Last week’s introduction of our Tiny Race Series was a smashing success, with many categories hosting fields of 100+ riders and 1061 racers completing at least one of the events. We heard lots of positive feedback as well, so this week we’re making a few tweaks and serving up a fresh set of routes.
A: Olivier Gagnon B: Magnus Wiklund C: Tristan Slominski D: David White
* Anderson Pupulin and Olivier Gagnon tied for points, so we give the win to Olivier, since he had the highest finish (three 1st places!)
This Week’s Routes
This week’s first two races are the first of our “custom” routes. (These are standard in-game routes, cut short so they finish at an interesting spot.)
Custom length (5.5km), ending atop climb out of Mayan Cutoff (see pics)
Powerup: none
Hint: this route is tricky in terms of bike choice, because it begins on pavement, is mostly dirt, but finishes on bricks! And there’s a bit of wood thrown in for good measure. Each of these surfaces rolls differently on different bikes, so you need to decide where you want your advantage. Read more about Crr on Zwift for details.
We learned a few things in our first week of Tiny Races:
ZwiftPower needed to be “hacked” a bit to properly process all four races for the hour
Finishing your race and then joining the pens for the next race is a very good idea, especially in large fields! The sooner you join, the better your starting point
Because riders hopped into the pens as quickly as possible, there was a lot of fun chatter in the pens between races. Comments of “I just threw up” and “Three curses for Eric, hip hip!” were seen…
That said, all categories could see the chat of all other categories. We’re changing that this week so we only see riders and chat in our category
The “one powerup type per race” setup seemed to work really well, with everyone being given the same advantage
Our Zwift Insider kit unlock was misconfigured (so today, Aug 2, ZHQ went in and manually gave the kit to all finishers). This week’s races will automatically give the kit once you finish an event!
Some fields were so big that riders in the lower 50% all received just 1 point. We’ve expanded our points scheme so every rider is incentivized to keep pushing to the line for extra points! New points scheme is this: 250,240,230,225,220,215,210,205,200,198,196,194,192,190,188,186,184,182,180,178,176,175,174,173,172,171,170,169,168,167,166,165,164,163,162,161,160,159,158,157,156,155,154,153,152,151,150,149,148,147,146,145,144,143,142,141,140,139,138,137,136,135,134,133,132,131,130,129,128,127,126,125,124,123,122,121,120,119,118,117,116,115,114,113,112,111,110,109,108,107,106,105,104,103,102,101,100,99,98,97,96,95,94,93,92,91,90,89,88,87,86,85,84,83,82,81,80,79,78,77,76,75,74,73,72,71,70,69,68,67,66,65,64,63,62,61,60,59,58,57,56,55,54,53,52,51,50,49,48,47,46,45,44,43,42,41,40,39,38,37,36,35,34,33,32,31,30,29,28,27,26,25,24,23,22,21,20,19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
ZwiftPower Results + League
Zwift will display preliminary results when you cross the line, but final race results will be on ZwiftPower.
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:
Zwift Racing League (ZRL) has taken racing to the next level on Zwift. It’s well-organized bike racing on an unprecedented scale, a multi-week team points competition held across timezones catering to thousands of teams. And that’s why serious Zwift racers show up week after week: because everyone knows ZRL is where Zwift racing is at its highest level.
With six successful rounds completed over the course of the past two seasons, ZRL organizers WTRL continue to evolve their systems and tighten rulesets to provide a fair, engaging, and competitive platform for Zwift racing.
The next ZRL round begins September 13th, and it’s officially named 2022/23 Season – Round 1. We’ll use this page to display all the key info in one place, and since some race details are still being decided, updates will be made to this post as more info becomes available.
If you’re new to ZRL, you’ll definitely want to get familiar with the ruleset and scoring structures, as these will inform strategic decisions made as a team.
Timeslots and Divisions
This round’s divisions are the same as last round. But it’s worth noting that Oceania and APAC are fixed to cities/timezones that will change their clocks during the Round 1. If you aren’t in Australia or New Zealand, these two leagues will appear to have a time shift 1 hour backward when these 2 cities “spring into” their winter.
Teams and Registration
New teams can register now at wtrl.racing/zrl-registration. Team registration closes midnight UTC on Friday, Sept 9. All teams must have at least 4 riders confirmed by Sunday, Sept 11 at noon UTC. You can have up to 12 riders nominated for your team. Again, see the ruleset for details.
Want to race, but don’t have a team? You can find a list of teams recruiting riders by visiting wtrl.racing/zwift-racing-league/#teams (“All Teams” in the ZRL menu). WTRL says an inquiry form will be available soon on that page, so you can click and ask to join a team that is recruiting.
Until then, you can track down the team’s contact info and message them, or simply post your info on the Facebook group to have teams contact you. Use tags so your post can easily be found by others using “popular topics”:
If you are looking for a team, tag your post with the topic #zrlteamhunt
If you are recruiting, tag your post with #zrlrecruiting
Tips for First-Timers
If this is your first time racing on Zwift, here are a few tips and links to get you started fast:
The category you’ll race is determined by your FTP in watts per kilogram. Talk to your team manager if you have any questions on where you should race, or read this post from Zwift.
Riders must use a power sensor to transmit power to the game – this would be a smart trainer, smartbike, or power meter. (You’re allowed to race B, C, and D categories with a “classic” trainer and virtual power, but your points are cut in half.)
Heart rate monitors are required. (You’re allowed to race B, C, and D categories without a HRM, but your points are cut in half.)
It’s really best that you have at least a few races under your belt before you try to join a team, so you know what sort of power numbers you can hold in a race.
Race Routes and Dates
Each ZRL round is made up of weekly races which are a mix of points races and team time trial (TTT) formats. Points race winners are the teams who amass the most total points by the end of the race, while TTT winners are the teams who complete the racecourse fastest (team time is taken from the fourth rider to cross the line).
“Intermediates” are sections on the course where riders compete mid-race for points. Intermediates may count for Fastest-Through-Segment (FTS) and/or First-Across-Line (FAL) points – see the scoring page for details.
In a bold move, we’re starting this round off with the Queen Stage. Riders will take on a sprint and two smaller climbs before heading up the Epic KOM Reverse for a brutal fight to the finish!
Race #2: Park Perimeter Loop Sept 20, 2022 (Points Race)
This route covers all of New York’s ground-level paved roads, which are a GPS replica of Central Park. These roads are rarely flat, but there are no long climbs, either. Typically the rolling terrain and short climbs create an attritional race which ends in a reduced bunch sprint on the short uphill finish.
For the first time in ZRL history we have just one TTT in this round. And it’s on a TTT route we’ve never raced in ZRL! Makuri Islands’ Wandering Flats is a mostly-flat route, making it easy for TTT riders. But the bit of climbing near the end will certainly hurt legs which are already burning.
One for the sprinters, the uphill sprint on each of 7 laps will require both strategic team smarts and strong legs. This is the second-longest race of Round 1, so fatigue will begin to set in as riders are forced to sprint uphill on each lap. (Note: we think we’ll see a lower lap count for C/D categories, but those plans are still being finalized.)
Race #5: Legends and Lava Oct 11, 2022 (Points Race)
Never raced in ZRL, Legends and Lava makes for an exciting points race since the fireworks and selections can happen early on the Titans Grove KOM Reverse. The intermediate sprint that follows will be contested by a reduced front group, then the remaining riders will fight it out up the Volcano KOM to the finish line!
Making its first appearance in ZRL, Eastern Eight is a former Rebel Route and the longest course of Round 1. While it includes lots of flat roads, two trips through Titans Grove and the climbs up into the redwoods will sting the legs.
In a twist we haven’t seen yet with ZRL, the C and D categories are racing an entirely different course – Downtown Titans – another former Rebel Route. This fun race route features two short climbs before the sprint segment and final run-in via The Esses to the finish line.
After the three rounds of the 2022/23 season, WTRL is planning a championship based on this season’s rounds. This will happen in March.
Adieu, Premier Division
Since ZRL began, a pro-level “Premier Division” has run alongside, racing similar courses before the community races. These events were broadcasted and gave ZRL racers a way to recon routes before their big race.
This is changing, with pro-level race events being completely decoupled from ZRL events beginning with this round. This series is called the Zwift Grand Prix, and will happen each Friday. Read this post for details >
Join the Jonas Vingegaard Victory Ride with Team Jumbo-Visma Tomorrow!
Jonas Vingegaard just won the 2022 Tour de France, putting in some incredible stage performances including wins on stages 11 and 18. He also came away with the polka dot climber’s jersey!
His country of Denmark turned out to give him a true victor’s welcome:
Now it’s our turn! Jonas rode onto the iconic Champs-Élysées in Paris for the final stage of the Tour, and tomorrow at 4pm GMT/noon EDT/9am PDT Zwifters have the amazing opportunity to join Jonas and Team Jumbo-Visma on Zwift’s Champs-Élysées for a victory ride!
Jonas will lead the 45-minute ride at a steady pace. Sign up and show your support for the TdF champion!
With over 1300 riders already signed up, the virtual roads will be packed with Zwifters eager to congratulate Jonas and his team for their masterful performance!
Jonas is a level 32 Zwifter – the highest-level Zwifter of Jumbo-Visma’s 2022 TdF squad. As of 8am PDT Monday other members of Jumbo-Visma’s 2022 TdF team were not yet signed up for tomorrow’s ride, but our guess is we’ll see additional team members joining.
Pace Partners launched in August 2020 as a FutureWorks project, and now two years later they are about to graduate!
For those not familiar, Zwift often launches new features under their “FutureWorks” banner when the feature isn’t completely polished, but needs to be released publicly for testing, feedback, and further refinement. Read more about FutureWorks on Zwift’s blog >
Here’s an update on what we can expect this week from Pace Partners, as well as what graduation from FutureWorks will look like.
First: This Week’s Pace Partners
Pace Partners aren’t quite out of FutureWorks yet, so here’s the schedule of routes for this next week…
Running Pace Partners are on 11.1 Ocean Blvd route this week.
Cycling Bots: Pacing and Route Rotations
When Pace Partners come out of FutureWorks in September, both Watopia and Makuri will have eight cycling Pace Partners active at all times. All Pace Partners will weigh 75kg for simplicity, and will be 175cm tall. Their names will also be changed.
Each map’s 8 bots will use the following w/kg paces: 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 2.6, 3.2, 3.7, and 4.2.
Eight routes have been selected for each map, and the route assigned to each particular Pace Partner will rotate through this list of eight each week. James says “Where possible, I’ve tried to make it so that if it is a hilly route in Watopia, Makuri will offer you a flat route at the same pace. This isn’t always possible, but I’ve done the best I can.”
Episode 2 of the Wrap, the weekly vod/podcast series presented by Zwift Community Live, has just dropped. This week Anna and Nathan talk Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, new premier division racing formats, and upcoming hardware restriction test events. A wrap-up of the week’s events: Wednesday Worlds, Zwift Classics, SISU KQOM Challenge, and the upcoming Zwift Insider Tiny Race Series. The Fashion spotlight was on the Canyon-SRAM in-game kit, garage pick was the Focus Izalco Max 2020 – Pari edition, and must-have tech showcased the Philips Hue lighting as a way to really pimp your pain cave.
Canyon-SRAM kitFocus Izalco Max 2020
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.
54:28 What we are up to rest of week, Velogames, & goodbyes
The podcast is available on all podcast platforms. Subscribe to Zwift Community Live on YouTube to see the latest episode or tune in live 2pm CDT | 8pm UTC every Thursday.
This week’s Top 5 Zwift Videos start with an introduction to ZwiftPower and a thorough breakdown of its features and benefits. Then racers in two videos discuss training and tactics. Finally, get some tips on setting up a Wahoo smart trainer with Zwift.
What is Zwift Power and Why You Should Use It?
ZRace Central introduces ZwiftPower and lets you know why you probably want to use it – especially if you race!
Zwift Power EXPLAINED // A Complete Guide to Using Zwift Power
Want a more in-depth explanation of what ZwiftPower has to offer? ZRace Central breaks down the menus, rider rankings, profile stats, and event details.
A close race and a HARD workout! | My Zwift journey from D to C Category
Matt King (Target 2.5) is combining Wahoo SYSTM training with Zwift racing. See how it works for him!
CONTROVERSIAL! Did I just mug my teammate?! | Zwift Race Vlog Episode 2
This race video by Jake Sanderson (Snowman Cycling) contains some great teamwork and some possibly questionable tactics. You decide whether he made the right call!
Zwift and Wahoo Smart Trainer Setup | Tip and Tricks | Connection Issues
If you’re planning on getting a Wahoo smart trainer to use with Zwift, Ken Tymecki Jr. (Givin_It_A_Tri) can share some tips on how to set it up.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Ghosted by the Ghost: the 200-Meter Limit to Zwift’s Invisibility PowerUp
Recently I was sitting at my desk here in the Zwift Insider Pain Lab, watching Boone on his Wahoo KICKR Bike trying to hang with the Bs in Crit City.
Being a faithful teammate, I was in charge of deploying powerups. When Boone got stuck with a ghost/invisibility powerup on the final lap, we decided to hold it until the final ~15 seconds. But when I hit the spacebar to activate, nothing happened! Glancing at the screen, I noticed the ghost powerup icon was greyed out. Disabled?
This is something I’d never seen before, or heard of anywhere in the Zwiftosphere. Reaching out to a few contacts at ZwiftHQ didn’t clear things up – one told me they vaguely remembered some talk about disabling the ghost in the final 100m of a race, but hadn’t heard if that was in game yet.
So I decided to test it. Which is a bit of a pain in the but, I have to say! First, you have to find races which include a custom mix of powerups which includes the ghost. (ZwiftHacks’ events app was a lifesaver here.) Then I had to join those races, ride until I got a ghost powerup, then hold it to the finish to see what happened.
It took some doing, but in the end I believe I’ve confirmed this: the ghost powerup is disabled in races within 200 meters of the finish.
This has been confirmed in races in NYC, Watopia, and Crit City thus far. So I think it’s safe to assume the powerup behaves this way across all of Zwift.
Confusion or Opportunity?
This 200m limit may be viewed differently, depending on whether you’re a pessimist or an optimist, or perhaps whether it’s you holding the ghost into the finish or your opponent.
A pessimist might say this 200m limit, which isn’t mentioned anywhere in the game, is confusing. (There are no other powerups that get disabled near the finish of races, or anywhere for that matter). This can lead to frustrating situations like what happened with Boone and me, where racers hold the ghost for a final attack but are not able to activate it.
An optimist might say this is a good game design decision from Zwift, because who wants to lose to someone they can’t see? Plus, if you know it’s disabled in the final 200m, you can strategically choose when to activate your ghost powerup for maximum advantage.
A bit of math shows that at 50kph, you’ll cover 139 meters in 10s. 72kph covers 200 meters in 10s, but most finishes in Zwift aren’t moving that fast. So realize you’ll need to activate your ghost before the 200m mark, and you’ll become visible again a handful of seconds before the finish line. Good luck!
This week’s top events feature substantial climbs including Alpe du Zwift, Ven-Top, and France’s Petit KOM (which feels anything but petite during a race). But we’re also featuring our new race series – the Tiny Races – for a taste of something fresh and different!
Zwift Insider Tiny Races
Our new Tiny Race series launches Saturday, and the idea is simple: four short back-to-back races, one every 15 minutes, so you’re done in one hour. Each race features just one type of powerup, so everyone has the same advantage.
You earn points based on your finish position in each race, and the winners for the week are the riders with the most points across their four races.
Saturday’s Watch the Femmes stage is 7, which takes riders all the way up Ven-Top… that’s over 1500m of elevation! If that’s a bit much for you, stage 8 on Sunday is on the La Reine route, which just takes you up to Chalet Reynard partway up the Ven-Top climb (1181 of elevation).
Here’s a different sort of ride which gives you the opportunity to ride for a lost loved one/friend/Zwifter or just yourself if life has dealt you a tough hand of late. The ride description says:
We will ride Alpe De Zwift, with different speed pacers, ride in a pace group or do your own thing. All jerseys welcome, wear the colors of your rider or team, if you know their PR/PB, ride with the appropriate pace group to get close to their time.
The climb will represent the struggle of coping with loss and/or the mental wear of life itself at times, certainly the last few COVID lockdown years, allowing you to get some frustration out of the system.
The downhill will be a celebration of the person you lost / or just good vibes. If you wish to shout a riders name you are representing in chat as you hit the banner please do so.
This week’s Zwift Classics race has the most climbing of any stage so far, with riders taking on France’s Casse-Pattes route which includes the Petit KOM. At 23.9km with 145m of climbing this route is mostly flat, but that Petit KOM will string out the pack and force decisive selections. Allez allez allez!
Jason Masterman is a dedicated ride leader on Zwift, having averaged 2.6 rides led weekly since he began in late 2018. This Sunday is his 500th ride lead, and he’s made it a big one – Watopia’s Uber Pretzel!
Come on out for a long day in the saddle, or just drop in for part of the ride. Whatever you do, be sure to congratulate Jason and thank him for his hard work!
7 Deadly Wins, Week 3: Red Flag to a Bull (and His Friends)
The 7 Deadly Wins challenge is my personal mission to collect a gold trophy in every Zwift Classic, no matter how many tries it takes. You can follow the highs and lows on my Youtube channel, Zwiftaholics.
The ability to chat during a race – to friends and foes alike – is an under-utilised part of the game if you ask me. When used well it can rally alliances and re-energise flagging teammates. If you’re going to stir up your opponents, though, be sure you have the legs to go with the talk.
In the absence of any intermediate points France’s Casse-Pattes route has one of the most sedate starts you’ll find in Zwift racing. The only thing of note before the Petit KOM was the continued indiscriminate use of the anvil power-up. Zwift needs to issue a PSA about the ability to ‘bin’ power-ups using Companion App to save the legs of riders deploying them on flat roads, and in one poor misinformed rider’s case, up the Aqueduc KOM:
A tragedy told in two parts. From the front of the race to being dropped in just 30 seconds. When will Zwift do something to end the carnage?
The steep switchbacks of the Petit KOM were where the race really began, along with the chatter. Fu from team Cryo-Gen took off at 6W/kg and left me with a decision. I was short on confidence on this climb, having struggled badly the last time I raced it, and a lone rider on that long descent usually doesn’t survive. I stuck with the group.
The gap grew. It was 8 seconds at the castle and I decided we needed a bit of a spark. I upped the tempo hoping to separate the climbers from the sprinters and start the chase in earnest, but took it a little too far and ended up in no man’s land, 10s behind Fu and 3s ahead of a pack of 6 riders. I had to wait and hope they were bringing some firepower.
It looked like this race could be done. For most people this would be fine. Most people could go and chat to their spouse and tell them they had fun and got a good workout in and never think about it again, because most people wouldn’t publicly commit to winning one of every race in a series and writing blog posts about them.
In the end the spark we needed didn’t come from the back, but from the front. A simple comment from Fu: “Cheers all”.
With 3.5km to go, the ‘early crow’ doesn’t get much earlier than this
Oh this guy thinks this is done? Not by a long shot. But I needed reinforcements, and I got one in the shape of Belgian rider W.ally. After chastising me for pulling the group apart on the climb, he made the captain’s call. “Let’s catch”. Wally crushed the flatter parts of the descent, pushing to the front of the group at 6 W/kg and dragging us back. At 1.5km to go he signed off, the gap down to 6s. “Done”.
Fu, though, was not done. Another jibe at 1km to go. “Good try”:
Oh it is SO on, Fu
Danish rider Ejlertson responded in the best way possible. Orange numbers appeared as he set off in pursuit, followed by a sustained 6 W/kg burst. Fu lifted his wattage to match. 600m. Four seconds. We needed one last push.
Draft power-ups started flying as Japanese rider P. Nuts threw caution to the wind and made his charge from 500m to go, lighting up the race again with an 11 W/kg effort. His legs gave out with 250m left but he had given us hope. Fu was holding his 6 W/kg pace but now only had a two-second advantage. The chat box had gone silent.
The sustained chase had left a line of dropped riders behind us. Only Swedish rider Olsen and I were left to make the final attempt to bridge. Olsen was a name I knew from my ZwiftPower scoping of the field pre-race, and he was a major threat. I had held onto a burrito power-up from the very first banner of the game; I put Olsen in the wind and set my sights on Fu. One second, 240m to go:
One final push, with a carrot just up the road
The stream chat had clued me in that Fu wasn’t a sprinter, and the efforts of the other riders had taken us up to almost 60kph. As the final bend approached and the finish line came into sight the gap quickly closed. With just 80m left in the race his bold solo move was finally reeled in, although he would hold on for 2nd, with Olsen a close 3rd.
One final push, with a carrot just up the road
Fu to his credit was generous in defeat. One final message: “Thanks all for the quality ride”.
You have to love the panache of the Petit KOM attack and the bravado of baiting your rivals as they desperately try to close you down. I’d love to see more creative use of the in-race chat in the events to come.
In the end this was probably not my most tactically astute race. A lack of confidence made me let a wheel go that I could have held and then I fractured the chasing group that I needed to get me back to the front of the race. Of course we’ll never know what would have happened had I played it differently; perhaps I get into the 2 man break but the group behind stays together as a big blob and closes us down. Perhaps the other 12-13 W/kg sprinters in the front group get to the finale fresher.
In the end it came down to a healthy dose of luck in the form of some spirited competitors, and some brute force, needing close to my best 1-minute effort at the end of one of my hardest 10-minute efforts for 2022.
The noble Wally went on to finish 22nd, 1:18 behind.
But that’s racing for you, and it’s another win in the books. Yorkshire is up next, and Royal Pump Room 8 is a doozy. After a fairly soft start this course just hits you again and again, from the neverending drag of Otley Rd to the punchy 2-minute effort on both sides of the Yorkshire KOM (which come in quick succession), and the notorious Pot Bank climb. Don’t get the gearing wrong as you come off the sharp descent onto those 16%+ gradients or you’ll quickly get gapped.
It’s a devilish finish, too, with a custom course length ending the race atop the Reverse KOM.
Is there any course which packs more potential for heartbreak into less than 19km of racing?
This Zwifter Is About to Lead his 500th Group Ride
Zwift is a social platform, with group rides at its heart. So I think ride leaders always deserve our kudos and support.
But there’s one leader in particular who deserves an extra Ride On for his hours of dedicated leadership, and he’s hitting a milestone this weekend when he’ll lead his 500th group ride on Zwift!
That’s right. Jason Masterman has only been leading rides since late 2018, but he’s about to lead number 500. That’s an average of 2.6 group rides led each week. Impressive!
First, tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, what got you into cycling, etc?
My name is Jason Masterman and in my non-Zwifting time I’m a driving instructor in the UK. I’ve been cycling since the age of about 4, when I tried to use my bike even though I had a plaster cast from toe to hip having broken my leg!
I joined the A5 Rangers cycling club at around 14 although I was never the fastest and work needs took over a couple of years later. I remember some great Sunday morning rides and some very cold ones! I’ve done a few time trials, road races (both cycling and running), several triathlons, and, most recently, some distance swimming events up to 4km.
I took up Zwifting in 2018 after being approached by a video market research company to record myself setting up Zwift for the first time and then recording my initial 10-minute ride. My reward for said video was a one-year subscription.
I found the community aspect of Zwift particularly motivating, and having seen the efforts of lead (and sweep) volunteers on Pack and ZZRC rides I happily put my name forward to help out ZZRC when they needed cover. I initially tagged along with the sweep team and helped out at the back.
Do you remember the first ride you ever led? What ride/route was it, and how did it go?
23 November 2018 was my first lead; 8 laps of Richmond Flat Roads (now known as Fan Flats) which came in at 1:06:11 and 2.7w/kg. I do remember being well received. Keeping a steady pace is generally easier than any of my race efforts!
How are things on Zwift different now than they were then, from your perspective?
“The Fence” didn’t exist in any form when I first started and I still prefer fenceless group rides where participants choose to stay together. That said, I’m happy to use the feature since Zwifters know what to expect. Anyone caught inadvertently ahead on a downhill section can always shout and I’ll reset the countdown. At 68kg I’m very aware I don’t always descend as fast as some riders.
Over the years we’ve had more and more routes and worlds added. France is very pretty and MAKe-U-RIde Islands has some lovely scenic routes. Watopia is still my favourite place to ride and the new Club Tools where I can select routes for myself (rather than an email/spreadsheet request to the events team) are a great improvement, in my opinion.
What advice would you give to new ride leaders?
If you’ve ever thought about trying a Yellow Beacon for size I’d definitely give the lead you’re riding with a shout. Volunteers are always welcome, you just need to be able to hold a steady pace and be vaguely entertaining (actually that second bit’s not essential – luckily for me!). I’ve had the privilege of leading for Zwift Academy and, most recently, Pride On too.
As an experienced rider leader, do you have any feature requests for Zwift?
I’d love to see Zwift develop the ability to record free-ride manual turns and create custom routes. I’ve created a few “Rebel Routes” and made PDFs for people to follow but to lead a “mystery tour” type event would certainly spice up the odd social ride for sure. I know several Rebel Routes have been adopted, usually as Event Only routes, but I have no real idea of the work it would take to implement something like I’ve suggested here.
500 is a lot! Any idea if that’s a record?
The Zwift community benefits from all its teams’ collective efforts to bring rides (and races) to people across the world. I’ve said on many a ride it’s a pleasure to lead and, whilst I might have a beacon and the ability to type a message across the screen, it’s the riders taking part who really make a group ride.
I have no idea if 500 leads is any sort of record, I’m just happy to be in a position to help put on events which riders hopefully enjoy.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’d like to thank AJ at ZZRC for trusting me back in 2018 and Stephan at Team Vegan for inviting me on board and letting me run with the idea of getting Team Vegan social rides and races added to the schedule. Thanks to the events team at ZHQ for making that happen. Our inaugural Cake Break was 7 June 2019 and we’ve had at least three social rides every week since then.
I should definitely thank my wife, Rebecca, too. She’s the one who’s had to put up with me riding – initially in the living room until we had Number 9 installed (behind me, photo above). She’s been nothing but supportive of all my hours on the bike and more lately the treadmill.
