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Rebel Routes: Downtown Titans

Eric Schlange
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23
Rebel Routes: Downtown Titans

Rebel Routes: Downtown Titans

Our newest Rebel Route covers the newest roads in Watopia (Titans Grove) and the oldest (Hilly Route). That means you’ll get to hammer two short KOM climbs with some recovery in between!

The idea for this route came from Shawn McAfee, who you may know through his Zwifty videos. Thanks, Shawn!

About Rebel Routes

“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides that are not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation. See all rebel routes >

The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! They are included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.

Route Description

Downtown Titans is a medium-length route at 24.6km (15.3 miles) long, and it begins and ends at the downtown Watopia start/finish line. Select the Hilly Route to get started.

  • Ride up through the drive-thru tree
  • Hit that KOM hard!
  • Wave hello to the dinos

Take a quick left onto Ocean Boulevard, then the next left to head toward the desert where a right-hand turn takes you into Titans Grove. This rollercoaster of a road will have you twisting and turning up and down through the giant sequoia trees and even a lost valley with living dinosaurs! But to see the dinos you’ll have to climb the timed KOM first. Top the leaderboard and grab that jersey, then descend to the dinos, wave hello, and continue your rollercoaster road to the end of Titans Grove.

A right turn out of Titans Grove takes you back toward Ocean Boulevard where you will turn another right to head down into the ocean tunnel. Right again to head toward downtown Watopia, then a left to get onto the Hilly Route.

When Watopia first launched (around May 2015), the only road on the island was the Hilly Route. So enjoy yourself – you’re riding a piece of Zwift history! Hit the short forward KOM and see if you can grab that leader’s jersey, then descend the backside through the statues, past Hank’s Gas Station, and over the 360 Bridge.

Soon enough you’ll hit the cobbles of the Italian Villas, where you’ll want to wind up those legs because you’ve got a sprint section coming up. Can you grab the green jersey?

Cross the JWB and hit the ramp in the Esses – another rollercoaster ride toward the final stretch of this route. Once you descend into downtown Watopia and cross the finish line you’re done. Nice work!

  • Grab that KOM jersey!
  • Down thru the status
  • Hit the sprint segment!

Profile

This route’s highlights are the two KOMs, as you can see below. Climb up to the top of the Titans Grove KOM, then recover as you descend down to the Ocean Boulevard flat road. Then it’s up-up again to the Hilly KOM, a descent, and rolling/flattish roads to the finish.

Getting Started + Lead-In

Start by choosing the Hilly Route. This will spawn you just before the downtown start/finish, which is where our route begins. There is no significant lead-in to the start of this route.

Turn by Turn

Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete Downtown Titans after selecting and starting the Hilly Route.

  1. Left to Ocean Blvd
  2. Left to Desert Flats
  3. Right to Titans Grove
  4. Right to Epic KOM
  5. Right to Sequoia Circle
  6. Right to Downtown
  7. Straight to Downtown
  8. Left to KOM
  9. Left (Straight) to KOM
  10. Left (Straight) to Bridge
  11. Straight to Italian Village/Sprint
  12. Straight to Italian Village
  13. Right to Sprint
  14. Straight to Sprint
  15. Right to Downtown

Route details:
Distance: 24.6km (15.3 miles)
Elevation Gain: 254m (834′)
Strava Segment

Rebel Route Suggestions

Got an idea for a great rebel route? Share it below and maybe we’ll publish a post about it!

New Zwift Clubs Feature: First Look

Eric Schlange
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69
New Zwift Clubs Feature: First Look

New Zwift Clubs Feature: First Look

Zwift is a place where riders (and runners) come together). We see this now more than ever, but it was true back in late 2014 when Zwift first launched! When those first beta users received their invites and began to pedal around Jarvis, it didn’t take long for group rides and races to spring up, grassroots-style.

The “Clubs” feature has been brought up numerous times in interviews with CEO Eric Min over the past year or more. In those interviews, Eric often mentions how the community has been Zwift’s greatest asset – the best content creator they’ve got. And that’s true! Eric has also said Zwift needs to “get out of their own way” and let the community create more content without Zwift being the gatekeeper. That’s one of the big goals of Clubs – to let the community form their own groups, create their own events, and generally build smaller, more intimate communities without ZwiftHQ needing to manage things.

That’s the big Clubs dream. And today, Zwift has announced the initial rollout of the Clubs feature under its FutureWorks label! What does the functionality look like today – and what might it look like down the road? Let’s dig in!

A FutureWorks MVP

The current Clubs functionality represents what Zwift calls an “MVP”, or minimum viable product. The MVP concept is common in lean startups and agile product development lifecycles where it’s very important to get a product in front of customers who can provide testing and feedback for future iterations. And that’s exactly what Zwift is doing with this Clubs release.

Clubs is the second feature ever to be released under Zwift’s “FutureWorks” label. (The first was steering on Repack Ridge.)

As an MVP, the current Clubs functionality is pretty basic. Zwifters, while happy to see something tangible on the Clubs front, will probably be disappointed that there isn’t more to it. But consider this: it’s the initial release of a feature that will change the face of the Zwift community forever. Zwift is right to be careful and seek our feedback as they build it out!

Functionality

Clubs today includes the following features:

  • Joining and leaving the club: Zwifters can respond to club invites via Companion. You can also leave a club at any time.
  • Basic club content: about info, Facebook and Discord links, club image, tagline, banner message for members. Club admins can manage this content, which shows up on the Club’s homepage in Companion.
  • Listing of events linked to the club: while clubs cannot yet create or edit their events, ZwiftHQ can link a club to an event (for example, a weekly group ride organized by a particular team would be linked to that team’s club). If a club is linked to an event, that event shows up on the club’s list of upcoming events.
  • Club member list: club homepage shows total member count, which can be tapped to view a list of members.
  • Club activity summary (total distance, elevation, time, calories): this shows the totals for all activities linked to the club. You can choose between 7-day, 30-day, and all-time views.
  • Member activities list: view all completed activities in chronological order. Very similar to your current activity feed.
  • Active Club selector in-game: there is a new dropdown menu on the join screen where you select which club to link your activity with. Zwifters can join multiple clubs, but each activity can only be linked to a single club. That linking is done here, before you begin your Zwift session.
  • Club invite in Companion
  • Click “Join” and you’re in!
  • Some of the Club home screen contents
  • Club activities list
  • Club members list
  • Leaving the club
  • “Active Club” dropdown on Join screen

When Can We Use It?

The plan is to onboard more Zwifters and clubs progressively as the community tests features and provides feedback. If major bugs or other issues arise, the release to more users may be delayed as those issues are resolved. This is all part of the agile software development lifecycle.

Phase 1: Beta Users Only

The initial Clubs rollout includes just one club, named “Club Jarvis”. (This is a nod to Jarvis Island, where all the early beta users began their Zwift journey.) Zwift will be sending out club invites to all beta users who are still active Zwifters. So if you signed up before Zwift went to a paid service in late October 2015, and you’re still actively using Zwift, you should get an invite.

Those invites won’t be sent all at once, because the invite list is in the tens of thousands. Zwift will be sending the invites in waves.

Phase 2: Established Teams

After beta users are invited, Zwift will allow a handful of teams to create a clubs and begin using the features. The plan is to onboard teams progressively, beginning with the most established teams. (This plan is subject to change.)

Providing Feedback

In Companion, the Clubs tab includes a FutureWorks logo at the top-right. Tapping this provides access to the FutureWorks Clubs Forum, which is where Zwift is asking us to post feedback on the Clubs features.

This feedback is vital to further developing Clubs functionality, so please chime in!

Future Plans

This is the exciting part. What will Clubs allow us to do in the future? Surely event management is a big piece teams are hoping for soon. But there’s much more in store for sure.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of the Clubs MVP? What are you most excited about in terms of future functionality? Comment below!

Review: Conquer Adjustable Height Cycling Trainer Desk

Eric Schlange
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32
Review: Conquer Adjustable Height Cycling Trainer Desk

Review: Conquer Adjustable Height Cycling Trainer Desk

Serious Zwifting requires some sort of platform for storing things like your keyboard, mouse, phone, iPad, TV remote, towels, laptop… the list goes on! I run Zwift from a PC into a TV, so at a minimum, I need my keyboard, mouse, phone and remote within easy reach.

For three years I used a music stand for this purpose, which did a passable job. Music stands are wobbly, though, and don’t provide much space. Like many Zwifters I had lusted after the Wahoo KICKR Indoor Cycling Desk, but just couldn’t pull the trigger on a $250USD table. I wanted something larger and sturdier, but I didn’t want it that bad!

In reading Amazon comments on the Wahoo desk I discovered a lower-priced alternative: the Conquer Desk. Priced at $139USD, the Conquer desk is nearly identical to Wahoo’s except it’s got Zwifty orange accents, bidon-holders, and costs $100 less! I ordered one, it arrived 3 days later, and I’ve been using it ever since. Here’s my quick review…

A Few Highlights

  • Height adjustable from 35″ to 47″
  • Fits nicely around your front wheel so the table is within reach while riding
  • Easily portable with locking wheels for easy movement and stability once in position
  • Well-designed 14″x28″ desktop has a non-slip surface, two cupholders, a tablet/phone stand and channels for cables
  • Steel frame for strength and durability
  • Priced at $139, ships free from Amazon (at least within the US)r

Assembly

Unpacking and assembling the table takes 10-15 minutes, and the desk ships with the only tools you need.

Build Quality

The desk is almost entirely made of hi-tensile steel, with the exception being the plastic desktop. Even the desktop has a steel frame, though, so it can hold plenty of weight!

  • Contents of the box
  • Includes all the tools you need
  • Set up as a shared table with my wife
  • Push the orange button to adjust table height
  • Looking wheels – which the Wahoo desk lacks!

There’s really nothing more than needs to be said: if you’re looking for a Zwift station desk, the Conquer desk deserves a look!

Alternatives

Here are a few other indoor trainer desk options:

What About You?

What do you use for your trainer table, and are you happy with it? Share tips and links below!

Problems Connecting to Zwift from Germany, Poland, or Elsewhere? Try This.

Eric Schlange
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24
Problems Connecting to Zwift from Germany, Poland, or Elsewhere? Try This.

Problems Connecting to Zwift from Germany, Poland, or Elsewhere? Try This.

Normally I resist getting into Zwift tech support issues via a blog post, because there are such a variety of potential causes and problems that it’s better left to the professionals But I wanted to share this tip to help any Zwifters who may otherwise miss a ride or run, because I know how important regular exercise is during these challenging times. So let’s get into this!

The Problem

Spoiler alert: I don’t know the precise problem. Here’s what I know:

  • Over the past week or so I’ve seen numerous posts from Zwifters in Germany complaining that they aren’t able to log into Zwift.
  • It appears to not be a steady problem – sometimes logging in works, other times it does not.
  • All the while, their Internet connection appears to be working fine. They can connect to other sites and services.
  • All the German Zwifers I’ve queried who reported the problem were connecting through Deutschs Telekom, who appears to be the largest ISP in Germany.
  • The rest of the world is able to log onto Zwift fun during these times – it’s not a system-wide Zwift problem.
  • I’ve seen riders from Poland complain of similar issues when connected through T-Mobile. I’m not sure if it’s affecting other countries.

When you log into Zwift, information from your computer travels through a variety of devices before hitting Zwift’s servers. And it’s the same when Zwift’s servers talk back to your computer. It appears that the Deutsche Telekom service is functional. Zwift’s service is functional. But somehow, the two aren’t staying on good speaking terms. Possibly AWS (Amazon Web Services, which Zwift runs on) is blocking data from Deutsche Telekom. Or Deutsche Telekom is blocking data from AWS, perhaps as a way to throttle Internet usage at a time when it is spiking. Or something else is going on in between.

Lots of German Zwifters have chimed into this thread on the Zwift forum, if you’re interested.

For Zwifters, understanding the exact problem isn’t the big deal. Getting a solution, so they can get on Zwift, is the important thing! So let’s get to that.

Two Solutions

There are two solutions: use a VPN, or connect via mobile data.

Connect via VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) has many uses including accessing a secure network remotely (work from home, anyone?), bypassing geo-restrictions, and protecting the your privacy. CyberGhost VPN describes their service this way:

CyberGhost VPN is a piece of software that hides your IP address and reroutes your internet traffic through an encrypted VPN tunnel. This way, you can protect your digital identity from your ISP, government authorities, and snoopers.

Setting up a VPN service and connecting your Zwift device through it should fix any connection problems German (and Polish?) Zwifters are having. Two VPN services I’ve seen recommended by German Zwifters are CyberGhost VPN and ProtonVPN.

One Zwifter Martijn Vreys wrote to me detailing his experience with login issues and the solution with CyberGhost:

Hi Eric,

This is awesome, many thanks for the advice. I was indeed having trouble logging into Zwift and did notice that 4G worked perfectly, but Zwifting from my phone is just not as much fun.

I followed your recommendations and went with CyberGhost. I got a subscription (there are different payment plans available, starting at 12.99 euros for 1 month to 2.64 euros per month for a 3y subscription. After setting up your account, the website will let you download the software onto your laptop, where you can log in with your newly setup account. It then shows you which country you are currently connected to (Germany) and which countries you can choose from (I took Belgium).

You select the country, it sets up the VPN in seconds, and then I opened Zwift. It worked perfectly, while it didn’t work 10mins before I started this via regular wifi connection. Super quick, super easy, not very cheap but saves countless hours of trying to log in. Many, many thanks!

  • CyberGhost pricing
  • We can see Martijn is connected via Deutsche Telekom
  • Selecting a server to connect through

One important note: if you connect through a VPN, the Companion app will not see your active Zwift session unless your Companion device is also using the VPN.

Connect via Mobile Data

Another solution is to connect to Zwift using your mobile device’s data plan. Assuming your mobile device uses a different network than your ISP (eg, Deutsche Telekom) this should work as well. Just turn your mobile phone into a hotspot, then connect to Zwift through that wifi.

You will incur some additional mobile data use this way, but it shouldn’t be a massive amount if you’re only riding Zwift (not downloading the game for a fresh install, etc).

Questions or Comments?

Share info below! I may not be able to answer questions or fix problems, but perhaps Zwifters can share info below and help each other out!

How To: Use a Thru-Axle Bike on a Wheel-On Trainer (Videos)

Eric Schlange
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5
How To: Use a Thru-Axle Bike on a Wheel-On Trainer (Videos)

How To: Use a Thru-Axle Bike on a Wheel-On Trainer (Videos)

Mountain bikes are all thru-axle these days, and road bikes are moving in that direction quickly as well as the cycling world adopts disc brakes. And while we love the stiffness and reliability of thru-axle, many wheel-on trainers don’t include thru-axle compatibility out of the box.

Never fear, though: our favorite Lama is here, with videos to guide us on getting the job done!

If you have a Tacx wheel-on trainer such as the popular Tacx Flow Smart, you’ll need to know the length, diameter, and thread type your bike’s rear wheel uses. Then just purchase the correct “Tacx E-Thru Axle” on Amazon or elsewhere.

Using the Tacx adapters on other brands’ trainers is going to be a little “hit and miss,” as Shane says. They won’t work with the popular CycleOps Fluid 2, for example. The Wahoo KICKR Snap has its own adapter kit, but only for 12×142 thru axles.

Tacx E-Thru Axle Adapters
KICKR Snap 142×12 Thru-Axle Adapters

Here are Shane’s tutorial videos showing how to set up the Tacx and Wahoo thru-axle adapters.

Setting up Thru-Axle on Tacx Wheel-On Trainers

Setting up Thru-Axle on Wahoo KICKR Snap

New “Peak Zwift” Achieved: 28,299

Eric Schlange
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32
New “Peak Zwift” Achieved: 28,299

New “Peak Zwift” Achieved: 28,299

Peak Zwift records are being broken every few days lately. Last Tuesday we hit a new high of 24,341, then early this morning it seemed all of Europe showed up to ride together as we hit a new high of 28,299!

The peak was reached right around 10am UK time, when astute Zwifter Jon Wakefield snapped this Zwift Companion shot with the highest number seen on the day.

Will it go higher? We think so. We think we’ll burst through the 30k barrier this week, and the next line of interest after that would be 30,024, which would double the Peak Zwift we set back in January 2020.

Stay healthy, take care of one another, and Ride On!

Update: Zwift Chris Rudallruds shared a screenshot showing 28,305 riders online, so that’s the official high water mark as far as we know. (Zwift has chosen not to confirm peak numbers during this time.)

One Woman’s Tour of Watopia, Illustrated

Eric Schlange
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3
One Woman’s Tour of Watopia, Illustrated

One Woman’s Tour of Watopia, Illustrated

Olya Perevalova Cohen is a level 27 Zwifter and skilled artist. We’ve featured her Zwifty illustrations in the past, and were delighted to find she had illustrated each stage of her (and faithful dog Pepe’s) Tour of Watopia 2020 efforts.

Enjoy this little window into her personal experience of each stage!

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Zwiftcast Episode 79: Crazy numbers on Zwift, will there be a trainer shortage, and changes at HQ

Simon Schofield
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2
Zwiftcast Episode 79: Crazy numbers on Zwift, will there be a trainer shortage, and changes at HQ

Zwiftcast Episode 79: Crazy numbers on Zwift, will there be a trainer shortage, and changes at HQ

In a worried world, Simon, Shane, and Nathan try to look at the positives whilst recognising some of the serious matters facing Zwifters.

Episode 79 marks the first of the weekly episodes during the virus crisis.

Simon kicks off with a Zwiftcast plea to HQ – let’s turn the Unemployed Badge into a Work From Home Badge… it just seems kinda better right now.

The podcasters move on to discuss the remarkable figures in the game as new Zwifters pour onto the platform in huge numbers. Simon is confident of victory in the Zwiftcast’s Peak Zwift Guessing Game.

But could a limiting factor end up being a trainer shortage? There are signs it may happen although an update from Elite on the unprecedented measures they’ve taken to ensure supply provides some hope for those keen to get their hands on a smart trainer.

The chaps discuss and dismiss the several calls for Zwift to be made free – and Dick, if you’re listening… we don’t mean to be mean!

In a packed episode Simon talks to a Dad and Lad team who’ve been on Zwift for years – and looks at how the company is dealing with another huge influx, the number of kids getting signed up under the company’s excellent Kids Go Free scheme as parents look for healthy diversions in the home.

Simon, Shane and Nathan take a look at the news that Zwift has undergone a management re-organisation, with layoffs, and what that may mean for Zwifters.

There’s also a feature on Group Meetups – part of the game which has come into very sharp focus in the crisis… with lots of advice to HQ on how it may be tweaked.

And finally, the podcasters seem to have gone challenge crazy – listen to find out who has now challenged who to what!

We hope you enjoy listening and we hope you stay safe.

Zwift Update 1.0.48306 Released

Eric Schlange
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77
Zwift Update 1.0.48306 Released

Zwift Update 1.0.48306 Released

The latest Zwift update is now available on all platforms! Here are the details…

Not sure if your Zwift install is up-to-date? Here’s how to check >

New Bike Frames: Parlee RZ7 and Pinarello Dogma F12

New bike day is always a good day! Zwift has added two new frames to the Drop Shop: Parlee’s RZ7 and Pinarello’s F12.

  • Parlee RZ7 (level 28 locked)
  • Pinarello Dogma F12 (level 29 locked)

“The Parlee RZ7 is the ultimate blend of stiffness, efficiency, weight and performance all designed to make you faster. Nothing feels better than going faster. And faster feels better on a Parlee RZ7.”

“Hanging on your wall, it looks like art. On the road, it feels like a rocket. The F12 carries on the legendary Dogma legacy of performance and artistry. More aero, more powerful, and more beautiful than ever before, the Pinarello Dogma F12 is the ultimate racing bicycle.”

We’ve completed a quick preliminary flat road test with both bikes, and can say they’re both pretty zippy, but not quite as fast as any of the frames our “Fastest Frames” list. (The Parlee performs about the same as the Zwift Aero, and the Pinarello is about 4 seconds faster than the Parlee over our ~50 minute test course.

More complete test results on these new frames will be published as soon as we’ve got them.

Enjoy the Alpe, N00bs!

Zwift has temporarily reduced the level locks on the Jungle and Alpe du Zwift Level 5 and Level 6 respectively. Jon Mayfield’s release notes say this has been done, “to allow more people to give it a try.”

Apparently Zwift is trying to keep their new users engaged and happy by opening up these restricted portions of Watopia at an earlier point. By my math, most Zwifters could hit level 5 and get access to the Jungle with 6 hours of riding (or less). Alpe access (now level 6) should take 8 hours of riding, possibly closer to 7. So this might be a smart move from Zwift to get newbies to put in more rides quickly – assuming the newbies understand that they’ll unlock more routes at these levels.

Birthday and Gender Locks

You can no longer change your birthday (or presumably gender) without direct help from Zwift Support.

Our guess is this change has been put into place prior to further changes involving kids on the platform. These changes may include requested features like a reduced minimum weight for riders below a certain age and more privacy protections for minors.

This also prevents men from changing their gender to join women’s only rides, which has been an issue in the past.

The Fence Returns

We wrote about this last week at more length, but Zwift has returned the Ride Leader Fence to the game! Jon’s release notes say, “We will be testing this feature in select group rides.” Hopefully, the fence will behave in the tests and Zwift will allow it to return to regular use very soon.

Sandbagging Controls?

Eric’s comment in this Zwift Riders thread

Just a few hours before this update dropped, Eric Min made an interesting comment on a Facebook thread about sandbagging in races, saying “Yeah this is about to stop in the next update”. So what does this update include for sandbaggers? That is unclear at this time – Jon’s notes don’t mention anything, and we’re not seeing anything changed in-game.

Our guess is they’ve included some sandbagger controls which need to be enabled on a per-event basis, and Zwift will be using those in test events soon. They wouldn’t want to roll this sort of thing out and have it negatively affect someone’s race experience.

Back when I wrote my first post about enforcing race categories, ZwiftHQ told me their plans were to “implement post-event hiding of riders who race without heart rate or use zPower (assuming the event is set up to disallow such riders).” That was 3 months ago, though, and since then Eric Min has talked about “ghosting” sandbaggers in races so they’re hidden from other racers but can still complete the event for their own enjoyment.

Perhaps this update includes some mix of those features? Hard to say. Hopefully we’ll find out more about this soon, because racers are clamoring for it!

More Changes

Here are the other changes noted in this release:

  • Added support for upcoming special events
  • Added support for April Ride and April Run mission
  • Updated new user tutorials for certain user types
  • New users are now prompted to customize their avatar during first ride or run
  • Bluetooth FTMS spin down re-enabled for certain trainers

Read/discuss Jon Mayfield’s release notes >

What About the UI and Clubs?

Nothing in Jon’s release notes mentions the much-awaited UI update or Clubs functionality. So what’s going on with those? Here’s what we know:

  • Rumor has it that the new UI is scheduled to roll out on AppleTV in another couple of weeks. If you recall, the plan is for AppleTV first, since it’s the toughest platform in terms of UI design. Rollouts to other platforms will follow afterward, although the timeline for these is unclear.
  • ZwiftHQ has assured us that Clubs functionality is moving forward as planned, and we will see some concrete news on it early next week!

Questions or Comments?

Post below!

Royal Classics Group Workout Series Announced

Eric Schlange
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14
Royal Classics Group Workout Series Announced

Royal Classics Group Workout Series Announced

Zwift has just announced a set of group workouts designed by Zwift Coach Kevin Poulton and inspired by the Spring Classics. Running for four weeks (March 30 through April 26), this “race experience” workout series aims to bring the spirit of unique events like the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Paris-Roubaix to Watopia.

When thinking of the Classics, it’s the major sectors that spring to mind. Cobbled climbs like the Koppenberg, punishing sectors like the Carrefour de l’Arbre, the contrastingly smooth surface of Roubaix’s Velodrome or the leg-snapping gradient of the Cauberg. While these typically provide the springboards for the race-winning moves, what often goes unnoticed are efforts made within the peloton to move the favorites into position by their teammates ahead of each of these fabled sectors. The Zwift Royal Classics Series will give a taste of the constant accelerations and stresses of true classics racing.

“An entire Classics race experience pressed into a single hour on Zwift,” says Zwift. Intrigued? Read on!

About the Workouts

Each week’s workout has men’s and women’s versions. It appears that all riders are welcome to join either workout version. While the workouts are similar, their intervals appear to be adjusted to more closely-mimic the timing of efforts in the actual men’s and women’s races (see workout images below).

The Hellingen Royal Classic (Week 1)

“Our take on one of the most famous real-life Classics, the Hellingen Royal Classic on Zwift contains a number of climbs that offer several opportunities to attack and take the lead.”

The Roubaix Royal Classic (Week 2)

“Based on one of the toughest cycling events on the calendar, The Roubaix Royal Classic has tons of intervals that represent specific sections of the course.”

(workout images coming soon)

The Cauberg Royal Classic (Week 3)

“Inspired by a lengthy circuit race in a quiet part of Europe, the Cauberg Royal Classic will push riders over and over again until only the strongest riders are left.”

(workout images coming soon)

The Ardennes Royal Classic

“Based on the oldest of the Monuments, the Ardennes Royal Classic is perfect for top-of-the-line riders to show their strengths. A series of seemingly never-ending climbs await riders here before the finale plays out over a few last climbs.”

(workout images coming soon)

Events are still being added to the calendar, but you can read series details and schedule at Zwift.com >

Guest Pros

The “King and Queen of the Classics”, Philippe Gilbert and Anna van der Breggen, will each lead one ride per week. Here’s their schedule for week 1:

  • April 2 – 17:30 (UTC/GMT) Anna van der Breggen leads the Hellingen Royal Classics Workout. Sign up here.
  • April 3 – 17:00 (UTC/GMT) Philippe Gilbert leads the Hellingen Royal Classics Workout. Sign up here.

About Philippe Gilbert

Belgian road cyclist Philippe Gilbert heads to Zwift for the Royal Classics. A professional racer for UCI WorldTeam Lotto–Soudal, Philippe is the second person in history to have won three Ardennes Classics in a single week. The “King of the Classics,” Philippe is a veritable Classics specialist, with a number of wins under his belt. He has also won stages at each of the three cycling Grand Tours. Be sure to join Philippe in the Royal Classics.

About Anna Van Der Breggen

Dutch road cyclist Anna van der Breggen brings a wealth of experience to the Royal Classics. Currently with UCI Women’s Continental Team Boels–Dolmans, Anna rode away with a gold medal for women’s road race in the 2016 Rio Olympics and won the women’s road race in the 2018 UCI Road World Championships. Considered one of the most versatile riders of her generation, Anna excels in both the one-day classics and stage races. In 2017, she won all three Ardennes classics races in one week, earning her the nickname Queen of the Ardennes.

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