning strategy will revolve around how you structure your rotations, how efficient your team formation is, and of course the power of each rider on the front.
That said, there are a few key sections of this course where you’ll want to have a plan of attack:
9.8km: Col du Saddle Springs (900m): the first real rise on this course, you must hit it hard to keep your speed up and avoid losing seconds. Recovery awaits on the other side!
13.7km: Dirty Marina + Snaking Climb (3.2km): beginning with the kicker climb out of the Ocean Boulevard tunnel, this section requires hard work to maintain speed through the dirt and slight inclines.
19.5km: Volcano Bumps (400m): attack this short double-bump to keep speeds high!
23.8km: Rise to Fuego Flats (1km): hammer your way up the false flat. You’re almost there!
27.3km: 500m Sprint Marker: now it’s time to go all-in. Empty the tank.
This week, bike choice is easy: grab your most aero TT setup! The CADEX Tri is the fastest frame in game, and the DT Swiss disc wheels are the fastest wheels. If you don’t have access to that setup (level 42+) then see this post to determine the fastest TT setup available at your level.
CADEX TriCanyon Speedmax Disc
Whatever you do, do not use a road frame. Even a “slow” TT frame is faster than a road frame, so now that we’re able to use TT frames and get a draft in TTT events, you’ll want to take advantage of that!
More Route Recons
Many recon rides are held each week on the upcoming ZRL route, and they even give you double XP! If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and do some recon.
Si Bradeley
TTTips
Team Time Trialing on Zwift is a challenging mixture of teamwork, physical strength, proper pacing, and Zwift minutiae like picking a fast bike and understanding drafting.
Like the first TTT of this round, this week’s course will give valuable seconds to teams who can keep their speeds high over the short rollers that pepper the course. Staying in formation while surging your power for these rises is a challenge, especially if riders use various Trainer Difficulty settings. For a flat course like this, we recommend your team uses a high trainer difficulty (75-100%) so you feel the inclines and can automatically boost power accordingly.
Your goal in this week’s TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will be different, based on the abilities of each rider. We highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.
