Zwift’s February update included the 19th frame in game from US-based Specialized. Named the “Crux”, this is the first gravel bike from Specialized in Zwift’s Drop Shop.
Here’s how the Crux is described in Zwift’s Drop Shop:
“The Crux is the lightest gravel bike in the world, with the exceptional capability of massive tire clearance and performance gravel geometry. It’s not just the ultimate expression of gravel performance, it’s your one-way ticket to gravel enlightenment.”
The Specialized Crux in real life
This frame is priced at 869,800 Drops, making it by far the most expensive gravel bike in the Drop Shop. (To be fair, it costs a pretty penny IRL). It’s level-locked at 17 and rated 2 stars for aero, and 3 for weight. But Zwift’s star ratings aren’t precise enough to communicate actual performance in game in a useful way, so we ran the Crux through our standard battery of tests.
Here’s everything you need to know about the performance of the new Specialized Crux frame in Zwift.
Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance
The Specialized Crux turns in a mid-pack poor aero performance, faster than the Canyon Inflite, Lauf True Grit, and Zwift Gravel, but slower than the Cervelo Aspero and Canyon Grail.
Its test time of 53:50.5 is 3.5 seconds faster than the default Zwift Gravel frame. By comparison, the current fastest gravel frame in Zwift (Cervelo Aspero) turns in a time of 53:47 on our test course, which is two laps of Tempus Fugit, totaling 34.6km.
Climb Performance
Since the Crux is billed as the world’s lightest gravel bike, we expected its climb performance to be best-in-class. And we weren’t disappointed! The Crux out climbs all other gravel bikes in game on our test course.
The Specialized Crux turns in an Alpe climb time of 51:18. The next fastest gravel bike is the Canyon Grail at 51:24. (By comparison, the fastest bike in game (Specialized Aethos) completes the test is 48:50.)
Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using the Zwift Gravel wheelset.
Conclusions
With more bikes in Zwift than any other manufacturer, it makes sense for Specialized to have a gravel offering available. The Crux fits into a nice niche in the Drop Shop, too, as the first sort of “climber gravel” bike. It could prove quite useful in gaining valuable seconds up Yumezi’s Temple KOM!
The Specialized Crux has been added to the following posts, and it can also be found on our Master Zwift Frames List:
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.
Rahsaan Bahati sits down with long-time friend Damon Turner, founder of the Los Angeles Bicycle Academy, to talk about the work he is doing to help young people get into the cycling industry. His program intends to provide young people with entrepreneurial skills by teaching them about every aspect of the cycling industry, and the many avenues it can take them down.
About the Podcast
The Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast features training tips from host Matt Rowe (Rowe & King), with regular co-hosts Greg Henderson, Rahsaan Bahati, Dani Rowe, and Kristin Armstrong.
Zwift has just posted a slate of races happening between February 21-28 which will test a new category enforcement system. Races will happen multiple times each day, with each day featuring a different popular race course.
The big news here isn’t the test events themselves, though. Rather, it’s that we’re seeing Zwift test some much-requested category enforcement features! So let’s dig into what this means and how it works.
The Why and How (Big Picture)
In Zwift’s current racing ecosystem, any rider can join any category of any public race event. That means a super-strong A-level rider could join the D category, win the race, save their activity, and never be alerted to or warned about any issues. This lack of in-game messaging/enforcement has logically led to races being negatively affected by sandbaggers as well as ignorant n00bs who simply haven’t taken the time to understand how Zwift race categories work.
Category enforcement aims to stop riders from racing in categories below their ability level. It does this by looking at their historic power numbers and disallowing them from entering these lower categories. Or to put it another way: category enforcement assigns you a minimum category for the race, based on your historic power data.
How Category Enforcement Works (the Details)
Before we discuss any details, it’s important to mention that Zwift Category Enforcement is a FutureWorks project and therefore a system in flux. Next week’s events are the very first events of their kind, and will surely lead to feedback and modifications of the system.
With that said, here’s more information on how it currently works…
Category Enforcement assigns you a minimum race category based on the last two months of power data from your Zwift rides. (If you have no ride data, you will be placed in the A category. Ouch!)
Categorization is based on your estimated VO2 Max, MAP, and FTP.
Signup options for categories below your ability level will be disabled. As an example, here’s what the signup screen looked like when I visited today. I’m a B according to ZwiftPower, but with the current Category Enforcement parameters, I’ll be racing in the A’s!
Riders are free to “race up” and join higher categories than their minimum. Category Enforcement simply removes your ability to sandbag in a lower category.
Good News x2
I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find a Zwifter with something negative to say about this Category Enforcement announcement. Why? Because it’s a development that should make Zwift racing better in two ways:
First: it will obviously reduce the number of sandbaggers, which makes races feel more realistic and lets legit riders compete for the win.
Second: it will make categories more competitive by fine-tuning the parameters used to categories riders. ZwiftPower’s current FTP-based categorization is better than nothing, but it could be much better. For example – it doesn’t account for riders with huge VO2 power but relatively weak FTP, thereby allowing those riders to excel in races which are more VO2-focused, like courses with punchy climbs or shorter “sprint” races.
Looking Ahead
We could be seeing the start of a paradigm shift in how Zwift races are categorized. Think about it: in theory, categorization could be based on an entirely different set of parameters – sprint power, weight, age, 1-minute power.
Parameters could be tuned to fit the course. A race up Epic KOM? Make 20-minute w/kg the deciding factor. Crit City? Sprint and 1-minute power are key factors. 40km TT? That’s all about your FTP.
Eventually, Zwift could put these Category Enforcement options in the hands of event organizers who could break riders into categories based on whatever parameters they prefer. And that will open up a fresh variety of Zwift races to our community.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s finish some test races first!
Feedback Requested
Zwift has asked that riders fill out this feedback form after their Category Enforcement race(s), so the team working on these features can quickly iterate and improve on this initial offering.
This is a vital step, so don’t miss it. Give them your feedback, even if it’s to simply say, “It worked well!”
More Information
For more information on these events, including a comprehensive FAQ and an opportunity to discc, see this post on Zwift’s forum.
The Zwift Racing Landscape, Part 1b: Racing Population Demographics
Racing against others on the Zwift virtual cycling platform is a fascinatingly unique combination of video games, esports, exercise, and not a small amount of pain. In part one of checking out the Zwift racing landscape heading into 2022, we took a look at some numbers around the total racing population, how it split between countries and categories, and what the most popular events are.
Before we dive deeper into the ranking algorithm and look at how well the ZwiftPower Race Ranking numbers can be used to stack rank the entire racing population, there were a lot of questions around additional demographic stats of Zwift riders. In the below charts, I break down the ranked racing population by gender, age, and weight class – split out by race ranking (which is roughly tied to categories).
As quick context, I wanted to further illustrate that we actually only have good data for a small portion of all Zwifters – those that both compete in races, have registered a ZwiftPower account, and scored points in at least one race in the last 90 days. These riders are naturally going to be biased toward stronger riders – those who care more about race outcomes and are interested in weeding out cheaters/sandbaggers.
We can use the below demographics (and stats from the initial article) as rough approximations for the overall Zwift population (especially for things likely not impacted by rider strength, like country), but most stats related to power output will likely change significantly as the scope expands. In the above bubbles, I estimated the total population and average power output via some random sampling just to get a sense of how much it varies vs. the population we have good data on.
With that said, let’s take a look at the data we do have:
Gender gets less male-dominated as you move through the categories, but overall the population of ranked women is just quite small: ~6.5k total women who have a ranked result on ZwiftPower in the last 90 days (out of ~80k total riders).
When looking at these next charts with Age & Weight data, it’s worth remembering that most (65%) ranked racers have a ranking between 500-600 (the last bar).
Interestingly, in a situation that might be unique in competitive sports, and definitely in esports, most ranked racers on Zwift are solidly middle-aged (40-49) (34%) with another 28% aged 30-39 (especially as you move toward the higher categories). 50-59-year-olds make up the 3rd largest segment with 22% of the total population. There is a chunk of 20-29-year-olds at the top end of the ranked population. while the overall population of U23s and 60+ riders is fairly small (~5k total).
Weight classes are fairly stable across ranks, except for the most competitive ranks where lighter riders (60-69kg) are overrepresented.
As a frequent Zwift racer, I’m always curious about who the humans are on the other side of the avatars, in as much pain as I am. Based on the above stats, it’s probably no surprise that the team with the most riders on ZwiftPower is DIRT (e.g. Dads Inside Riding Trainers).
This update includes new routes and badges, frames and wheels, some significant training plan/workout changes, and of course a pile of bug fixes. Here are the details…
New Frames and Wheels
Two new bike frames have been added to the Drop Shop:
Specialized Crux (Level 17+, 869,800 Drops): 2 stars for aero, 3 for weight
Trek Speed Concept SLR 9 (Level 32+, 958,500 Drops): 4 stars for aero, 1 for weight
The Crux looks like it may be the lightest gravel bike in game, which will make things interesting when racing in places like the Makuri Islands Temple KOM and Watopia’s Jungle Circuit. We’ll run tests and publish results ASAP.
Two new gravel wheelsets have been added as well.
ENVE G23 (no level requirement, 17,800 Drops): 3 stars for aero, 1 for weight
Roval Terra CLX (no level requirement, 17,800 Drops): 3 stars for aero, 1 for weight
This is a notable development, actually, because until now, all the gravel bikes in game used the Zwift Gravel wheelset. (Similarly, all of the mountain bikes use the Zwift Mountain wheelset.) So this is Zwift’s first expansion into offering wheelset options for gravel bikes.
Both wheelsets are low-priced with no level requirement, so they are very attainable by all Zwifters. Presumably, they perform at least slightly better than the stock Zwift wheelset. But we’ll run tests and find out!
Groupset Bugs Fixed?
Zwift’s list of bug fixes in this update includes this line: Fixed an issue with the SRAM RED 2021 rear derailleur being slightly underpriced, and a tad bit too light.
Our tests are indicating they’ve fixed the groupset issue that slowed the Cervelo S5 2020 – it seems to have returned to its original speediness. (We’re not just why the text says it was a “tad too light” though, because that wouldn’t make the frame slower…)
We’re hoping this means Zwift has also turned their attention to the longer-standing Dura-Ace 9200 bug. Our tests so far seem to confirm this, but we’ll publish hard numbers ASAP.
New Makuri Islands (and Other!) Routes
Two routes (and badges!) have been added to the Makuri Islands world. Not fresh tarmac, just fresh routes on existing roads:
Chasing the Sun: the longest and climbiest Makuri Islands route yet, this one takes you on two KOMs and four sprints. Total distance/elevation: 35.1km/278m
Electric Loop: a flat, short circuit, this route is similar to Twilight Harbor, but in the opposite direction. Total distance/elevation: 8.9km/30m
Fresh route badges… for event-only routes!
In addition to these free-ridable routes, several event-only Watopia routes arrived with this update… with names that may be familiar to Zwift Insider readers. While Zwift hasn’t confirmed this, we wonder if they plan to use these new routes for the upcoming Tour of Watopia, whose homepage was just refreshed. Double XP, new route badges… registration opens February 22. More on this soon, we suspect!
New Workouts of the Week
Workouts have been added to the on-demand list for the month of February and March. You can also see the current week’s workout, which you can do on your own or in a Wednesday Group Workout.
Feb 14-20: Bahati Foundation Workout
Feb 21-27: Maize Wimbush’s Windup
Feb 28-Mar 6: The Bernal
Mar 7-13: Kristin Armstrong – A Gentle Reminder
Workout FTP Bias Change
-25% bias+25% bias
You can now adjust your workout’s FTP bias down to -25% and up to +25%. Formerly, the limit was -10% to +10%. You can do this via the Companion app, or by clicking the bias arrows on screen, or using Page Up/Page Down on your PC keyboard.
Training Plans Now On-Demand
Zwift’s three most popular training plans (Build Me Up, Pebble Pounder, and Gran Fondo) are now available as on-demand workouts. This lets Zwifters do the workouts with zero schedule constraints.
It’s worth noting that signing up for the actual training plan may still be the smart move. Zwift says, “We continue to encourage you to commit to our full training plans as they are developed by professional coaches to achieve specific goals, provide structure, and follow suggested workout progressions. Plus, who can forget about those sweet sock unlocks!”
In the forum topic above, Zwift says, “In our next phase of work, we are continuing to fuel flexibility within our training plans, including unlocking workouts for longer periods and extending time in which workouts can be completed. These updates are under development and expected to roll out in the coming months.” That’s good news, as Zwifter have complained about the inflexibility of Zwift’s “flexible” training plans since the day they rolled out.
Bug Fixes and Misc Improvements
Here’s Zwift’s list of fixes and improvements included in this update, with notes in italic from us:
Flexible Training Plan Workouts now unlock at 12:01am on Monday. We’re not sure when they unlocked previously, but this seems like the right time to unlock stuff for the week.
Connectivity alerts will immediately disappear when the issue is resolved and will only remain on screen for 60 seconds if the issue remains unresolved.
Added a label above the Challenges UI in the pause menu to help Zwifters find their Challenges. Hopefully this means we’ll get fewer emails asking “How do I sign up for the Tron challenge?”
Fixed an issue where an invalid day would be selected in the date of birth UI in certain situations.
Fixed an issue where the date of birth change would not be saved if unit of measure is changed before saving.
Fixed an issue where the save button would not work when updating run paces in the Zwifter profile.
Fixed an issue where suggested run paces would be saved even if the Zwifter cancels the change.
Fixed an issue causing XP to be awarded for certain skipped workout blocks. Take that, cheaters!
Fixed an issue causing certain workout blocks to appear invisible in the Workout Editor.
Fixed an issue with the gradient display in London when riding in the countryside. Is this the fix to the long-running London gradient bug? We sure hope so.
Fixed an issue causing activity title changes to not properly sync with 3rd party partner sites.
Fixed an issue with some segment times not being displayed correctly.
Fixed an issue where Pace Partner pace would be truncated.
Fixed an issue causing all running Pace Partners to show Category A.
Fixed an issue causing bikes to spawn at a strange angle. All bikes will now spawn parallel to the road.
Fixed an issue causing riders to swerve in some situations on the Railways and Rooftops and Sprinters Playground routes in Neokyo.
Fixed an issue that allowed some runners to make a U-turn in an event.
Fixed an issue where some Zwifters would be stuck at “Finding Riders” when late joining an event. Seemed like a fair consequence for showing up late, but if Zwift wants to be nice…
Fixed an issue causing a dead end to appear in the Neokyo mini-map.
Fixed an issue causing flickering in certain parts of the Rooftop Rendezvous route.
Fixed an issue where the whale in Watopia was flickering between timelines. We’ve ensured they will now remain in the best timeline. More evidence of Zwift’s parallel universes.
Updated the name of our famous pizza socks to actually be called Pizza Socks in the garage. Who says Zwift’s dev team isn’t doing big things? Take that, haters!
Zwift Ladies Only Facebook Group Now 10,000 Strong
Cassie Baldi originally started the “Zwift Ladies Only” Facebook group in November 2015 in an effort to chat with and provide a safe space for women who Zwift. And recently, that group hit 10,000 members!
Cycling and Zwift have a greater number of male participants so to have a space to talk about women-specific issues with only women is very empowering.
I took over admin in 2020 and am the only moderator/admin in the group of 10,000. That’s not a testament to my amazing admin abilities, rather to how kind and generous the ladies in the group are. There are few issues that arise. In fact, in the last 18 months we’ve had less than 20 issues I’ve had to moderate. That’s over 5000 posts and 81,000 comments, and only 20 of those needed to be moderated. THAT is how supportive this community is!
What the Women Are Saying
I love this group so much! There is nothing like finding a group of like-minded people who celebrate victories big or small that other people in your life really don’t understand. It makes my heart happy to rub virtual elbows with all of these ladies, whether on Facebook or Zwift.
Crystal Miles
“No question is too daft.” -Hollie Burgin
“Zwift was fun already…then I found the Zwift Ladies Only group & feel deeply connected.” -Renee Robinson
“This is a supportive non-judgmental group that welcomes every woman, regardless of skill level or experience, into the Zwift sisterhood.” -Susan Otcenas
“Your community is here. You belong here. And there’s nothing like 10,000 other women telling you that yes, you CAN.” -Michele Axt
Rules
We’re always open for more members! Here’s what you need to know:
First, you have to be a woman or identify as one. Secondly, you have to submit a membership request, which includes answering the Membership Questions and agreeing to abide by the rules. It’s as simple as that!
But don’t overlook the rules toggle: some women answer the 3 easy questions to get in and then they don’t click the “I agree to the group rules” and we have to deny their request.
Cassie
I recently caught up with Cassie and asked her what she thought of her group hitting 10,000 women. She was amazed. “I couldn’t have imagined the ladies group would ever have that many members. A few of us on Zwift just wanted to get together and chat about Zwift stuff.” And that “few” turned into 10,000! Thanks for starting a great group, Cassie!
What I’m Seeing
My favorite posts are the ones where someone will say, “Hey, I just did this thing on Zwift that probably isn’t that big of a deal for you to do, but I didn’t think I was going to be able to complete it.” And in the comments of that post you’ll see strong, seasoned riders congratulate right alongside newer riders. Everyone is genuinely encouraging in the group, no matter the level of rider.
If you’re a lonely rider that needs some company, this is the group you need. If you’re a new rider that doesn’t know what to do, this is the group you need. If you’re a social rider that just wants to share the Zwift love, this is the group you need. In fact, if you’re any rider, this is the group you need.
Cathy Hunt
I also laugh each time I see a post about saddles, chamois, and lady parts as the comments are always so sincere, jovial, and matter-of-fact. You can’t ask those questions in a mixed group without getting at least one silly or off-color comment.
The posts are about all sorts of things: bike fit, Zwift setup, women looking for a racing team, frustrations with cycling in general, achievements, fuel, and more! It’s a great group of Zwift Ladies Only that I’m happy to be a part of. If you’re a Lady Zwifter we’d love to have you join us!
This group has helped me get back into fitness and conquer my goals. A very supportive group of women who helped me find my forever team.
On Saturday 15th January, the 3R Endurance Academy tackled their first of two challenges. Part 1 involved a 12-Hour epic. I joined them for 3 hours of their ride and checked in throughout the day to see how everyone was faring.
Leading the event was Rob Keunen, who was doing it in memory of his daughter, Feline, who sadly passed away 2 years ago. In addition, Rob wanted to raise money for World Bicycle Relief, and now has successfully raised over £10,000, inspired by friend and fellow Race3R teammate Mitja Kovacic who had previously completed a 24-Hour ride in 2021.
Part 1 of the Endurance Academy: 12-Hour Challenge
Rob explained his unique journey in the final few weeks before the event:
It was the beginning of December. I started to feel weak, my power dropped, my race results were awful. I had a higher-than-normal heart rate. I suspected that I had COVID-19, yet tests stated otherwise.
I upgraded my Zwift setup to a direct driver trainer and on the 30th December rode 8 hours with the WBR 500 crew. My confidence returned and all looked good for the main event two weeks later, but I needed to get my COVID-19 booster injection, which was scheduled for 7th January.
I did not react well to the booster injection. My heart rate skyrocketed and I was forced to rest. In test rides prior to the event, I noticed a high heart rate, even riding at 2 w/kg, which is well within my comfort zone.
I took the day off work before the event. I rested, ate, prepared food, clothing, and double-checked my Zwift setup.
He continues, telling the story of the actual ride:
I jumped on my bike at 7:30am CET on the 15th January without a lot of confidence, but determined to ‘ride through walls’ to complete the challenge. I was accompanied by 17 members from the Endurance Academy, who had their own reasons for undertaking this challenge.
We started with our usual 120km, 3-hour group ride. My heart rate was above 150bpm, even at 2.2 w/kg, where it normally is around 130bpm.
I shared that news with the group after an hour and they tried to calm me down, Catherine Allen had the same high heart rate during her 12hour ride, only a few weeks before.
Rob’s Zwift setupRob on his epic ride
My legs felt great, but my mind was spinning, how on earth could I pull this off with an average heart rate of 155bpm after 1.5 hours of riding?
Leading the group for the next 3 hours kept my mind off the heart rate issue, and the big group was very supportive. I really felt positive seeing all that support from 3R and Zwift riders from all around the world.
After the group ride completed and Zwift spawned us into the normal Watopia Tempus Fugit, my toughest hours began. Hours 3-6 were a real struggle, mentally speaking, and I had to remind myself many times why I was doing this. My elevated heart rate would not destroy my goal. With my beloved Feline in my mind, and the support from the riders, I pulled through. The support from the community was invaluable. Without them, I would have stopped.
After 6 hours, I stopped for 10 minutes to eat something with my wife and son. It was during this break my wife said “Why don’t you take off your heart rate band, and ride without? You will continue anyway!” So, I did. That was liberating. From that moment on, I forgot about my heart rate issue and my mind focused on everything else that was important.
Hours 6-10 were great. The high heart rate issue continued, I could feel it and I had to eat and drink a lot more than anticipated, to keep myself fuelled. Fortunately, my stomach, legs, neck, back and arms, were all in a good condition. I was not in any physical discomfort until hour 10.
The support from the 3R and community was awesome. From around the world fellow riders, friends, 3R members, dropped in and out to support. Being there was mentally very supportive, but also emotional.
My ride was being broadcasted on YouTube by Mitja, so I had my family and friends watching, and sending me messages, throughout the day too. See the recording:
After 10 hours, I felt my legs become tired, which was not strange. I was already 2 hours over my longest ride ever, so I anticipated this. It was at this point that the group split. Some members of the Academy still felt great, and others like myself, needed a slower pace.
One of my original goals was to go for 500kms but after the first 6 hours, I let that goal pass, and focused on the original of 12-Hours.
I soon recalibrated my distance target to 450kms. But to achieve that, I needed a tow. There were so many riders, but a special “thank you” to Pete, Deej, Michael, Karel, Billy Bob and Ross, Thomas and Kate from Australia, who started with us in the morning, and jumped in again in the evening!
The last 30 minutes I suffered. I had developed cramps. My legs were not in good health. I had spent more energy due to my elevated heart rate. I pushed through pain but had to stop several times to stretch. I had Deej, Karel, Ross, Thomas and Kate around me for the last 20kms, which was fantastic but I was really tired and emotional. I was proud that despite all the challenges, I managed to ride 12 hours in honour of my daughter Feline.
I eventually stopped at my target of 450km, in 12hours and 5 minutes. 8:45pm CET (so taking 40 minutes of breaks in total). Mitja, who sadly could not ride as he had COVID-19, was able to share this via the YouTube channel.
I stumbled off the bike, grabbed a beer, and dropped on the floor in the living room. My son was still up, waiting for me to finish, he gave me a hug, and said that “I did a great job!”
Riding for 12 hours at such a high heart rate does strange things to the body. Finally, at the beginning of February I am starting to feel normal again, my power is back to 80% and my heart rate has returned to normal.
Do I regret pushing ahead even with the high heart rate? No, I am proud that I finished the challenge even with all the setbacks. They are part of life, so I embrace them. Am I going to do something like this again in the future? Yes, I discovered a love for cycling challenges, so I will do these things more often in the future.
A special thank you to all those who helped me on the journey, especially Emma Curtis, who jumped on the challenge from the beginning, completed it too, was a tremendous inspiration for me, and also a major help in the fundraising part of the challenge.
Part 2 of the Endurance Academy: 24-Hour Challenge
Looking ahead, the Academy is almost at its end. Part 2, the 24-Hour Challenge is scheduled for the 26th February. 7 riders, amongst them Mitja, will tackle the challenge. They will use Tempus Fugit, but ride at their own pace. The event starts at 8:00am CET with the goal of raising funds for World Bicycle Relief.
Matt Lieto sits down with Sarah True and Tim Don to discuss their recent trip to the Specialized Win Tunnel in Morgan Hill, California with the Zwift Academy Tri Team, as well as their recon of the St. George World Championships course.
About the Podcast
The Zwift PowerUp Tri Podcast is hosted by former pro triathlete Matt Lieto and Zwift Academy Tri mentor Sarah True. Both are passionate about lending their in-depth knowledge of the multisport to the Zwift Tri audience.
A new 4-week race series has just been announced, featuring helmet manufacturer HJC. Probably better known for their motorsports helmets, HJC also makes cycling helmets (see hjcsports.com for details), sponsoring WorldTour teams including Lotto Soudal and Israel StartUp Nation.
The 4-week series features flattish race routes, with each race between 19-27km long. Read on for the schedule, route specifics, and more…
These races use the standard ZwiftPower categories (A/B/C/D, and there is a women-only E category as well.
All categories will begin at the same time, so get ready to hold on to stronger riders as long as you can!
Warmup Rides
If you don’t fancy a race, or want to do a little route recon before your HJC race, warmup rides are available 45 minutes before each week’s events.
These 30-minute group rides are on the race course and feature special guest HJC ambassadors.
Helmet Unlock
The HJC Furion 2.0 in game
Unlock the new HJC Helmet after finishing any event (race or warmup ride). HJC is also running a giveaway on their Instagram page – follow @hjcsports and comment for an entry to win one of ten HJC Furion 2.0 helmets.
Motorsports… on Zwift?
The event description says, “hop on the saddle for heart-pumping cycling races with a motorsports feel.” While we’re not sure what a “motorsports feel” translates to in a Zwift race, signup numbers are already looking good for the first week’s events. If you’re looking for some stiff race competition (and a chance at big upgrade points), give the HJC Grand Prix a look.
The sixth race of Zwift Racing League 2021/22 Round 2 happens Tuesday, February 15th and it’s the Queen Stage. With one sprint and two climb intermediates, this race has something for everyone. But make no mistake: a climber will win the day!
Let’s dig into the race, including tips for bike choice, powerups, strategy, and crucial segments.
Looking at the Route: Climber’s Gambit
Watopia’s Climber’s Gambit route was created for the 2021 Zwift Academy Road program as a test of sprint, VO2, and threshold power. And that’s exactly what riders can expect in their ZRL race! The route is 27.9km long, with 670m of elevation. And 400m of that elevation comes in the final climb.
Let’s discuss the four key pinch points of this route.
First, the Watopia Sprint Reverse (aka “JWB Sprint Rev”). Located 2.5km into your ride, this short, straight sprint is super fast thanks to a downhill lead-in. With no aero powerups this week, winning this sprint will require a good sense of timing and, of course, strong 15s power.
Second, the start of the Hilly Reverse KOM. Starting at 4.9km, you have a short ramp up and around the giant statues before taking a left onto the cutoff road to the Hilly KOM descent. Mind your position in the pack, give it a little gas to stay in the right spot, and you should make it over this hump unscathed. Then you can supertuck the descent!
Third, the Titans Grove Reverse KOM. At 11.9km you’ll begin the first KOM intermediate. Only 900m long and 4.3%, this quick climb can be done in under 75s by top riders. (The rest of us mortals are looking at more like 90-150s, though.)
The effort shouldn’t be high after the Titans Grove KOM, but watch that you don’t get gapped in the rolling, twisting hills of Titans Grove (before or after the KOM). Recover as much as you can, because the big effort is just up the road.
Finally, the Epic KOM Reverse. Beginning 21.7km into the race, this is the longest climb of our ZRL season at 6.2km and 5.9%! It’s really a series of three ~2km climbs, with short flats/downhills separating each. Draft the fast parts, hammer the steeps, and give it all you’ve got to the line, because the race ends at the KOM banner.
Riders will be awarded powerups through each banner, meaning we’ll get 3 powerups during the race (at the downtown start banner, the sprint banner, and the Titans Grove KOM).
These powerups will be randomly given out at each banner:
Anvil: makes you 50kg heavier for 30 seconds, so you can descend faster. Useful this on downhills only. And since it lasts for 30s, which means you’ll only want to use it on downhills at least 30s long… so it’s really only useful on the Hilly KOM descent and Titans Grove KOM descent on this course.
Burrito: turns off draft effect for riders within a 2.5m radius for 10 seconds. Use when attacking off the front so opponents have to work harder to follow you, or use it in the group to make nearby riders work harder for a bit.Be careful to avoid suicide by burrito!
Feather: reduces your weight by 10% for 15 seconds. Best used on climbs, when weight matters the most.
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
Scott Addict RC + ENVE 7.8, Tron, and Specialized Aethos + Lightweight Meilensteins
For most riders, a climb-friendly all-arounder setup is your best bet here. You want something decently fast for the sprint, but light enough to help you a bit on the two key climbs.
The Tron bike is a good all-arounder. We also like the Scott Addict RC + ENVE 7.8 wheels – a combo that climbs 2-3s faster than the Tron on the Epic KOM Reverse. See our Tron vs Top Performers chart for details on the performance of various top frames and wheels.
If you aren’t worried about getting dropped on the flats and descents, but also aren’t chasing sprint points, a pure climber will get you the best finishing result. The Specialized Aethos + Meilenstein or Alpinist combo will trim ~10s off your Epic KOM time compared to the Tron bike.
More Route Recon
Many events are now being planned each weekend on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re not familiar with this course, jump into one of these events and do some recon! Here’s a list of upcoming Climber’s Gambit events.
Looking for a video recon, with lovely British commentary to boot? Check out Si and Sherpa’s recons below:
Si Bradeley
Sherpa Dave
Strategic Options
Points Distribution, Week 6
Maximum points a team of 6 could earn in this race. Since the race ends at the Epic KOM banner, we’ve added those KOM FAL points to the finishing points total in the chart.
As you can see from the chart above, segment points make up a large majority of the overall points. With 79% of the points being earned atop the two climbs, winning teams will be those whose riders have high VO2 and 20-minute watts per kilo.
So what strategies will riders employ in race 6? Here’s what we predict:
Big Eases Between Segments: smart climbers will know that sprinters won’t be contesting their KOM points, and sprinters won’t be able to drop the climbers on the flats or descents. So it doesn’t make sense for either set to push in between the intermediates… not with a 20-minute FTP test up the road.
Targeted Efforts: more than any other route featured in ZRL, Climber’s Gambit lends itself to particular riders targeting particular segments. Watch for sprinters and puncheurs to target the sprint and Titans Grove KOM. But the climbers will have their day on the Epic KOM Reverse!
Sag that Start: first across the finish line earns at least 50 points (40 finishing + 10 KOM FAL). But cagey, confident climbers will sag at the start, sitting in the back of the group across the start line then pushing to the front in order to earn FTS points as well. Do it perfectly and the Epic KOM Reverse could earn you 70 points!
Small Powerups: the feather, burrito, and anvil won’t prove terribly significant in this race. They certainly won’t affect the race like the steamroller or aero have in past events.
Watch the Premier Division Race
Zwift’s top racers will go head to head in the Premier Division the day before the community races. Watch it on GCN Racing’s Youtube channel below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rti2O7AvZg
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
