The latest episode of WoZ is out, covering all things great and beautiful in our favorite virtual world.
In this episode, host OJ Borg brings us:
Race with pro rider Wout Poels in my new Midweek Mountain Massif TT, sponsored by Elite’s RIZER on Wednesday, 24th November at 19:15 CET/18:15GMT/13:15EST/10:15PST!
This is the third Mountain Time Trial event series I’ve launched, and this time around we’re doing it to celebrate the release of Elite’s RIZER, an innovative, integrated climbing and steering device (read my review). The other two events are Monday’s Mountain Massif TT (an intense effort up the Epic KOM reverse, finishing at the Radio Tower) and Friday’s Mountain Massif TT (up the Alpe Du Zwift to turn 8).
This new Midweek Mountain TT is going to take riders 10.1km up the daunting Ven-Top. Applying the same tried and tested format from my other events, this event will feature a mass start for categories from the pens, with no time delays, we are going to race full gas part-way up the mountain.
Heart Rate monitors will be required and Zwift Power will be used for official results. There will be a winner for each category, including a Women’s Category. There is no draft, no powerups, and bike changes are allowed. So it’s your choice on how you race this event.
With Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner Wout Poels headlining the event, you can be sure it’s going to be a strong field, maybe Wout will even invite some of his team along for the challenge!
The description of the event from the Companion app is as follows:
“What do you get if you cross a mountain race and a time trial? An absolutely intense, but highly unique event that will test the ability of any rider.
This is the chance to push yourself beyond your perceived limits. This event is designed so you can go “full throttle” on a mountain climb for a shortened period of time, with the finish line being situated partway up the daunting Ven-Top.
To time trial up the mountain on this shortened course will be hard and to achieve the best results may require you to employ tactics. Do you opt for a TT bike to the base of the climb before changing to a lightweight climbing setup? Do you opt for a lightweight setup from the start? Only you can decide and the decision you make will impact your results.
If you are not interested in racing for the victory, treat this event as a 20-minute FTP test. Generate a consistently high power for 20 minutes and boost your ratings in Zwift Power.”
It’s an honour to have Wout racing with us and I think this is the toughest Mountain Massif TT I have created so far. The Ven-Top is unforgiving. You will notice that this course is exactly 2 kilometres shorter than my other offerings, but in terms of time, it will take roughly the same amount to complete.
The slopes of the Ven Top are long and straight, offering a different challenge to the shorter switch-backs of the Alpe Du Zwift. You may be an accomplished climber on the Alpe, but this is a different challenge entirely.
If you are up for the challenge, you can join the event by clicking the following links:
Episode 25 is the grand finale of the pairing screen shenanigans discussed in episode 24. Hosts Mike Swart, Zach Schuster, and Kevin Bouchard-Hall talk about the fallout of the 52 mph Alpe time. Strava and Zwift worlds collide as trolls and Strava police battle in a test of wills.
There’s also a return of “Dramatic Readings of Strava Comments”, while Mike finishes his 30/30 and gets sick in multiple ways. Finally, we talk about the new pack dynamics and don’t come to any useful conclusions, like usual.
Nowhere Fast is a part of the Wide Angle Podium network and focuses on virtual bike racing. It includes Zwift commentary, interviews, and coverage of real races on fake bikes. Get it on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, or anywhere else fine podcasts are shared.
Liv’s Ayesha McGowan sits down with Rahsaan Bahati to discuss using Zwift in training and free riding to help you get the most out of how you use the platform, whether you’re new or a seasoned pro.
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.
The final race of Zwift Racing League season 4 happened this week. It was the Queen Stage of the season, with A/B riders hitting Yumezi’s Temple KOM three times over the course of the event on the Countryside Tour route.
My team (the DIRT Roosters) were seated in first place in the EMEA W B3 division, with our close rivals the Vikings just three points behind. That meant as long as we finished within a few spots of the Vikings, we would take first overall.
But this was a climby course, which is not our team’s strength. So we knew this wouldn’t be an easy race. We would have to push it to the max, both strategically and physically, to place as high as possible.
My typical race day preparations happened at their prescribed times: beet juice a couple of hours before the race, then three pieces of caffeine gum an hour before, and PR lotion on the legs before kitting up and heading out with C. Cadence and her roadies for about half an hour.
Today’s warmup was occupied with discussions of bike choice and race strategy over Discord with my team. To swap or not to swap? Should we start on gravel bikes?
We’d been bouncing ideas back and forth for a week, and here we were 30 minutes before the race began, still making decisions. In the end, we decided to go with what we had decided a few days earlier. Here are the basic points of our strategy:
One thing that made this race interesting was how much everyone was wondering what everyone else was riding. So the Roosters decided to be a bit silly and enter the pens on bikes nobody would ever choose! I went with my Safety Bike.
This had the benefit of not letting the competition know what we were riding (we waited until the race was about to start before swapping to our real bikes). But we thought it might have the interesting result of racers actually seeing our funny selections during the race, due to the way Zwift caches bike selections for other riders.
We’re not sure if it worked, but we loved the idea that it might.
We saw some gravel bikes in the pens, but mostly Trons. And before we knew it, it was time to start!
The pace out of the pens wasn’t very hectic – I averaged just 250W for the first 5 minutes. Everyone knew the KOM would be where things split apart.
I was just sitting in, listening to the Belgians on our team chatting (not in English), when suddenly teammates Clem and Thomas jumped off the front of the peloton. We were still 1 kilometer from the sprint… what was going on?!
It took our DS Ally by surprise too. “Oh Clem, are you, are you going now? Wow…”
But here’s the thing: it worked! Clem and Thomas jumped away, and nobody was able to catch them. The rest of us stayed in wheels, waiting for the right time to start our sprints. In the end Clem and Thomas were first across the line, and we picked up a pile of FAL and FTS points as well. Their attack had surprised everyone, putting them on the back foot. And we took full advantage of it.
We were happy with how things started, but we knew the real work was up the road. Three times up the Temple KOM. As we hit the dirt at the base of the climb, Antoine pulled over to do his bike swap. And I steeled myself for a hard effort, knowing a key selection would happen here on the first lap. If I could stay close enough to the front pack, I would be able to grab some sprint FAL points down the road. But if I found myself in a chase group with 10 or more riders ahead, there wouldn’t be any sprint points for me to grab.
So I went all in. I finished in 13th place, teammate Arjen just ahead, rival Viking Hogseth on my wheel, and the strongest climbers strung out well ahead. I set a new PR of 6:47 on that climb (my previous best was 7:16). But our captain Antoine destroyed the climb on his gravel bike, finishing in 5:58 for the fastest KOM time on the day… or so we thought!
Soon enough I found myself in the main chase group behind the front peloton, with just a solo rider or two ahead of them. My chase group held positions 8-15 (approximately), but my legs were knackered, so there was no way I could chase riders ahead. DS Ally was on Discord telling us the race situation: Antoine was in the front group with one Viking, while I was in the chase with two Vikings. Ally was even tallying points, convincing us that we were in a good position and had to keep fighting. Every point matters…
It was all about finishing points now, except for Antoine, who was in a position to grab some KOM or even sprint points.
The second KOM was easier than the first. Not that it was easy, but I certainly didn’t power in my legs from lap one. So I just tried to ride a sustainable pace, without letting the Vikings’ Hogseth get away. (We’ve found ourselves in the same race packs repeatedly this season, and it’s been a lot of fun battling it out each week!)
I was in a group of only three riders after the second KOM (places 15-17). We got caught by a pack from behind, that included teammate Arjen, then we caught Antoine who was up the road toiling away on his gravel bike with one other rider.
Soon enough, it was time for the final KOM. I had practice my bike swap for maximum efficiency: wait until the road slopes up. Hit “A” until I’m almost entirely stopped, then Esc, then T, Enter, two arrow keys up, Enter, and start pedaling.
I thought that’s what I did. But I somehow hit my arrow keys one too many, ending up on the Aeroad instead of the Grail. And I started pedaling before I realized it. Nooo! Now I had to stop pedaling and come to a stop before I could pick the right frame.
It all sounds pretty bad, but in reality, it probably only added a couple seconds to my time. And once I was on the Grail, it was go time. I started in 22nd place. But I could see that I was reeling in the pack ahead of me, and that gave me an extra shot of adrenaline and willpower! Soon enough I started catching riders, eventually passing Hogseth with 800 meters to go.
I crossed the line in 14th, having passed everyone in my initial group plus a few who had been dropped from the group ahead.
See my ride on Zwift.com >
See my activity on Strava >
See race results on ZwiftPower >
Ally was crunching the numbers as we wrapped up the race, and things were looking good. Only 5 Vikings had shown up for the race, and as long as we beat the Vikings (or were within 2 places of them) we would take first for the season.
In the end, we got second place for this race, and first for the season. Pro Vision BBR took first in this race with a crazy-strong ride from Trullemans. But we were happy to have achieved our goal: first place in EMEA W B3! That means (in theory at least) we should move up to B2 next season. This is our second season in a row taking first and being promoted.
It’s no small achievement to finish at the top of a ZRL division. Doing so means you consistently fielded a full team of riders who prepared adequately for the races, showed up on time, and worked hard for maximum results. And you have to do this for eight weeks in a row!
The final win doesn’t go to the strongest rider. It goes to the strongest team, and in a series like this, strength looks a lot like consistency. You may not win every week (we certainly didn’t), but if you do consistently well, you stand a good chance of finishing at the top.
Chapeau to the DIRT Roosters team: Captain Antoine, Arjen, Clement, Thomas, Dejan, Dean, Ally, and Brett. And a hearty thanks to the other 13 teams in our division for making it challenging and fun. Especially the Vikings, who pushed us Roosters to the limit week in and week out! We’ll be seeing you in Division 2…
To be honest, I’m still not sure if my bike swap strategy was the best. I definitely believe swapping before the final KOM is a no-brainer… sort of a “bare minimum”, assuming you have a setup that lets you swap quickly (read: not AppleTV). And starting on a road bike was crucial so we could grab sprint points.
But could I have done better if I’d swapped to gravel on the first climb, and kept it for the rest of the race? Or swapped on and off each climb?
Hard to say. But that’s what made this race so much fun! There was no clear best strategy, and that’s what kept everyone talking and scheming even after the race was over.
One thing worth mentioning here: I think Zwift needs to improve the bike swapping interface. Because as things stand now, AppleTV users are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to swapping. It’s just not possible to do it quickly on AppleTV.
Here’s what I’d love to see: the ability to set up a “primary” and “secondary” bike in your garage, then swap between them with a simple Companion app button or hotkey. Hitting that button would immediately force your rider to a stop then automatically swap bikes. You could even keep pedaling the entire time. What do you think?
How did your team do overall in Season 4, and what are your plans for the next season? Share below!
Zwift’s November update included the first in-game frame from Uranium, a new bike brand created by pro cycling star Rigoberto Urán.
Here’s how the Uranium Nuclear is described in the Zwift Drop Shop:
“Uranium is the new bike brand from the Colombian cycling star Rigoburto Uran. The Uranium Nuclear sports a super stiff high modulus T900 carbon fiber frame and fork, paired with a climbing-aero geometry and integrated handlebar and stem to create a fast and clean-looking bike.”
This frame was released to coincide with the Virtual El Giro de Rigo happening on November 21st. All riders in those events will be on the Nuclear, and completing either of the Giro de Rigo courses will unlock the Nuclear for you to keep.
This frame is affordably priced at just 184,500 Drops and level-locked at 19. It is rated 3 stars for aero and 3 for weight on Zwift, so it could potentially be a strong performer. Of course, we can’t know that with certainty until we run it through actual tests on Zwifts – so that’s what we did!
Here’s everything you need to know about the performance of the new Uranium Nuclear frame in Zwift.
The Uranium turns in a strong performance on the flats, matching the time of other top race frames including the Trek Madone, Felt AR, and Cervelo S5. In fact, our tests show it is only bested by the Specialized Venge S-Works and Cervelo S5 2020!
Its test time of 51:19 is 17 seconds faster than the default Zwift Carbon frame given to all Zwifters. By comparison, the fastest frame in Zwift (Cervelo S5 2020) turns in a time of 51:17.5 on our test course, which is two laps of Tempus Fugit, totaling 34.6km.
Due to Zwift’s Dura-Ace 9200 bug (see “Still Not Fixed” note at bottom of page here), the Nuclear performs quite poorly on the climbs, turning in the same time as the Zwift Aero frame, which places it in the lower 15th percentile.
Without the bug, the frame would climb around 19 seconds faster, which would boost its percentile ranking up to around 55%. This corrected time puts it in the neighborhood of other fast frames – a few seconds faster than the Madone, one second slower than the Cervelo S5, etc.
The Uranium Nuclear currently turns in an Alpe climb time of 49:28. By comparison, the fastest climber 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 Zwift’s stock 32mm carbon wheelset.
The new Uranium Nuclear frame on Zwift performs very nicely on the flats, but its climbing performance is hampered by the Dura-Ace 9200 bug. Without the bug this frame’s climbing performance would be very close to the fast aero frames it is competing against. But for now, it’s hard to recommend this frame for any racing that includes climbs.
When Zwift fixes the Dura-Ace bug it’ll be interesting to retest this frame to see where it fits, because it should speed up a bit in terms of aero performance along with a significant reduction in climb times. It may just be the fastest aero frame in game if that happens – and for the low price and level lock, that would be a remarkable development, especially for newer Zwift racers!
The Nuclear’s numbers will be added to the following posts, and it can also be found on our Master Zwift Frames List:
Share below!
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.
The HERd SHEries returns for a new 7-week series starting on November 23rd. There will also be a new 8-week Women’s Time Trial Racing Series, starting on November 20th. Here are the details…
The HERd SHEries is a 7-week women’s category-based series on a Tuesday, with 4 opportunities to race each week.
The series offers a mix between short and longer races with an individual time trial thrown in for good measure! The shorter races are scratch races (first past the finish line), whereas the longer ones offer points for fastest segment times and bonus points for the category finishing position.
The fourth season of the HERd SHEries runs from November 23rd to January 4th.
The time trial series is an 8-week series of time trial events with 6 opportunities to race each weekend. This will consist of 2 hilly courses and 6 flat 10-mile (16.1km) flat routes. All racers will start together in Category E and the winner is the first to cross the line!
The first season of the TT series will run from November 20th to January 9th.
James Bailey, Herd Racing DS said “With the SHEries, I’ve tried to find a nice balance between hilly and flat routes. For the points race, I’ve tried to keep it as exciting as possible, with 16 laps of Downtown Dolphin, and a sprint each lap, making it a little bit special. With the Time Trial series, I’ve been keen to keep the non-hill climb events as a steady ten miles to keep the most popular format of the genre.”
Stage One – November 23rd
World: Watopia
Route: Tempus Fugit TT
Laps: 1
Distance: 19.7km
Elevation: 31m
Notes: Nothing confusing in the prologue event, just a flat dash! This event will use the TT module, so riders will be sent off with staggered starts.
Stage Two – November 30th
World: London
Route: Greater London Flat
Laps: 1
Distance: 17.4km
Elevation: 98m
Notes: The first of our shorter races see our racers take on a single lap around the main London circuit.
Stage Three – December 7th
World: France
Route: Casse Pattes
Laps: 1
Distance: 23.8km
Elevation: 155m
Notes: We head to France for our second scratch race, with a flat start, a mid-length climb and a downhill sprint to the finish.
Stage Four – December 14th
World: Innsbruck
Route: Innsbruckring
Laps: 2
Distance: 17.8km
Elevation: 156m (435m)
Notes: In the last of our “shorter” races, it’s time for one of the fan-favorite routes – 2 laps of Innsbruckring, with two jaunts up the Legsnapper!
Stage Five – December 21st
World: Watopia
Route: Figure 8
Laps: 1
Distance: 29.9km
Elevation: 255m
Notes: In our first points race, racers will secure FTS points for their time on the Watopia Sprint in both directions and also the Hilly KOM in both directions. There are also bonus points for final category finishing position.
Stage Six – December 28th
World: Richmond
Route: Richmond Rollercoaster
Laps: 4
Distance: 32.6km
Elevation: 164m
Notes: In our second points race, racers will take on the Richmond Rollercoaster route. This has a “lead in” featuring 23rd Street reverse KOM, Libby Hill reverse KOM and Broad Street reverse sprint. You then take on four laps of the Fan Flats in reverse, featuring four efforts of the Monument Avenue reverse sprint. Your times for each of the timed segments will score you points against your competition, so don’t hold anything back!
Stage Seven – January 4th
World: Crit City
Route: Downtown Dolphin
Laps: 16
Distance: 30.4km
Elevation: 128m
Notes: In our last points race, it’s time for something a little bit special. Take on 16 laps of Downtown Dolphin, with a sprint each lap! Each sprint will score you points, so don’t hold back!
Stage One – November 20th/21st
World: Bologna
Route: Bologna TT
Distance: 8.1km
Notes: This event will use the staggered start TT module for a simple dash up the Bologna climb.
Stage Two – November 27/28th
World: Watopia
Route: Tempus Fugit
Distance: 16.1km
Stage Three – December 4/5th
World: London
Route: London Loop
Distance: 16.1km
Stage Four – December 11/12th
World: Innsbruck
Route: Innsbruckring
Distance: 16.1km
Stage Five – December 18/19th
World: Yorkshire
Route: Duchy Estate
Distance: 16.1km
Stage Six – December 25/26th
World: Makuri Islands
Route: Flatland Loop
Distance: 16.1km
Stage Seven – January 1st/2nd
World: France
Route: R.G.V.
Distance: 16.1km
Stage Eight – January 8/9th
World: Innsbruck
Route: Innsbruck UCI
Distance: 10.85km
Notes: This is a custom-distance event where the finish line will coincide with the Innsbruck KOM banner.
The Herd Racing League is the sister racing group of The Herd and prides itself on encouraging a welcoming and supportive ideology for their racers of all shapes, sizes, and ability levels. Herd Racing DS James Bailey first took on organizing events for Herd Racing League in April 2019, featuring events such as Herd Beginner Racing Series, The Stampede, The Bullseye, Herd of Mountain Goats, and Herd Summer Racing League.
Week three being coached by Rowe & King did not start as planned. A brutal training session which consisted of 5 minutes @ 360 watts, 4x, didn’t go as expected as the Erg mode on the trainer did not function. This meant that on my recovery period, the resistance was stuck, resulting in me pushing the pedals at a staggering 29 rpm! (Read more about this “Spiral of Death” in All About Erg Mode in Zwift).
To fix this, I had to do a manual reset of the trainer which involved jumping off the bike and pulling the plug out. The session was literally a fail.
My second ride of the day was a Zone 2 ride in my Monday’s Mountain Massif TT event. Staying in Zone 2 during a race was a challenge. I stayed on plan for 10 minutes, until the base of the climb, then my competitive streak overruled my brain and I found myself racing up the climb. I initially thought I would just push for 5 minutes, but then 20 minutes later, I was still pushing. Due to the failed session earlier, I felt obliged to push and “catch up” on the failed effort of earlier. After I crested the top of the Radio Tower, I returned to the original plan of Zone 2, knowing full well that I had completely “gone rogue” with the session. I fell into the classic trap of trying to catch up on a missed or failed session and it’s just impossible. Once that session is gone, it’s gone. This is just one of the challenges of following a plan: sometimes things just don’t go to plan and trying to compensate, like I did, can have detrimental effects which will not resurface until later.
Tuesday’s session was the longest interval session I have ever done in my life, lasting 1 hour and 50 minutes! The session consisted of a warmup and 3 x 20-minute blocks at 320 watts, with a 5-minute recovery between sets and finishing with 5 x 30-second blasts at 450 watts. Realising this was basically 20-minute time trial efforts, I switched to my fastest TT setup and began my session. By the time I completed it, I had amassed 74km on Tempus Fugit.
The 20-minute interval sessions were long, and what I thought during the session was how this was basically 3 time trials on the Tempus Fugit track and how last year, I wasn’t producing that power for 1 lap. Certainly not 3 times! This just highlights that Zwift does get you fitter, if used consistently. I was elated when I completed the session. This is what I had been missing.
My rest day didn’t happen and was the second time I had not followed the plan. This reflects the realities of life. Some people miss sessions due to work and in my case, I did an extra session because I was riding to research an article for Zwift Insider!
Thursday was an easy ride with Castelli as planned. This ride has become my regular lunchtime ride. It breaks up the workday nicely and leaves me going into my afternoon meetings refocused. There is a lot to be said for having a proper lunch break.
With two easy rides in the previous two days, I was excited to see what I could do in my Friday Mountain Massif TT. However, I failed to perform. I was never really in the race, in fact – down on power from the start and with 2km from the end, the legs gave out. This is where my failed Monday Mountain Massif TT session came back to avenge me along with the additional unplanned rides. I had no option but to accept my fate with dignity. It was my own fault, I should have rested.
Saturday’s endurance ride with the R3 Endurance Academy saw us tackle the Four Horsemen route, I’ll confess, both mind and body were not really willing but it was the camaraderie of the group that inspired me to ride. I learned that it’s the only long route on Zwift which descends the Alpe du Zwift and after 3 hours and 3 ascents of the big climbs in Watopia over 73 kilometres, I got off the bike. But the day wasn’t finished there.
I felt like I literally had time only for something to eat before I was back on the bike for the “Ride with Reggie” charity event. 49 kilometres later, I had finished. I struggled round, but interesting chats with a host of fellow Zwifters kept me going.
I rounded off Sunday with an easy ride on Zwift. Not a group ride, just a simple solo effort around Titans Grove and Tempus Fugit. I finished with 11 hours 50 minutes and 370km clocked up and TSS of 1242.
Discussing my progress with Matt was reassuring. He noted not to worry about Friday’s failed attempt in my race and we talked about how plans are good on paper, but then we have to be flexible in the real world. For me, the danger is training too much. Week four will certainly involve a couple of rest days to get my sharpness back in time for a weekend of racing.
Through my training data, Matt has been able to observe the issues with fatigue and adjust the plan accordingly, something which I would have ignored and pressed through. In this case, it certainly pays to listen to the experts.
My overall feeling is that I am being pushed to a new level. The innovative and different interval training is tough but I understand the long-term benefits and I am having the sensation that despite the fatigue, when I am fresh, I will be reaching new peaks. I just have to stay on plan and manage that recovery.
