Zwift has just announced a three-day tour celebrating the Izalco Max PARI Edition from Focus Bikes. Each stage represents one of the colors of the bike, and there are prizes and giveaways for stage finishers! Here are the details…
Stage Details
Each stage has a long and short option, so the group you join determines your ride length.
These rides are tagged as races, but everyone will ride together regardless of ability. With over 1000 riders already signed up for some of the events, expect them to quickly string out and naturally break into groups based on rider ability.
Finish any stage and unlock the new Focus Izalco Max 2020 frame, as well as the PARI skin for the frame. That frame is worth 426,000 Drops, so unlocking it with one ride is a pretty sweet deal!
Riders who complete all three stages will be entered to win 1 of 2 real-life PARI edition Izalco Max bikes (approximately retail value $7,769 each)! Be sure you read the terms and conditions for details on how the sweepstakes works – specifically, “Once all three (3) stages have been completed, an email will be sent to the Entrant’s email address associated with their Zwift account directing them to access and complete the online registration form as instructed.”
Being new to Zwift, I have undertaken long rides in the quest to tick off the different route badges but had not participated in one of the exclusive “one day only” Zwift Fondo events. So when I saw them promoted on Zwift Insider, I signed up!
I debated which of three distances to partake in before finally settling on the shortest, the “Bambino” – I say shortest, it’s still over 50km so a substantial ride by anyone’s standard. But not quite the 90km epic of the Gran Fondo.
Race Prep
Sunday morning, “Race Day” – I had ensured I had a good solid breakfast and had my bottles of water lined up on the small camping table next to my bike, used to hold all required items for a session of Zwifting such as the Bluetooth speaker, sweets (a mid-ride necessity when energy is low), and a battery charger for my iPhone, which is used with the companion app.
I was sure to arrive early to the start line to bag a position at the front. I had read that with mass participation events, if you are not near the front of the race from the start, it is virtually impossible to get into the front group. So I sat, patiently warming up on the trainer for 20 minutes. Editor’s note: there are other ways to save your spot at the front of the start pens…
The Fun(do) Begins
As the blue clock ticked to 0, there was the mass explosion! I was out of the blocks pushing 350 watts as the pack started to swarm and form. The number of people was easily the most I had experienced, with the counter showing 1200+.
At the front of the mass start
I couldn’t quite see the last digits and despite having my iPad connected to a large 32” TV, I’ve noticed that my eyesight seems to be failing me as I struggle to make out the small text. (Perhaps it’s not my eyesight but in the “heat of the battle” it is difficult to focus on all of the data that Zwift displays.) My eyes dart from the power stats to my heart rate then across to my RPM. I’m always conscious of trying to put the right amount of power in without exerting myself too much, to avoid the inevitable “blow-up” that occurs when we think we can hold watts that are above our capability.
The first few minutes of the race were frantic, but it appeared I made the top group, which was huge. Easily 100 riders and the pace wasn’t slowing. We weaved our way around Watopia for ~10 minutes, before this big pack suddenly split apart. What I hadn’t realised is that the entire Fondo started together and rode en masse for the first several kilometres, before suddenly and without warning we turned left and the rest of the bunch went right. Each distance had their own route around Watopia. This top group instantly divided into 3, with our group being probably only 20 riders. This was good, as now I could see who I was riding with. At one point I was 1st out of 1200 and was desperately trying to capture this image with my IPhone for posterity… but fumbled and failed.
The front of the Bambino group… for now!
Gapped
20 minutes into the ride, the pace was still high and we approached the Hilly KOM. I knew this to be a short but tough, punchy climb, so I got to the front of the group and tried to keep my nose ahead. We passed the banner in 1:56, which is probably one of the fastest climbs I’ve had. Despite this, I was near the back of the group and as we descended, the pace upped and I started separating from the group and sprinted to get back on. But I couldn’t get back in touch.
Sprinting downhill, the bunch was pulling away and there was nothing I could do. My legs spinning like windmills in a hurricane, I was having no impact. I could feel the race slipping away after only 20 minutes. One lapse of concentration, one bit of bad positioning and I was shelled from the front group.
Working Together
The descent took us down some rolling hills and I could see the bunch turn right in the distance as they ascended. More riders were shelled. Fortunately, as I raced to catch on, two of these fellow riders latched onto my wheel and we had a mini bunch. (I say mini bunch, it was just 3 of us!)
In desperation, the 3 of us grouped up and trying to save the race. I typed, “Let’s do a Team Time Trial” – naively thinking that if we could form up and do 1-minute turns on the front at a high wattage, we would make some gains into the group ahead. Who was I kidding, our attempt at the Team Time Trial lasted only 1 turn each and the gap to the front group grew from 10 seconds to 40 seconds.
By this time we were approaching the junction where you go right into the Jungle. Our little trio was looking around for help and coming up quickly behind us was a rider called “Berchtold” – his numbers were impressive, 5 watts per kilo and by the looks of it, he had bagged the previous KOM jersey. He was flying, so we desperately tried engaging him on chat, willing him to form part of our group. He certainly was flying, he flew right by us at 5.2 watts. So, the trio pushed on until the Jungle.
Suddenly our trio was down to a duo. At this stage, I knew the game was up, the front group was several minutes ahead and there was a rear group 1 minute back, with one rider bridging the gap – we were in “no man’s land” and so we sat up. It gave me a rare opportunity in race to engage in a bit of chat with my follow rider. A Dutch rider, Michael.
The rider bridging caught us as we sat up and like the previous rider, blew right on by. I asked Michael if he wanted to chase his “fellow countryman,” only for him to point out that the rider was French. Again, from the distance of my bike to the TV, I can only make out blues, whites, and red and could not see the difference in the flag as I only see the colours. I apologised to Michael for my oversight and our attention was quickly on the fast-approaching group from behind.
The Group Grows
Now, the danger when waiting for a group to come is that if you are not careful, the group can swamp you and you are left trailing in their slipstream. Careful to avoid this, we upped our speed and as the first rider came, full sprint mode was engaged to ensure I caught the draft.
As we exited the Jungle, the pace upped and I was at the back of the group – panic and a sense of déjà vu entailed but armed with the feather powerup I lightened my load for a few seconds and within a few pedal turns, was at the front of the group.
We sat in the group and meandered our way through the Italian Villas and out towards the Volcano, the scene of the final showdown on the Volcano climb.
Volcano Finish
The Volcano climb is actually quite a tricky one. It’s short but the sections where it levels off and descends give riders chance to bridge across any gains that you have made by attacking too soon, so the tactic was to pick your moment to attack. My tactic was to get to the front of the group to raise the pace, to ensure that any of the weaker climbers were distanced. This worked as I could see individual time gaps start to appear on the riders near me. I waited to attack until just after the wooden bridge, moving to the front and grinding. I got a message from my fellow ride Michael in capitals “GO GO GO!” so I took it that I was doing well. So I kept pushing!
No one was with me, I could see the finish line but could see one rider bridging my gap. The finish was approaching, and I was 11th. Right about now, the feather powerup that I had used earlier would have been handy to have, but having already used it already, I was down to sheer effort. Just as the hill crested and the finish line appeared, I was passed.
I trundled over the line in 12th position*. 1 hr 23 mins 27 seconds.
For my first foray into a Fondo, it was a positive experience, but I was left wondering what might have been had I made the front group. But the beauty of Zwift is there is always and another race… and so there was, the Zwift Hill Climb, the following day! More on that later…
*Note my position was upgraded on ZwiftPower to 11th.
Your Comments
Did you participate in November’s Zwift Fondo? If so, how did it go? Share below!
In the build-up to December 9th’s 2020 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, Zwift + WTRL have announced the “Zwift Nations Challenge” – a country-based race unlike anything seen before! Here are the details…
The Big Idea
Zwifters race the 50km/31 miles 2020 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships course (Figure 8 Reverse) finishing at the Watopia KOM, with the aim of completing the race in the shortest time. Nations will then be ranked on an aggregate time to determine the top three nations.
How Will It Work?
Zwift has selected the top 22 countries by Zwift subscription count (see list below). Each of these countries will have 2 events in which riders can participate. (An additional 2 events for the Rest of The World will also take place.)
For most countries, events will take place on December 5th and 6th at 11am and 6pm local time, unless of course your country spans multiple time zones. See event schedule at zwift.com/events/tag/nationschallenge
The fastest 10% and slowest 10% of times will be discounted and the average time for your country calculated. So riders should work together in their events to achieve the fastest possible times!
Results will be announced Tuesday, December 8.
Country List
The following countries will have dedicated events in this competition:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Colombia
Denmark
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Japan
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
United States
There will also be two events for the rest of the world, so riders who are not in one of the countries above can still participate.
Choosing Your Country
You must set your nationality in your Zwift Profile before participating in the corresponding event. Any riders racing an event not associated with their profile setting will not contribute to the results, unless it’s one of the “Rest of the world” events. (Of course, your presence in the event may boost the draft effect for others – but your time will not be used in calculating the national average.)
Riders can take part in multiple events! Perhaps you are a Brit living in the USA, or a South African living in France. You can ride in two or more events – just make sure you change your profile’s nationality setting before jumping into the event.
Set your Nationality within your Zwift Profile to reflect the country you would like to represent
Enter one or both of your country’s events on either the 5th or 6th December
At least 100 riders must take part per country for the time to count
The fastest 10% and slowest 10% of times will be discounted from the average time calculation
This is not a race by ability or gender. It will be a mass start and you should aim to help your fellow country men and women – the bigger the peloton the faster it moves
Riders flaunting the rules, exhibiting poor sportsmanship, or riding unrealistically will be removed from the race results and will not contribute to their country’s results directly
This week in the best of Zwift videos watch a new Zwifter as racing finally “clicks” for him, a useful guide to Zwift’s mini-map, and an introduction to Zwift. There’s also a video of pro triathlete Lionel Sanders jumping into a Z Pro Tri race. And see what happens when a streamer promises to attack in a race for a donation!
Hooked On Zwift At Over 230lbs
It took three tries, but new Zwifter Mark Lewis is hooked! He explains the early racing mistakes that left him discouraged, and he shares some helpful comments and advice from his viewers. Then Mark applies the lessons he’s learned in another race. The emotion near the end says it all!
Zwift Streamer Gets $20 Donation to Attack the Field
Charles Ouimet’s energy is infectious in these highlights of a livestreamed race. He promises the audience that he will attack the peloton for $20, and then when he gets the donation, he has to follow through!
ZWIFT & Wahoo Kickr with the Bicycle Adventure Club
The Bicycle Adventure Club introduce their followers to the world of Zwift, explaining why their adventures now include exploring the world of Watopia.
Last Second Zwift Race + 5X2K Repeats
Professional triathlete Lionel Sanders makes a last-minute entry into Race #1 of the latest Zwift Pro Tri series. Watch him fight for the podium, and then see how it affects his run workout!
Zwift MiniMap Comprehensive Guide
Ken Jobba, or “Endurance Sweat,” gives a clear, thorough guide to Zwift’s mini-map and how to use it.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Like the last few updates, this release doesn’t contain much by way of new features. But it does include a new bike (always fun)! Let’s dig into the details…
New Bike Day: Focus Izalco Max 2020
The Drop Shop now includes a frame from Focus Bikes – their Izalco Max Disc road race machine! Like all aero frames nowadays, the Izalco is billed as being both super lightweight and aero. Rated 3 stars for aero and weight, it’s available to level 8+ Zwifters for 426,000 Drops. The question is… how does it perform on Zwift?
The answer is: it’s a decent frame, but nothing special in terms of performance compared to what’s already available. In our flat test it turned in the same time as the Giant Propel Advanced SL Disc and Pinarello Dogma F12, meaning it’s about 3 seconds too slow over our ~50-minute test to make it onto our list of fastest frames. But it does make #2 on our list of fastest beginner frames, being just a bit lighter and more aero than the Specialized Allez Sprint!
Its climbing performance is less impressive, finding it in the middle of the field with frames like the Pinarello Dogma F12 or Cervelo S5.
This frame was released into the game to make way for the upcoming Focus: Colours of Pari 3-day tour (Nov 26-28). We’ll publish a post about this fun event series tomorrow, but for the time being, just know that completing any stage of the tour unlocks an eye-popping Izalco Max Pari skin for the bike. (You’ll still need to purchase it from the Drop Shop). And two winners (one woman, one man) will receive a complete Izalco Max Pari bike (you have to complete all three stages to be entered into the drawing!)
Izalco Max Pari paint scheme
Workout Improvements
Lots of text improvements have been made to various workouts and workout plans, including the Zwift Racing training plan, the 10-12wk FTP Builder, and the Cyclist to 10k training plan.
Steering Changes
Two small improvements have been added to enhance our in-game steering experience. First, Zwift added in-game steering calibration for the Elite Sterzo Smart. This is for users who find that their Sterzo isn’t quite steering straight in the game when at the center position. The new calibration feature can be reached from the pairing screen buy clicking the wrench just above the Sterzo box.
Here’s something we haven’t seen in a long time – a change to the settings menu! “Offroad Steering Sensitivity” (which seems to only apply to Repack Ridge) is now available in the settings menu:
This is a minor but welcome change – many Zwifters found that turning the steering sensitivity up on Repack Ridge made it much easier to navigate the sharp singletrack corners.
Wrapping It Up
Once again, this month’s update is pretty light in terms of new features. Perhaps this is warranted: our sources inside Zwift tell us there’s a lot going on in the background (paying off that “tech debt” Eric Min has talked about in the past) and of course ZHQ is also working hard to support big events like Zwift Racing League and the upcoming UCI Esports Worlds.
Still… we’d love to see some new tarmac. Especially more Watopian singletrack or gravel!
Olya Perevalova Cohen is a keen Zwifter and artist who delights our community with illustrations of her Zwift experiences. We previously featured her illustrations from several big Zwift events, and today we’re publishing her lovely visual chronicle of eight Zwift Academy Road workouts. Enjoy!
UPDATE Nov 22 2020: this post has been updated to include the latest intermediate information, since the Aqueduc KOM was added after publishing, and points have been reduced from top 5 to top 3.
The seventh week of Zwift Racing League is upon us, and it’s going to be a battle between the wattage workhorses and the punchy climbers as we tackle custom lengths of France’s Petit Boucle.Let’s dig into the course, including some tips for bike choice, Strava segments for the custom routes, and more…
Looking At the Route: France Petit Boucle
Here’s a route preview from Rick over at No Breakaways:
Route Breakdown
This route is super flat, except for a few sections. Here’s the profile map – keep in mind this shows the entire route, but for ZRL we are only racing part of the route. We’ve pointed out the finish lines for each group below.
The Pavé Sprint Reverse is an intermediate for points, so timing it well will be key if you’re going for points. But keep in mind only the top THREE get points on intermediates this week.
Then we hit out first bit of climb, the Aqueduc KOM Reverse. This is really a sprint climb, but it’s for intermediate points, so expect an all-out push to the line!
Another sprint is just up the road, the Ballon Sprint Reverse. This is the last intermediate point option before the big climb which may see many of the top sprinters dropped.
Next we hit the twisties (“Les Intestins”) – no big climbs, but lots of little ups and downs, so be careful to maintain a good position in the pack.
Then it’s a left turn and up the big climb of the day – the backside of the Petit KOM. At around 2.9km and 3.7% average grade, this climb is comparable to London’s Box Hill and the Watopia’s Volcano KOM (both of which are a bit longer):
Unless teams are riding aggressively, chances are good that the front pack in your race will still be quite large when you reach the base of this climb. This is where the stronger climbers will put in massive efforts to try to drop sprinters so they can break away and score more intermediate points (A/B groups) or win (C/D groups) on the upcoming Pavé Sprint.
But before that sprint there’s the Aquaduc KOM Reverse – the final change for extra points for C/D, and another chance for extra points for A/B.
The Pavé Sprint line is the finish for C and D groups, just over 36km long. A and B groups will continue on for another flat 11km, finishing at the Marina Sprint with just over 47km.
We haven’t done test laps of this route, so we don’t have hard numbers to show you this week. With only a small portion of this course being uphill, an aero setup is going to save you the most energy over the full route. But will a slightly lighter-weight setup help you just a bit on the crucial climb up the Petit KOM’s backside? And is that bit of advantage worth the hit you’ll take on the flats?
That’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself this week.
Strategic Options
There are 5 intermediates on Petit Boucle, each awarding extra points for the first three over the line (3, 2, and 1 points). They come in this order:
Pavé Sprint Reverse
Aqueduc Q/KOM Reverse
Ballon Sprint Reverse
Aqueduc Q/KOM
Pavé Sprint (Premier/A/B only)
Sprinters, rejoice! There are definitely some opportunities here for you to earn some points for your team. Even if you get dropped on the big climb, you can contend for the points in the two flat sprints before that.
It will be fun to see what happens after the big climb. If a reduced group of stronger climbers is up the road, will the pure power riders behind them be able to work together to pull them back?
And before that big climb, will the pure power riders be pushing the pace in order to drop (or at least tire out) the climbers?
The Petit Boucle backside isn’t terribly steep, so there will probably be a decent number of smart non-climbers who make it over the top in the front group. These “Peter Sagans” will be the riders to watch for in the final moments of the race.
Lastly, powerups: there will be five opportunities for a powerup on this route (4 for C/D riders). Make sure you know how each powerup works, and use them wisely!
Your Thoughts
Care to share your thoughts about Tuesday’s big race? Comment below!
Matt talks with NTT Pro Cycling’s Nicholas Dlamini about his incredible journey from a South African Township to a career in professional cycling. Nic opens up on family life, why he waits until lunchtime to train, the infamous ‘arm breaking incident’ in 2019, plus more!
About the Podcast
The Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast features training tips from host Matt Rowe (Rowe & King), with regular guest hosts Greg Henderson, Dani Rowe, and Kristin Armstrong.
It’s graduation time on the Zwift Academy Roadshow. This week we’ll be chatting to Matt Stephens about the upcoming finals, we dive into workout eight with coaches Dan and Stephen, and Leah’s back to answer those final questions from the ZA community.
