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Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 13-14

Oli Chi
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0
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 13-14

Happy Mother’s Day, Zwifters!

Zwift recently rolled out its latest game release with some changes to how power-ups function in the game. Want to test them out? Included in the mix of notable Zwift events this weekend is a nice set of Zwift races and a social group ride!


🥇 Where’s The Finish Line? 🕵️ p/b Team SZ

✅ Innovative Format 　✅ Popular Event

First of all, kudos to Team SZ for being innovative with their Zwift events! This is the first event of the series, so to get the full experience of this wacky race series you will want to join in the weeks following. Throughout the series, the distance will always be 20 miles (32.1 kilometers). The exciting thing about this series is that the set distance makes the finish line’s location completely random. Will it be on a climb? A descent? Around a blind corner?

This first race takes place on the Two Village Loop course in the Makuri Islands. Riders will complete a bit over two laps of the course before hitting the mysterious finish.

Saturday, May 14 @ 5:30 pm UTC/1:30 pm EDT/10:30 am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3669228


🥇 Herd Climbers Gambit (with Category Enforcement)

✅ Innovative Format

Upon seeing the distance for this race, I simply could not resist featuring this race this weekend. As week three of the series, riders will be tackling a very short and steep climb. It is important to note that the series is solely based on the times that you clock on the KOMs. The overall time does not matter at all. Since it is a time trial, there will be no draft or power-ups in this event.

This week’s course is the Cobbled Climbs Reverse route in Richmond. However, the race only covers 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) of the course!

Multiple time slots on Saturday & Sunday
See HERD Climbers Gambit Events for this Weekend on ZwiftHacks


🥇 Chasing Tour | Chasing Pink – Stage 6 (ITT)

✅ Popular Event 　✅ Tough Race

Chasing Tour’s ‘Chasing Pink’ event is taking place this weekend. Based on the signups so far, the race will likely be the most popular one this weekend. Stages 5 and 6 will be taking place on Saturday and Sunday, with Sunday’s race being an iTT. 

Important note: Chasing Tour events use the ZwiftRacing.app categorization. Read more here, or see the event description for more details on signing up with ZwiftRacing.app.

Multiple time slots Saturday and Sunday
Browse all Chasing Tour Events on ZwiftHacks


🤝 AHDR BBQ

✅ Beginner-Friendly

Each Sunday, the team at AHDR puts on the AHDR BBQ event. This is one of the slower AHDR events and gives the slower riders more of an opportunity to enjoy the style of AHDR’s famous group rides. The ride is paced at 1.8-2.2 w/kg.

This week’s ride takes place on the Tick Tock course in Watopia, a nice course for a social group ride.

Sunday, May 14 @ 7 am UTC/3 am EDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3697157


🥇 Team DRAFT Saturday Race

✅ Popular Event

Nearly every day of the week, team DRAFT hosts a race—sometimes it is an endurance race, other times it is a crit race. In comparison to their other events, this event is one of the shorter ones. To keep the race fun and fair, power meter and heart rate data are required to be included in the ZwiftPower results.

Riders will be racing around the Neokyo Crit Course, so expect a fast race as the course is very flat.

Saturday, May 13 @ 2:30 pm UTC/10:30 pm EDT/7:30 am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3696165

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

  • Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
  • Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
  • Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
  • Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
  • Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
  • Is it for a good cause?
  • Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
  • Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

Your Thoughts

Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!

Zwift Women’s Racing Series #2 Announced

Eric Schlange
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7
Zwift Women’s Racing Series #2 Announced

Zwift Women’s Racing Series #2 Announced

Zwift’s first Women’s Racing Series was a big success, so they’ve spun up the next edition!

Once again, this is a 6-week series featuring different types of races: an iTT, two short scratch races, and 3 points races. Riders accumulate points based on their weekly performance, and it all begins this Tuesday, May 16th.

Series #1 Stats

Over 2000 women started at least one race event in the first series, and 34,500 miles of racing were completed. The biggest event of the series had 239 starters, and the most popular time zone (by far) was EMEA, which saw very strong fields throughout the series.

Here are the first-place winners in each timezone:

Racing Series #1 Winners

APAC (10am UTC)

A: Josie Rawes (BL13 pb Level Velo)
B: Eija Kestila (EVO)
C: Nowell Blair (Herd)
D: Roxanne Timmins (CRYO-GEN)

EMEA (5:30pm UTC)

A: Kristen Kulchinsky (Virginia’s Blue Ridge T24)
B: Maggie Carden (Drafting Dinos)
C: Judit Daniell (Herd)
D: Almut Köhler (ZRG)

Americas East (11pm UTC)

A: kristin white (Spaero)
B: Summer Summertime (DDC)
C: Susan Clarke (Coalition)
D: Kristine Cormier (ECZR)

Americas West (1am UTC)

A: Kari Bartlett (Herd)
B: Dani Wilson (Galaxy)
C: Lisa Jones (Herd)
D: Jeanette S

Event Schedule

Races happen on Tuesdays (Wednesdays in Australia/New Zealand) in four different timeslots:

  • APAC: 10am UTC/6am EDT
  • EMEA: 5:30pm UTC/1:30pm EDT/10:30am PDT
  • Americas East: 7pm EDT/4pm PDT (9am AEST)
  • Americas West: 9pm EDT/6pm PDT (11am AEST)

Browse upcoming events in the series at zwift.com/events/tag/zwrs >

Series #2 Route Details

Points Scoring

This is a points series where your result each week earns you a certain number of points. Those points are then tallied up for the overall 6-week series, with the highest points earners in each category and timeslot coming out on top.

Note: if you’re aiming for the overall victory you must always race at the same time. Points will not carry from one time zone to the other.

Rules

This series uses Category Enforcement to keep racing fair.

If you upgrade mid-series, your points cannot be transferred to your new category. If you think it is likely that you will upgrade during this series, please enter all races at the higher category.

These races are open to all women, but for your results to count, you must be wearing a heart rate monitor and using either a smart trainer or power meter. zPower riders will not be included in the overall results.

First-Timers

Never raced before on Zwift? This is a great place to start! Here are a few tips to get you started:

  1. Sign up for ZwiftPower so you’ll be included in the final results
  2. Read How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
  3. Have fun! Just sign up and give it your best. You’ll get a great workout in with a bunch of amazing ladies!

ZwiftPower Results

Final results for each race can be found on ZwiftPower. Overall results are organized into leagues. Here are the links:

Join the Club

This series is housed under the Zwift Ladies Only (ZLO) Club. You can join it here for easy access to these and other ladies-only events. I also recommend joining it on Facebook as that’s where most of the discussion happens. (Full disclosure: my lovely wife Monica is the main group admin!)

Questions or Comments?

Post below!

How the Race Was Lost: Fooled By a Double Ghost

Eric Schlange
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30
How the Race Was Lost: Fooled By a Double Ghost

How the Race Was Lost: Fooled By a Double Ghost

Since taking on Zwift’s 12-week Build Me Up training plan I haven’t had time to race, so I was excited when I figured out a way to justify getting a little Crit City racing in on my birthday, which just happened to fall during a Build Me Up rest week.

The race was only 8 laps (~20 minutes) long, so I figured I could do it during the rest week without breaking too many rules. Plus, it was my birthday, and I wanted to do something fun!

In the end, I earned a very solid result… but perhaps the more interesting story is how the winner pulled off a remarkable victory.

Birthday Ride Plan

Since I was turning 44 years old, I planned to ride at least 44 miles. I also needed to knock out a 1-hour Build Me Up workout because even though this was a rest week, there are two workouts that I needed to do. (Build Me Up actually has three assigned, but the third is “Pedaling Drills”, which isn’t what I’d call a “required” workout.)

So I decided I’d do a long warmup with Coco, a Crit City race (~20 minutes), then do my 1-hour workout.

I prepped for it all by chewing two pieces of caffeine gum and applying PR lotion to the legs before I got on the bike. This was followed by one tasty Blueberry Crunch Clif bar while warming up to make sure I had some glycogen flowing.

Race Start

56 B’s jumped off the start line in Crit City, and I was excited to be racing again! It felt like a fresh experience thanks to not racing for the past 4 weeks. Plus we had the recent release of Pack Dynamics 4, freshly rebalanced powerups, and Zwift’s Category Enforcement boundaries becoming the new standard for races… so there have been a lot of changes in the past few months!

The pace wasn’t bad, but I executed the first brick climb poorly, starting near the rear of the group then having to chase back on once it flattened out. On subsequent laps I’d find that starting near the front and keeping the power high up the climb made things much smoother and easier overall.

Getting Into a Groove

As the race developed, we got into the ol’ Crit City groove. Push a bit on the false flats, go bonkers up the brick climb, then take it easy on the rollercoaster descent and through the lap banner.

Riders would attack occasionally, but nothing ever stuck.

The race was handing out three powerups: Ghost, Draft Boost, and Feather. Here’s how I used them:

  • Ghost: Throw it away by using it mid-pack. (Once I went to the front of the group then activated it to see if anyone would chase. They didn’t.)
  • Draft Boost: activate near the top of the brick climb, to take the edge off at the point where I’m most tired.
  • Feather: activate at the bottom of the brick climb. Now that it’s 30s long it lasts through the bricks and across some flat pavement that follows.

The Finish

I got a Ghost on the second-to-last lap banner, so I burned that and hoped for a good powerup the last time through the banner. The Zwift gods were smiling upon me (it was my birthday after all) – I got a Draft Boost!

Near the start of the last lap a rider named R. Höller attacked hard, bridging up to another rider a couple seconds ahead. I let them go, figuring their attack was too early and we’d get them back.

We all went hard up the bricks – this is just “table stakes” for your last lap on Downtown Dolphin. If you don’t go hard up the bricks, you’ll get gapped and won’t be in the mix for the final sprint.

As we topped the bricks I glanced at the minimap and rider list and saw a dot for a rider several seconds ahead. I also glimpsed their name in the rider list, but I wasn’t sure if they were getting lapped or were somehow off the front.

My brain couldn’t handle the distance math, and it didn’t make sense that they’d be off the front, because I had only seen two riders ahead, and we’d caught them both!

As we started down the rollercoaster descent I activated my Draft Boost – now that it lasts for 40 seconds I figured I had plenty of time. Then when I saw riders began to ramp up the power I did the same, to sit in their wheels and maintain a good position.

Not far from the hairpin it was time to go all in, so that’s what I did. Seated and hammering to the line, I felt like I was pushing good power as I passed several riders and did my best to hold the watts all the way to the finish.

Crossing the line I could see I would be 2nd or 3rd, since there was 1 rider just a bit ahead of us. The results popped up – 3rd place! I’ll take it.

See activity on Strava >
See results on ZwiftPower

Double Ghosted

As it turns out, the rider I glimpsed up the road at the top of the bricks on the last lap was one Maarten van Rhijn, a top-ranked B who had masterfully and powerfully attacked the pack. He would go on to win by 0.983s.

How did he do it? Looking at his Strava activity, he attacked hard heading through the final lap banner. He also activated a ghost powerup as he attacked, so we didn’t see him go off the front of the group.

15 seconds later he appeared momentarily on my minimap, but then he activated his second ghost powerup (which he’d been given as he passed through the banner seconds before), disappearing again and continuing to put time into the group as he held 550W+. A double ghost attack!

He held steady and impressively high power for the remainder of the final lap, averaging 524W (6.6w/kg) for the final 70 seconds of the race to stay off the front and take the win. Chapeau, sir.

Watch the Race

Takeaways

I think I raced this well, except where I completely missed Maarten van Rhijn. I didn’t look at the rider list ahead of time, so he wasn’t even on my radar. (I did have my eye on the one strong racer I recognized in the list, Andrew Peakman [Vision] who finished just behind me in 4th.)

But even if I’d been marking Maarten, I wouldn’t have noticed his attack, since he was invisible while doing it. The fact that he got a second ghost at the banner was just pure luck, but he leveraged that perfectly by using it right away and working hard to push his gap out. I would venture to say the vast majority of riders didn’t even know Maarten was off the front.

In the end I was happy with my result. It was my first race in 4 weeks, and I got a strong points results on ZwiftPower (118.05), boosting my rank from 168.81 to 155.5. (Learn how ZwiftPower ranking points work here.)

Your Thoughts

Have you ever seen such a masterful ghost attack? Or perhaps you’ve done one yourself? With the new ghost being 50% longer, I think we’ll see more like this! Share your thoughts below…

Coffee Stop Goes Live on Zwift

Eric Schlange
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35
Coffee Stop Goes Live on Zwift

Coffee Stop Goes Live on Zwift

Announced as a “coming soon” feature back in April, Zwift’s Coffee Stop is now available in game. Let’s dive into the details of how this feature works…

What It Does

Have you ever been riding with a great group on Zwift, but do you need to hop off the bike to grab a towel, refill a water bottle, or take a nature break?

Coffee Stop lets you cease pedaling and hop off your bike for a quick break, while your avatar keeps pace with the group you’re in so you don’t lose the fun of riding with that great group once you return to the bike.

Taking a Coffee Stop

To take a Coffee Stop, simply tap the Coffee Stop icon (coffee mug) from the action bar or within the Companion app.

Usage Limits

  • If you activate the Coffee Stop in the first 5 minutes of your ride, you will only get a 30-second break
  • Once you activate a Coffee Stop, a 30-minute timer begins. Only after these 30 minutes elapse can you trigger another Coffee Stop.
  • Coffee Shop is disabled in race events, group workouts, and individual workouts. Tip: during individual workouts you can just hit the “Pause” button in Companion or the Action Bar if you need to take a break for any reason.
  • Coffee Stop is available in group rides, except in the last 5km of distance-based group rides and the last 15 minutes of time-based group rides.
  • Coffee Stop is disabled if you aren’t moving, or are riding alone (no nearby riders).

Our favorite Aussie, Shane Miller, put together a quick video digging into all the Coffee Stop details:

Two Sneaky Coffee Tips

  • Entering event pens early lets you accumulate time toward that 30-minute window, so you can use a 3-minute Coffee Stop right when the event starts. (This is probably something Zwift should change.)
  • Need to know how long you must ride before taking another Coffee Stop? Click on the disabled Coffee Stop icon in the action bar and a countdown timer will appear!

Questions or Comments?

While this seems like a simple feature, there are lots of questions surrounding it. What does my activity look like on Strava? Will I get credit for finishing a route? Etc, etc.

If you have questions, check out Zwift’s Coffee Stop forum topic which includes an extensive FAQ.

Feel free to post comments or questions in that forum topic, or share below!

Tiny Race Series – May 13 Routes and Last Week’s Results

Eric Schlange
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5
Tiny Race Series – May 13 Routes and Last Week’s Results

Tiny Race Series – May 13 Routes and Last Week’s Results

Last week’s Tiny Races were a leg-burning smashfest as usual, but things were a bit buggy with steering accidentally getting disabled and the wrong course being set for Zone 3, Race 3. (Sorry about that!)

This week we’re back on track with a quarter of National Train Day-themed races. But first, we want to congratulate Sarah Hoffman (Herd), who won 1st place overall in the Zone 2 D category to become the first woman ever to take an overall podium in the Tiny Races. Chapeau!

Last Week’s Results

Overall Winners

Zone 1 (9am UTC)

A: Josh Harris (AERO)
B: Will Miller (LECR)
C: Edmar Bartolo (TZP)
D: Nuno Baptista (TugaZ)

Zone 2 (3pm UTC)

A: Daniel Jamrozik (Restart)
B: Martin Ehmoser (Talent:frei)
C: Matt Campbell (UnitedVelo)
D: Sarah Hoffmann (Herd)

Zone 3 (9pm UTC)

A: Stu Turner (AHDR)
B: Big Ben (DIRT)
C: Desi Sta Cruz (TZP)
D: Michael Nelson (Smarterknowledge)

Women’s Winners

Zone 1 (9am UTC)

A: Emilia Welte (SYNERGY)
B: Alice Lethbridge (Socks4Watts)
C: Charlene Lavigne (Hexagone.cc)
D: Mina S (ZSUNR)

Zone 2 (3pm UTC)

A: –
B: Tiffany Penner (SYN)
C: Julia Hargreaves (S4W)
D: Sarah Hoffmann (Herd)

Zone 3 (9pm UTC)

A: –
B: –
C: Leanne Dalley (CrushPod)
D: –

This Week’s Routes: National Train Day

Since it’s National Train Day in the USA, all four races this Saturday will be held on routes with train tracks nearby. Choo choo!

Approaching Tempus Fugit finish
Tempus Fugit custom finish
  • Race 1: Innsbruckring (5.434km, ends at Legsnapper KOM banner)
    Always a crowd favorite, Innsbruckring’s Legsnapper is made even more dynamic when the race finishes at its top. We’ve got extended feathers now… you’ll want to save yours for the Snapper!
    • Powerup: Feather (1x)
  • Race 2: Countryside Tour (5.261, ends at Country Sprint banner)
    This one starts with a slight downhill (with train tracks overhead), then it’s essentially pan-flat to the finish. Who will wait for a pack sprint, and who will attack early?
    • Powerup: Ghost (1x)
  • Race 3: Park Perimeter Loop (7.434, ends at sprint banner)
    The Harlem Hill climb will stretch and split the field. But with a few kilometers left until the line, some riders may be able to chase back onto the front. (Note: This is our longest race of the day, so we scheduled race starts in a way that gives D racers a few extra minutes to cross the line.)
    • Powerup: none
  • Race 4: Tempus Fugit (6.17km, blind finish exiting twisty tunnel after oasis)
    Tempus Fugit is the flattest route on Zwift, so this will be fast! This race ends with a bit of a “blind finish” as you exit the twisty tunnel leading from the Oasis.
    • Powerup: Draft Boost (1x)

Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/tinyraces

ZwiftPower Results

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:

Rules

Tiny Race rules are simple, but still every week 7-10% 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 for podium finishers
  • ZPower/Virtual power is not allowed. Smart trainer/smart bike or power meter required.

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.

Questions or Comments

Post below!

Rebel Route: Outer Scotland

Eric Schlange
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12
Rebel Route: Outer Scotland

UPDATE: this route has been added to the game, debuting in Tour de Zwift 2025.

Zwift’s Scotland map has beautiful views and purpose-built racing segments including the Sgurr climb, Glasgow Crit Circuit, and of course Breakaway Brae.

But there are only 5 official Scotland routes, so we decided it was time to create some thoughtful new Rebel Routes.

Today we introduce the second in our series of Scotland Rebel Routes. (Watch this space, as we are introducing a new one every Monday in May!) The route is called “Outer Scotland”, as it covers Scotland’s outermost roads in a clockwise direction, starting and ending in Glasgow.

Zwift’s art team calls this section “The Postcard” – you can see why!

About Rebel Routes

“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.

See all Rebel Routes >

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 in Glasgow by choosing The Muckle Yin as our route, as this will auto-navigate most of the route for us.

Ride the first bit of the Glasgow Crit circuit, then turn left and head for The Cliffs.

From here we stay left, basically. This keeps us on the main outer loop of Scotland: through The Cliffs, the lab banner, up through Corkscrew Castle and Breakaway Brae, down around the mystical roundabout, then back into Glasgow.

Once we re-enter the city we continue to keep left, finishing our Glasgow Crit Circuit route started at the beginning of the ride. Finish with a sprint to the banner, and you’re done!

Profile

While it looks pretty pitchy, this route doesn’t contain any long climbs or steep sections more than a few seconds long. It can best be described as “rolling”.

Getting Started + Lead-In

The easiest way to get started is to choose The Muckle Yin from your Scotland route options. This will give you a short lead-in to the Champion’s Sprint banner start line.

Turn by Turn

Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete Outer Scotland after starting from The Muckle Yin’s spawn point. (It’s easy just to remember to stay left, though!):

  • Left to Cliffs
  • Left to Tower
  • Straight (Left) to Tower
  • Straight (Left) to Glasgow
  • Left to Glasgow
  • Left to Glasgow

Route details:
Distance: 11.14km (6.92 miles)
Elevation Gain: 99m (324′)
Strava Segment

Rebel Route Suggestions

Got an idea for a great Rebel Route? Share it below and maybe we’ll publish a post about it!

All About Zwift’s Rebalanced Powerups

Eric Schlange
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35
All About Zwift’s Rebalanced Powerups

All About Zwift’s Rebalanced Powerups

Last week’s Zwift update included an unexpected change affecting racers: Zwift has “rebalanced” most of their powerups, modifying them in various ways to make them more “meaningful” and “useful strategically.“

As of early Friday afternoon (May 5), Zwift HQ says the rebalanced powerups are live for everyone.

Let’s dig into what changed, and how these changes will affect the race experience.

Draftier Draft Trucks

“Increased duration from 30 to 40 seconds and the draft effect will be stronger.”

This seems like a sensible change, since the Draft Truck feels “weakened” with the recent rollout of Pack Dynamics 4 (PD4) and its increased draft effect.

This change should make the Draft Truck’s effect more noticeable, providing more respite when riding in the pack or sitting on a wheel in the breakaway.

Reminder: the draft truck only boosts whatever draft you’re receiving, so if you’re in the wind at the front of a group or riding solo, this powerup has no effect.

Longer Feathers

“Increased duration from 15 to 30 seconds.”

Doubling its duration doubles its effectiveness, making the Feather a much more potent tool when attacking (or just trying to survive!) on climbs.

Weaker Anvils

“Reduced duration to 15 seconds. Changed the weight addition to be a percentage of rider weight instead of a fixed 50kg in an effort to make it more useful for all riders, with an emphasis on lighter riders. The percentage of weight is not fixed, and is instead derived from a formula that will make it unique to every rider while still providing a useful benefit for riders of all weights.”

This is one of the more complex changes in Zwift’s powerup rebalancing act, but it is a smart change as well. Lighter riders have consistently complained that the old Anvil (which simply added 50kg to your weight) gave too much advantage to heavier riders who already have an advantage on descents.

(This is analogous to how heavier riders complained that the Feather gave too much advantage to lighter riders – before the Feather was modified in 2020.)

The new Anvil adds a percentage of your body weight on descents, but that percentage increases significantly as riders get lighter. We ran a few tests to accurately chart this sliding scale for you, dear reader. Here are the results…

New Anvil Powerup Test Results

If you crunch the numbers in the chart a bit, you can see that a 50kg rider will get a 40kg Anvil (80% of their weight), while a 100kg rider will get a 22.6kg Anvil (22.6% of their weight).

The previous Anvil weighed 50kg regardless of rider weight, and lasted for 30 seconds. Clearly these rebalanced Anvils will be much less powerful than the previous Anvils, since they last half as long and are much lighter!

But perhaps talking about how “powerful” the Anvil is overall is the wrong approach. The better question: how does the new Anvil affect descent speeds for riders of varying weights?

It’s hard to say exactly, but on our Alpe du Zwift descent tests we estimated that 1kg of additional weight made you 1 second faster over the ~10-minute descent. Converting that to speed and using our numbers above, we can see that with the old Anvil (or no Anvil at all), the 40kg rider would have been 6.7kph slower than the 100kg rider on a descent of Alpe du Zwift. With the new Anvil, the 40kg rider is now only 3.7kph slower.

So heavier riders still have an advantage on descents, but the new Anvil reduces that advantage.

¡Adios, Suicidal Burrito!

“Increased duration from 10 to 20 seconds. Changed the behavior to only remove drafting from riders in a cone behind the rider instead of in a radius. The rider using the Burrito will still be able to draft other riders in front of them.”

The Burrito was, arguably, the powerup that most urgently needed “fixing”. After we documented how it really worked back in February, racers began pulling out pitchforks whenever they saw others using the Burrito, because it was clearly being used in ignorance much of the time. We even memed the Burrito’s uselessness as recently as last week…

Zwift’s change this week makes the Burrito work exactly as it should. No longer does it take away the draft you are receiving, and no longer does it take away the draft of riders just ahead of you, which could cause them to be gapped (and thus, you to be gapped as well). It still helps you try for the solo breakaway, without making the peloton a miserable place.

Here’s a graphic showing how the old Burrito functioned vs the new Burrito. (Note that this is for illustrative purposes only – the Burrito’s “effectiveness window” is not precisely sized.)

It’s worth noting that the Burrito’s duration has been doubled, meaning this is a very punishing powerup if you cannot move yourself out of the draftless window!

Restricted But Longer Ghosts

“Increased duration from 10 to 15 seconds. It is no longer possible to use this PowerUp when the rider is less than 400m from the finish line.”

The ghost and its invisibility/cloaking power always had a lot of potential. The problem was, it was so short-lived it was hard to use effectively in a race.

Zwift’s change makes the ghost last a bit longer, so you can get a bigger gap on the group you’re attacking. But watch out if you’re saving it until the end of the race, because Zwift changed its finish line restriction from 200m to 400m!

Don’t wait to activate it until just before 400 meters to go, either, as it automatically runs out as soon as you hit the 400m mark.

No Changes to Aero Helmet and Steamroller

Neither of these powerups were changed in this rebalancing.

No XP Bonus Powerups in Races

“Removed from all competitive events by default. Event Organizers can still have XP PowerUps appear in their event by request.”

This is a welcome change, because few things in Zwift racing are as annoying as receiving a tiny XP bonus instead of a useful powerup in a race!

More Info

For more details on these rebalanced powerups, including an FAQ, see this forum topic. You can also share feedback on powerups with Zwift staffers on that thread.

Questions or Comments?

What do you think of the rebalanced powerups? Share below!

Training Log: Build Me Up, Week 7

Eric Schlange
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6
Training Log: Build Me Up, Week 7

Training Log: Build Me Up, Week 7

Welcome to my week 7 “Build Me Up” (BMU) training log.

About this Series:
I’m journaling my way weekly through Zwift’s “Build Me Up” training plan and calling out tough workouts, minor bugs, and Zwift feature suggestions along the way. For your reference, my FTP is set to 321W, as detected by Zwift’s ramp test at the start of the plan.
Past weeks: Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3 // Week 4 // Week 5 // Week 6

This was the toughest week so far, with 5 workouts and a big jump in TSS compared to prior weeks. Thankfully, next week is a recovery week!

Workout Journal – Week 7

Saturday, April 29: Kirizuma

See activity on Strava

This looked like the toughest, longest workout of Week 7, so I tackled it first. I wasn’t sure just how tough it would actually, be, because the workout was designed unlike other workouts I’ve done:

  • Set 1: 3x “Kirizumas” – 14.5-minute blocks that start at 93% of FTP (300W) and peak up to 110% (355W) before going back down again.
  • Set 2: 5x 1-minute VO2 intervals at 110% (355W)

The Kirizumas were hard, with the third one pushing my legs very close to their limits – they were on the edge of cramping. But this workout was hard in a different way than the infamous 480W interval workout was tough a few weeks back, because it was much longer blocks of high effort.

Longer blocks, at least for me, made this workout mentally hard. The first Kirizuma was tough, and continuing forward through the next two blocks when I wanted to quit so badly took a lot of repeated decision-making. I had a lot of time to question my choices as I slogged my way through multi-minute block after block.

(In hindsight, I’m happy I’m documenting this BMU journey, because knowing I’d have to own up to quitting has helped me stay in the game many times already. Score one for accountability!)

For hours after this workout my legs wanted to cramp if I moved incorrectly – and even my brain felt tired.

Monday, May 1: Spaded Sweetie

See activity on Strava

A tough workout for sure. This one has two blocks – the “spade” at the start with its short, hard efforts is (I believe) meant to use up some of your high-end power stores. It’s not too bad. The part that hurts is the 5x 5-minute intervals afterward where the power bumps up on each interval.

The first two aren’t bad – sweet spot work, basically. But you get very little recovery between intervals, and with each new 5-minute block the power jumped up 10-15W, so my final two intervals were 4 minutes at 320W and 335W, with extra hard 1-minute punches at the end. Those last two 5-minute blocks were tough, and I was very happy that the recovery time in between was mercifully lengthened to two minutes.

This one had me pretty close to my limit. As a sort of sweetspot-moving-to-threshold workout these were longer efforts than you’d get in a VO2 workout, but shorter and harder than typical sweetspot work.

Wednesday, May 3: Cucumber

See activity on Strava

A long sweetspot workout, with three pointy efforts mixed in. There are 5 sweetspot blocks – the first 4 are 10 minutes long, while the last is 15. In between there are three 75-second ramps from FTP up to 150% of FTP, with the final ramp coming right at the end of the final 15-minute block. That one hurt a bit!

But overall, this wasn’t a super-tough workout. Just 90 minutes of solid work.

Thursday, May 4: Giza

See activity on Strava

“Like the Great Pyramid of Giza, this workout goes up… and then comes back down. Also like the pyramids, it is a big workout with sustained workloads. Build a monument to your own fitness here!”

The workout description makes this one sound pretty tough – but I could tell by looking at it that this was the easiest workout of the week. 5 8-minute blocks in the tempo zone… solid work, but nothing too taxing.

Still, with the week’s big VO2 workout coming the next day, this workout was a bit tougher than I would have preferred. But I’ll cross my fingers and hope I can pound my way through the VO2 intervals tomorrow!

Friday, May 5: LOX

See activity on Strava

This VO2 workout was a key workout for the week, since we’re in a VO2-focused block. This week’s workout was a bit tougher than last week’s, with the intervals 30 seconds longer and the same 10-minute block of sweetspot (90% of FTP, or 290W) tacked onto the end.

The first three VO2 blocks weren’t too bad, but I could definitely feel the fatigue on the last two.

Whine of the Week: Warmup/Cooldown Specifics

I’ve shared so many weekly whines at this point that I’m not sure if I’m repeating myself. But here’s this week’s: Zwift doesn’t display the start and end wattage of warmup and cooldown ramps!

This was especially cruel on my last workout of the week (LOX), when I finished the tough 10-minute sweetspot effort after the VO2 intervals, only to be taken into a cooldown that started at the same high wattage I was already doing. Coach Shayne knew how devious this was:

Currently, Zwift just displays the length of the warmup or cooldown block. It says nothing about the power level. Does my warmup take me from 200W to 800W? 100W to 150W? I have no idea. The only way to know is to actually finish the entire block.

So, here’s my wish: I’d love to see warmup and cooldown blocks display the starting and ending wattage, so you could know what you’re in for. Simples.

Summing Up Week 7

This week was the toughest one yet, but in the end I’d say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Still, I’m looking forward to a rest week before tackling the final block of BMU:

  • Week 1: 274 TSS
  • Week 2: 343 TSS
  • Week 3: 363 TSS
  • Week 4: 212 TSS
  • Week 5: 312 TSS
  • Week 6: 358 TSS
  • Week 7: 430 TSS

One to Keep, One to Throw Away

I think each week of BMU features a key “cornerstone workout” and another which doesn’t really need to be done, so I thought it might be useful to call those out each week, in case your schedule is tight. For week 7, here are my picks:

  • Key Workout – #LOX: With the focus on VO2max this block, finishing each week’s VO2 workout is what’s most important.
  • Throw Away – Giza: easiest workout of the week, and I’m not sure it’s very beneficial since it’s too hard for a recovery ride, and too easy to get into those sweetspot+ zones where big fitness gains happen.

Coming Up Next Week

Week 8 is next, and it’s a super-easy regeneration/recovery week with a total of only 217 TSS. I’m hoping to get outside for some pleasant, easy rides.

Questions or Comments?

Share below!

How to Cancel, Delete, Pause, or Reactivate Your Zwift Account

Eric Schlange
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33
How to Cancel, Delete, Pause, or Reactivate Your Zwift Account

The weather’s getting warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, and many Zwifters will be taking their bikes outdoors to get some fresh air. If you won’t be using Zwift for a while, what can you do with that monthly subscription, and how will your changes affect the information stored in your account?

Let’s dig in and find out!

Zwift Subscription Options

Cancel: If you cancel your Zwift account, your subscription will end at the end of your current billing cycle, and all of your progress will be saved. If/when you decide to start your subscription again, your monthly billing cycle will start on that date. When you log in, you’ll pick up right where you left off. To cancel your account, visit zwift.com/cancellation and follow the instructions.

Pause: If you want to take a short break and have your account automatically turn back on after a set number of weeks, use this option. The slider lets you set the length of the pause from 1 to 8 weeks, and while your account is paused you will not be charged. (You can always return early and click to resume your account.)

Not all payment types support pausing. If you don’t see the Pause option, you’ll need to cancel your subscription instead.

Delete: To pull the plug for good, you can also delete your Zwift account entirely. This ends your subscription immediately, removes your account and related information, and removes all your progress. To permanently delete your account and all progress, visit zwift.com/delete-account and follow the instructions.

Reactivate: This only works for accounts that were canceled. Just go to my.zwift.com/join and log in, and you can restart your subscription by clicking to Join. (If you are using an iOS device or Apple TV and had an iTunes membership, log into Zwift on your device and click “Restore Purchases” at the bottom left.)

You can cancel, or reactivate your Zwift subscription at my.zwift.com/billing/membership. If you have a membership through Apple iTunes, you’ll need to manage your account through Apple by following the steps at this link.

Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 6-7

Oli Chi
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2
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 6-7

As the days get longer for those in the Northern Hemisphere, things start to calm down on Zwift. However, quite a few notable events are still taking place this weekend, including several fun races! 


🤝 The BMTR Fundo

✅ Legacy Leaders 　✅ Popular Event 　✅ Long Ride

This weekend, like every weekend, the team at BMTR is hosting a Fundo featuring multiple distances for riders to choose from. To make the event as inclusive as possible, riders are free to go at whatever pace they would like, regardless of category. Whether riders are looking to race, spin, or anything in between, they are welcome at the Fundo.

The longest ride will be an imperial century while the shortest will be 26 miles (~42 kilometers). The two other distances have lengths in between the longest and shortest distances. All of the different distances take place on the Wandering Flats course in the Makuri Islands.

Saturday, May 6 @ 12:10pm UTC/8:10am EDT/5:10am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3686909


🥇 Minitour Scotland HISP

✅ Popular Event

As HISP’s latest tour, this race series is a shorter four-week tour with events taking place throughout the day on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Riders can participate in as many events as they would like each week—the fastest time will be counted towards the ZwiftPower GC. 

To start the series off tough, riders will be tackling The Muckle Yin in Scotland + a little bit extra, with the race finishing atop the Sgurr Northbound. Note: this is a mass start race series, but signups are high, meaning riders should be able to find riders around their pace.

Multiple time slots on Saturday
See Minitour Scotland HISP Events for this Weekend on Zwift Hacks


🥇 Herd Summer Racing League

✅ Tough Race

Summer is nearly here, marking the start of the HERD Summer Racing League (HSRL). Unlike the winter racing league put on by HERD, the summer racing league features the traditional set of four categories, as opposed to a mass start single-category race. This is a points-based series, so watch out for those segments, it might get spicy!

This weekend’s race takes place on the Innsbruck Continentals Hill Climb course. Ouch!

Multiple time slots Saturday and Sunday
Browse all HSRL Events on Zwift Hacks


🤝 QueenBee Ladies Sunday Roast Social Ride

✅ Women-only 　✅ Beginner-Friendly

Join the QueenBee Ladies Sunday Roast Social Ride for a chance to ride with other ladies on Zwift. Throughout the duration of the ride, leaders will be holding a pace range of 1.3-1.8 w/kg. In addition to this, there is an optional after-party for those who want to go the extra mile!

This 45-minute social ride takes on the Greater London Flat course, a great course for a social group ride!

Sunday, May 7 @ 6am UTC
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3688075


🥇 Rhino Crash Chase Race

✅ Innovative Format

A crowd favorite amongst those who like to race later in the day on Sundays, the Rhino Crash Chase Race is very well-maintained, meaning the route and time gaps change weekly. From personal experience, I can say that this is definitely the best chase race that I have participated in because of how close all of the groups tend to finish.

This week’s course is Greatest London Flat with a custom finish line.

Sunday, May 7 @ 6:30pm UTC/2:05pm EDT/11:30am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3688287

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

  • Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
  • Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
  • Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
  • Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
  • Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
  • Is it for a good cause?
  • Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
  • Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

Your Thoughts

Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!

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