Simon, Shane, and Nathan analyse what is the biggest development for Zwift since the platform launched almost five years ago – the reveal of the strategy for making eSports a reality.
The partnership with the UCI, unveiled at the World Championships, grabbed the headlines, but the fascination is in the detail. And the detail is on the Zwiftcast. Simon conducts a lengthy and searching interview with Zwift’s CEO of eSport, Craig Edmondson and the three Zwiftcasters subject his answers to scrutiny and analysis. It would be wrong to think that this development only affects racers on Zwift. As Craig reveals, the platform itself is likely to change to accommodate the huge ambition of eSport.
Elsewhere in the episode, there’s a peek behind the curtain of the Draft House – the place that turned out to be the coolest place to hang during the rain-sodden World Champs in Harrogate.
And there’s a look at how successful Zwift’s huge marketing push over the summer has been.
World Championship Special #5 with Ben Swift, Quinn Simmons and Max Walker (Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast)
As the World Championships start to wind down Matt, Kev, and Dani are joined by some of the most successful Juniors of the day.
Quinn Simmons (Junior Men’s Road Race winner) and Max Walker (Men’s U23 Yorkshire Challenge winner, held at the Zwift Draft House) join our hosts, as well as British hopeful Ben Swift.
All the hard questions are covered–how will the rain affect race day, who is going to which teams next year, and how much Five Guys can you eat post-race.
World Championship Special #4 with Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe, Ella Harris, Julie Leth and Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast)
The 4th episode of the World Championship Specials brings the best of Zwift and pro tour athletes to the podcast as Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe, Ella Harris, Julie Leth, and Audrey Cordon-Ragot join the hosts to talk about Zwift Academy, juggling fatherhood with the pro-tour, and their top picks for the upcoming events.
It’s a jam-packed episode but it doesn’t stop there, there’s a 10-minute exerpt from the latest Watts Occurring podcast which was recorded live in the Zwift Draft House in Yorkshire by our very own Matt Rowe.
Since Zwift workout intervals are generally based on percentages of your FTP, it is important to have your FTP set correctly so your workouts will have the proper level of difficulty.
Set your FTP too high, and your workout will be too tough. Set it too low, and it will be too easy!
There are actually several ways to change your FTP in Zwift. Here’s how each method works.
Method 1: Setting Your FTP via a Test (Preferred)
Testing is the most accurate way to determine your current FTP. But be warned: FTP tests require a maximal effort, which is always a challenge!
Zwift’s FTP tests can be found under Workouts>FTP Tests. You can get to the workouts screen by clicking “Training” from the startup screen, or hitting the “E” key on your keyboard in game.
There are three tests available. The first two (“FTP Test” and FTP Test shorter”) are “traditional” FTP tests in which you will put out a maximal 20-minute effort after warming up.
The third (“Ramp Test”) is a shorter effort which starts easy then ramps up in 20-watt increments every minute. The challenging portion of this test is typically 4-8 minutes long. Learn more about taking a ramp test >
Whatever test you choose, the game will prompt you to save your newly-tested FTP value once the test is complete.
Method 2: Manually Setting Your FTP
You can easily change your FTP to any number you’d like. This can be done in two different places, both only available from within the Zwift game.
The first place you can adjust your FTP is under your profile. To get there, click “Menu” while in game, then click the edit icon next to your profile info at the top-right. Adjust your FTP, then click to save.
The other place your FTP can be adjusted is from the workout picker. Select any workout, then change the FTP number at the bottom-left. As soon as you change the number, your new FTP value will be saved.
Method 3: Setting Your FTP via Zwift’s Auto-Detection
Zwift automatically tests your FTP on every ride, prompting you if an increase is detected. Your FTP value is calculated at the end of your ride as 95% of your highest 20-minute average power.
Example: if your FTP is set to 270 watts, and you averaged 307 watts for 20 minutes in a Zwift race, the game would prompt you with the screen below when you finished your ride:
Just hit “Oh Yeah” to save your new FTP. And of course, hit F10 to take a screenshot so you can share your new FTP on Zwift Riders Facebook and other social media. 😃
Zwift to Host 2020 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships
Zwift and the UCI have announced what may be the biggest bit of racing news in Zwift’s short history: the first-ever UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, to be held in 2020 on Zwift’s platform.
The UCI has enjoyed a mutually-beneficial relationship with Zwift since Zwift’s early days, with three UCI Road World Championship courses available in game (Richmond, Innsbruck, and Yorkshire). In fact, Zwifters have ridden over two million miles on these UCI courses!
We’ve known that the UCI has been taking Esports seriously, with April’s UCI progress report from president David Lappartient prominently including “e-cycling.” And the plans for 2020 aren’t exactly news, since his report included this:
… we have included e-cycling in our Regulations and are organising the first UCI e-cycling World Championships in 2020…
Still, today’s press release at the Zwift Draft House in Harrogate is our first confirmation that the 2020 WC’s will happen on Zwift–even though this shouldn’t surprise anyone!
Here’s Matt Stephens interviewing Craig Edmondson, CEO of Zwift Esports, about this news:
Big Horizons
Edmonson sees this as a chance to create something new which improves on some of the shortcomings of other cycling disciplines:
“The beauty of creating a new cycling discipline is that we have a blank slate and no limitations. Parity is incredibly important to us at Zwift and together with the UCI we will be working to create equal competition for both men and women. This means the same number of races, the same coverage for races, and of course, equal prize money. We will set the standard for fair play and equality.”
Eric Min, Zwift CEO, has championed Zwift as a platform for high-level racing at the UCI and Olympic levels for years. This is just one more step toward making this vision a reality.
“Earlier this year, we marked our ambition to develop an esports platform, but I think it’s much more than that. We are looking to establish a new cycling discipline. This partnership is a significant leap in that journey as we move further towards our ambition of delivering competition at the highest level in sport.”
Rhys Howell, Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships at Canyon and Canyon ZCC Team Manager, said the decision to create an esports team was easy:
“Racing on Zwift is still in its infancy but compared to the cost of running a traditional cycling team, starting Canyon ZCC was a no-brainer of an opportunity. We’ve got a great opportunity to steal a march on future competition, and we are excited by the opportunity to reach new audiences.”
Martigny, Switzerland on Zwift
The UCI has just announced that next year’s Worlds will be held in Switzerland, with the race finishes happening on a 20km circuit in the town of Martigny. So it’s safe to assume we’ll see a new Martigny course released on Zwift, probably in August 2020.
More to Come
Of course, this is just the beginning–there’s a lot of work to be done before a World Championship can happen on Zwift.
Details on 2020 events are not yet finalized, and the UCI must implement a new rulebook for Cycling Esports as well. It’s going to be interesting to see this develop in the coming months.
Your Thoughts
What about you, Zwifters? Share your thoughts below!
World Championship Special #3 with Chloe Dygert, Alex Dowsett and Dan Bigham (Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast)
Episode 3 dives into all the action of the first half of the World Championship week. With stellar guests in newly-crowned TT World Champion Chloe Dygert, 5th place finisher in the men’s TT Alex Dowsett and Bronze medalist in the Mixed Relay Dan Bigham, the hosts cover all events whilst also sharing a taste of the World Championships.
World Championship Special #2, with Alex Dowsett (Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast)
Team Sky. Movistar. Team Katusha-Alpecin. Top road racing teams all graced at one point or another by Alex Dowsett. He joins the hosts to chat about his early years in the pro scene as well as using Zwift to train ahead of the time trial event at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire. All while sitting in a Glasgow bathtub before the Tour of Britain!
World Championship Special #1 (Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast)
Introducing a 5 part ‘Worlds Special’ that will feature special guests, analysis, and behind the scenes stories!
Matt Rowe teams up with Dani Rowe and Matt Stephens to discuss all things Yorkshire Road World Championships in Harrogate, Yorkshire. Plus, Kev Poulton will be on the podcast, offering a unique insight in to life as a coach for riders targeting the podium having used Zwift in training.
Have You Joined the Zwift World Champs Challenge on Strava?
It’s rare that Zwift sponsors a Strava Challenge, so when I saw one pop up last week I signed up right away! It’s called the Zwift x World Champs Challenge, and if you haven’t joined it yet, here are the details.
The Challenge
To complete the Challenge, you must ride the same length as the UCI Road World Championship Men’s Elite Road Race in Yorkshire between September 22, 2019-October 5, 2019. That’s 285 km (177 miles), and Zwift rides count as do outdoor rides. You can do it!
Here’s more fine print explaining what types of Strava rides count towards Challenge completion:
GPS and virtual rides both count towards the Challenge goal. Virtual rides are categorized as those that include GPS, distance, elevation, and time data from a simulated route.
Manual entries, e-bike rides, and non-virtual trainer rides will not count toward your Challenge effort. Activity privacy settings must be marked “Everyone” to count towards the Challenge goal.
All activities logged during the challenge period must be uploaded to Strava no later than three days after the challenge ends.
Prizes
There are two tiers of prizes for this Challenge:
One month free Zwift for those who complete the challenge. Available only to those who are not currently a Zwift subscriber.
Sarah True on Depression in Endurance Athletes (Zwift PowerUp Tri Podcast #15)
Episode 15 brings recent Kona qualifier and Zwift Academy Tri mentor Sarah True in for a chat. We take this opportunity to talk about an often-overlooked yet important topic: depression in endurance athletes. We dive right in and speculate on why depression seems to be so common in athletes as well as our advice for dealing with it.
Sarah also offers a quick update on the Zwift Academy Tri team with Kona just around the corner. And in the tech corner, Jordan gives us the rundown on the hotly debated E-Bike racing scene.
About the Podcast:
The Zwift PowerUp Tri Podcast is hosted by former pro triathletes Matt Lieto and Jordan Rapp, lending their in-depth knowledge of the multisport to the Zwift Tri audience.
