The London course’s “PRL Full” route is meant to mimic the distance (but not the full course) of the real Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100. It takes you on eleven circuits of the “London Loop“, then turns around at the Surrey roundabout and heads towards the sprint and finish banner on The Mall.
Although I can’t seem to find numbers for the 2016 course, it appears that Zwift’s version has significantly more elevation gain than the real-life course. (The 2013 course had a gain of 6,167′.)
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.
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.
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:
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. Â All roads are u-turn enabled so feel free to ride in any direction you wish.
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.
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.
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:
