With over 6100 riders and 810 teams taking part, the DIRT Racing Series has grown quickly over the last four seasons. As we head into “indoor season”, Team DIRT Racing has announced the launch of DIRT Racing Series, Season 5, which runs from September 12-October 17.
Here’s how they describe it:
Get ready to be part of the most competitive Team Racing on Zwift, open for ALL Zwift racers. In DRS EVERYONE contributes to their team with our well-balanced points structure, small categories and multiple individual and team leaderboards.
DRS Basics
Here are some key things we spotted that make the DIRT Racing Series special:
Unique category structure based on zwiftracing.app Race Rankings
Team racing: open to teams of up to 8 riders (no rider minimum), best 4 riders per stage contribute their points to the team
Three racing formats: iTT, Team Time Race (TTR), and Points Races
For those in the United States, enjoy your Labor Day! This weekend we’re highlighting the return of a popular women’s racing series. Additional picks include a virtual Vuelta alternative, a monthly century ride, and two pre-ZRL prep rides.
The Iceni Women’s Series is back! There will be two opportunities on Saturdays to do each of the five stages in this series. This is a points race, so FTS and FAL points will be available on segments. To keep the race fair and competitive, there are also a few rules in place (see below for details)
✅ Popular Event ✅ Highly Competitive ✅ Innovative Format
As the Vuelta takes place in real life, the Chasing Red series, a virtual replica of the Vuelta, occurs simultaneously on Zwift. For each of the Chasing Tours, three lucky riders will win a Zwift Hub, Hammerhead Karoo 2, and a $200 voucher for The Feed.
In just over a week, the first race of the 2023-24 Zwift Racing League will take place. Join different teams this weekend for a recon of the course. Leaders of the group rides include Cryo-Gen, BL13, and more! This is a great opportunity to ask these veteran Zwifters all your Zwift Racing League-related questions. Learn more about the ZRL Recon Series >
This group ride takes place over two laps of the Rolling Highlands course. On the 12th of September, riders will be racing 3 laps of this very course. Keep an eye out for a complete Zwift Insider guide to the first race next week!
Join USMES for their monthly century ride. One of the nice things about this event is that there are two different leaders in this event. This allows riders with the front beacon to drop back to the slower pacer. USMES has also recently received a new in-game cycling kit (see it here)! Riders will be able to use this new kit during this ride. However, this ride does not unlock the kit.
This month, riders will ride on the PRL Full course in London. This is a great opportunity to unlock the PRL Full route badge with company.
Zwift Racing League (ZRL) begins soon! WTRL recommends that riders complete 2 competitive races in the two weeks leading up to the start to ensure you’re in the right category. Eintracht is hosting three races leading up to ZRL from the 1st to the 5th of September. Be sure to get some races in before ZRL!
Saturday’s race will be taking place on The Muckle Yin in Scotland.
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!
For this week’s top 5 Zwift videos we’ve got a rider’s first FTP test after hardly riding for 2 years, a rider’s second ascent up Alpe Du Zwift, a comparison of the Wahoo KICKR Core and Snap, a teaser for an upcoming race series, and an overview of a Zwift competitor.
How Much Fitness Did I Lose After 2 Years Off The Bike?!
After not riding consistently for over 2 years, Jonny Kibble decides to take a ramp test on his new Tacx Neo 2T. How much fitness has he lost?
Climbing Alpe du Zwift, Part Deux – La Revenge!
Ryan Condon is back, determined to beat his first Alpe du Zwift time. This video follows him on his second ascent up the iconic virtual climb. Can he break 100 minutes?
KICKR Core VS KICKR Snap for Zwift
John from Triathlon with Coach John recently got both a Wahoo KICKR Core and a Wahoo KICKR Snap. In this video, he compares the two and puts them through various tests.
Chasing Red (La Vuelta) – Zwift Hype Video
Dave from the Zwift Analysis Network has put together a short teaser for the upcoming Chasing Red Series on Zwift. Check it out!
Is MyWhoosh The Zwift Killer?
The UCI recently announced that the next three UCI E-Sport World Championships would not be held on Zwift, but rather on Zwift. Tariq from Smart Bike Trainers takes a deeper look at MyWhoosh and asks the big question… is it the Zwift killer?
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
“Get Rolling” ZRacing September 2023 Series Details
12 months after its launch, Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series. September’s event details have just been shared, and the theme is “Get Rolling,” just like when the series launched in September 2022.
This month features easier (flatter) race courses designed to attract new racers and riders getting back on Zwift after a summer outside. Will every race end in a pack sprint, or will Pack Dynamics 4.1 encourage more breakaways? We’ll find out soon enough…
The ZRacing series consists of monthly sets of weekly races. Each race is scheduled for seven days (beginning 1:10am UTC on Monday and running through to the next Sunday). Timeslots are consistent week to week and month to month.
Races are scheduled ~15 times each day, so there are plenty of available times to find a race.
Each monthly set of races has a time-based GC (general classification) tracking riders’ best finishing times for each week’s race. The overall winners in each category for the month will be the riders with the lowest overall time for that month’s set of races.
With over 100 weekly timeslots available, riders can race each week’s event multiple times and try to better their finishing time. Tip: the fastest times usually come from the largest race fields!
Note: you must use a heart rate monitor and be on a smart trainer, smart bike, or power meter to show up in ZwiftPower results for this series.
Each month’s series has a unique achievement badge, which you can unlock by finishing every stage for the month. There are no makeup events, so if you miss a stage, you miss out!
One and Done
Zwift has planned these events to deliver a solid 1-hour workout, so each race should only take around 1 hour to complete, including your warmup and cooldown.
The latest Zwift update has been announced and will be released in phases over the next few days.
This release doesn’t have flashy new features like fresh roads or bikes, but it does include some notable updates, including long-awaited native Apple silicon support. Let’s dive in!
Climb Portal Powerup Changes
We wrote a post about XP Farming with Zwift’s Climb Portal over a month ago, but today’s update reduces the frequency of the Large XP bonus powerup to ~10%, making XP farming much less effective.
Based on our tests, we believe Zwift originally assigned the following probabilities to Climb Portal powerups:
Feather: 20%
Small Bonus: 60%
Large Bonus: 20%
Now those probabilities appear to be:
Feather: 25%
Small Bonus: 65%
Large Bonus: 10%
Based on our calculations, this change results in a 38% reduction of the total hourly XP you could earn on a short climb like Cote de Pike. (The old powerup frequencies delivered an estimated 2587XP, while the new frequencies deliver 1607XP.) It was fun while it lasted!
Deferred Updates
We already talked about this in a recent post, but Zwift is officially releasing the “Deferred Update” feature for PC/Mac in today’s update. This feature lets you choose to delay downloading/installing a Zwift update until after your Zwift session, so if you’re running late for an event you don’t have to be delayed by an update.
To get deferred updates on your Zwift setup, you’ll need two things:
Apple devices using native Apple silicon have always run the legacy x86 code (for Intel chipset architecture) version of Zwift using an emulator, which any nerd will tell you is a less-than-efficient way to run software because the device has to do the extra work of “translating” x86 code into its native language (ARM64, in the case of machines using Apple processors).
Starting with update version 1.46, Zwift shipped a version of the app written in ARM64 code which runs natively on Apple silicon, which should result in:
Faster framerates
Improved graphic performance
Less overheating
Potentially longer battery life when not plugged into power
As Shane Miller says in his update video below, the most noticeable difference may be rider shadows in game. See his full analysis/comparison below:
Zwift is doing a phased release of native Apple silicon support, with all Mac computers with Apple silicon (that is, M1/M2) processors getting support by September 12/13 depending on your local time zone.
FYI: the Zwift app written for iPhone/iPad already runs natively, and always has. This update only applies to Mac computers.
Later Zwift Academy Start Date Announced
This isn’t an official part of the game update, but today Zwift announced via their socials that Zwift Academy begins November 6. This is much later than past years, which began in early September.
Watch Zwift Insider for more on Zwift Academy as we get closer to the launch date!
Release Notes
Here are additional tweaks and bug fixes Zwift provided for this update, with notes from us in italics:
Fixed an issue with the teleport feature where the rider does not automatically teleport at the end of the countdown timer.
Fixed an issue on the Repack Rush results screen where leaderboard names would overlap other information on the screen.
Running: Changed the ‘Best Time’ format from MM:SS to H:MM:SS.
Fixed an issue which could cause riders to take a wrong turn at an intersection during events and Pacer Group rides.
Improved the appearance of the moon.
Elite Rizer: Improved steering responsiveness in Repack Rush.
Elite Rizer: Fixed an issue that prevented intersection route selection via steering.
Windows / macOS / Android
Fixed an issue where the elevation icon was offset from the HUD on Time Trial events.
Fixed a crash that could occur when using Zwift Companion to end an activity while the Race Results screen was visible.
Android
Improved navigation to the intro slideshow when running Zwift for the first time
macOS
Fixed black squares in France near Marina Sprint where a stone bridge meets the road surface.
Tiny Race Series – September 2 Routes and Last Week’s Results
The Tiny Races happen every Saturday, and they’re all about getting a hard, fun effort done in 1 hour. You’re meant to race all 4 races back-to-back, with each lasting just 5-10 minutes, giving you a short break in between.
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:
Got a great YouTube video of your Tiny Race experience? Post it in the comments and we may feature it on Zwift Insider!
This week all four races are on Watopia’s Two Bridges Loop route, but each race is longer than the one before. Begin with a short race to the JWB Sprint Reverse line and end with a full loop of the route. Each race’s finish varies from the others, appealing to the strengths of different riders!
Race 1: Two Bridges Loop (2.832km, ending at JWB Sprint Reverse) A super-short start, this is going to be a VO2 blast with riders attacking from the gun. Will you use your anvil to attack early, or to boost your sprint?
Powerup: Anvil (1x)
Race 2:Two Bridges Loop (5.62km, ending atop climb) Here’s one for the puncheurs, with the finish line atop this route’s key ascent.
Powerup: Anvil (2x)
Race 3:Two Bridges Loop (6.37km, ending on bridge after descent) This is a finish line we’ve never used before! Hit the key climb, descend the backside, and finish at high speed on the overpass bridge. Proper anvil use will be crucial here.
Powerup: Anvil (2x)
Race 4:Two Bridges Loop (1 lap, 7.3km) We finish with the full loop, ending in an all-out sprint.
Zwift displays preliminary race results in game when you cross the line, but points are computed after all four races are finished, with final results on ZwiftPower. (We have to do some data processing on our side to compute results, so if your rankings don’t show up right away, be patient.)
Riders will earn points based on finish position in each of the 4 Tiny Races. The category winner of each week’s series is the rider with the most points across their timezone’s 4 races. Here are the links for each timezone’s results on ZwiftPower:
Tiny Race rules are simple, but still every week 6-8% of registered ZwiftPower racers get disqualified and removed from the final results. Don’t let that be you! Four races, four rules:
You must have a ZwiftPower account, because final results are processed by ZwiftPower (learn how to sign up)
No skipping then returning. These races are meant to be raced as a set of 4. If you need to leave early, that’s fine… but once you miss a race in your hour’s set of 4, don’t come back and race another or you’ll be disqualified from that race since you rested while others were racing! (Example: racing only races 1 and 2 is fine. Racing 1, 2, and 4 is not – you will be DQ from race 4. And if you race 2, 3, and 4, you’ll be DQ from all those races, since you skipped race 1!)
Heart rate monitors are required.
Smart trainer/smart bike or power meter required. ZPower/Virtual power is not allowed.
Join a Chat & Chill Cooldown
Immediately following each hour’s racing, we’ve scheduled 30-minute “Chat & Chill” events where riders from all categories can spin their legs together and chat about how it all went down. Find them at zwift.com/events/tag/tinyraces.
Zwift Insider Kit Unlock
Finish any Tiny Race or a Chat & Chill ride and unlock the Zwift Insider “Ride Smarter // Ride Harder” in-game kit.
As we head into the first round of Zwift Racing League (ZRL) 2023/24, WTRL (organizers of ZRL) has published a growing slate of group recon rides designed to help riders perform their best in each week’s races.
As recon rides, these events occur on the same course being raced in ZRL the following week (see full race schedule). Each Group Recon Ride is hosted by an established Zwift racing club, with ride leaders on hand to deliver racing tips and answer questions.
Each ZRL Group Recon Ride event has a stated pace which the leaders will hold do. Most rides are D or C pace, while a few are E (open pace) or offer multiple paces.
The schedule is still being filled in, so expect more events on the calendar as WTRL is shooting for four Group Recon Rides per day.
Interested in hosting a ride?
Here’s what WTRL says:
Is your Zwift Club interested in hosting an official Zwift Racing League Recon Ride? We’re looking for Zwift Clubs willing to offer racing tips, lead and sweep OFFICIAL ZRL public Recon Rides in the lead-up to each ZRL race. If your club is interested, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Recon Writeups
As we’ve done in past ZRL rounds, Zwift Insider will publish a detailed recon writeup several days before each race. These writeups include bike selection tips, strategic options, a discussion of key route “pinch points”, and more.
Questions or Comments?
Learn more about ZRL at our main ZRL page (zwiftinsider.com/zrl/). Got questions or comments about the Group Recon Rides? Share below!
Zwift is getting a jump on traditional Oktoberfest fun by holding PretzelFest in September! “It’s time to don your lederhose, fill your stein with electrolytes, and stuff your jersey pockets with pretzels.”
Each ride is on a pretzel-themed route, and completing all 4 stages unlocks the coveted Lederhose kit.
Route and Schedule Details
Rides are 45 minutes long and scheduled five minutes past the top of each hour throughout the week.
To sign up for the series, click the card at the top of the homescreen and click “Register”. You’re all done! Clicking the card will now show your progress as you complete each stage.
Next you’ll need to join and complete at least one PretzelFest event each week. They’re scheduled hourly, so you should be able to fit one into your schedule!
Badge Unlocks
Complete all four stages this month to unlock the Zwift Ride Series: Pretzelfest badge!
Lederhose Kit Unlock
The real news here is the Lederhose kit! Completing all 4 stages to unlock the full kit:
Zwift has rolled out a fresh Mission for September, and it’s designed to encourage Zwifters to try the different activities offered in game.
Note: signups opened today, but the Mission doesn’t begin until September 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, complete 1 group ride, 1 workout, and 1 race by October 1 @ 4:59pm PT (October 2 @ 12:59AM BST).
Last October, we shared a post introducing Sauce for Zwift (S4Z) to the Zwift community. Since then, creator Justin Mayfield has continued to improve the app, and its popularity has increased greatly among PC and Mac users. (Justin tells me there are approximately 4,000 active S4Z users today, up 571% from a year ago!)
Ever since S4Z arrived on the scene, I’ve heard complaints from Apple TV users along the lines of “If S4Z helps you in races, then it’s unfair because it doesn’t work on Apple TV!” But did you know Apple TV (or for that matter, Android or iOS) users can also use S4Z? You’ll need a PC or Mac to do it, but it doesn’t have to be a high-end machine.
Here’s a recording of me Zwifting on Apple TV while using S4Z in a recent race:
How It Works
The big caveat is that you’ll need a Windows, Mac, or Linux box to use S4Z, even though you’re running Zwift on Apple TV. So this solution isn’t for everyone, but if you have a laptop or desktop available (even if it’s not very powerful), you can install S4Z on it and use it as a “second screen” to enhance your Zwift experience.
How can S4Z display your live Zwift data when it’s not running on Apple TV? When you set up the S4Z app, you enter the credentials for your Zwift account plus a second “monitor” account. These logins are used to query Zwift’s servers, grabbing your data in (near) real time.
So as you ride on Apple TV on one screen, your data is being sent to Zwift’s servers, then S4Z on your computer is grabbing and displaying that same data on the computer’s screen. Fancy, right?
One might think the data would be laggy, but S4Z is using Zwift’s high-performance custom UDP-based protocol, so there’s no discernable lag time.
(It’s worth mentioning that this is how S4Z works for everyone, even those running Zwift on a PC/Mac with S4Z on the same machine. S4Z emulates a Zwift game client and grabs your real-time data from Zwift’s servers to display on screen.)
Streaming AppleSauce
For my video above, I used free OBS software on a PC to combine audio from my microphone with several visuals: the Zwift session from Apple TV, S4Z windows from my PC, and a live camera.
How is that done? That’s outside the scope of this post, but I’ll write about Zwift Streaming with Apple TV soon. Stay tuned!
Questions or Comments?
Ever used S4Z with Apple TV? Or maybe you’re planning to try it now? Share below!
