Zwift Insider

Watopia “The Pretzel” Route Details

Routes & Maps

Eric Schlange

-

March 18, 2016

Watopia “The Pretzel” Route Details

When this route was released it was the longest and most challenging on Zwift, covering all segments in Watopia at least twice. With new roads and routes added since its creation, The Pretzel is no longer the longest or toughest route. But it still packs a punch at 44.8 miles (72.1km) in length with 4,375′ (1333m) of elevation gain.

See upcoming events on The Pretzel route at ZwiftPower.com >

Route Description

The Pretzel begins at the popular downtown Watopia start/finish, and heads out Ocean Boulevard to take on the Epic KOM forward. Once you reach the top of the Epic KOM you’ll hang a left onto the horribly-named “bonus climb” – a steep, icy climb to the radio tower platform!

Then it’s a fast descent back to Watopia proper where you’ll hit the Hilly KOM reverse, loop around through the start/finish banner, onto the Esses then a loop around Ocean Boulevard to the Hilly KOM forward.

Next we head past the fishing village again, but turn right at the wind turbines to head up the Epic KOM reverse. Hit the final climb hard then descend back to Ocean Boulevard for a quick trip through the fishing village, the Italian Villas, and over the Esses to the downtown start/finish. You did it!

Route details:
Distance: 72.2km (44.9 miles)
Elevation Gain: 1,333m (4,375′)
Strava Forward Segment (from start banner) Strava Reverse Segment

Watopia “Mountain 8” Route Details

Routes & Maps

Eric Schlange

-

March 18, 2016

4

The “Mountain 8” route on Watopia similar in distance to “Figure 8“, but with substantially more climbing since it takes you over the reverse Epic KOM and up the radio tower climb. The strongest riders can complete this route in under an hour, but mere mortals will need 75 minutes or more.

Route Description

Beginning at the downtown Watopia start/finish, we head out Ocean Boulevard and hang a left at the windmills toward the docked planes and the start of the route’s big climb: the reverse Epic KOM.

Helpful note: before you destroy yourself chasing a Strava PR on the reverse Epic KOM, be warned: this route turns you onto the radio tower “bonus climb” before the Epic KOM banner, so your ride won’t match up with the Strava segment!

Near the top of the Epic KOM you’ll turn right to hit the bonus climb, which feels nothing like a bonus – more like a punishment! This is the steepest climb in Watopia, and you’ll need all the w/kg you can muster to work your way to the top.

Once you’ve arrived at the radio tower enjoy the view at the top, then bomb down the hill and through the Epic KOM banner to begin your descent long descent back to sea level. Soon enough you’ll find yourself back on Ocean Boulevard, riding through the Fishing Village. Almost done!

An easy snaking climb onto the main Watopian loop takes you through the Italian Villas and over the forward sprint segment, then it’s The Esses and a quick descent into downtown Watopia for the finish. Nice work!

Route details:
Distance: 32km (19.9 miles)
Elevation Gain: 677m (2,221′)

Strava Forward Segment from Start Banner Strava Forward Segment from Start Pier Strava Reverse Segment

Epic KOM segment details for new Zwift Watopia mountain route

Routes & Maps

Eric Schlange

-

March 18, 2016

12

Epic KOM segment details for new Zwift Watopia mountain route

Epic KOM Forward

Distance: 5.9 miles (9.5km)
Elevation Gain: 1361′ (414m)
Avg Grade: 3.9%
Max Grade: 10.7%
Strava Segment

Epic KOM Reverse

Distance: 3.8 miles (6.1km)
Elevation Gain: 1303′ (397m)
Avg Grade: 5.9%
Max Grade: 12.2%
Strava Segment

Watopia mountain route released

Game Updates

Eric Schlange

-

March 18, 2016

0

Watopia mountain route released

Zwift has just pushed out update 1.0.10735, which includes the Watopia Mountain Route!

While the Richmond course was scheduled for Thursday and Friday, riders are currently being taken to Watopia automatically.

Climb on!

13% grade if you turn left after the Epic KOM!

More Watopia mountain route teaser shots

Eric Schlange

-

March 17, 2016

0

More Watopia mountain route teaser shots

Courtesy of Zwift CEO Eric Min’s recent test ride posted to Strava. According to Eric the route is “Epic and nearly ready!”

A cyclist in dark gear rides uphill on a virtual mountain road in Zwift, with performance stats like power, speed, and heart rate displayed on-screen; snow-capped peaks and blue sky in the background. — Min keeps it real, climbing on steel…

A cyclist rides uphill on a cracked virtual road in a Zwift simulation, with performance stats and progress displayed on screen, including speed, distance, time, and power output. — Almost thru the KOM banner

A cyclist rides uphill on a virtual mountain road in Zwift, passing under a red arch. On-screen stats show power, speed, heart rate, distance, and progress. Snowy mountains and a clear blue sky are in the background. — Thru KOM banner, looking back

A virtual cycling game screen shows a winding mountain road with snow patches, steep cliffs, and scattered trees. On-screen stats show power, cadence, heart rate, distance, and elevation gain. In-game leaderboards and maps are visible. — View from the top of the world. Check out the hot air balloon, new building, and the road winding up the mountain.

A cyclist rides up a winding, snowy mountain road in a virtual cycling game. The screen displays stats like power, speed, distance, elevation, time, heart rate, and grade percentage. Pine trees line the road. — Looks like a chilly downhill!

A cyclist rides uphill on a virtual road in a cycling simulation game, with speed, distance, power, and time stats displayed at the top of the screen. Mountains and a blue sky are in the background.

A cyclist rides uphill on a virtual road by a lake, surrounded by mountains and green grass, with stats like speed, distance, and elevation displayed on the screen. — On the downhill looking toward Watopia

How to Unlock the Tron bike in Zwift

How Zwift Works

Eric Schlange

-

March 17, 2016

99

The Tron bike (named the “Zwift Concept Z1” in game) is definitely the coolest ride in Zwift (and one of the fastest). How do you get it? Three simple (but not easy) steps:

Select the “Climb Mt. Everest” challenge in Zwift, and start climbing. You elevation will accumulate over many rides, and you can always click to check your progress.
At the top of Mt Everest (8,848m / 29,028′) keep going!
Climb 41,152 additional meters (135,014′) and you will unlock the coveted “Concept Z1” (aka “the Tron bike”).

That’s right: it takes a total of 50,000 meters (164,042′) of climbing to earn the Tron bike.

Once you’ve unlocked your Tron, see if you can dial in the multicolored light scheme >

Run Zwift with minimal distractions using this simple hack

Zwift Hacks

Eric Schlange

-

March 15, 2016

10

Run Zwift with minimal distractions using this simple hack

Update: this hack is no longer needed, as Zwift has added “Hide the Display” mode in April 2021. Read all about how it works >

To run Zwift with minimal on-screen “heads up display” elements, add this line to the <config> section of your Zwift preferences file located at Documents/Zwift/prefs.xml:

<MINIMAL_UI>1</MINIMAL_UI>

This turns off the rider list, leaderboards, speed/rider timer, and more. Here’s a screenshot of the result:

Zwift running with minimal interface elements

Here is my prefs.xml file with the line added. If you’ve never edited an XML file before, it is as easy as opening the file in a text editor (Notepad works great on a PC), editing the file and saving your changes. Saving a backup copy of the original file is always a good idea!

<ZWIFT>
 <DEVICES>
     <LASTCADENCEDEVICE>720996</LASTCADENCEDEVICE>
     <LASTPOWERDEVICE>720996</LASTPOWERDEVICE>
     <CTF>12543</CTF>
     <LASTHRMDEVICE>7891038</LASTHRMDEVICE>
     <LASTSPEEDDEVICE>9716</LASTSPEEDDEVICE>
     <LASTTRAINERDEVICE>2837993477</LASTTRAINERDEVICE>
 </DEVICES>
 <CONFIG>
     <MINIMAL_UI>1</MINIMAL_UI>
     <RICHMOND_BRANCH_PREFERENCE>0</RICHMOND_BRANCH_PREFERENCE>
     <BRANCH_PREFERENCE>3</BRANCH_PREFERENCE>
     <BATTPREFS>20</BATTPREFS>
     <PREFERRED_MONITOR>2147516416</PREFERRED_MONITOR>
     <TRAINER_EFFECT>0.5</TRAINER_EFFECT>
     <IMGPREFS>0</IMGPREFS>
     <USER_RESOLUTION_PREF>1920x1080</USER_RESOLUTION_PREF>
     <AMBIENT_VOL>0</AMBIENT_VOL>
     <SFX_VOL>0</SFX_VOL>
 </CONFIG>
 <WORKOUTS>
     <LAST_WORKOUT>4035902721</LAST_WORKOUT>
     <EDIT_IN_WATTS>1</EDIT_IN_WATTS>
     <USE_ERG>1</USE_ERG>
 </WORKOUTS>
</ZWIFT>

CANYON//SRAM Racing Zwift Academy professional female team rider recruitment plan released

News

Eric Schlange

-

March 9, 2016

0

CANYON//SRAM Racing Zwift Academy professional female team rider recruitment plan released

Just in time for International Women’s Day, Zwift HQ has released further info about the CANYON//SRAM Racing Zwift Academy, in which the Zwift platform will be used to select 3 female finalists to attend the CANYON//SRAM team winter camp. The final winner will be chosen after (presumably based on camp results) that and announced in December.

Exciting stuff, both for competitive female riders and the Zwift community!

New Watopia mountain route – sneak peak

Eric Schlange

-

March 7, 2016

0

New Watopia mountain route – sneak peak

A member of the Zwift team recently posted this screenshot of himself aero-tucking down the backside of the soon-to-be-released Watopia Mountain Route to Facebook.

In the screenshot you can see Watopia Island (where we currently ride) in the background, quite a distance away from the top of the new peak.

You can also note a new KOM banner in the course profile at the top-right.

Looking forward to the new route!

What others think of Zwift racing

Racing

Eric Schlange

-

March 4, 2016

0

What others think of Zwift racing

Racing on Zwift: you really won’t understand how great it is until you do it. Experience the effort and adrenaline of a real race, without the entry fees, long drives, and risk of bodily injury!

Watopia “The Pretzel” Route Details

Watopia “The Pretzel” Route Details

Route Description

Watopia “Mountain 8” Route Details

Route Description

Epic KOM segment details for new Zwift Watopia mountain route

Epic KOM segment details for new Zwift Watopia mountain route

Epic KOM Forward

Epic KOM Reverse

Watopia mountain route released

Watopia mountain route released

More Watopia mountain route teaser shots

More Watopia mountain route teaser shots

How to Unlock the Tron bike in Zwift

Run Zwift with minimal distractions using this simple hack

Run Zwift with minimal distractions using this simple hack

CANYON//SRAM Racing Zwift Academy professional female team rider recruitment plan released

CANYON//SRAM Racing Zwift Academy professional female team rider recruitment plan released

New Watopia mountain route – sneak peak

New Watopia mountain route – sneak peak

What others think of Zwift racing

What others think of Zwift racing

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