This week’s featured videos include a range of topics: the accuracy of the different FTP tests, racing up Alpe du Zwift, an average rider attempting a Zwift race, and Zwift Academy Road. Let’s go!
Zwift 20 min FTP Test | How close is it to a Zwift Ramp Test?
Max from The Watt Life gives a huge comparison between all of the different types of FTP tests. In this video, he compares the 20-minute FTP test, ramp test, Zwift-estimated FTP, and an all-out ascent up the Alpe.
Racing Alpe Du Zwift with a 7-Minute Cut-Off
Watch as pro cyclist Tilly Field races up Alpe Du Zwift in the Zwift Grand Prix. Throughout the video, she provides commentary and points out places where she could have improved her performance.
Introducing Zwift Academy Road 2023
Get the full run-down on the 2023 Zwift Academy Road from Sarah, aka, Everything Is Photogenic. Sarah provides details on the workouts, pro contracts, unlocks, and more!
Average Joe Attempts Category A Zwift Race
Dean, a guest on the EJ’s Training Camp YouTube channel tackles a category A Zwift race. Can he keep up with some of the top Zwifters?
Training Like a Pro! // Zwift Academy 2023
Katie Kookaburra tackles the second workout of the 2023 Zwift Academy. Watch as she talks through the workout and details about the program.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Eight years ago today I went for my first ride on Zwift.
The winter of 2015 was my first “indoor season” as a serious cyclist, and I was already dreading the roller sessions. At the time, none of my local riding buddies were on Zwift – I don’t think any of them had even heard of it. But I saw it somewhere on Facebook, downloaded the game, ran it in “just watch” mode, and immediately knew I had to give it a try.
First Zwift session: November 12, 2015
I found a website in Germany selling Tacx Vortex Smart trainers for ~$290 to my door, so I pulled the trigger. The night it arrived I put it together, hooked my bike in, and went for my first Zwift ride from the middle of my living room. The trainer wasn’t calibrated, and I wasn’t dressed for a real ride… so that effort didn’t last long.
But two days later I went for my first “real” Zwift ride – two laps of Watopia’s Hilly Route (the only route on Watopia at the time). Uploading it to Strava certainly confused local friends. “Are you in the Solomon Islands right now?”
I wish I had been on Zwift from the beginning, but when Zwift beta launched in 2014 I was just rediscovering cycling after an 18-year hiatus. So I never got to ride Jarvis. But what I have been a part of so far has been really special. So each year, I look back and deliver my perspective as a Zwifter and the editor of the web’s biggest Zwift fansite.
Post-Covid Normalization
Our all-time Peak Zwift of 49,114 came in January 2021. Remember that time? It was actually illegal to ride your bike outdoors in some European countries! Covid lockdowns sent Zwift numbers off the chart.
A year later traffic numbers were much lower than their mid-Covid peak. The following year was the same story, and this year looks like it’s trending in a similar direction. Zwift is by far the most popular indoor cycling platform, but growth seems stagnant post-Covid.
(Disclaimer: Zwift doesn’t provide detailed user stats, so any number claims in this post are based on educated guesses, Companion app “Zwifting Now” accounts, and any other sources we can pull from.)
Leading the Cycling World
Zwift is far and away the industry leader based on the size and engagement of its user base. But they’re also leaders in the overall world of cycling. Consider this:
Zwift has multi-year deals as the title sponsor of the women’s Roubaix and Tour de France
Each year, Zwift’s Road Academy continues to place riders into pro teams – the first virtual cycling platform to do so
The “Zwift Games” were just announced for Feb-Mar 2024, and they will aim to be “the largest cycling esports competition ever held”
Zwift was dealt one big blow this year, though. They lost the bid to host the 2024 UCI Esports World Championships, a race that Zwift has hosted since its inception. The bid went to competitor MyWhoosh, who was selected as the exclusive platform for 2024-2026.
This news surprised me since Zwift seemed like the only sensible choice for such a partnership. We could speculate all day long about what motivated the UCI’s decision, but at the end of the day, my positive take is that this will allow Zwift to concentrate on making their platform better for everyone, which can only be a good thing long-term.
It’s Not All Roses
2022 saw Zwift making some major cuts to their workforce, reducing staff by approximately 20% along with other big players in the indoor market. 2023 saw it happen again when Zwift reduced staff by 15% in March.
The news we didn’t report on, though, were the names who exited not long after that March cut. Zwift made cuts at all levels of leadership, including some very senior staffers who had been with Zwift since early days. That list included Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer Steve Beckett, VP of Acquisition Ian Vinten, SVP of Brand Experience Laurent Janneau, Director of Content Programming Craig Taylor, and more.
Zwift calls their employees “Watopians”, and it’s always a bummer for me to say goodbye to a Watopian who I’ve worked with over the years. That said, former Watopians seem to have a knack for staying positive and landing on their feet. Must be something in the La Croix at ZHQ.
The restructuring clouds had a silver lining, though: it allowed Zwift to bring on fresh leadership. First we heard of Kurt Beidler coming on as Co-CEO, then Mike Lusthaus and Manlio Lo Conte followed not long afterward.
Will these three (and other new Watopians) have what it takes to move Zwift to the next level? Beidler and Lusthaus came from Amazon, while Lo Conte came from Meta. One would think their experience working in companies on the bleeding edge of big tech would lend itself well to Zwift’s further development. So far, I’m optimistic that fresh leadership is moving things in the right direction. Let’s talk about that…
Moving Forward
For years, Zwifters (myself included) have been disappointed in Zwift’s lack of progress as a platform. Over and over again I’ve heard the same phrases from Zwift superfans, the same ones I mutter myself: I love Zwift, but I wish they’d add more roads. I love Zwift, but they need to build out the features. I love Zwift, but they need to fix the bugs.
Superfans like me love Zwift, and because we love it we dream about how much better it could be and get frustrated when it’s not.
During Covid and even for the year or two following, Zwift seemed just to be keeping their heads above water. Hardly any new features shipped, but the platform stayed stable so people could use it.
This year, things seem to be moving forward more noticeably. Zwift updates are now scheduled every two weeks, and they’ve been coming out as planned. Zwift Play controllers were released in June, which is big news. The Hub trainer continues to evolve; it now supports virtual shifting, which is more big news. We got a library of famous climbs in the colorful Climb Portal, and even got a Watopia expansion!
Is it enough? Perhaps. Zwift has to keep current subscribers happy while expanding its market, and that’s a difficult balance to strike. While I’d love to see more new roads, expanded race features, rowing, AI-based coaching, and more, I’m happy to see Zwift planning and releasing new features on a regular schedule for the first time in a few years.
A Look at the Competition
Last year I wrote about how RGT may be a serious competitor to Zwift now that they were backed by Wahoo, who had just opened up a lawsuit against Zwift.
A year later, Wahoo and Zwift settled the lawsuit. On top of that, Wahoo shut down RGT at the end of October! From what I’m hearing, Wahoo and Zwift are working together well today and have big plans for the future.
So who is Zwift’s competition in the software space in 2023? While there are lots of indoor cycling platforms out there, only a few are worth mentioning today:
IndieVelo: the new kid on the block, IndieVelo is where many former Zwift racers have migrated due to its racing-first architecture and rapid speed of development.
MyWhoosh: they got the nod from the UCI to host Esports Worlds for 2024-26, but it feels like people only use the platform because it’s free and awards some big prize money.
Rouvy: a popular platform for riders who want to ride “real” roads.
While IndieVelo is bringing some nice race-specific features to the table, and MyWhoosh gets to host Worlds, Zwift doesn’t seem very concerned with trying to beat these competitors.
And they shouldn’t be.
For Zwift to survive and thrive far into the future, they have to focus on growing the market, not on market share. To put it another way: it doesn’t make sense to fight over Rouvy’s happy but tiny user base when there are hundreds of thousands of potential customers ripe for the picking once Zwift makes its product easier to use and more compelling.
Have Trainers Plateaued?
Zwift early success fueled demand and development in the smart trainer space, but ever since Covid we haven’t seen anything happening apart from:
Iterative improvements of existing smart trainer models
Price drops
This year Wahoo released the KICKR Move and KICKR Bike Shift, but we haven’t seen much else for new trainers or smart bikes. What we have seen, though, are price drops. Most trainers that used to be priced between $600-$1000 are now $350-$750. Why so cheap? Multiple reasons:
Glut of product: some companies are still trying to sell trainers they ordered during Covid
Price competition: when Zwift’s Hub sells for $599 with a year of Zwift, it’s hard to justify pricing your mid-level trainer any higher
Apart from Zwift and Wahoo, it feels like trainer companies are simply selling the products they’ve already created. And perhaps that makes sense: maybe we’ve reached a spot on the development curve where continued investment into R&D doesn’t turn a profit. Maybe cyclists already have the features they want.
Maybe.
Or maybe there’s a big opportunity here for someone to come in and do something amazing, like creating a smart bike that works well without breaking the bank.
Still Rocking
Rocker plates are getting more mainstream every year, and I think that’s a great thing. I say this every year, and I’ll say it again: I still don’t understand how people ride for hours on a static setup.
I love to race on Zwift because it pushes me to my limits, which in turn makes me stronger. Just last month I finished my 1000th race (according to ZwiftPower). That’s a lot of sweat!
I’ve been recording most of my races this year, partly because it’s nice to have a way to go back and review what happened. Here’s one recent race where I managed to sneak onto the podium:
Racing continues to develop on Zwift, with category enforcement now the standard for breaking up the field into fun competitive groups. Still, as has been the case historically with Zwift, some of the biggest developments have come from the community. While the ZwiftPower site languishes, Tim over at ZwiftRacing.app keeps adding amazing features, the Ladder races are getting popular, and of course ZRL, WTRL TTT, and my baby the Tiny Races are all working to keep racing fresh and fun.
While I had hoped we would see results-based categories by now, I truly think that in the next six months, we’ll see a big leap forward as Zwift moves into results-based ranking. This should put a stop to sandbagging and really shake up the peloton.
So Many Rides, So Little Time
There was no in-game event calendar eight years ago, and today (I just checked) there are literally 400+ events per day on Zwift’s calendar. Amazing!
That said, the calendar needs a refresh. Back in December 2022 it was announced that the race calendar would get a cleanup… but it never felt like that happened. It feels like there are still a lot of races and group rides on the calendar that aren’t actively maintained, and see very little participation.
Participation in community-organized events has surely been impacted by Zwift organizing so many of their own group rides on the platform. These days there’s often a Zwift-owned event happening each hour, as well as the always-on Robopacers. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, but the simple fact is that Zwift’s stronger presence on their calendar makes it harder for community members to launch new group rides or even maintain existing ones.
Working with the community to develop a properly-dense event calendar is no easy job, and I’m glad I don’t have to do it. James Bailey: I salute you!
What I am responsible for is a small number of Zwift Insider events including the Epic Series and Tiny Race Series. Based on my experience with those events, I would love to see Zwift invest in better backend tools for event organizers. Improving these systems would reduce event configuration errors and streamline the creation and editing of events, logically leading to higher-quality event experiences for end users.
Clubs: What Now?
Last year I had the biggest Club on Zwift, but the media juggernaut that is GCN surpassed me a couple months back.
I’ve got a confession to make, though. Even with the second-largest Club on Zwift (31.3k members, click here to join) I still struggle to put it to good use. The Club chat tool is very limited (no tagging members, no clickable URLs) which means most members just turn off notifications and never check the chat. And apart from chat, the club really just becomes a container for Club events.
Which is fine, I suppose. But having built and interacted with online communities for 20+ years, I can’t help but believe Zwift Clubs could be so much more. I’d love to see:
Club kit designs
Voice chat in game with Club members
Team racing where Club members are automatically linked together
More powerful Club chat/discussion tools
Club leaderboards, to promote competition between Clubs
and more!
The Future Is Bright
It’s not hyperbole to say my involvement with the Zwift community has been life-changing. It’s changed my fitness, it’s changed my work life – it’s even changed my vacation plans! And I’ve loved every minute of it.
I am truly blessed to serve the community through my work here at Zwift Insider. And I look forward to doing it for many years to come.
Ride on!
What about You?
How long have you been on Zwift? Do you feel he platform is moving in a good direction? What’s features are at the top of your wishlist? Share below!
This week, Justin and Kevin from DIRT talk about the Dirt Racing Series (DRS). Hollie also gloats over her win against the Z-Wings in the Ladder League, and there’s a highly controversial debate over whether the Innsbruckring Leg Snapper is a Sprint or a K/QOM. So much to talk about!
21:30 Kevin and Justin talk about the history of DIRT, how they joined, and how they are always recruiting.
30:50 Dirt Racing League (DRS) discussion. Kevin and Justin sell all of us on how they have set up the DRS league. This is yet another great example of how the community got together and made something happen. Kevin and Justin do a lot of behind the scenes work and number crunching to make this work.
1:05 How to sign up for DIRT.
1:08 Hollie tries some food off the “American Shelf” at her local shop. It’s riveting for an audio podcast.
Stop right there and wait Your intros are really great They have been outstanding all year So as they say “Hold my beer”
So much to chat about since last time And I’ve got to get this to rhyme From ladder, FRR, and DRS There isn’t time for any rest
So go grab some snacks Get the Twinkies big packs It’ll be quite a large haul Did you get my order Paul?
What antics did we get up to this week? Will we get a DRS sneak peek? So many questions I’m sure you all ask So let’s get on with this task
So this week who is our guest We only ever bring you the best we have 2 for the price of 1 what can possibly go wrong?
So I’ll stop talking now Please take a bow The legends that are Kevin and Justin And would you all please welcome the main man Dustin!
About the Podcast
Each week Dustin and the Queen of Yorkshire, Hollie, get together to talk about Zwift, life, and everything else. Watopian Weekly is available on Spotify and Google Podcasts.
Zwift Grand Prix: Round 3 Men’s Scratch Race Report
Round 3 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix introduced two new variables to the Zwift Grand Prix: a split race schedule and a scratch race format. The men’s Grand Prix field raced two laps of the London Loop Reverse this week, while the women’s field will head to Glasgow next week for a 15.3km points race on the Glasgow Crit Circuit.
The men’s and women’s races integrate with the Zwift Racing League, the biggest racing league on Zwift. The Grand Prix races occur on Thursday, and the Zwift Racing League takes on the same course the following Tuesday.
Watch the Livestream
First up, 80 of the best Zwift racers in the world lined up in London for the first and only scratch race of the men’s 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix. That meant there were only points available at the finish line, linear from 1st to 80th. Here’s how the scoring looked:
With this scoring system, the strongest teams would be rewarded the most, not just individual riders. Placing three riders in the Top 10, for example, would be more valuable than winning the race but not placing another rider in the Top 20.
The other variables at play were the Feather and Anvil power-ups. Riders would get the Feather power-up at the London Loop (Start/Finish Line) and the Anvil power-up at the top of Fox Hill. Heading into the second and final lap, riders could choose to use their power-ups on Fox Hill or save them for the finish. Every team’s strategy was different, and it was all about to unfold during live coverage of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix.
On Lap 1, the peloton thinned during the first ascent of Fox Hill, with Lennert Teugels (ABUS – Synergy) and David Talbott (Saris | Nopinz) driving the pace. Only 60-some riders were still in contact by the bottom of the Fox Hill descent, and the rest of the men would never see the front of the race again.
Lap 2 was the last opportunity for the climbers to attack the 12% slopes of Fox Hill, and it didn’t take long for Talbott to hit the front with 2 km to the top of the climb. If you thought Lap 1 was hard, Lap 2 was even harder, and by the time the first rider crossed the Fox Hill KOM banner, only 22 riders were left at the front of the race.
Thomas Perren (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) used his Anvil power-up on the descent, while Mickael Plantureux (Hexagone) launched off the front to get a gap over the rest of the front group with 6 km to go. Lionel Vujasin (Coalition Alpha) sprinted up the escalator, but the front group came back together before the rolling river road that led straight to the finish line.
Talbott tried a late-race attack with 3.8km to go, but Teugels helped chase them down, and with 2.5km to go, it was all back together. The theme of the race continued with relentless attacks and familiar names. Plantureux launched again with 2.2km to go, and it wasn’t long before Teugels bridged across.
The pair had a 6-second gap with 500 meters to go, and Teugels used his Anvil power-up to sprint to victory ahead of the charging peloton. Plantureux came across the line in second, while Haavard Gjeldnes (Movistar eTeam) took the final place on the podium.
Every rider counted in the points-heavy scratch race, but it was fitting that Teugels led ABUS–Synergy to the Round 3 victory while Plantureux put an exclamation point on a fantastic performance from Hexagone to finish second. NeXT eSports pb Enshored finished third, ahead of Coalition Alpha and Wahoo Le Col.
After two quick loops around London, these were the team race points from Round 3 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix – Men:
We’re already halfway through the Grand Prix season, and here are the team standings after Round 3 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix – Men:
Coming Up Next
Next week, Round 3 of the 2023/2024 Zwift Grand Prix continues with the women’s Points Race in Glasgow. The women will have nine intermediate sprints in just 15.3km on the Glasgow Crit Circuit.
Zwift Racing League scoring applies, which means that First Across the Line (FAL) and Fastest Through the Segment (FTS) points are available at the two intermediate sprint locations: the Clyde Kicker and Champion’s Sprint (Lap Arch).
In the Zwift Hot Topic series we focus on popular discussions, controversies, questions, or creative ideas in the Zwift community. We’ll share a couple of different perspectives, but we want to hear your thoughts, too. So read on and chime in below!
This summer, a group of Zwifters raced in an Olympic Esports arena to show the potential of virtual cycling competition.
Is Zwift ready to host a contest for those coveted gold, silver, and bronze medals? Let’s look back at the test event.
The Olympics Esports Week showcase was held in Singapore in June. It culminated in the Olympics Esports Series Finals, which featured more than 130 players competing in 10 different virtual sports, cheered on by a live audience. According to the IOC, the series generated more than 6 million live views across all channels. Including qualifying events, more than 500,000 people participated!
Cycling was represented by a multi-stage Zwift race, where four teams of four Zwifters competed in three short events. Each team, comprised of two men and two women, had its own platform with four Wattbikes and screens. As the men and women swapped turns, teammates cheered and encouraged each other.
“I absolutely loved competing in person with teammates next to me,” said Alice Lethbridge, a competitor with Team Lava. “The co-ed format was one of the things I praised in my feedback. It made it more exciting.”
James Barnes said racing alongside other riders – even just getting to meet them in person – was “awesome.” He was on Team Fuego, which began communicating as soon as the teams were announced, setting up a WhatsApp group so they could talk and strategize.
“I am hoping this happens more often,” he said. “(It was a) serious feeling of meeting old friends who just had not seen each other in a very long time. Reporters could not wrap their heads around that this was the first time we all met each other, and we were not on the same Zwift team.”
For the first event, “The Eliminator,” all four riders from each time rode an elimination race. In “The Sprint,” each team fielded its best sprinter for a points race. Finally, “The Climb” set each team’s best climber against each other. The race events were short and engaging, and different riders got their own chances to shine.
Other sports featured included archery, baseball, chess, dance, motorsports, sailing inshore, sailing offshore, shooting, taekwondo, and tennis. Each of the competitions took place on virtual platforms like Gran Turismo, Just Dance, and even Fortnite (where participants shot at targets instead of other players).
Many of the sports, like cycling, imitated the physical demands of their non-virtual counterparts. Taekwondo athletes competed using virtual reality headsets and full-body controllers that tracked their movements.
“It provides opportunities for so many more people, and it makes high-risk sports safer,” Lethbridge said. “No risk of head injuries in sports like cycling, taekwondo, or boxing. That’s a huge win, especially for young athletes.”
Bumps In The Road
The event wasn’t without its problems. At the start, some of the athletes had trouble using their virtual gearing – especially Team Titans, who were located farthest from the receiver. It worked fine in rehearsals, but race day came with an audience and probably a lot more signal interference.
Vicki Whitelaw, who raced for Team Titans, said more needs to be done for eSports cycling to have credibility as an Olympic sport. In addition to the shifting problems, one rider on her team could not even get into the starting pen for their first race.
“Athletes who have spent hours upon hours of their time in Olympic cycles to get to the live event should not be disadvantaged based on the distance that they are positioned from the receiver,” Whitelaw said in the Zwift Racers Facebook group.
There was also a moment of confusion when a “photo finish” – which didn’t involve any photographs – reversed the announced result of one of the races.
Multiple participants said their screens showed Marlene Bjärehed of Team Fuego in first, and Lam Kong of Team Lava in second. Kong’s teammates said she knew she had placed second. But for a few minutes, the broadcast showed and announced her as the winner.
This experience isn’t new to Zwift racing. Riders (and spectators) may see their avatars in a slightly different position than what Zwift’s server has calculated.
Lionel Vujasin, of Team Lava, said creating an event-specific build of the Zwift program might help prevent confusion.
“The biggest point in my mind is Zwift is yet to find a good interface (for the broadcast) and showing the data viewers actually want,” he said.
Whitelaw said positivity is great, but addressing these issues is more important.
“Otherwise it will only be seen as the social platform,” she said, “rather than one where serious competition can be taken seriously at Olympic and World Championship levels.”
Photos by James Barnes
Racing Toward The Future
Organizers of real-life races can have these kinds of mix-ups and problems, too. Lethbridge pointed out that in some outdoor races, drivers have ignored roadblocks, motorcycle communications have been lacking, and results declared at the line have been corrected later.
“Overall I thought it was an incredibly well-run event,” she said. “Of course there will be teething problems the first time through.”
Zwift and IOC officials worked quickly to fix some of those problems, she said. In rehearsal, when the riders pointed out that their powerful sprints would move the Wattbikes around, officials anchored the equipment by drilling into the stage.
Barnes and Vujasin mentioned that other eSports had bigger technical problems than virtual cycling. The taekwondo competition had to pause several times to adjust body sensors when their virtual legs flailed out of place.
Vujasin stressed the need to have a setup that’s connected with cables and said to “avoid wireless at all costs!”
“Zwift is far in advance compared to other platforms of other sports,” he said. “We tend to be hard on Zwift, but for real, we are pretty lucky.”
In the end, Team Fuego took first place in the series, Team Epic placed second, and Team Lava filled out the podium in third, ahead of Team Titans in fourth place.
1st place for Team Fuego! (Photo by James Barnes)
Zwift has some work to do to be ready for the Olympics, but this showcase was a good display of its potential, especially compared to some other sports. For the athletes, it was a taste of the real Olympic Games that might be coming soon.
“Words can’t describe the experience, to be honest,” said Vujasin. “Once you participate in the opening ceremony, you can definitely feel the Olympic spirit, and it’s awesome!”
Your Thoughts
What do you think? Is Zwift ready for the Olympics? Share below!
This weekend’s notable events consist of a popular banded group ride, a special guest ride, the start of a popular race series, and two endurance group rides.
Zwift made a few changes to the rubberbanding mode with the latest game release. Join the BanditZ Tronathon to see what the changes are all about! This group ride is one of the most popular each weekend and for good reason: the ride is no-drop, well-organized, and full of fun to keep you entertained as you trek up Alpe Du Zwift!
This weekend, the ride is quite a bit longer than usual, featuring the Four Horseman route which traverses the Watopia Hill, Volcano, Epic, and Alpe Du Zwift KOMs. This is also a great opportunity for riders to snag the Four Horseman route badge.
🤝 SPECIAL GUEST: Stage 1: World Tour – Movistar Team
✅ Popular Event ✅ Special Guest Leader
As part of the World Tour Zwift Ride Series, Zwift is hosting select pros to lead a few group rides. These rides are a great opportunity to ask questions and get to know these pro cyclists. This specific ride will be with Albert Torres of Movistar, an extremely accomplished track and road rider.
Fancy a race this weekend? Join the HERD for their Winter Racing League. Unlike most races, there is only one category for each race, meaning all riders start together regardless of traditional category. This is a good opportunity for riders to grab some Zwift Power ranking points! This race is part of a 20-race series, but only riders’ top 16 results will count.
Riders will be racing on the new Going Coastal course in Watopia. Expect a fast and flat race!
✅ Popular Event ✅ Endurance Ride ✅ Legacy Leaders ✅ Women Only
Calling all female Zwifters! Join Catrina Weiss for a fun social ride around the roads of the Makuri Islands. This is a 100-kilometer ride and the leader will be holding 2-2.5 w/kg throughout the ride. If you do find yourself falling behind, let riders know in the chat so you have the best chance of getting help and making it back to the main group.
The group ride will be on the Wandering Flats course in the Makuri Islands.
This ride was originally created to help riders train to climb Bear Mountain in New York. But it can be a helpful training group for all riders! Leaders will be present in each category to help pace riders. The ultimate goal of these rides is to help riders improve their climbing ability.
This group ride will be taking place on the Shorelines and Summits course in Watopia – each category will be covering a different distance.
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!
Here’s our complete archive of great Tiny Race videos. Got a video that should be included? Email the link to [email protected].
Taking the overall win in A cat, Zone 2
FOUR Zwift Races in a Row… What Could Go Wrong?
Zwift Tiny Races… Ruined by a Cheater?
My First Zwift Insider Tiny Races Experience! Tiny Races, Big Efforts!
A nicely-narrated and edited video from a Tiny Race first-timer…
First time in Tiny Races – Failed!
Zwift Tiny Races
This guy is serious!
Doing my best means nothing Getting healthy means nothing Having fun is out of question…
The desk slam at 10:35 is the best part…
Racing Alongside a Zwift LEGEND in My First Tiny Races by Zwift Insider!
Tiny Races – Throwback Saturday (510-700)
Tiny Races, Tiny Apple, Tiny Flywheel, Tiny Human, Tiny Power
Top A racer Josh Harris analyzes/unpacks his Big Apple Tinies.
24 Races in 24 Hours | RACES 11-15 (inc Tiny Races Zone 2)
Earning New Route Badges the Hard Way: Zwift Tiny Race Series
“I ended up with some of my best efforts and results in today’s Tiny Races, improving both my Zwift Power and ZRS scores. A pretty good day all in all. It was the usual fast furious fun that is always on offer each Saturday on the Tinies.” Luke rides the Tinies are part of many days of back to back racing…
Pain, Sweat, and Questionable Life Choices | Zwift Tiny Race Madness
“5.5 kilometers, Prospect Park Loop, no idea what that means….”
Zwift Tiny Races Insanity: All 12!
Jizza decides to do all 4 races in all 3 zones, for a total of 12 Tinies in one day. He even manages a podium in the later sessions! Watch his unique broadcast, where he simulcasts all three zones at the same time.
Titanium Ben, ZRS 510-700
What REALLY Happens When You Do Zwift Tiny Races for VO2 Max?
Pain on The Grade, Glory in the GC Battle | Zwift Tiny Races (Cat B)
Luke takes on the Tinies in his 38th straight day of racing
Elevator Riding “Be Kind, Rewind” Tiny Races 0-350-600 Stages-1,2,3,4 – Sat 15:00UTC Zone 2
Groundhog Day Tiny Races – 350-600 – 11 AM EST
Even the Draft is Work?! Tiny Races by Zwift Insider Are Fast and Furious!
Totally Killer “Urukazi Kamikaze” Tiny Races Stages-1,2,3,4 – 0-350 ZRS Sat 15:01UTC Zone 2
Tiny racing across different ZRS categories….gotta love it.
Tiny Race Series | 600 – 1000 | Makuri Islands | 4 Races Back to Back
Zwift Tiny Race series! 600-1000 Can I win?
4 Races – 1 Night! | Zwift Tiny Race
Can I Get My Score Back? | Zwift Tiny Races
Broken Chains Won’t Stop J
J Dirom snaps his chain sprinting to the line on race 1… repairs things and still finishes all 4 races!
Tiny racing in a new format…….wow fun but intense. How did I do?
Saturday fun with Zwift Insider Tiny Races. This time they are trying a new format where all categories races together. It makes it a bit difficult to figure out who you are racing, but it was intense and fun.
Completing routes in Innsbruck, Watopia, Makuri Island and New York. Riding the Innsbruckring, Countryside Tour, Tempus Fugit and Park Perimeter Loop. Luckily not the full courses.
Basically an all-out effort in all four races…..and then some. Let’s see how I did.
Is This the Hardest Race Series on Zwift?
I am finding myself entering the Zwift Tiny Races Series every weekend, and each weekend it seemingly gets harder and faster than the one before. The intensity is turned up to 11 for each one of these four mass start races, spread across an hour of “go, reset, go again” … in 15 minute intervals. Each race is full on from start to finish. And somehow, these races are both over before you know it and at the same time feel like an eternity when you’re in the middle of them?! My body gave, gave up, and then gave again throughout the series, which really just goes to show that each race is a hard reset and a chance to do well… or get dropped. No guarantees either way, and past performance is not a predictor of future success in this series! It is fast, furious, fun from race 1 to race 4. This series leaves me both wanting more because it is so much fun and wanting to throw my bike in the garbage because it’s just so dang hard. Fun and fitness were had today. Another great day on the bike in the land of Watopia on Zwift.
ALL Aboard the Lactate Express – Zi Tiny Races 510-700 11AM EST
Tiny Races this morning with team Synergy. This is a short race every 15 minutes really working on your sprint and attacking efforts. Always difficult. I love that race 3 and 4 start with the same 1km. Race 3 we were motoring along at 250W and Race 4 the same section at 200W but it felt harder! All part of Tiny Races! Thank you Ryan Granger for DSing us!!
Four Tiny Races – Missing the Finish
Tiny Race Series by Zwift Insider (Zone 2 A Win)
How many wins? Zwift Insider Tiny Races (16/02/2025)
Australian elite racer Josh Harris takes on the zone 3 Tinies as Zwift Games prep, and comes away with 4 wins!
LIVE: Zwift Tiny Races || Feb. 15, 2025
Caitlin from #TeamSaundersTri takes on the Zone 2 Tiny Races with simple goals—push watts, survive the suffering, and rack up points! Who will come out on top? Stick around to find out!
I’m Never Doing Zwift Tiny Races Again
Tiny Race by Zwift Insider Z1 cat 690+
DESTROYED at the Finish Line (Tiny Race 3/4)
Zwift Tiny Racing HELL (Race 2/4)
Tiny Zwift Race = MASSIVE SUFFERING (Race 1/4)
Four Tiny Zwift Races – BRUTAL!
Ryan joins the Zone 1 D category for some Tiny Race fun…
I TRIED ZWIFT INSIDER TINY RACES IN 2025 – MADNESS!
Join me as I dive into the exhausting world of Zwift Insider’s Tiny Races in 2025! FTP and VO2MAX required!
Experience the madness of racing with the new pack dynamics that redefine strategy on the virtual course. Discover how the innovative Zwift Race Score with a 2025 range system elevates competition, making every race a thrilling test of skill and tactics. Plus, I’ll show you how the Zwift Play controller transforms gameplay, giving you an edge like never before.
Whether you’re looking for effective Zwift training or gearing up for the upcoming Tour de Zwift, this video covers it all! Don’t miss out on the excitement of racing with the iconic Zwift Tron bike and learning how to boost your Zwift race score. Get ready to elevate your Zwift experience
Witness the Suffering
Watch one Zwifter do one Tiny Race. It isn’t easy.
1.8km Break For the Line
Tiny Race regular Daz Carter goes long… but eases just a bit too early.
I Rode 4 ZWIFT RACES in 1 HOUR! – Cat D Zwift Racing
“In four races, the next race starts. I’m going to die today.” Ha! Benji Naesen takes on the Tinies…
Taking the Win in Zone 1 B
Magnus shows us how it’s done!
Sprint BOMB
Weekly Tiny Racer Berk Kayin wins with a sprint bomb in Crit City!
The Fastest Race on Zwift Almost Broke Me
After few months I tried Zwift Insider’s Tiny Races again. And boy did they destroy me.
Titanium Ben Heavy Breathes Through the Tinies
Always good to see Ben out for the Tiny Races. His cover art is on point!
ZMS Esports Broadcast of Zone 3 – Watopia Newness
First time trying Tiny Races – Cat 450-550 (ZRS)
Anton takes on the Tinies, with a little help from a friend/coach!
Zwift 4 tiny races + Oh hill no!
Gabi takes on Zone 3, A cat. Then does hill repeats of The Grade!
Anvil powerup fail: how to NOT use this power up on Zwift Tiny Races
Top racer Gabi Guerra raced the Zone 2 A category and says, “I’m so glad i got to race Tiny Races again, it’s been good training! This week was super fun courses but I TOTALLY screwed up the anvil powerups…”
Stephan Leuendorff
Stephan makes it onto the Tiny podium for B category, Zone 1.
Zwift Tiny Race 1 – using the Ghost (3rd)
Daz uses the ghost… did it work?
Magnus Wiklund (680-1000 Group)
Zwift Insider Tiny Races – Climbs and Flats – Z3
Tiny Races – ZRS 330-460 Group
J Dirom takes on the Tinies once more!
Zwift Insider Tiny Races – Tour de Worlds (ZMS Esports Broadcast)
ZMS Esports Livestream – Zone 3
Zone 3 – Rollercoaster Tour
Zone 3 – Newish Routes
Zone 1 E Cat Win from Newbie
Nice work, Ketan!
Zone 3 A Cat Live Stream
Zone 3 Category A Broadcast from ZMS Esports Studio
Winning all 4 races in Zone 1: A Category
Marc Gates delivers a masterclass in Tiny Racing…
Zone 3 Live Broadcast from ZMS Esports Studio
Thanks for commentating Nathan and Rob… and for the broadcast, Damon from ZMS! Top work.
Zone 3 – It’s All About the Breakaway
Tiny Races with Zwift Race Score 400-575 Category
Zwift Tiny Races: Can we take a clean sweep?
Top Ozzie racer Josh Harris takes on the Tinies. Can he top the podium in every race?
Cat D Win
General is Back and Ready to Take on the Zwift Insider Tiny Races Again. But with a twist! Categories are based on V02 Max!?
Boom! Zwift Insider Tiny Racing – 15th June, 2024
Jessica takes the overall win in the Zone 1 D’s. Nicely done!
Zwift Insider Tiny Races – The hardest hour in Zwift Racing?
“Why do I keep doing this? This Zwift Insider race series sounds fun, but is it? You know it’s short, so you give it all you have, forgetting you have to do it again, and again, and again. It doesn’t help that every stage ends in a climb. And it doesn’t matter how small those climbs are, you feel every meter of them. Enjoy watching me suffer, and then decide for yourself if you think this pain is worth the pleasure.”
Winning Cat D with VO2 Max Categories
Daniel Cojocaru shows us how its done in the zone 2 D cat, on our first week using VO2 Max for categorization!
Zwift Tiny Race Duathlon Style – The Sick-Bucket Session
Oleksiy, Team Ukraine Manager, racing in C category
7th Zwift Insider Tiny Races (3 out of 4 ain’t bad)
All 4 races, 1 Video! Racing in the A Category!?!
(LIVE STREAM) 4 ZWIFT RACES IN A ROW?!? – BACK TO BACK ZWIFT RACING
The Vegan Cyclist (Tyler Pierce) takes on the Tiny A’s and wins the overall in Zone 3.
4 TINY RACE in 1 HOUR – Full Livestream
Zwift Tiny Races: Four Races in One Hour || Will We Survive to the Finish?
Gravel Bike Win Up the Alpe
Racing Tinies with Your Team
Tobias joins some eSRT teammates for the Tinies!
Zwift Tiny Race/Run/Race/Run
“One week out from my first 2024 main goal – the British Duathlon Champs Standard Distance. I needed to remove the stale feeling that I have been experiencing. So a short blast of bike run bike run training at a high intensity seemed appropriate. But have I over done it?!”
DoomGuy takes the Zone 3 B’s
First Overall in Zone 3 D
Michael Nelson brings home the gold!
Berk Kayin – winning with long attacks
Tiny Race frequent A flyer Berk Kayin shows us how it’s done with long attack wins in races 2 and 4. Well done, sir!
Danny races Danny’s races
The courses for the weekend of March 9th were chosen by Danny Enzo, our favorite TikTokker. Here’s his live stream of the races…
First Overall in Zone 2 C – With Sauce
Matty Hermann takes first overall… and check out the epic Sauce for Zwift overlays!
Winning the HARDEST Zwift Race!!
Sam Crofts makes it interesting
Sam finished 9th overall in the competitive Zone 1 A group. He made race 1’s final minutes especially interesting for the group!
The incredible floating head
Let’s be honest… we just featured this because the chroma-key snafu is hilarious.
2 goals out of 4
Jonathan Huber set four goals for this race… and reached two of them.
Tiny Races! = 🏆
Forgiving the heinous heavy breathing and drivetrain noise, Rob Bane (Zwifty Zwifter) puts in a great set of 4 races in the Zone 3 B category, turning in 2x 1st places and 2x 2nd places for an overall tie for first place.
Zwift Racing – Tiny Race Series! – I Return to Tiny Races!
J Dirom pushes it in the C category, with one of the wildest Sauce for Zwift overlays schemes we’ve seen yet.
Zwift Tiny Race! YESI did not finish LAST
A bit different than our usual Tiny Race vids, but there’s a lot to like here. The chill music. The train going by around 7:30. And Norwegian Watts doing his best not to come last in D cat. Nice work. Keep it up!
Volker Voit races the A’s in Innsbruck, averaging 435 for 5 minutes. But is that enough to take the win up the Legsnapper?
Targetting a Race (Zone 2, B cat)
Jonathan Huber targets the second race of the four, and delivers a solid result with a top 10 overall. Bonus points for the epic soundtrack and fun Sauce overlays…
5 tips: How to Tiny Race (if you are not a strong sprinter)
Thomas Sørensen is a lightweight A without a strong sprint (or so he says. 🙂 Here are his tips for doing well in Tiny Races!
Doom Guy Takes on the A’s
Doom Guy is a strong B Tiny Racer, but what happens when he takes on the zone 3 A riders?
Tiny man sucks at Tiny Races on Zwift
Andrew Buffington experiences his first Tiny Races (A category).
Zwift Insider Tiny Race the first one of 2024. How many can I win today?
TyDiddySR won all 4 races in the D category. Here’s his first!
Zwift Insider’s Tiny Races All the Same?
Tiny Races During Rapha 500 (Z3 C)
Georg Sauer (Georg And The Bike) questions how strong he’ll be able to race, 430km into his Rapha Festive 500 challenge. But he ends up winning 1st overall in the zone 3 C category!
Zone 1 (B) 1st Place
Sascha Damrow (Kirchmair e-cycling) takes a 1st overall in zone 1.
On the phone while sprinting…
Kevin Osborn says, “Final race on the @zwiftinsider tiny races yesterday. Had tech issues which meant my air pods would not connect the call to @psmith_esports_eracer who was coaching me in for the sprint (he also had a DC Issue in this race). This resulted in a entertaining conversation whilst trying to ride. But I managed a podium 💪🏻”
Power Animation + 4th Overall
This video is in french, but you gotta love the power animation that kicks in near the end of each race as Zwifteur’s power hits big numbers. He finished 4th overall in Zone 1!
DoomGuy in the Fight Club – Tiny Races Z3 CAT B
DoomGuy is back, with the coolest stream overlays and, at least this week… an overall win in cat B! DommGuy shared with us:
A rider new to the Tiny Race series came in bright eyed and bushy tailed, asking “I’ve never done one of these before, what are they like?”
DoomGuy explained that “It’s like fight club… come into the hurt locker, get beaten up, go back to work beaten and bruised and come back for more next week.”
B Cat – “Absolute Pain Fest
Alan Reid keeps his mic on for the full hour so we can hear the pain.
Berk Kayin – the Silent Killer
Berk is a top A racer who hits the Tinies almost every weekend. And he makes it look easy… or is that just because his videos are silent?
Can I survive four races?
JD takes on the C Tinies again, to push his VO2 limits!
440 Watts for 6 Minutes
What does it take to win a Tiny A Race? Not sure, but Volker Voit averaged 440W for 6 minutes and finished 20th.
Can I win a sprint from 1.2km?
Tiny Race regular David Hivey (ART) makes it spicey… especially in race 4, when he goes all in for a long breakaway. Can he hold it to the end?
Doom Guy Battle
This week in Z3 CAT B Tiny races, DoomGuy is greeted by age old nemeses and racing buddies Kohl and Stepp, respectively flexing on DoomGuy in race 2 and 3.
First time with the Tron Bike
Georg Sauer battles to a 1st place overall finish in the Zone 1 C pack…
Zwift Insider Tiny Races (B)
Doom Guy provides his excellent commentary while riding to a 3rd place overall finish in Zone 3 B’s.
11th in GC for GeneralElost (Zone 2 C)
What happens when you race only World’s courses? GeneralElost gets a little excited and nervous!
2nd in GC for Petey Wheatstraw (Zone 2 B)
This nicely-edited video lets you see Petey’s well-timed sprints and improvement notes.
Head Banger Finish
Kaan Kayin makes it look easy, hanging with the A’s on flatter routes with seeming ease. Until that final sprint, when he turns into a headbanger and drops some watt bombs!
Chasing ZwiftPower Rankings
Eric races his own Tiny Races for the first time in months. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance at overall glory thanks to the Fox Hill climb, but can he get some good ZwiftPower ranking results on the other three races?
Zwift Tiny Races = Max Suffering!
B racer Erik Lee of Don’t Get Dropped Cycling jumps into his first Tiny Races. And yes, he sniped and only raced the last two…
POOR CHOICES – Tron VS Gravel | Zwift Insider Tiny Races – Down & Dirty – Cat C
This was a tough week for bike choice, with the recent rolling resistance changes made and the courses we chose. Did GeneralElost choose wisely?
12 year old Alexander dominates in two Tiny Races
Watch young Alexander attack the field and stay away on races 1 and 3. He definitely likes those dirt climbs!
440W avg… for 25th place?
12 year old Alexander from WattFabrik (D)
Check out 12 year old Alexander from team WattFabrik, taking on the first three Tiny Races as a D:
My Amazing Talent for Destroying Myself (Zone 1 A)
How tough are the A-category Tiny Races? Watch the Rhino team’s Luis Andrade take on the highly competitive zone 1 pack, in a video he titled “My Amazing Talent for Destroying Myself”:
DoomGuy (Zone 3 C)
Check out DoomGuy’s great stream of his races in C category of zone 3. (His stream graphics are pretty amazing, with the Doom face getting more injured the harder he rides. Also, he took home the overall win!)
Sam Crofts (Zone 1 A)
Watch Team DIRT’s Sam Crofts take on last week’s races (he finished 13th overall on the day – nice work, Sam!)
Fan support for a first time win!
C racer Stephen Read took his first-ever win in race 4 last week. It was his 217th Zwift race (now that’s perseverance) – but he also took the overall thanks to consistent high placings. Chapeau, sir.
His friend Warwick was fan viewing the event – see the finish and hear Warwick cheering Stephen on below. Hold on after the finish to hear Stephen trying to breathe while being thrilled with the win!
David Hivey Taking the Win, with Sauce (Zone 1 C)
David Hivey (ART) from the UK took top honors in the zone 1 C group this week. When we chatted afterward, he said, “That was bloody horrible. Great/Terrible idea to do the same course that just got longer. Had to really think about not going flat out in the early races, or the last one would just be too much.” See his video below, complete with Sauce for Zwift overlays:
My first-ever cat C race on Zwift
Austrian Georg Sauer won it all in the zone 3 D’s last week and got upgraded by Zwift’s category enforcement. So this week he gave it a go in category C, and did impressively well! Watch his video:
Watch Me Suffer and Win (Zone 3 D)
D racer George Sauer won it zone 3, and made his first-ever YouTube video too! See it below:
DirtyPirateMan’s Tiny Race WIN (Zone 3 B)
“These races are such a good time and a welcome change from the typical races! Here are last weekend’s Zone 3 (B) Races where I managed to string together multiple wins and snag the overall after some very close racing against so many strong competitors.”
First-Ever Tiny Races for Eric Barnett (Zone 2 B)
B racer Eric Barnett took on his first-ever Tiny Races last week, and streamed the fun for all to enjoy. “This is some real deal suffering…” He finished 7 overall in Zone 2 – not a bad start:
Lots of attacks, and wins from the breakaway
We’re not sure what was in the water last week, but there were lots of attacks and even wins from the breakaway. Watch “Titanium” Ben Pitt’s beautiful live stream of all four races below. It includes fun stuff like him making the break in race 1 and weirdly white Watopian roads in race 3! (He finished 8th overall.)
My first podium!
Last week’s races were a nice mix of climbs and flats, and one C racer finished with “a first Tiny Races podium, a failed break attempt, a mis-timed sprint, and a Top-5.” Watch his video below:
Tour de France Grand Depart!
Last week’s races were Tour de France-themed since they happened on the same day as the TdF’s Grand Depart (stage 1). B racer Lucas Johnston recorded his race while listening to the live TdF commentary – and he won the overall!
Up Down Up Down – Group 2 – Cat C
Last week’s “Up-Down-Up-Down” set of races mixed up the results nicely, but the suffering remained! Watch popular Twitch streamer GeneralElost take on the C category (“That was probably the deepest I’ve dug… in a long time!”):
Winning the Zwift Insider Tiny Race (Zone 1 C)
Tiny Races are never easy – even when you’re the top rider in the group! Watch Italian Luca Degre win last week’s zone 1 C category:
Tiny Races A Category Zone 2 Winner Daniel “Jammers” Jamrozik
Several riders said last week’s “Up, Up, Up!” climbing races were the toughest Tiny Races yet. What did it take to top the A podium? Watch Daniel “Jammers” Jamrozik’s stream from last week:
Nathan Guerra battling to a tie for 1st place in the Zone 3 A
We stayed in Britain for all of last week’s races, and it resulted in some really close competition for podium spots! Here’s friend of the site and Zwift community racing legend Nathan Guerra battling to a tie for 1st place in the Zone 3 A category:
BL13 3-Man Breakaway Attempt
Last week’s Tiny Races were all on the London Loop route, with each race longer than the one before. Team BL13 tried a 3-man breakaway on the first race… and it nearly worked! Watch their attempt (we cued the video to the fun part):
Misrouted Racers
Last week’s Tiny Races were another tough mix on the theme of training for Worlds. We ran into a hitch with race 3, when everyone who was running the current Zwift version was routed incorrectly, while those who hadn’t updated were routed properly. Ha!
Watch Titanium Ben and his admirable reaction to the bug in his A race:
C rider trying to hang with A’s & B’s
We often feature race videos from race winners, but this week we’re featuring a video from a brave competitor – a C rider who raced against the A and B riders, just for the challenge of holding on! And he managed to do so, until race #4.
Zwift Races & Structure For Big Fitness Gains
Phillip Lovett (Bike Racing Without Mercy) recently shared this video with us, along with this note: “I got badly injured in a bike crash in May 2022, and gradually made my way back to fitness, with the final block of training basically comprising your wonderful Tiny Races each week plus one other Zwift race and then a single structured workout (was very busy at work – so not much time to train). It worked brilliantly…”
William Ng (Zone 3 D) takes 3 wins
Congrats to William Ng, a D rider in Zone 3 who took 1st in all four races. Watch him with the first three below (check out that Sauce for Zwift overlay!)
Berthold Wimmer ties for the win in Zone 2 C
Last week’s Tiny Races saw some very close competition for the podium, including Zone 2 C category where the two top riders tied for points! Here’s a recording from one of those riders, Austrian Berthold Wimmer.
Scott from KOM Hunt TV Takes On 4 Tiny Races
Of course, it’s not just the A’s who race. We’ve got B, C, and D categories fighting it out every Saturday as well. Watch Scott from KOM Hunt TV take on the C category:
Thom Thrall takes 1st overall (Zone 2 A)
Friend of ZI Nathan Guerra won Zone 3 A’s two weeks ago, so we encouraged him to try the more competitive Zone 2. He did it, and finished a respectable 5th, with Thrall and Bruhn from NeXT taking 1st and 2nd with a Tiny Racing masterclass. Watch Guerra and Thrall’s Tiny Race streams – two incredibly gifted racers with varying strategies:
Urukazi Tiny Races with Nathan Guerra (Zone 3 A)
Friend of the site Nathan Guerra won the Zone 3 A battle and live-streamed all the action, including a rant about not getting the planned anvil powerup for race 4. (Related note: Zwift now thinks they fixed the event misconfig that caused this.) Check it out:
Eric takes on his own races… and loses!
Here’s Tiny Race creator Eric Schlange’s video from the Urukazi races on November 12, 2022.
Titanium Ben takes a win and 4th overall
Want to see what the Tiny Race experience is like? Watch the stream below (best cover art ever!) from Ben Pitt, who finished 4th in the same timeslot as Lawson, including taking the win in race 1:
Tiny Race Zone 2 B Commentary
Eric had a long outdoor training ride planned (prepping for a bike trip in a couple of weeks) so he didn’t race the Tiny Races on Saturday. But he sat in and watched the middle time slot, providing some decidedly subpar commentary in a live stream. It was a really fun race, as the two top riders were tied going into race 4!
Zwift Games Announced: “Largest Cycling Esports Competition Ever Held”
Today, Zwift announced plans to hold the inaugural “Zwift Games” beginning in late February 2024. While we don’t have all the details, this looks to be unlike any competition we’ve seen on Zwift, offering a large prize purse and competition across three disciplines in what Zwift describes as “the most democratic cycling championship ever held.”
The entire press release can be found below. We’ll share more information in the coming weeks as it is made available.
Zwift, the global online fitness platform, is set to redefine and amplify cycling esports with the launch of Zwift Games. Set to become the largest cycling esports event ever held, the Zwift Games are designed to give any cyclist the chance to enjoy fun and challenging virtual competition and to compete alongside thousands of other Zwifters.
The Zwift Games are open to all, providing an open qualification pathway to the Zwift Games Elite Finals and the chance to be crowned overall Zwift Games Champion. Qualification races will take place in late February 2024, with Zwift Games Elite Finals to be held over the first two weeks of March 2024. The Zwift Games will crown men’s and women’s Champions across the three medal disciplines, as well as overall male and female champions. Winners will also take home a share of Zwift’s biggest-ever prize purse.
To give Zwifters a look at the future of Cycling Esports, Zwift will also host exhibition races that showcase the latest innovations in Zwift racing.
Uniquely, any Zwifter from around the world will be able to enter any of the Championship events and experience the fun of competition. Zwifters interested in participating in the Games without vying for the overall crown of Zwift Games Champion world title can enter community events linked to each Championship. Such an open competition promises to make the Zwift Games the most democratic cycling championship ever held.
The Zwift Games will include the following three championship races:
The Sprint Championship: This race is built with the best elements of the Zwift Battle Royale pioneered for the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. A challenge for the best cycling esports sprinters, racers will tackle several events back-to-back on a variety of courses, including some that are new to Zwift. Qualifiers will be open to all Zwift riders with the top finishers progressing to the finals.
The Epic Championship: This is the race for Zwift’s steeliest athletes, those who like to go long. This grueling race will be at least 60km long, and will test every facet of competitors’ resolve. The race will make use of Watopia’s new Coastal Causeway and a new route. An Epic community event will take place at the same time as the championship, and any Zwifter can participate in either event without a qualifier, creating what may be the world’s largest-ever cycling esports event!
The Hill Climb Championship: Since it first opened in 2018, the Alpe du Zwift has been a Zwift monument and right-of-passage for the more than 600,000 Zwifters who have navigated its 21 hairpin turns and scaled its heights. During the Zwift Games, the mountain goats of Zwift racing will have the chance to race from the bottom of this icon to the top and definitively establish who is the best Cycling Esports climber. With so many racers attempting to set a fast time on the iconic course, we could see new records for the ascent. Interested in participating in a group climb, but not looking to race? You can join in the accompanying community challenge, which will also feature the Alpe and other iconic Zwift climbs, that all have different levels of challenge.
Like all Zwift races, parity will be a central pillar of the Zwift Games. Race distances will be equal for men and women, and prize money will be split equally.
Further details, including the exact dates, formats, information on global broadcasts, and prize purse distribution will be shared in December.
With custom powerups and a tough key climb, there’s much to discuss along with our usual topics of bike choice, strategic options, and crucial segments. Let’s go!
Scratch Race Scoring for Round 2
WTRL has changed how scratch races are scored for round 2, so this is the first race using the new scoring scheme.
Scratch race scoring now awards 80 finish points for the winner, decreasing in 1-point increments for everyone else with all riders receiving at least 1 point for finishing.
All categories are racing two laps of the London Loop Reverse route for a total race length of 29.8km with 462 meters of elevation. Here’s what the route looks like on lap one, starting in the start pens:
Clearly the Fox Hill KOM is the big climb/feature of this route. Notably, the climb actually begins before the KOM start line. On your first lap the road will tilt up around 2.1km, with the KOM officially beginning at 2.7km.
The average gradient of the Fox Hill KOM segment is 4.3%, but don’t let that fool you: the last 1/3 of this segment is downhill or flat, meaning the climbing portion of the segment actually averages 7.4%. From the start of the climbing (before the KOM start line) to the top of the climb you’ve got 2.3km of distance to cover.
As you pass through the KOM banner you’ll receive an anvil powerup. Expect everyone to use their anvils on the Box Hill descent, and watch that you don’t get dropped off the back as riders accelerate! Use this section to recover as much as possible, and be sure to give a good kick up and over the ramp out of the Underground station so you don’t get dropped from your group.
We’ll loop back again through the start/finish area, picking up a feather at the start/finish arch and starting our second lap. Rest up, because it’s almost time for another go at Fox Hill!
The finish will be interesting this week, as it’s not one many racers are familiar with. With 1.4km to go the road tilts up, making this a great place to launch a long attack. Then with 500 meters left the road tilts downward, giving us a very fast run-in to the finish line. Anvil powerups will be useful here.
Anvil powerups will be awarded at the arch atop Fox Hill, while feathers will be awarded at the start/finish arch before we start our second Fox Hill climb. That means each rider will receive two anvils and one feather.
Lightweight (feather) (given at start/finish banner, end of lap 1): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on Fox Hill climb, when weight matters the most.
Anvil (given at Fox Hill KOM banner): makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. The amount of weight added is based on a percentage of your body weight, and that percentage increases as riders get lighter. It won’t hurt you, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater. Use it on descents, including Box Hill and the run-in to the finish line.
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 selections will happen on the climb up Fox Hill.
That said, if you’re confident you can hang with the front group up and over Fox Hill, you may want to 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.
How will the race unfold, and what strategies will riders employ in the first race of round 2? Here’s what we predict:
Major selections on Fox Hill: expect the field to be reduced by 50-60% the first time up Fox Hill, then further reduced by 30-50% the second time up. Your 5-7 minute w/kg will be crucial.
A wild finish: with all the points waiting at the finish line, riders will be putting extra thought into how to finish strong. Expect long attacks from 1.4km out, and a very fast final 500 meters thanks to saved anvils.
Chasing on the flats: riders who lack the W/kg may find themselves dropped on Fox Hill, but able to chase back on during the Box Hill descent or the flats that follow. But climbers will want to work on the second lap to stay away from chasing sprinters! Who will win the game of tug-o-war?
Saved anvils: expect riders to save their second anvil, using it in the final kilometer instead of on the Box Hill descent.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
