Gina van Rossum, prolific Zwift racer and psychologist, was on the show to talk through Zwifting, mindset, and how to get the most out of yourself.
Is the Digicamo kit #3 the worst kit on Zwift? Tune into the fashion segment to find out. Garage pick of the week was the KQOM gloves and when, and when not, they are acceptable to wear.
KQOM glovesDigicamo kit #3
The Wrap is all about showcasing the awesome Zwift community, from upcoming events to must-have tech to community guests to the all-important avatar fashion segment. The live nature of the show means that hosts Nathan Guerra and Anna Russell can interact directly with those watching, gaining valuable insights and opinions across a wide range of topics.
Zwift recently published their “This Season On Zwift” (TSOZ) press release summarizing plans for new Zwift features through the end of 2022. And while that press release gives some high-level details of upcoming features, we like to dig a little deeper here at Zwift Insider.
This is one in a series of individual posts discussing specific upcoming features in more depth.
Since its inception, Zwift’s definition of a “workout” has been very structured and anchored in Erg mode. This narrow definition can be good or bad, depending on who you talk to. Most everyone agrees that structured ERG workouts are a very effective way to build fitness due to their precise control of your power outputs. But others will say training in ERG doesn’t prepare you for “real” riding where you have to manage your power output with a combination of cadence, shifting, and gut feel.
Others might add that, while ERG training is effective, it’s no fun. And they have a point.
So when Zwift announced route-based Baseline and Finish Line workouts for Zwift Academy Road 2021, we were excited about the possibilities. Instead of completing a structured ERG session, these rides let us essentially free ride a route, going all-in on particular segments in order to test our sprint, VO2, and FTP power intervals.
While the implementation was a bit rough in 2021, the idea was solid. And now it appears Zwift has taken their learnings from last year and improved on the concept for Zwift Academy Road 2022, with the intention of bringing route-based workouts into the game as a regular feature alongside structured ERG workouts.
What Is a Route-Based Workout?
Preview of on-screen messaging for a route-based workout
Let’s begin with a definition. What Zwift is calling a “route-based workout” is similar in concept to what most cyclists have done when training outdoors. Hill repeats, sweet spot training on a long flat route, or sprint training up the kicker on your short crit loop would all be examples of outdoor route-based workouts.
On Zwift, a route-based workout will use one of Zwift’s predefined routes to underpin the day’s efforts. For example (these are our ideas, not Zwift’s):
Sweet spot training: Beginners could ride Watopia’s Whole Lotta Lava route, for 3 laps, while more advanced riders might try Innsbruck’s Lutscher route. In either case, try to hold 90% of your FTP while on the climbs, then recover in between.
VO2 workout: Ride Watopia’s Jungle Circuit, going hard on the climb (110-120% of FTP) all the way to the start of the rope bridge each lap.
Confetti, Messages, and Automatic Bike Swaps
Zwift’s route-based workouts include a few features you won’t find in an outdoor ride. On-screen messaging will tell you when you’re approaching the next segment, and even coach you through it. Virtual confetti will celebrate your efforts, and automatic swaps on and off a TT bike will ensure that your timed segment intervals are consistent between efforts.
An Accessible, FTP-less Pathway
While we mentioned FTP in our examples above, one of the beautiful things about route-based workouts is that you don’t need to know your FTP in order to do them.
We all know FTP testing is no fun. Beginners have a particularly challenging time with the pacing and mental toughness needed to return accurate FTP test results.
While knowing your FTP may help you pace a route-based interval a bit better, riders can simply be told, “This climb will take you around 4 minutes, and we’ll be doing this 4 times. Pace yourself accordingly!”
As a bonus for Zwifters who don’t know their FTP, Zwift can take your longer route-based efforts and calculate your FTP automagically. Simples!
More Immersive
Route-based workouts feel more realistic than ERG-based workouts, because they are! If you’ve ever done a workout up Alpe du Zwift which included hard intervals and recovery sections, you know how silly Erg mode can feel.
It’s natural to let terrain define the efforts. Route-based workouts will work in concert with Zwift’s routes, instead of using ERG’s method of nullifying the terrain.
Release Date
The first route-based workouts of the season will be the Baseline and Finish Line rides rolling out for Zwift Academy Road 2022. Zwift says, “We expect to unveil more of these workouts later in the fall/early winter,” and their TSOZ FAQ makes reference to a “Getting Started Collection” of route-based workouts which is forthcoming.
Conclusions
Route-based workouts, if done right, should be more accessible and immersive than structured ERG workouts.
While many riders will still love the effectiveness of ERG workouts, we think route-based workouts will become popular due to their accessibility and real-world feel. And as any coach will tell you, “The best workout is the one you actually complete.”
Zwift recently published their “This Season On Zwift” (TSOZ) press release summarizing plans for new Zwift features through the end of 2022. And while that press release gives some high-level details of upcoming features, we like to dig a little deeper here at Zwift Insider.
This is one in a series of individual posts discussing specific upcoming features in more depth.
It’s finally happening, veteran Zwifters: level 51 is arriving! Buried in Zwift’s TSOZ FAQ are multiple references to new levels. We even did a bit of digging and found out what sort of XP we’ll have to earn in order to level up! Here’s the chart:
XP Required
Item Unlock
Level 50
500,000
Level 50 kit + Fire Socks
Level 51
520,000
Junk Food Kit Pack
Level 52
540,000
April Fools 80’s Kit
Level 53
560,000
Fun Shaped Glasses
Level 54
580,000
April Fools 80s Paint Job
Level 55
600,000
Rear View Mirror Glasses
Level 56
630,000
Animal Print Pack
Level 57
660,000
Cute Socks
Level 58
690,000
April Fools 80s Socks
Level 59
720,000
Backwards Hat
Level 60
750,000
Level 60 Kit
Note: at levels 50 and 60 you will receive 100,000 Drops. You’ll also receive a 25,000 Drops bonus at level 55.
What Took So Long?
Many long-time Zwifters have been stuck on level 50 for months (or even years). And even though repeated requests were made to add more levels, Zwift seemed stuck between two excuses:
“There are so few level 50 Zwifters and we need to put our time into updates that benefit everyone”
We want to do something better than simple levels. Perhaps dividing the year into seasons (like many video games do) where you level resets and you see how high you can get before the next season begins…
It felt like ZwiftHQ wanted the perfect solution (fancy seasonal levels), and that got in the way of implementing a simple and acceptable interim solution (just adding more levels). Consequentially we’ve been stuck at level 50 since December 2018. Thankfully they’re finally throwing us a bone with 10 more levels. That should keep us busy for a while!
How Long to Level Up?
Based on our calculations, Zwifters can expect to earn 500-700XP per hour of riding. Moving from level 50 to 60 requires a total of 250,000XP. If we assume 600XP per hour, that works out to 250000/600=416.67 hours of riding. That’s 42 10-hour riding weeks, or 1 year of 8-hour weeks.
But that doesn’t include XP you’ve banked, if you’re already at level 50.
Accelerated Level-Ups
You never stop accumulating XP in Zwift, even if you reach the top level. It takes 500,000 XP to reach level 50, but I’ve banked over 1.3 million XP!
So how does Zwift handle this situation when they release new levels?
They could just grant me all the new levels as soon as I log in. Unlocks, unlocks, and more unlocks! But that’s not much fun, since I don’t get the pleasure of working to achieve a level.
Instead, Zwift will use “accelerated leveling”. This is a bit tough to wrap one’s head around, but the big idea is your banked XP is combined with new XP to help you level up more quickly than if you had to earn all the required XP from scratch.
When Zwift released levels 26-50 they allowed us to opt into 8x accelerated leveling (read this post for details about how that worked). That meant that as long as you still had banked XP, effectively every 1XP you earned unlocked 7XP from your bank, and those 8XP were then applied to your leveling up total.
It’s a bit confusing, admittedly. But it’s a good solution that rewards Zwifters who have banked XP, while also giving them the leveling up experience.
For levels 51-60, Zwift will automatically apply accelerated leveling to everyone who is already at level 50, but the acceleration will be at a rate of just 2x. That means each 1XP you earn will unlock 1XP from your bank, so you’ll level up 2x faster than a “typical” Zwifter. This extra fast leveling up works out to approximately 21 10-hour weeks, or half a year of 8-hour weeks, to reach level 60. (Or maybe a week if you’re Tim Searle).
Release Date
Zwift hasn’t given a release date for levels 51-60, but we know it’s coming in 2022. Since the levels are already all worked out, we’re guessing they will be released in September or October.
Strava vs Zwift’s New Legsnapper KQOM: the Minimum Segment Length Fiasco
UPDATE November 14, 2024: Strava gave Zwift Insider permission to create short segments for Zwifters! We’ve created all the “missing” short segments for various sprints, and also the Leg Snapper.
Zwift’s August 2022 update included the welcome addition of a Legsnapper KQOM segment to the Innsbruck map. As any Zwift racer will tell you, the ‘Snapper is a crucial climb that has broken the will and legs of many, so it only seems fitting to make it an official segment.
To be precise: the in-game segment starts a bit later than our Strava segment, and ends a bit earlier.
To be honest, we weren’t at all surprised to learn the segments don’t match perfectly. While Zwift had reached out to us for details on the start and finish of our Strava segment so they could make the in-game segment match, our original segment was simply our best guess as to where the official climb should stop and start, and we figured Zwift might see things slightly differently.
When the update dropped, we went in and recorded a ride so we could make a new Strava segment matching the in-game KQOM. And that’s when we ran into a roadblock.
Minimum Segment Length on Strava
When we clicked the button to create the new Legsnapper segment we were greeted with an error message: “Please make your segment longer. It’s currently too short to be accurately timed.”
Strava error screen, with a bit of an addition from us.
For the past few years, Strava’s minimum segment length has been 300 meters. This was a big change from the early days of Zwift when the limit was 100 meters, which explains why short segments exist for older sprints like the 180-meter Watopia Reverse.
We were surprised to see this error pop up, since the Legsnapper segment is well over 300 meters long (430 meters according to Zwift’s leaderboard).
In Strava’s support post about Very Short Segments they explain that one key factor forcing the need for a minimum segment length is GPS accuracy – specifically, the sampling rates of GPS devices. “Some devices only record a GPS point every 5 to 10 seconds,” Strava says, so having a segment that only takes 30 seconds to complete could lead to lots of inaccuracies.
Fair enough. But this is Zwift. Strava knows the difference between a virtual ride and an outdoor one. Virtual platforms record GPS coordinates very consistently (Zwift does it every second) and can therefore accurately and consistently measure times on shorter segments.
Reason #2: Roads Go Uphill
Strava’s simple length limit is a bit of a bodge if you think about it, because it doesn’t bring gradient into the question.
If the real issue is how long it takes to complete a segment (and that is the real issue), Strava needs to do more than look at segment length. They need to look at segment gradient and compute an estimate of how long it would take a rider to complete the segment. That 500-meter downhill section? Maybe it’s too short for a segment. That 300-meter turn-to-turn section of the Alpe d’Huez climb? Probably plenty long.
Incidentally, this is why we were able to create turn-to-turn segments for most of the Alpe du Zwift, but not for the shortest segments (bends 16-17, 18-19, and 19-20). We all know those segments take significant time to complete because they are ridden at slow speeds. But Strava doesn’t care.
Mountain bikers are particularly up in arms about the new 500-meter limit, because as any MTBer will tell you, a 500-meter uphill segment is no joke. Especially on difficult terrain!
Reason #3: It’s Just Us
Zwift Insider’s Strava account is the only one allowed to create public segments for Zwift activities. Strava doesn’t need to let the entire world create shorter segments. But if they trust us enough to maintain the official segments for Zwift, they should be willing to flag our account and let us create shorter segments.
We’ve repeatedly reached out to our contacts at Strava, though, and have heard no reply.
Wrapping It Up
While we understand Strava’s reasons for limiting the creation of short segments, any implementation of segment length limits that does not take gradient into account is simplistic and over restrictive.
Additionally, the key reason for those limits (GPS accuracy) simply does not apply in the virtual land of Zwift!
We would really like to see Strava roll back the virtual segment minimum to 100 meters so we can create segments for Zwift’s new Legsnapper KQOM as well as the various sprints and Alpe sections. What do you say, Strava?
(A link to this article has been posted on Strava’s support forum. Please visit, comment, and Kudos the post to help get Strava’s attention.)
Zwift has been tweaking and testing Pace Partners for the past few months, and this Monday they officially graduate out of the FutureWorks program.
The graduation includes some special events, plus a completely fresh set of Pace Partners. Let’s dive into the details!
Graduation Events
Zwift is hosting two different types of events to celebrate the Pace Partners’ graduation.
Trivia Rides (ending today): 45-minute events on Wandering Flats in which the Pace Partners ask cycling trivia questions, then answer them after a bit of a wait
Graduation Ceremony Rides (Saturday and Sunday): these 45-minute events on Tick Tock will include several Pace Partners, each riding at their own pace. Find a group going your speed and enjoy the ride!
A new set of Pace Partners is being launched now that the feature is moving out of FutureWorks. These Pace Partners will be live from Monday, September 6 onwards.
All of the Pace Partners will now weigh 75kg and be 175cm tall. They will use dynamic pacing, increasing power by up to 10% uphill and decreasing up to 20% when descending.
Pace Partners only have first names now, and only “Coco” remains from the original set of Pace Partners. Here’s the new list of Pace Partners, sorted by pace:
Taylor – 1.1 W/kg
Bernie – 1.5 W/kg
Miguel – 1.8 W/kg
Maria – 2.2 W/kg
Coco – 2.6 W/kg
Yumi – 2.9 W/kg
Jacques – 3.2 W/kg
Genie – 3.7 W/kg
Constance – 4.2 W/kg
Routes
Pace Partners will ride the following routes, changing every Monday at 0700 UTC.
September has arrived, and indoor season is beginning! Check out some longer events, as well as a few special picks.
The Mountain Massif
To mark what now feels like the end of summer here in the northern hemisphere and the start of autumn and what many consider to be the start of the indoor cycling season, I decided to launch a new event on Sunday. This new race will see an alternating course between a 60.1km “Four Horsemen” route, that finishes on top of the Alpe du Zwift and the “Quatch Quest” route, which also finishes on top of the Alpe.
This is the longest race offering by Mountain Massif, I hope you join me to race this new offering.
I am highlighting this event as this is quite possibly the longest structured training session I have seen on Zwift, lasting 227 minutes.
The event description states “The focus of this indoor, basic endurance ride, is to complete an extended duration steady-state bout at a low intensity but with focussed blocks of riding in Z2 including cadence work to help improve your cycling efficiency and build muscular endurance.”
The structure of the training is as follows:
WARM-UP: Progressive for 20min
MAIN SET: 8x increasing duration progressive L2 builds 62/66/70/74%, Recovery 25% interval at L1
Zwift Academy Road 2022 is commencing on 12th September. This gives everyone the opportunity to improve their riding and a select few the opportunity to win a cycling contract with a Pro Tour team. Jay Vine, last year’s Zwift Academy men’s winner, secured a professional contract via this route with Alpecin-Fenix, and recently won multiple stages at la Vuelta a España… on top of becoming the UCI World Indoor Cycling Champion in February!
Pace Partners are finally graduating out of FutureWorks, and you’re invited to the graduation ceremony! These are 45-minute rides on Watopia’s Tick Tock route. “There will be several Pace Partners available in this ride. Settle in to your preferred pace with your favorite Pace Partner and Ride On!”
This Season on Zwift: Race Your Past Efforts with FutureWorks Holographic Replays
Zwift recently published their “This Season On Zwift” (TSOZ) press release summarizing plans for new Zwift features through the end of 2022. And while that press release gives some high-level details of upcoming features, we like to dig a little deeper here at Zwift Insider.
This is one in a series of individual posts discussing specific upcoming features in more depth.
Race Your Past Efforts
This may be the most exciting feature in Zwift’s TSOZ announcement, so it’s where we’ll begin.
Launching as a FutureWorks feature, Holographic Replays are the first iteration of a feature Zwifters have long requested: the ability to ride against your past efforts.
The main settings window will give you the option of showing:
a hologram of your most recent effort on a segment
a hologram of your best effort (90 day PR) on that segment
no hologram replay at all
This is how it looks in game:
Notice how your hologram shows as an entry in the rider list and includes your PR time and the segment name.
Replayable Segments
At launch this feature will only be available on segments that include a leaderboard: all timed KQOMs (including Alpe du Zwift!), sprints, and these full routes:
Your hologram is not draftable, and it is only visible to you. Holographic replays will only be available during free rides, including Pace Partner groups.
Actual Replays
If you’ve ever tried to chase a Strava PR outdoors using data from your head unit, you may have experienced the annoyance of time tracking that isn’t based on the actual GPS data from your previous activity.
Zwift’s Holographic Replays avoids this by actually replaying your previous activity based on saved activity data which even includes your left-right location on the road. (That’s right: if you had steering enabled, your hologram will even replay your steering movements.) So when you’re chasing your PR on Watopia’s Hilly Route, your hologram will reflect the precise speeds you hit when going hard up the Hilly KOM and supertucking down the backside.
If you blew up at turn 4 on your previous Alpe du Zwift attempt, your hologram will do the same. Knowing this, you can pace yourself a bit behind your hologram until turn 4, where you will (hopefully) have the legs to overtake your previous self and set a new personal best.
Here’s another video showing a FutureWorks Holographic Replays on Richmond’s 2015 UCI Worlds Course:
Note: this was made during internal testing and may not show the final look of Holographic Replays.
This ability to race yourself sets up fun training scenarios. Two examples:
Hill repeats on a particular KQOM, trying for negative splits (going faster on each subsequent attempt)
Sprint training on a particular sprint segment, figuring out how to optimize your entry speed and powerup usage for the fastest possible time.
Release Date
Zwift isn’t giving any official release date for FutureWorks Holographic Replays, but we know it’s slated for release by the end of the year since it was included in TSOZ.
Based on what we’re hearing from inside ZwiftHQ (employees have been testing and raving about the new feature for weeks), we’re guessing this will be released in September or October.
Just The Beginning
FutureWorks Holographic Replays are launching with solid functionality that will be welcomed by all Zwifters. But what else could be done with Holographic Replays? We have a few ideas:
Include the ability to race your lifetime PR, not just 90-day
Be able to race against some else’s hologram. What if a pro rode a particular route solo, then Zwifters as a group could race that pro’s hologram in an event? What if you could race your friend’s hologram?
Have personal holograms available for all routes, not just those tracked on a leaderboard
We’re confident that Zwift will build out the feature set of FutureWorks Holographic Replays as time goes on like they’ve done with Pace Partners.
More Details
There are lots of nuances to this feature, so if you have further questions we recommend reading Zwift’s Holographic Replay FAQ.
What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Fall 2022 Press Release
Today Zwift announced their “This Season on Zwift” plans: an exciting list of new features they intend to roll out by the end of 2022.
There is a lot to talk about here, so we’re going to begin by simply publishing Zwift’s full press release. Some of the content in the PR has already been covered in detailed posts here on Zwift Insider, including:
There are other new features mentioned below (and in fact, some new features not mentioned below!) that we haven’t yet covered due to Zwift’s September 1st embargo. Our plan is to release more in-depth posts focused on these topics in the coming hours and days, digging into the details you won’t find in a press release. Watch this space.
Without further ado: here’s Zwift’s full “This Season on Zwift” press release.
Long Beach, California – Zwift, the global online fitness platform for cyclists, is constantly evolving to deliver on its mission to make more people, more active, more often. Today, the platform announces a leap forward with a number of additions to Zwift that will make the platform more engaging and fun for both existing and new users.
To celebrate the start of Zwift season, Zwift’s product design team shared its product roadmap leading up to the end of 2022. Improvements to in-game content discovery, new training features, more routes, improved event capabilities, and increased on-demand services are some of the highlights that will help cyclists Zwift their own way this indoor cycling season.
“Making Zwift more simple is one of the biggest opportunities for our expanding audience. We’re continually looking at new ways to make Zwift more accessible, easier to use, and more fun – whether you’re new to the platform or have been here for years,” said Zwift Vice President of Content, Mark Cote. “With so many different ways to Zwift, this year we’ve focused on building out the tools that empower our community to create their own Zwift experience. We have improved in-game discovery, enhanced the toolsets of Zwift Clubs and also adding to our library of 24-7 on-demand content. We believe our experiences this season will help make Zwift a more engaging and personalized experience for members around the world.”
Training has been a particular area of focus this season. Improvements to the homescreen UI will make it easier to discover and learn more about Zwift’s extensive library of workouts and training plans. Zwifters will be able to search by workout duration and perceived effort, and will be able to learn more about each individual workout through improved graphic detail.
One of Zwift’s most successful recent additions, PacePartners is set to graduate from the FutureWorks test program. PacePartners are prominently featured on the home screen, and give Zwifters the ability to join a group ride for a social workout at a variety of paces. Now evolving from the success of PacePartners are Zwift’s all-new Holographic Replay. This feature will launch under the FutureWorks test program and will allow Zwifters to compete against a ghost of their previous personal records, providing a personalized competitive element to their training. FutureWorks Holographic Replays will precisely replicate your previous personal meaning Zwifters will also gain a better understanding of correct pacing for any given segment in the game.
Another exciting innovation is Route Based Workouts. Route Based Workouts provide an alternative to FTP-based training, providing a more accessible pathway into structured training on the platform. Living up to their name, Route Based Workouts use Zwift’s terrain and marked segments to create a structured workout plan, allowing for a mix of different efforts. This new feature will appear in the Zwift Academy Road program this year before expanding with more workout plans later this season. Zwifters taking advantage of Route Based Workouts will not need to know their FTP but will be able to learn more about their strengths upon creation. By testing various different systems, Route Based Workouts will not only be able to accurately calculate FTP, providing a pathway into ‘traditional’ structured workouts, but will also provide Zwifters with their cycling phenotype, helping them better understand their cycling strengths and weaknesses.
Racing on Zwift has always been a popular way to train, and this year’s calendar, and other details can be found on a new dedicated racing website. On-demand racing is a fun way to scratch that competitive itch, and could even lead to a shot at winning a UCI Esports World Championship. Zwift Racing League is back and open for registrations. Zwift Racing League is Zwift’s biggest competition league with more than 1,800 teams and 15,000 riders taking part last season. Zwift Racing League offers racing for all abilities.
New for this season is ZRacing, a thematic race series for each month of the year. ZRacing delivers always-on, easy-to-access competition. A new stage will run each week, and those taking part will be able to earn a monthly badge. ZRacing is designed to fit with your schedule, allowing you to warm up, race and then cool down in under one hour.
For those with an eye on Elite competition, Zwift will once again be the host platform for the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. Maintaining the same accessible pathway as in 2022, Zwift will open a qualification pathway to the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. Qualification events, followed by Continental Championships will provide an opportunity for any Zwifter to represent their country, and follow the pathway of 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Champion, Loes Adegeest who qualified via this open pathway.
For those who regularly take part in Zwift racing, there have been a number of developments, making Zwift Racing more fun and also fairer. One of the most popular event series is the WTRL Team Time Trial League, a race format also run in the Zwift Racing League. New TTT race functionality helps improve the most social form of competition on the platform.
In addition, Zwift has also been rolling out auto-categorization to make Zwift racing fairer. Auto categorization ensures Zwifters are matched against riders of similar abilities, based on their most recent ride data captured in the platform.
And finally, the thing that all Zwifters love – more new roads! Zwift’s roads are ever-expanding and Makuri Islands will expand in November with roads, gravel, and dirt surfaces winding through the lush Urukazi (woo-roo-kah-zi) map. “Urukazi” is the combination of two Okinawan words — “uru” means “shore,” and “kazi” means “breeze.” The combination of the two words is meant to evoke the serene, untouched character of the Southern Japanese archipelago. On the terrain of Urukazi, you’ll find a Zwifty interpretation of those islands’ scenery, as you ride pavement, gravel, and a new type of surface not yet found anywhere else on Zwift.
Zwift is excited to share the best-ever season on Zwift with you, please look for all the updates in the coming months. Zwifters can learn more here zwift.com/this-season-on-zwift
75% of the selections will be made by National Federations. As determined by the UCI, each federation will be allowed to select a certain number of Worlds riders based on whatever selection criteria each federation determines is best. This post doesn’t cover the selection process of National Federations – you will need to contact your country’s federation for those details.
The remaining 25% of the field will be made up of riders who qualify via the Continental Qualifier events held on Zwift November 12-13, 2022.
Qualification Spots by Gender & Continent
Americas
Europe & Africa
Rest of World
Total
Women
8
13
4
25
Men
6
13
6
25
So how do you get into the Continental Qualifiers event? It’s no small task, but it is open to everyone regardless of fitness level. In fact, if you’re an experienced Zwift racer on good hardware with dual recording capabilities, it’s just a matter of paperwork.
Here’s how to get into the Continental Qualifiers for the 2023 UCI Esports Worlds, along with everything we know about the Continental Qualifiers races themselves.
Getting Into the Continental Qualifiers
Register your interest (online form here) between September 1-October 23
Participate in Qualification Pathway Races October 7-21: during stages 1, 2, and 3 of October’s “Race Like a Champ” ZRacing series. (You don’t need to win these races or place Xth or higher – you just need to finish them and meet the additional requirements below.)
These special events will only be available on Fridays (Oct 7, 14, and 21st) in four different timeslots: 00:00, 03:00, 10:00, and 18:00 UTC (see upcoming pathway events on ZwiftHacks)
You must be over the age of 18 as of 1st November 2022
Submit pre-verification information by October 28 (see “Pre-Verification Information” below). This information does NOT need to be submitted prior to Qualification Pathway Race participation. It simply needs to be submitted by October 28.
Prepare to race! Once your information has been submitted and verified you will be sent a confirmation email with a race guide and event joining instructions for your Continental Qualifier. This confirmation email will not be sent until after October 28.
Note: if a rider registers their interest but does not pass any of the eligibility criteria, Zwift will inform them of this outcome via email.
Riders who have raced in Zwift Racing League Premier Division 2021/22, Zwift Knockouts, or are taking part in the upcoming Zwift Grand Prix will automatically receive an invitation from Zwift in early October to the Continental Qualifiers. These riders will still need to complete steps 1, 3, and 4 above.
Pre-Verification Information
To get into the Continental Qualifiers all riders must submit the following pre-verification information by October 28 via this online form.
Rider Information Zwift ID, Name, Athletic Profile
Smart Trainer Information Including manufacturer, type, model, version, serial number, firmware, calibration factor, pictures of the smart trainer (or smart bike) with your bike set up and of the serial number.
For the Continental Qualifiers you must be riding on specific hardware with a manufacturer claimed accuracy of +/- 1% or better (see specific list below).
Power Meter and Head Unit Information Including type, model, version, serial number, firmware, calibration factor, slope, pictures of the power meter on the bike and a picture of the serial number.
ZADA Power Test The ZADA Power Test workout is available in the Zwift game. You can find it in the workout library; workouts/60-90-minutes-to-burn/zada-power-test
You may re-submit the same file as for other races e.g. ZRL Premier Division, if it is still valid (must be within 6 months of the race date for ZADA Power Test and best efforts on Zwift, and 12 months for outdoor efforts), provided this is on the same equipment you will be using for the Continental Qualifiers.
Evidence of Real Life or Zwift Efforts Including files and Strava links to your BEST efforts for 5-15 seconds, 1 minute, 3-5 minutes, 10-20 minutes.
Continental Qualifiers Schedule
Date
Americas
Europe & Africa
Rest of World
Women
Nov 12, 2022
8pm UTC
2pm UTC
8am UTC
Men
Nov 13, 2022
8pm UTC
2pm UTC
8am UTC
Continental Qualifiers Race Format
The Continental Qualifiers will be formatted similarly to the 2023 Esports Worlds, with three individual races each taking place on a separate route. Race fields will shrink as riders are eliminated based on finishing position in races 1 and 2, and while there are a few qualification spots available for top finishers in races 1 and 2, most qualification spots will be won in the final race.
See below for race details. Keep in mind that rider numbers below are indicative of a race putting 13 qualifiers through (Europe). Numbers will be different for Americas and Rest of World races.
Top 36 through, with top 3 automatically qualifying
Race 2 (36 Starters)
Hill climb scratch race on a new Innsbruck route, ~25 minutes long (Route will leave the pens, turn right, go to the sprint, over the reverse of the Legsnapper, towards the main climb, and then up the reverse side)
18 riders eliminated, top 15 through, with top 3 automatically qualifying
In addition, the UCI’s Regulations will apply to the events and the UCI will assume overall responsibility for the governance of the events
All riders will be required to use the following equipment (in addition to any other basic equipment required to Zwift)
You must compete on one of the following direct drive smart trainers (or smart bikes) and must complete the ZADA power test using the same equipment you will be competing on:
Today Zwift and the UCI announced plans for a third edition of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships on Zwift. Taking place on February 18, 2023, the event “will build on the successes of the first two editions in 2020 and 2022” while moving more toward making the race a uniquely esports proposition.
2023 Worlds: Open, Innovative, Zwifty
Zwift has been working with the UCI to plan a Worlds event that is uniquely esports. Or to put it another way, both Zwift and the UCI agree that Esports Worlds shouldn’t try to replication an outdoor road race. Instead, it should utilize the strengths of virtual racing to create a race that is both highly competitive for riders and super entertaining for audiences.
To that end, this year’s race is characterized by three key features:
Open pathway: anyone around the world has a shot at qualifying to race Worlds
New Race format: a fresh, “entertainment first” 3-race format (see below) will whittle down the field and provide varied race action for viewers
Custom-designed course: the races will take place on a not-yet-released Zwift course, custom-designed for the event
Race Format
While the first two Esports Worlds were simple single scratch races, this year’s race format is actually a set of three races. Each race will take place on a separate route, and race fields will shrink as riders are eliminated based on finishing position in races 1 and 2.
Race 1 (100 Starters)
Rolling route scratch race, ~25 minutes long
70 riders eliminated, top 30 through
Race 2 (30 Starters)
Hill climb scratch race, ~25 minutes long
17 riders eliminated, top 13 through
Race 3 (13 Starters)
Elimination race on a punchy circuit, ~15 minutes long
2 riders eliminated per lap, ending in a showdown of the final 3 riders
How to Qualify for UCI ESports Worlds
Up to 100 men and 100 women will be selected to race in the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships in February 2023.
75% of the selections will be made by National Federations. As determined by the UCI, each federation will be allowed to select a certain number of Worlds riders based on whatever selection criteria each federation determines is best.
The remaining 25% of the field will be made up of riders who qualify via the Continental Qualifier events held on Zwift November 12-13, 2022. Riders must jump through some significant hoops in order to race in the Continental Qualifiers, so we’ve put together a detailed post all about these events.
The UCI and Zwift are structuring their rules to create fair races for all participants. Riders will be furnished with a complete set of rules upon qualification, but here are some key things riders and fans may like to know:
All UCI Esports Worlds riders will use the same trainer for the big race (make/model has not yet been announced).
Riders will have to hold a racing license valid in the relevant country
Riders will be required to comply with the UCI’s anti-doping program.
Prizes
Rainbow Jersey
The winner of the men’s and women’s events will be awarded the UCI Cycling Esports World Champions Jersey which includes the famous rainbow stripes:
UCI Cycling Esports Rainbow Jersey
Like other cycling disciplines, winners will earn the right to wear a physical rainbow jersey during the sanctioned esports races and activities they take part in throughout the following year. Winners will also be able to wear a digital version of the UCI Cycling Esports World Champions Jersey while on the Zwift platform.
Prize Money
Prize money will be awarded as follows in both the men’s and women’s races:
We assume the Worlds races will be broadcast on Zwift’s YouTube channel as in past years, along with broadcasts from other traditional sports television networks.
These broadcast deals have yet to be finalized, though, so we’ll update this section with more information once it becomes available.
