Today, Zwift launched a new series of experimental Wednesday races dubbed “Crit Cade.” Similar events were held back in November 2023, but two years later, with many more Zwifters owning steering devices, the events may just have the numbers to make them interesting. Read on to learn all about Crit Cade…
These events are just like any other Crit City race you may have enjoyed in the past… except they’re totally different, for three reasons!
Steering Required: These events are designed to maximize the fun and engagement of Zwift Steering, so you must have a steering device connected to join the start pens.
Power Up Pandemonium: This race features the experimental Boost Powerups, which are given at the lap banner and must be used during the lap before picking more up at the next banner.
Speed Boosts and Hazard Pads: Blue Speed Boosts are scattered across the course to give you an extra injection of pace. But red Hazard Pads are also on course, and they slow you down! Watch out, because both types can move around and even swap.
You’ll need to stay fully engaged throughout the race if you want to come home with a win. It’s not just about putting out the power, it’s also about steering effectively, timing your powerups, and drafting whenever possible.
Watch the First Race
I signed up for the first race of the series, just to see how it unfolded from the comfort of my own desk. Watch the A category here:
Route and Schedule
Races are planned for each Wednesday, November 19 through December 31, at five time slots (0830, 1730, 1830, 1930, 2330, 0230 UTC) to cover peak time in all major time zones. See upcoming events at zwift.com/events/tag/critcade.
These events are held within the Zwift Labs club (sign up here). This feature is still in development, so you can share feedback within the club’s chat in the Companion app, or via the comments below (Zwift says they’re watching this post).
Share Your Thoughts
Have you tried a Crit Card Steering Race yet? Share your thoughts below!
The fourth race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 2 happens Tuesday, November 25, and it’s a team time trial on the new Watts the Limit route in NYC. This is an interesting TTT route, with plenty of pitch changes to keep us on our toes and unique characteristics that make it a much faster course than you might think.
Let’s dig into crucial segments, escalators, bike choice tips, and more!
Looking at the Route
Watts the Limit is a fresh route from the recent New York map expansion. And while the Strava segment profile (above) may look lumpy – like a city skyline, in fact – it’s actually a fairly flat and fast route, thanks to escalators helping us out of the subway tunnels!
All categories will race a full lap of this out-and-back route, for a total of 31km with 219m of elevation. (Although it’s not really 219m, since ~95 of those meters are on escalators.)
Most of this course is close to pan-flat, with major elevation changes taking place quickly in between as you enter or exit subways. Here are the key points you’ll keep in mind as your team attacks this course:
Lead-In Kicker @1km (300 meters at 3.7%): this little bump near the end of the lead-in is short enough that it’s best to just hammer hard if you’re on the front, and stay in the draft if you’re behind. Keep the watts high so your speed stays up, then grab recovery on the flats and descents that follow.
Escalator @4.7km: the first of six escalators you’ll encounter today, these are going to play havoc with teams who have riders with widely varying weights. See “More On Escalators” below for details.
Escalator @8.2km
Manhattan Bridge @9.1km (1.2km at 1.6%): the bridge isn’t as steep from this side, so speeds will stay high and drafting will remain very important. Increase your power, but stay in formation. Recovery awaits on the back half of the bridge.
Escalator @14.5km
Hill to Grand Army Plaza @14.6km (400 meters at 2%): this little climb comes directly after the escalator, so keep the power up in order to maintain speed all the way up to the flat Grand Army Plaza turnaround at the top.
Escalator @18.7km
Manhattan Bridge @19.5km (1.1km at 2.4%): a bit steeper on this side, but still not a proper “climb,” so you’ll definitely want to lift the power while staying in formation up and over.
Escalator @24.5km
Escalator @27.8km
Final Kicker @30.5km (300 meters at 3.7%): almost there! Hammer this kicker just like you did at the start of the race, then go all-in across the top to empty the tank and finish fast.
Warning: the new escalators in NYC may prove tricky if there’s a big difference between the highest and lowest rider weights on your team!
Community feedback is saying, and our tests are confirming, that heavier riders slow much more on the escalators than lighter riders. (Heavier riders, take heart: Zwift knows about this issue, and internal sources tell me a change is planned soon to make escalators perform much more uniformly across various riders. Light riders: enjoy the escalators while you still can! 😁)
I ran bots of various weights up one of the longer escalators on the route (the final escalator you’ll hit, in fact). Each bot’s power was set so they would all have approximately the same escalator entry speed (~46 kph), and that power remained steady as they went up and over the top of the escalator. Here’s how much each bot slowed down between entering and exiting the escalator:
50kg bot @261W: slowed 3.2 kph
75kg bot @339W: slowed 11 kph
100kg bot @390W: slowed 16.1 kph
Of course, most teams won’t have a 50kg (or even 25kg) weight difference between riders. But the heavier you are, the more you should plan to push on escalators to keep your speed high. And lighter riders will probably want to keep their power fairly steady, to avoid shooting off the front!
Two more escalator tips:
Lower Your TD: These are steep, with gradients around 20%. If you have trainer difficulty set to 100%, it will feel like pedaling into a wall. I recommend setting TD to 50% or less for this course.
Follow the Wheels Down: The downhill ramps will also wreak some havoc due to varying rider weights and power outputs. Pay close attention and try to maintain your single-file position before, during, and after descending the ramps to maximize your draft benefit and keep speeds high. If you’re a lighter rider on the front during one of these descents, hammer out some of the watts you’ve saved on the escalators, as the heavier riders will fly past otherwise!
Bike choice here is simple: go aero. On a flattish route like this, weight doesn’t matter much, and aero is everything! The best setup by far is the CADEX Tri frame paired with the DT Swiss Disc wheels, but you’ll need to be at level 40+ to access this sweet rig:
Many recon rides are planned each week on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and familiarize yourself with the route! Find a list of upcoming ZRL recon rides at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
Additionally, riders in the Zwift community do a great job every week creating recon videos that preview the courses and offer tips to help you perform your best on the day. Here are the recons I’ve found (comment if you find another!):
Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams with big pure-power riders who can keep their power high on the front while staying in single-file formation to conserve in the draft behind. Extra seconds can also be gained by pacing smartly, ramping up the effort on short climbs and recovering a bit once you’re up to speed on the short descents.
On a course like this week’s, I highly recommend all team members set their Trainer Difficulty to the same value so you’re all feeling the gradient changes similarly. (When one rider has it set to 100% and another 25%, the first rider may ramp up power much more than the second when a climb hits, which can make a mess of your team formation.)
Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on each rider’s abilities. I highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.
Lastly, if you want to go further down the TTT rabbit hole, I highly recommend Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.
All About the New Shimano DURA-ACE C36 Wheels in Zwift
This week’s Zwift release includes a minor configuration fix for the new Shimano DURA-ACE C36 wheelset. The C36 wheels replace the C40 wheels in the Drop Shop, which means if you already own the C40 wheels they will remain in your garage, but once you update to Zwift version 1.101+, you will not be able to purchase the C40 wheels. Which should be fine with everyone, since the C36 is a better wheelset at a better price!
Here’s what the Drop Shop says about them: “With both a lighter, wider all-carbon rim and a lighter hub, the new DURA-ACE C36 won’t shy away from a day of climbing. The new rim is 36 mm deep and still delivers a good aerodynamic efficiency despite its gossamer weight. Meanwhile the hub features an alloy freehub body and new engagement mechanism for increased rigidity.”
The wheels are now available in the Drop Shop, accessible at level 6 and above, for the low price of 150,000 Drops. They are rated 3 stars for aero and 4 for weight, which is impressive given their price and low level requirement. Since Zwift’s 4-star rating system isn’t precise enough for our taste, we ran these wheels through our standard battery of tests to determine exactly how they perform in Zwift and stack up against other wheelsets in game.
Let’s dive in and learn all about the performance of this new wheelset from Shimano…
Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance
Shimano’s DURA-ACE C36 wheels are on the lower end of aero performance in Zwift, although they are significantly faster than the D40 wheels they replace. While the D40 shows a 9.8-second gain over the baseline in a 1-hour flat ride, the C36 shows a 16-second gain.
As an affordable level 6 unlock, the C36 would be expected to perform in line with other lower-level unlocks. It squares up nicely against other low-level unlock wheels, performing better than all wheelsets at level 9 and below, except the Mavic Cosmic CXR60c which does very poorly on climbs.
Climb Performance
The climbs are where this wheelset really shines. It turns in the 6th-best time of any wheelset in Zwift, which doesn’t sound impressive until you remember it’s a level 6 unlock at only 150,000 Drops!
Shimano’s DURA-ACE C36 wheels put in an Alpe climb just 1.2 seconds behind the Zipp 454 wheels, less than 2.5 seconds behind the fastest wheels in the game across an hour of steep climbing. Very impressive performance for a level 6 wheelset!
Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using the Zwift Carbon frame.
Conclusions
While the new DURA-ACE C36 wheels from Shimano aren’t the top performers in Zwift, they are the best all-arounder or climbing-focused wheelset below level 18. In fact, I’d say they are actually the best climbing wheelset below level 24! Definitely a wheelset Zwift racers will want to check out early in their racing progression.
These wheels have been, or will soon be, added to the following posts:
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
Zwift version 1.102 begins its phased rollout today. For most Zwifters, this is a minor update that includes a new NYC route, a wheelset fix, and various bugfixes. But some Zwifters will begin seeing Personalized Recommendations as Zwift begins testing this new feature. Read on for details!
New Big Apple Route(s)
On the heels of the recent New York map expansion, today Zwift releases yet another new route: Times Square Circuit. This route includes an achievement badge for both riders and runners.
Shimano DURA-ACE C36 Fix
Zwift’s release notes include this line: “Updated the performance of the Dura-Ace C36 wheels to better match real-world performance.”
In version 1.101, Zwift removed the Shimano DURA-ACE C40 wheels from the Drop Shop, replacing them with the newer and (supposedly) lighter C36 wheels. There was just one problem: the game showed the new C36 wheels as rated 1 star for weight, meaning they were quite heavy!
Today’s release fixes this problem, and the wheels now show a 4-star weight rating. Watch for a post later today detailing their performance, which looks very strong considering they are unlocked at level 6 and cost only 150,000 Drops. These may just be the climbing/all-around wheels beginners are looking for…
New Level Up Celebrations
A new on-screen celebration happens whenever a Zwifter levels up. You’ll even see it when those around you reach a new level! See the forum announcement >
Users of the newest Apple devices rejoice: today’s update includes two items that may pertain to you!
macOS: The Ultra graphics profile is now enabled for devices with Apple M5 chips.
iOS: Improved visual quality for devices with Apple A19 and M5 chips.
Apple’s M5 chip powers the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro. The A19 chip powers the iPhone 17.
Personalized Recommendations
Zwift promised this feature would begin launching in November, and they stuck to the plan. Today’s update includes Personalized Recommendations, but the feature is only being enabled for a select cohort of Zwifters because Zwift wants to gather feedback and fine-tune the recommendation engine before releasing it to a larger audience.
Due to this limited rollout, Zwift didn’t include Personalized Recommendations in the release notes.
How does it all work? The Personalized Recommendations engine looks at your Zwift activities as well as any outdoor rides if you’ve connected your Garmin, Wahoo, or Karoo account. It then recommends a session for the day based on your habits, fitness, and freshness. These recommendations can be made shorter or longer, and you can choose between a workout, a route, and a RoboPacer. (Zwift tells me event recommendations will come in time.)
While the backend engine is, I’m sure, quite complex, the front-end interface is simple and easy to use. See for yourself:
Watch this space for more details as this feature begins rolling out!
Prestige: Season 1 Premier-Tier Race Series Begins November 20
Prestige: Season One is a premier-tier cycling esports series on Zwift with full live broadcast coverage, performance verification, and prizes. It all begins this Thursday, November 20, which means I’m getting this post out a bit late! But I believe this series is a big deal, for a few reasons, so I reached out to organizer Dean Cunningham to gather details I could share with the Zwift Insider audience.
Read on to learn all about this groundbreaking series, and the new platform hosting registration and results…
Principals & Partners
The series is organized and promoted by Restart Esports p/b Alex Coh Coaching, utilizing the Leadout Esports platform at its core for all race details, rider/team entries, and results.
Leadout Esports is a project headed by Nathan Guerra, and we’ll be seeing a lot more from them in the coming weeks and months as they begin powering additional high-end racing series. Restart Esports is headed by Dean Cunningham, and you can click below to hear Nathan and Dean discuss Prestige: Season One, the Leadout Esports platform, and visions for the future of cycling esports:
Race broadcast coverage is being handled by ZMS Esports Studio, powering live streams on the Leadout Esports YouTube channel during each race. Broadcasts will include commentary from familiar faces, including Nathan Guerra and Dave Towle.
Official race partners Verge Sport and Precision Fuel & Hydration will bring exclusive discounts to participants and squads, along with prizes for prime and race winners.
Series Format & Structure
The series consists of 4 one-day races on classic Zwift courses scheduled every other Thursday beginning November 20.
These are scratch races with one prime banner on each course. Scoring on the finish line of each race will be awarded as 30 points for 1st place, down to 1 point for 30th place.
To enhance the broadcast, women race first, with men racing a half hour later:
Women’s race times: 1300 EST/1800 GMT/1900 CET
Men’s race times: 1330 EST/1830 GMT/1930 CET
Individual Competition & Prizes
For the individual classification, each event is treated as a one day race. There are no league cumulative standings across the series for individuals. Instead, racers will compete in each race for cash prizes, as well as prizes from the series’ apparel and nutrition sponsors, Verge Sport and Precision Fuel & Hydration. Prizes for women and men are always equal.
But that’s not all: Prestige offers a unique tiered prize structure that increases with the number of registrations for each race. The community has the power in their hands to grow the prize pool! This is visually represented on the Leadout Esports event page for the series:
Squad Competition & Prizes
Squads exist within teams, and there are 4 riders per squad. Within a team, you can have multiple squads, all competing against each other. This adds an inter-team competitive environment on top of the classic team competitions we have always enjoyed in esports cycling.
Unlike the individual competition, there is a cumulative league scoring competition for squads that carries across all 4 races.
Up to 3 racers on a registered squad, who place inside the top 30 across the race finish line, will see their points allocated to their squad’s point tally. These points will accumulate and form the squad’s total points after each race.
This will eventually accumulate to a final squad league table after race #4, where the squad with the most points will be declared champions. The series squad champions will receive a monetary prize as well as a custom-designed Verge Sport kit for all 4 racers on the champion squad.
Like the individual competition, the monetary prize pool for squads is also in the hands of the community. This prize pool grows in line with the number of squad registrations received for the series:
Age Group Prizes
Precision Fuel & Hydration have offered up gift cards as prizes for age group winners across the finish line of each race. Racers who finish inside the criteria for cash prizes will not be eligible for the Age Group gift card prizes. This gives everyone in the entire race a chance at a prize!
Performance Verification
All 4 races in Prestige: Season One will be subject to performance verification.
The following requirements are mandatory for all participants in each race:
Must be 18 years of age or older.
A supplied weight video within 12 hours of the race start time.
The primary device to game for power, cadence, and resistance must be a smart trainer or smart bike from the permitted device list.
Heart rate data for no less than 80% of the entire race.
A dual recording dataset uploaded within 2 hours of race completion. This must show the primary device used for power, cadence, and resistance to the Zwift game overlaid with power and cadence data from a secondary independent power meter on the racer’s bike.
All data provided by racers will be checked, confirmed, and verified by Race Control for the series. Race results will not be set as confirmed until all of these checks have taken place, and no prizes will be allocated to any racer/squad until Race Control is satisfied with the provided data.
Entry Fees and Registration
Prestige: Season One does indeed have entry fees for individuals and for squads.
These entry fees fund further advancements to the Leadout platform. They enable and enhance live stream broadcast capabilities. And they enable the development of tooling/capabilities for Performance Verification. These are all things that are not available in any other race series.
But most importantly, the entry fees enable prize pools for racers and squads. No matter the number of registered racers/squads or prize pool tier that is met, 50-75% of the entry fees are paid back directly to the participating racers and squads, with the rest going towards the development of the platforms and tooling to make the racing experience even greater.
Individual entry stands at $12 USD per race. This is paid directly by each participating racer.
Squad entry for the 4x races in the series stands at $40 USD. This covers a squad of 4x racers for all 4x races in the series. This can be paid by any member on the squad, and is paid in addition to the individual race entry fee.
Prestige is a new series, and the first to be hosted on the just-launched Leadout Esports platform. But Dean from Restart and Nathan from Leadout are veterans in the esports space! There’s a lot of fresh, innovative stuff to talk about here, making this feel like a foundational moment for community-organized, premier-tier cycling esports.
If you’re looking for a heightened experience in the sport, a way to promote yourself and your team to a wider audience, a place where honesty and fair play grant opportunities to win prizes… take a good look at Prestige: Season One.
Questions or Comments?
What do you think of this new series on a new platform? Share below!
3-Stage Off the MAAP Series Announced for November 24-December 21
Zwift has just announced this year’s Off the MAAP series, a multi-stage cycling tour returning for its sixth year on the platform. With hourly events around the clock, this is the next big tour on the heels of Brompton Worlds.
Held in collaboration with the Melbourne-born MAAP, this series has historically proven very popular among Zwifters, with hundreds of thousands participating over the years thanks to a fun mix of courses and kit unlocks!
Complete All 3 Stages → Off The MAAP Kit (in-game)
Finish all three stages and you’ll earn access to purchase the limited-edition IRL kit via MAAP.cc starting on December 22. Important: to receive the purchase link, you must be opted in to receive Zwift emails at zwift.com/settings/emails.
IRL Events
Join with MAAP and other Zwifters at the MAAP LaB in Melbourne, Los Angeles, or Berlin for a night of music, beers, pizza, and short-course races on Zwift. (These are TT invitational races, but anyone is free to attend as long as you reserve your spot!)
MAAP says “epic prizes await—plus the first look at the Off the MAAP ’26 kit and a cash purse on the line. RSVP now—spaces are limited.” RSVP links:
Visit the MAAP landing page and fill out the form to enter for a chance to win the ultimate rider’s prize: a year’s supply of MAAP kit, a Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2, plus a year’s subscription to Zwift!
Is this a race?
Not officially – Off the MAAP events are set up as group rides and won’t count toward ZwiftPower ranking points, Zwift Racing Score, etc. That said, cyclists know it only takes two riders on the same route to make a race!
Many riders will be racing these events, and if you want to go hard you are free to do so, just as you’re free to ride at whatever pace you’d like.
Zwift Camp: Build is now underway. This is a 5-stage route-based workout series, with each stage lasting one week and focusing on developing power over a specific time interval.
My plan is to do each of the five workouts before their weeks begin, so I can write a post unpacking the workout and delivering some tips along the way. This post covers Stage 2’s anaerobic workout on France’s Bon Voyage. Let’s dive in!
I pulled the 7-Eleven bike out for this ride in France
The second stage of Zwift Camp: Build focuses on what you might call “long sprint power,” with efforts lasting 20-60 seconds. To do so, you’ll ride a lap of France’s Bon Voyage route (31.4km, 155m).
Here’s a profile of the route, not including the lead-in. As you can see, there are 9 sprints on the route itself. But watch out! You’ve got one more on the lead-in, for a total of 10.
Executing the workout is simple enough: just hit every sprint segment hard. (I said simple, not easy!) 10 sprints is a lot, especially when three of them are 1-minute efforts. So expect some suffering.
I went into the workout with semi-tired legs, but figured I could put in a decent effort because I thought we would only be doing three 1-minute efforts, based on the event description.
Unfortunately for me, this workout had more sprints than anticipated. But lucky for you, now that you’re reading this, you know what you’re getting yourself into!
My first sprint, Dos d’Âne Sprint Reverse, began 2.4km into the event. It was a little off, for a few reasons:
It wasn’t clear to me from the on-screen instructions that I was supposed to sprint at the line. (The messaging before most of the subsequent sprints makes this more clear, but this first one did not.)
When I went to turn my Wahoo Headwind fan up partway through the sprint, the fan turned completely off! So I had to fumble around with that.
My legs clearly needed this to be a recovery day.
The sprint was longer than anticipated, taking me 74 seconds to complete.
It wasn’t until 4.5km into the ride that a message popped up telling me the next sprint was coming up – Sprint du Cratère – and that I was supposed to sprint on it. That’s when I realized I would be sprinting on every segment on this route. Uh oh. I picked a bad day to have bad legs!
I sprinted rather halfheartedly my first time over Cratère, but the game was very impressed:
Wouldn’t it be cool if Zwift had some intelligence built into these messages, so the response reflected your actual performance? Maybe with a “Snark Slider” in Settings so we could determine how acerbic our coach was. My screen should have said something more like:
This route uses some of the newer HUD features I mentioned in stage 1’s writeup, showing the Ride Stats panel as well as the Lap Splits.
Like stage 1, Ride Stats was more useful than Lap Splits. I appreciated seeing the 1-minute power field on Ride Stats, as that gave me something to chase. But Lap Splits? Totally useless for this workout, because of how the route is laid out and how the Splits were used. (More on this topic in the Suggestion Box below.)
On-screen messaging does a good job of telling you when the next sprint is about to arrive, plus you can see the finish lines approaching on the mini-map profile.
There isn’t much more to say about this workout from an execution standpoint: just sprint hard at every sprint segment, and rest in between.
Again, same warning as stage 1:if you ride this in a group event, it may be harder to dial it down and spin between sprints. But you’ll definitely want to do so, if you want to have the energy for maximal sprint efforts.
HoloReplay Bug
I found Zwift’s HoloReplay to be helpful as a motivator on the sprints, but the same bug is in this workout as in stage 1, causing two different ghosts to appear, instead of just my previous effort. (More on this in the Suggestion Box below.)
Anaerobic capacity is typically measured with a 30-second sprint test
Unlike the neuromuscular system from stage 1, the anaerobic system is highly responsive to training
Strong anaerobic performance is particularly useful in “spiky” cycling disciplines like cyclocross, crits, and MTB racing
Anaerobic Training Tips
The anaerobic system is very adaptable to training, so if you find this is an area you’d like to focus on, you can execute stage 2’s workout more than once! You can also try making your own workout, or using workouts from Zwift’s library.
One classic anaerobic workout is called “Thirty Thirties”. 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. Repeat this 5-10x, rest for a few minutes, then repeat it again. Do 2 or 3 sets. Fit riders can typically do 3 sets of 10 30-30s. You can do the 30-second hard efforts as free ride segments in a workout, or set them to 130-150% of your FTP if you like Erg mode. You can even do this during a free ride, simply using the game clock as your timekeeper. It’s a simple yet effective workout.
Three tips to maximize your anaerobic workouts:
Fuel properly: Anaerobic work is almost entirely glycolytic, which means it’s fueled by sugar. If you don’t have glycogen stored up to fuel the workout, you won’t be able to put in repeated full efforts in your anaerobic zone.
Go in recovered: If you’re dealing with residual muscle fatigue from yesterday’s workout or tiredness from a poor night’s sleep, you’ll have a really hard time executing a quality anaerobic workout. These efforts are sharp, hard, and repeated. They take focus and mental (as well as physical) energy.
Set accurate targets: if you’re doing these as an ERG workout, make sure your FTP is accurate and your targets are realistic (130-150% of FTP is normal). As with all ERG workouts, an inaccurate FTP means you won’t be training the systems you thought you were training. And nobody’s got time for that!
Suggestion Box
The second workout of Zwift Camp: Build would have gone better if I’d known, going in, that there would be 10 sprints. I would have gone easier the day before, knowing I needed more in the tank.
Here are my suggestions for improvements Zwift could make to stage 2:
How many sprints? The marketing for this stage talks about “Three 1-Minute Efforts”, but the actual in-game messaging has you sprinting all 10 segments. Those are two very different workouts. Zwift needs to decide what the actual goal is, then communicate that consistently.
No Lap Splits: This route is basically two laps of a circuit, plus a lead-in at the start, and a “lead-out” at the end. So at best, you could time two “laps”. But the way it’s set up, the first lap isn’t auto-triggered until the second time through the Dos d’Âne Sprint, meaning the first lap’s time includes the lead-in. That means you can’t compare it to the second lap’s time… which makes the Splits timers useless for this workout.
Fix HoloReplays: It’s clear that Zwift has hard-coded the HoloReplay functionality into these events, because changing my settings doesn’t seem to make a difference! It wasn’t a big deal for me, and the ghosts still motivated me to push hard. But Zwift should fix these events so they automatically show HoloReplays (just one ghost of your previous effort) for everyone.
Improve the event description: I already mentioned this for stage 1, but stage 2 is a perfect example of how a simple line or two in the event description would clarify what people are signing up for (once Zwift figures out what that is, see the first bullet above).
Intelligent in-game messaging: OK, this is sort of silly and a major stretch goal at best. But it sure would be cool if the game could respond accurately to my actual efforts on the segments, as pitched above. Zwift has the data necessary to do so. Just hook it up to ChatGPT and let ‘er rip!
Today, Wahoo announced a handful of early Black Friday deals valid through Monday, December 1. I’ve shared those details below, along with shopping links.
Please note, if you purchase an item on Wahoo’s site using these links, Zwift Insider will receive a small affiliate commission. Thanks in advance for your support!
More To Come
There are even more deals from Wahoo dropping on Black Friday and running through Cyber Monday, including discounts on some of the most popular hardware in Wahoo’s indoor training ecosystem not already in the list below. My guess is, we’ll see similar deals from Zwift. Watch this space for details!
KICKR BIKE SHIFT
Regular Price £2,199.99 / $2,549.99 / €2,499.99, Black Friday Sale Price: $1,999.99
The KICKR BIKE SHIFT offers the unmatched ride feel of the KICKR BIKE while retaining key features such as Reality Shift, True Fit, Real Ride Feel and, of course, Wi-FI. Wahoo has helped open up the smart bike category to even more people by refining features, including the introduction of a new brake and belt drivetrain system to deliver lightning-fast resistance response to grade and power changes – plus an even quieter ride than ever before.
KICKR V6
Regular Price £899.99 / $1049.99 / €999.99, Black Friday Sale Price: $787.49
The newest version of the KICKR offers best-in-class indoor smart trainer design. With the addition of lightning-fast WiFi, KICKR continues to stay ahead of the pack as the smart trainer that gives you the most ways to connect, compete, and train indoors. The KICKR automatically calibrates and provides accurate power measurements of +/- 1%.
KICKR RUN (US Only)
Regular Price $6,999.99 / £5,999.99, Black Friday Sale Price: $5,249.99
The KICKR RUN is a cutting-edge smart treadmill designed to deliver a natural and immersive indoor running experience. It features RunFree Mode, which uses advanced sensors to automatically adjust the belt speed to match your pace, eliminating the need for manual controls. With a responsive surface, grade simulation, and lateral tilt, it mimics outdoor running conditions, challenging stabilizer muscles while providing dynamic movement. The treadmill integrates seamlessly with apps like Zwift and TrainingPeaks, offering smart controls for speed, gradient, and advanced running metrics like cadence and vertical oscillation
We’re featuring an eclectic mix of community events this weekend: a wildly popular new TT series, a fat-oxidizing group ERG session, a new long race series, an endurance ride, and a popular new race league. See all the details below!
This week, Cycling Time Trials (CTT) – the national governing body for time trials in England, Scotland, and Wales – launched their Winter Time Trial Series on Zwift. And it’s proving hugely popular, with several hundred finishers in the kickoff event!
Saturday is your last chance to complete the kickoff event on Watopia’s Tempus Fugit (19.6km, 16m), and we see over 350 riders already signed up, making this the most popular event of the weekend.
This popular ERG workout series is structured like a small local training camp, with 6 sessions spread over 2 weeks. Session #3 is 80 minutes long, and the description says, “In the third session, things are a bit more relaxed: we’re training in the FatMax zone, right at the point of maximal fat oxidation.”
This weekend, DBR launches a new 6-week race series featuring events on longer routes. DBR says, “It’s not a SufferDay League, but maybe a light version of it.”
The kickoff race is on 5 laps of Coastal Crown Loop for a total length of 84km with 1006m of elevation.
The folks at Rad Race have organized a 12-week structured workout series on Zwift. Goal: To improve maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂max) – the basis for sustainable performance development on the bike.
Saturday’s group ride isn’t a structured workout, but rather an endurance group ride: 3 hours at 2-3 W/kg on France’s flat R.G.V. route. Rad Race says the goal of the ride is to “Build your aerobic base – the foundation for all training zones. Perfect for active recovery and balancing out your VO₂max week.”
VirtuSlo’s popular 4Endurance League began last weekend, and this weekend’s stage 2 has a lot of signups! Riders will be racing two laps of Greater London Loop Reverse (41.4km, 511m).
The 4Endurance League is a 6-race series held over a 6-week period. You can find out about the other races and more league info in the event description.
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!
