At the time of its release, the “London Pretzel” route was the only route covering all London roads. In fact, it covered them all in both directions. The route leaves off newer additions to the London course, but it’s still a fun one if you’re looking for a longer ride with a mix of flat efforts broken up by two decent climb sections.
Route details:
Distance: 55.6km (34.5 miles)
Elevation Gain: 531m (1742′)
Strava Forward Segment
London’s “Greater London 8” route covers the mostly flat “greater London” expansion and Box/Fox Hills. It is very similar to the “Greater London Loop“, only adding ~4km of flat roads and covering the greater London portion in the opposite direction.
Route details:
Distance: 23.8km (14.8 miles)
Elevation Gain: 256m (840′)
Strava Forward Segment (A reverse version of this segment is not currently set up by ZwiftHQ)
London’s “Greater London Loop” route covers the mostly flat “greater London” expansion and the Box Hill climb. It is essentially the “London Loop” with ~6km of flat roads added.
Route details:
Distance: 21km (13 miles)
Elevation Gain: 244m (800′)
Strava Forward Segment Strava Reverse Segment
Zwift’s latest update includes the Assos “Go Long London” mission, in partnership with Assos of Switzerland, makers of high-end cycling apparel.
Simply click “Check it out!” on the startup screen and agree to the terms. Then complete the London Pretzel ride in one go. (Warning: it’s not a quick ride! The route is 55.7km (34.6mi) long and covers all London roads in both directions. See the Strava Segment >)
Once you complete the route you will receive a confirmation on screen:
Everyone who completes the mission unlocks the exclusive Assos kit in-game. You will also be entered to be one of six winners of a real-life Assos kit!
Mission must be completed by June 30th at 1PM PDT.
See official mission page for details >
ZwiftHQ has released an update for Zwift (version 1.0.18507 on PC/Mac, version 1.0.18494 on iOS). Here are the details on some of the most notable changes.
This was the biggest surprise in this update, and it certainly increases the realism. Game Master Jon Mayfield had this to say:
For so long I’ve kept the spectators out of Zwift mostly due to performance and memory constraints (Zwift users typically have pretty low end graphics chips), but finally we decided to go for it.
Our first attempt may be overly cautious, but I want to see how it all works out from a performance standpoint across the entire zwift userbase. If it all looks good we’ll probably increase the quality of the people a bit and add more of them while we’re at it. If it turns out to be a more major slowdown than expected, then we may cut some out.
We don’t have spectators on Watopia or Richmond yet, but Mayfield says Watopia will get them eventually. (I hope Richmond will, too!)
We’ve got a new stretch of mostly flat road southwest of the Classique Loop, ~7.5km (4.7 miles) in length. Along with the new scenery there are three new route options:
(More route details and Zwift Insider verified segments coming soon.)
Finally, a route that takes us up the new volcano climb! If you’re looking to do some real work, look no further: the new “Three Sisters” route (30.0mi / 48.3km with 2942′ of climbing) is the shortest route covering all 3 climbs. (Route details and Zwift Insider verified segments coming soon.) Strava Segment >
Some events will have non-event riders hidden entirely. This is an exciting feature for racers, since it eliminates the oddities of having non-racers on course.
For group riders/races, the rider list on the right now shows which group (A/B/C/D/E) each rider is in, making it easy to identify who is in your group when racing.
Workouts are now supported for running mode, with three test workouts available.
A new mission has launched, allowing Zwifters to unlock an exclusive Assos kit if they complete the new London Pretzel route. (More details to follow in an additional post).
Japanese was the first non-English language supported (added in May’s update) so French, being the “language of cycling,” seems like a logical second.
See release notes from Jon Mayfield >
The “Watts up with Power?” ride is likely the slowest group ride you’ll find on Zwift, because it focuses on learning the basics of power based training while riding together on Zwift. Each ride is streamed to Zwift LIVE by ODZ on Facebook, and focuses on teaching specific principles of power-based training. For viewers that are unable to attend live, the teaching is made available for all to review afterwards.
Here is the summary for June 14th from ride leader Taylor Thomas.
The end goal of every rider that trains and races with power should be to use that data to construct an individualized power-based training approach. The available data allows for the identification of a riders strengths and weaknesses, as well as what workouts will help that rider improve. Using your power meter to think through and construct a training plan is the culmination of the experience and knowledge you’ve gained while riding and racing with a power meter.
The first step is to map your power profile for all critical durations. Those durations are 5 seconds, 1-minute, 5-minutes, and at FTP. This will give you an idea of your strengths and weaknesses and how they correspond to different systems in the body.
You should also map out your fatigue profile for zones 4-7. Understanding how your body responds to intensity and duration through all 4 zones will help paint the full picture of where you’re at as a rider, and where you need to improve.
Use quadrant analysis for further review. Compare races and training rides to understand how and where power and force are produced. Use this information to inform the types of workouts you build, and to back up any assumptions gained from the power and fatigue profiles.
Are you working on the skills necessary to improve your racing? The workouts you perform should bolster your weaknesses and help you prepare for race day.
The workouts should also match the demands of the races you’ll be competing in. Analysis of course profiles, sprint and breakaway opportunities, and past results should shape the types of efforts you prescribe.
Does your available time match the training prescription? It’s important to be realistic regarding how much time you have to train, and be sure to build a training plan that matches your availability. Over committing can lead to missed workouts and potentially burnout.
Perform “monthly” testing protocol at least every 8 weeks to ensure your FTP and power profile are current. You’ll need to test for all critical durations in the power profile so that you can use those numbers to inform future workouts, as well as understand how you’ve improved.
Review your data! Download and analyze your data after every ride to understand how you’re progressing, and how each workout is moving you forward.
Cycling takes time, and an entire training week can’t be crammed into a weekend. Make time for key workouts, recovery, and racing.
If you miss a workout it’s usually best to move on to the next session. The caveat to this is if the workout, or type of workout, doesn’t occur again for at least 2 weeks, then you may need to work it into your schedule sooner.
Don’t fall victim to other rider’s approaches. Once you’ve identified where it is you need to focus stick to the workouts that will help improve those areas. You may not need to strengthen an area that other riders in your group or race are working on. Stay focused!
Stay away from “stacking” workouts. This means that missed workouts during the week can’t or shouldn’t be made up during the course of a weekend. This often leads to overtraining and burnout in very short order.
Following a training plan requires a certain degree of flexibility. Don’t be afraid to switch up mid-week workouts if needed to fit your schedule. Life gets busy, so you must be able to “roll with the punches”.
Listen to your body. If you begin to feel too tired or overly fatigued, then take a rest day. You can also move your rest week up to accommodate how your body’s feeling. It’s important to be pliable and listen to the cues your body provides.
Conversely, don’t be afraid to push yourself. You have to push through some amount of fatigue to see gains. If you have more to give, then give it! This may mean pushing back a rest week to continue to train and realize even greater gains.
Semi-Finals: November 1-22
Three finalists will be selected to join CANYON//SRAM Racing at their pre-season camp in Majorca, Spain. After a tough week of training and spending quality time with the team, the CANYON//SRAM team and their management will select 1 rider to be crowned 2017 Zwift Academy Champion and the newest pro cyclist on CANYON//SRAM Racing.
Here are some stats from the 2016 Zwift Academy:
Zwift CEO Eric Min has posted a Strava ride covering a new London route. Min has typically done this as a leadup to new route launches in the past, with the routes becoming public within a week or two of Min’s post.
Zwift Insider actually broke a story covering this new route back in January, when one Zwifter was accidentally routed onto these “ghost roads.” (Zwifter Stefan Lavestedt had the presence of mine to snap a lot of screenshots and post the ride to Strava, so we can see that the route he covered is the same route as Min covered yesterday.)
The new route adds ~7.5km (4.7 miles) of mostly flat road southwest of the Classique Loop. Unlike the Box Hill section of the London course, these new roads match the real-world London map, which means the art team at ZwiftHQ has been very busy building scenery that evokes those London streets.
Back in January when we broke the “ghost route” story there were very few buildings to be seen on the course, but I’m sure that has changed.
My guess is the new route will launch when London goes live on Wednesday, June 14th.
Episode 28 of Zwiftcast has been released. Shane and Nathan and I are together again – in the flesh and in person – as we catch up on all the latest news, events and gossip in Zwift.  Here’s the full episode description:
All three of the Zwiftcasters sat down shortly after the latest CVR virtual racing event, in which all were involved – with Shane racing, Nathan commentating and Simon working behind the scenes.
The boys start the podcast with a quick assessment of the event and what it all may mean for the development of competitive indoor cycling.
There was an historic moment in Zwiftland when a German couple who met via the platform got married!
Simon talks to Lisa and Michael to get their story – and the boys follow up with some very light-hearted speculation about whether Zwift may become the new Tindr for cyclists. Probably not, they agree.
The boys chat about what may be happening at Zwift HQ with the much anticipated London extension still not released and move on to an interview with ZHQ’s Eric Chon, a guy who lots of Zwifters will know, as he helps fix their issues.
Simon, Shane and Nathan update listeners with what’s been happening in their bike lives, with Shane a special guest at the Zwift New Zealand and Australian tour; Nathan invited to a highly-competitive IRL race in Iceland with a bunch of Zwift execs aiming to make the top step of the podium and Simon relating the sorry tale of his big “off” and broken bike. That prompts a discussion about the real and perceived dangers of riding outside and whether London has made strides in accommodating cyclists and what lessons could be learned.
There’s going to be a regular new coaching feature on the Zwiftcast with top coach to the pro riders, Kevin Poulton. We kick off with a debate about the merits of the 2×8 FTP test as an alternative to the dreaded 20 minute effort.
The lads finish off riffing about Shane’s experience at a spin class and talking about the astonishing growth of the Peloton spin class company, finishing off with some speculation about whether Zwift could be making a pitch for this market.
We hope you enjoy listening!
The “Watts up with Power?” ride is likely the slowest group ride you’ll find on Zwift, because it focuses on learning the basics of power based training while riding together on Zwift. Each ride is streamed to Zwift LIVE by ODZ on Facebook, and focuses on teaching specific principles of power-based training. For viewers that are unable to attend live, the teaching is made available for all to review afterwards.
Here is the summary for June 7th from ride leader Nate Dunn.
ATL, TSB, CTL, and the PMC. In this presentation we want to simplify all of the power training jargon and get to what matters most. How can the Performance Manager Chart (PMC) help you get better as a cyclist? (Learn more about the Training Peaks Performance Management Chart here >)
If you hope to gain anything of value from the PMC, you need to make sure you’re feeding it good data. Here’s where to start.
If you’re confused with all the power jargon here are a few of the absolute basics. For more detailed descriptions check out the many available online.
So why is the Performance Manager Chart of value to our cycling?
So you’ve got some of the basics down, how do we use the PMC to help plan a peak for your season?
Yes the PMC is a great tool, but it’s not voodoo. Here are a few important limitations to keep in mind.
