The third race of Zwift Racing League 2021/22 Round 2 happens Tuesday, January 25th (Monday the 24th for Premier Division), and this week riders will need to pay close attention as they take on the New York’s lumpy Park Perimeter Loop.

Let’s dig into the course, including tips for bike choice, strategic options, and crucial segments:

Looking at the Route: New York’s Park Perimeter Loop

NYC’s Park Perimeter Loop covers the outer portion of the ground-level tarmac which is a GPS-accurate re-creation of Central Park’s real roads. The loop itself is 9.8km (6.1 miles) long, with 126m (413′) of elevation per lap.

All categories will be racing 4 laps, making this the longest race of the season for C and D riders (39.2km, 506.9m elevation).

While it doesn’t contain any long climbs, this course is never flat. You will need to pay attention constantly to make sure you’re maintaining an ideal pack position, as power levels and pack speeds will fluctuate with the ever-changing gradient.

Rather than taking you through a turn-by-turn, let’s just discuss the four key sections of each lap.

First, the Harlem Hill climb. This is the toughest climb on the loop, ~700m long at 5%. This is where the first selection will happen, on lap 1. Maintain pack position for the slack first portion, but as the road turns left at the intersection it pitches up steep (9-10%). This is where you really need to put out the watts to hang with the front!

Be sure to kick a bit over the top to get back up to speed and onto a friendly wheel, as the pack will be stretching and gaps will open up as riders speed down the descent that follows.

Second, the climb which follows. After the short descent from the Harlem Hill climb, you’ve got a longer, less steep climb (1.1km at 2.2%) where stronger riders may push to keep the pack stretched and create gaps as riders are struggling after the Harlem Hill effort. We’ve called it the “Harlem Chaser” in the image below.

Make it over the top in touch with the front pack and you can enjoy a nice descent to the sprint section.

Third, the sprint, which is one of the most technical in Zwift. Before the sprint start line you’ve got a short kicker climb, and if you don’t go hard on that kicker, you won’t hit maximum speed heading into the sprint. The sprint segment itself is short (some riders will do it under 8 seconds), but plan on 10-15 seconds of effort leading into the sprint if you want to perform well.

Fourth, the finish line kicker. The loop ends with a short, steep climb to the lap/finish line. Carry speed into this section on the less steep lead-in, but save some watts per kilo for that final 10-15 seconds. A feather powerup is a big help here as well.

Read more about the Park Perimeter Loop route >

PowerUp Notes

Riders will be awarded powerups through each segment banner, meaning we’ll get 7 powerups during the race (one each time through the sprint banner, plus one at the end of each lap).

Three powerups will be randomly given out at each banner:

Bike Frame + Wheel Choice

Aero trumps lightweight here, because while the loop is lumpy, none of the climbs are long or steep enough for a lighter rig to make a measurable difference. Go with the Tron bike if you’re concerned about staying in touch on the climbs, but choose the disc wheel setup if you want to be just a bit faster on your sprints.

And if you’re in the Premier Division where discs and Trons aren’t allowed, we recommend the Specialized S-Works Venge + Zipp 858 combo.

Read Fastest Bikes + Wheels at each Zwift Level to learn the fastest setup available to you.

More Route Recon

Many events now being consistently 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 Park Perimeter Loop events.

Looking for a video recon, with lovely British commentary to boot? Here are our two favorite recon videos this week:

Si Bradeley

Sherpa Dave

Strategic Options

Points Distribution, Week 3

The maximum points a team of 6 could earn in this race.

As you can see from the chart above, sprint points make up the majority of the overall points – almost as large a portion as last week’s race on London’s Classique.

So what strategies will riders employ in race 3? Here’s what we predict:

• Save It For the Sprint: ZRL racers are learning that competition is tight in their divisions, making it hard to split up the pack on flat and rolling routes. Why burn matches attacking on short climbs if it’s not going to drop or hurt anyone sufficiently? Most riders will do the minimum work required to stay in the front pack.
• All In On Harlem Hill: if you aren’t a sprinter, but have strong 1-3 minute power, the best place to animate the race would be an attack on Harlem Hill followed by sustained pressure on the climb which follows. Non-sprinter teams would be wise to use this approach as a group in order to “thin the herd”. Solo non-sprinters might consider attacking here so their teammates can sit in while the rest of the group works hard to pull back the attack.
• Push Through the Final Sprint: with the last sprint ending just 2.4km from the finish, a small group of brave team riders who don’t fancy a pack finish might just counterattack after the sprint and attempt a breakaway to the finish line. (The short rise 1.2km from the line could help this effort.)

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 below on GCN Racing’s Youtube channel:

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!

Lucianotes: Top 10 Post ZRL Race Differences

#1: Instagram Potential

Before the race, your arrogance pushes you to try to look like a pro cyclist. You look wonderful in your Castelli Giro d’Italia kit. Your selfies could perfectly fit the front page of Cycling Weekly if you were actually someone relevant.

In a selfie after the race, you wish you could barely look like someone of your own species. No filter can correct your Jabba the Hut, effort-bagged eyes. At best you look ugly, at worst you would be condemned to jail time for sharing such offensive content through social media.

#2: Humor vs Susceptibility

Before the race, you are able to crack and be the subject of the most abusive jokes. Getting roasted Comedy Central-like is no problem. 

After the race, someone attempting a vague metaphor for your performance is at risk of being stabbed by one of the spokes you just tore from the wheel of your bike. 

#3: Physical Condition 

Before the race you are able (or at least you feel able) to do a hundred pushups while simultaneously smoking a cigar and singing Bohemian Rhapsody. 

After the race, the mere thought of having to climb the stairs from the pain cave to the shower makes you shed blood tears. 

#4: Hygiene Deterioration

Before the race, you smell like the essence of a spring-bloomed Sakura. 

After the race, your body has created its own biotope. Alien bacteria and viruses have grown spontaneously in the pad of your bib short. Any living thing approaching within 200 meters immediately loses its sense of smell.

#5: Loss of Dignity 

Before the race, your pride convinces you today is the day you are going to explode on the face of the world as the Wout Van Aert you have always been but nobody knew.

After the race, you desperately Google “how to definitely delete all the data and the log file of a ride on Zwift” so nobody, ever, even by accident, is exposed to the infamy of your performance. 

#6: Discipline Relativity

Before the race, you warm up by the book, preparing methodically, pre-hydrating and taking mineral salt supplements. You’d better do things right or not do it at all, right? 

After the race, f**k it, who really needs to cool down and stretch? 

#7: Expectations Management

Before the race, you have hopes. You love the circuit. You know exactly when you are going to place that attack which will split the pack into pieces and have you finishing in the top 5. 

After the race, you have excuses. You had several technical issues, your mother called during the race and you thought it was an emergency… Plus you never liked that circuit anyway. 

#8: Original Soundtrack

Before the race, it is Black Eyed Peas “I got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night”.

After the race, it is Beck’s “Soy un perdedor… I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?” 

#9: Zwift Fan Status

Before the race, you are a Zwift junkie and ultimate fan. This is the best thing ever, best game ever. It’s surprising how reliable the platform is given the stress it is put under during ZRL races. 

After the race, Zwift is responsible for your whole failure. 

“Why do they launch messy updates on ZRL days?”

“The platform is irremediably unstable.”

“I had a 30-second delay between my pedaling and the wattage output.”

“The other riders would not show on the screen, it kept connecting/disconnecting.”

“The finish line was not where it was supposed to be so I launched my sprint 200 meters early.”

“The pack turned right but my avatar turned left.”

(Note: all the previous quotes are mine and actually happened. Seriously.)

#10: Willingness to Race

Before the race, you are up for the entire ZRL season. You have always been very committed. Your weekly ZRL race is the lighthouse guiding your week. Plus there is nothing more important than the team.

After the race, there is no freaking way you will ever race again. Who would want to suffer that way every Tuesday? Not you for sure! The team can find another victim because hell no you will never race again!

What About You?

What changes have you seen in yourself post-race? Share below!

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