Zwift Insider

London “Classique” Route Details

Routes & Maps

Eric Schlange

-

July 28, 2016

London “Classique” Route Details

The London course’s “Classique” route takes you on some of the most famous London streets including Strand, The Mall, Constitution Hill, and Birdcage Walk. You ride by Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace.

It is a precise replica of the Prudential RideLondon Classique route, which is described as “beginning on The Mall in St James’s Park, going up Constitution Hill, turning at the top to come down and on to Birdcage Walk, then passing Big Ben and turning left on to Whitehall and right on to the Strand before turning again to come back up the Strand, through Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch and back on to The Mall.”

Start Points and Lead-Ins

When choosing this route to free ride you will begin near the start of the Classique sprint. If you are riding this for an event, you will begin in the London start pens which means a lead-in of approximately 3.9km/2.4 miles before you begin your first Classique lap.

The Strava segments below begin and end at the start/finish banner located on The Mall, not the main start/finish banner where the game starts your ride.

Route details:
Distance: 5.4 km (3.3 miles)
Elevation Gain: 19m (62′)
Strava Forward Segment Strava Reverse Segment Strava Reverse Segment Leadin from Start Banner

Take a video tour:

“London Loop” Route Details

Routes & Maps

Eric Schlange

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July 28, 2016

0

“London Loop” Route Details

The London course’s “London Loop” route takes you along the Thames, down through underground tunnels, and up the Box Hill KOM. If you take the reverse route you will ride up “Fox Hill” which is a shorter, steeper climb than Box Hill.

Route details:
Distance: 14.9 km (9.2 miles)
Elevation Gain: 220m (722′)
Strava Forward Segment Strava Reverse Segment

Take a video tour:

“London 8” Route Details

Routes & Maps

Eric Schlange

-

July 28, 2016

1

“London 8” Route Details

The London course’s “London 8” route covers the entire original London course by combining the “London Loop” and “Classique” routes.

Route details:
Distance: 20.3 km (12.6 miles)
Elevation Gain: 238m (780′)
Strava Forward Segment Strava Reverse Segment

Take a video tour:

Zwift Launches London Course

Eric Schlange

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July 28, 2016

0

Zwift Launches London Course

As we predicted, Zwift HQ launched the long-awaited Prudential RideLondon course late last night. It’s beautiful! The rain shining on the streets is an especially cool effect, and the occasional thunderclap certainly wakes a bloke up.

We are busy creating Strava segments and compiling details for the various route options on the new course, so stay tuned for those posts. There are five different route options:

London Loop: a 9.2 mile loop beginning on the Embankment along the Thames, then crossing it underground and magically transporting you to the Surrey countryside for a trip over Box Hill.
Classique: a precise replica of PRL’s 3.3 mile Classique route in central London which begins on The Mall, goes up Constitution Hill, comes back on Birdcage Walk and the Strand. You’ll even ride by Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace.
London 8: covers the London Loop and Classique, 12.6 miles.
PRL Half: four laps of the London Loop, then turn around at the Surrey roundabout for a final finish through the banner on The Mall in the Classique section (~43 miles).
PRL Full: eleven laps of the London Loop, then turn around at the Surrey roundabout for a final finish through the banner on The Mall in the Classique section (~100 miles).

Here are some photos posted by various Zwifters over on the Zwift Riders Facebook group:

Cyclists ride on a virtual course in a Zwift cycling game interface, showing power, speed, distance, time, and rider list on screen with a digital bridge and cityscape background.

A group of cyclists ride in a line on a sunlit city street with trees, red phone booths, and bus stops along the sidewalk. One cyclist in blue is slightly separated from the group.

A cyclist rides through a virtual cityscape in Zwift, with stats displayed, including 130 watts, 33 RPM, 2.9 km, 5:58 time, and a river and Ferris wheel visible under a blue sky with trees lining the road.

A cyclist rides uphill on a virtual road in Zwift, surrounded by green scenery. The screen displays power, speed, gradient, user stats, and leaderboards, with on-screen data panels showing performance and nearby riders.

A quiet, empty street in London with the Big Ben clock tower, London Eye, classic red phone booth, street lamps, and bus stops under a bright sky with sunlight streaming in.

A cyclist rides inside a virtual tunnel in Zwift, with stats like power, heart rate, speed, and leaderboard displayed on the screen. The tunnel is well-lit, with posters on the walls and a wooden path under the rider.

A virtual cycling game screen shows a cyclist riding on a rainy, tree-lined road. Stats like speed, distance, power, and leaderboards are visible, with in-game graphics of houses, trees, and a cloudy sky ahead.

A cyclist in a red and blue kit rides on a virtual rainy road in Zwift, with power and ride stats displayed on the screen. Rider lists and a minimap appear on the right. Trees and buildings are in the background.

A virtual cycling game interface shows a cyclists stats, including power, speed, and distance, as they ride through a cityscape with a golden winged statue and curved red road bordered by trees and barriers. — More sunny days in London ahead!

A cyclist rides through a virtual city course in a cycling simulation game, with performance stats like power, speed, and distance displayed on the screen. Buildings and race barriers line the road ahead.

Cyclist in blue riding on a wooden path through a tunnel in Zwift virtual cycling app, with performance data and a leaderboard displayed on the screen.

Two virtual cyclists race side by side on a city street in a cycling simulation game, with on-screen stats showing power, speed, distance, and other data.

A tall column with a statue of a squirrel on top stands in the center of a city square, surrounded by classic European-style buildings, with a Ferris wheel and modern skyscrapers in the background under a blue sky.

A cyclist rides uphill on a virtual rural road in Zwift, passing a wooden fence and green trees. Onscreen, a leaderboard shows race times and rankings for Box Hill. The sky is blue with a few clouds.

Zwift version 1.0.13531 released

News

Eric Schlange

-

July 28, 2016

0

Zwift version 1.0.13531 released

The much awaited release on Zwift’s London course happened late Wednesday night (July 27th) here in California. Zwift HQ had this to say:

Over 1000 hours of artist time has been lovingly put into the map to make our version of London, and we think it shows. A little over 12 miles (nearly 20km) of new roads are available initially, including a copy of the infamous Box Hill as well as the full Prudential Ride London “Classique” course. All roads are u-turn enabled so feel free to ride in any direction you wish.

Read the full release announcement here >

Zwift Academy enrollment tops 1000

News

Eric Schlange

-

July 26, 2016

0

Zwift Academy enrollment tops 1000

Zwift Academy now has 1111 riders enrolled. Enrollment ends July 31st–learn more at zwiftacademy.com.

Here’s the recent Facebook post from Zwift HQ:

Zwift London PRL course details and possible launch dates

Eric Schlange

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July 25, 2016

0

Zwift London PRL course details and possible launch dates

The folks at Zwift HQ have been testing the new London course and posting the rides to Strava–here are links to recent rides from Eric Min, Jon Mayfield and Mike McCarthy and Matt Antoniou.

Based on Strava’s data we can ascertain a few tasty details about the soon-to-be-released course:

It is fairly flat except for the Box Hill climb of ~495′ (151m) which is ~2.4 miles (3.9km) long–quite close to the profile of the real life Box Hill
Zwift HQ took liberties with the layout of the course so we don’t have to ride out to Surrey to enjoy Box Hill–it finishes at the Elephant & Castle
The main course loop is ~9.2 miles (14.8km) long
The course has an optional loop section ~3.4 miles (5.5km) long to the west through Green Park so we can race around Buckingham Palace–definitely something we won’t be doing in real life!
We’ll be riding in the left lane

When will it be released?

Zwift HQ is staying tight-lipped about a release date, but since the Prudential Ride London race is July 30-31st, my guess is the course will be released sometime between late this Wednesday and early Friday.

Screen Shots of the London Course:

A quiet, sunlit London street with lampposts, a red phone booth, a bus stop, and Big Ben in the background. The London Eye is also visible among trees and historic buildings. — Big Ben!

A screenshot from a cycling video game shows a virtual city route with stats overlayed, including speed, distance, and time. A gold-winged statue on a pedestal overlooks red roads lined with trees and barriers. — View from the front of Buckingham Palace

A deserted city street at night with streetlights, trees, and bus stops lining the sidewalk. A river and bridge are visible in the background, and a blimp floats in the cloudy night sky. — Blimp sighted over the Thames

A virtual cycling race in a city setting, showing a cyclist on a road with digital stats displayed, including power, speed, distance, and time, alongside buildings and race barriers.

Two cyclists ride side by side on virtual road bikes in a city scene, competing in a digital cycling app. On-screen stats show power, speed, distance, and time, with both cyclists focused on the race.

Tacx Neo road feel firmware update released

Trainers

Eric Schlange

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July 24, 2016

0

Tacx Neo road feel firmware update released

Last week Tacx released a major firmware update for their flagship Neo trainer which allows it to emulate the “feel” of various road surfaces such as cobblestones, plank bridges, and gravel.

This is made possible by the Neo’s innovative motor which adjusts the resistance on your rear cassette 1000 times per second. Because the adjustments can be made so rapidly, various “surface profiles” can be utilitized which give you the pedal feel of different surfaces.

Here’s what Tacx says about it:

Road surface simulation
The NEO is the only trainer with road surface simulation, allowing you to experience the feeling of riding on cobblestones, gravel, off road or other types of roads, all while you are indoors. You feel the vibrations of the road surface in your legs, exactly the way it would feel outdoors. This entirely new feature can be used with some Tacx Films when you ride in our virtual worlds and with Zwift.

This feature simply makes Zwift more immersive, and that’s a beautiful thing. Of course, you have to be pedaling to feel the surface emulation: unlike riding outdoors, you won’t feel the various surfaces when you are coasting, and you won’t feel the different vibrations through your seat or handlebars.

What do Users Think?

The reviews I’ve seen thus far have been quite positive. Some Zwifters, however, have requested the ability to turn the feature on or off because they want the smoothness of an indoor ride.

Here is an thorough review from DC Rainmaker >

Is this a Kickr Killr?

The Neo’s main competition is Wahoo’s Kickr (although Cyclops’ new Hammer will also begin competing in this space soon.) While many people love the Kickr for its rock-solid reliability, it simply isn’t capable of this level of road surface simulation since it uses a belt system for resistance.

Will Neo’s new road feel capabilities unseat the Kickr as (arguably) the most popular high-end trainer? Probably not, but anyone who doesn’t yet own a high-end trainer and is looking for an immersive experience will certainly be attracted to the Neo. Because of this, I predict Wahoo will release some major Kickr firmware updates or a new Kickr version soon.

Tacx’s video introducing this new feature:

Everyone’s favorite Lama Shane Miller discussing the new feature:

Tacx Neo Intro Video:

Zwift version 1.0.13205 released

Game Updates

Eric Schlange

-

July 23, 2016

0

Zwift version 1.0.13205 released

Zwift HQ pushed out an update on 7/22 which fixes a few bugs and adds some minor improvements.

See the official update announcement with a detailed list of changes here >

Zwift today, win a TdF stage tomorrow: Michael Matthews takes stage 10

News

Eric Schlange

-

July 15, 2016

0

Zwift today, win a TdF stage tomorrow: Michael Matthews takes stage 10

The day before stage 10 of the Tour de France, Michael “Bling” Matthews of team ORICA-BikeExchange tweeted a question about joining a group ride on Zwift, as he hopped on for a ride during his rest day.

Anyone now how to join a group ride on @GoZwift im on my rest day at true tour de France and trying to find a group

— michael matthews (@blingmatthews) July 11, 2016

(Incidentally, we’ve got a post covering how to join a group ride–it’s easy!)

The next day Matthews got into the break along with two teammates (Luke Durbridge and Daryl Impey) and a few other strong riders including Peter Sagan, Edvald Boassen Hagen and Greg Van Avermaet.

The ORICA-BikeExchange trio worked their team advantage perfectly, placing Matthews in an ideal position for the win. He executed a fast and precise sprint to take the stage.

More and more pros are using Zwift–it was even featured in the TdF newscast. As Zwift HQ’s Charlie Issendorf likes to say: “Zwift now, win later.” (Note: this philosphy also worked for Matthews’ teammate Matt Hayman who won Paris-Roubaix after a month of Zwifting earlier this year.

London “Classique” Route Details

London “Classique” Route Details

Start Points and Lead-Ins

“London Loop” Route Details

“London Loop” Route Details

“London 8” Route Details

“London 8” Route Details

Zwift Launches London Course

Zwift Launches London Course

Zwift version 1.0.13531 released

Zwift version 1.0.13531 released

Zwift Academy enrollment tops 1000

Zwift Academy enrollment tops 1000

Zwift London PRL course details and possible launch dates

Zwift London PRL course details and possible launch dates

When will it be released?

Screen Shots of the London Course:

Tacx Neo road feel firmware update released

Tacx Neo road feel firmware update released

What do Users Think?

Is this a Kickr Killr?

Zwift version 1.0.13205 released

Zwift version 1.0.13205 released

Zwift today, win a TdF stage tomorrow: Michael Matthews takes stage 10

Zwift today, win a TdF stage tomorrow: Michael Matthews takes stage 10

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