Zwiftcast Episode 215: Zwift Community Live and the Latest Zwift Updates
This April saw the launch of Zwift Community Live, an epic four-day event bringing together the Zwift community in Mallorca to connect ambassadors, community leaders, special guests, and passionate riders from around the globe.
Dave Towle joins Rebecca Charlton to talk about the inaugural edition, as well as bringing us interviews with a number of Zwift community members who were in attendance including Sir Mark Cavendish.
Plus we discuss all the latest news, including Zwift outdoors, new roads in France, and much more. Ride on!
Zwift version 1.88 begins its phased rollout today. It’s a minor release, containing mostly visual tweaks and bug fixes. Read on for details…
Hilltop Hustle Opens Up
Not mentioned in Zwift’s release notes, the new “Hilltop Hustle” route which was released as event-only a few updates ago is now available to free ride in Watopia. Ready for some hill repeats?
“Close the Gap” Changes
Zwift’s release notes say, “Visual improvements to the in-game ‘Close the Gap’ banner.” Here are more details of what has changed:
Smoother transition between distance numbers if a closer bike comes into draft range
Indicator now ignores players that aren’t moving
Indicator will not appear if speed difference is outside limits (no more popup for bikes going too fast to draft)
New Climb Portals
Two new climbs have been added to the Climb Portal library:
Cauberg (0.8km, 57m): featuring in the Amstel Gold Race on April 20
Côte de la Redoute (1.5km, 153m): featuring in Liège–Bastogne–Liège April 27
These short climbs are scheduled in the coming days, and we’ll be building out their detail pages here on Zwift Insider ASAP.
Release Notes
Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:
Coming Up: Matthew Lefthand’s 24-Hour Virtual World Record Attempt on April 19th
First, a Bit of Background…
Matthew Lefthand began cycling in July of 2022 after marathon training left him plagued with constant knee and foot troubles. Finding that pedaling did not inflame the pain, Matthew went on to complete several century rides in a 60-day ramp to complete his first road bike race ever: LOTOJA, a 208mi/334km point-to-point ride/race crossing three states and multiple mountain ranges. From that moment on, Matthew was hooked on cycling and was especially drawn to ultra distances.
After building fitness, gaining road skills, and essentially living on the bike (1200 hours/31,000 miles of riding each year) during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Matthew did his first “real” ultracycling race, Hoodoo 500. After a bumpy start, nutritional disaster, and persevering through 20mph constant winds with gusts up to 40mph, he completed the 520mi/836km and 30,000ft/9,000m of elevation in 29h06m, besting the course record by 5 hours!
With this achievement, Matthew knew he had found his place and set out to specialize his training for ultracycling in 2025. With a winter of intense work under his belt, Matthew asked his good Zwift-friend, Chris “Hoppo” Hopkinson, which early 2025 race would be best to test the waters. Matthew added Bike Sebring to the calendar and put everything into preparation, including learning to ride on a liquid-only diet, attaching TT bars to his indoor bike to practice position, getting a professional TT bike fit, and learning everything he could about the stressors and tactics of a 24-hour race.
His result was very impressive, completing 576 miles in 24 hours at Sebring, surpassing any other American over that time and also any other cyclist during a non-drafting 24-hour race.
World Record Plans for 2025
Feeling on top of the world and gaining more supporters, Matthew set his 2025 schedule to pursue the WUCA World Cup and attempt a few World Records. Matthew told me he’s “not much of a racer.” However, he is attracted to the idea of pulling the most he can out of himself – studying the craft of ultracycling relentlessly to go as far as he can, as fast as he can.
Up Next: 24-Hour Virtual World Record Attempt
Matthew’s next challenge is a 24-hour Virtual World Record attempt on April 19th, hosted by ENVE and supported by Wahoo, Zwift, Rotor, and BrainStoke.
The attempt will begin at 8am ET on Tempus Fugit with a special robopacer named “24hr-Record”. While it has a different name, the metrics of this bot are identical to Constance. Matthew aims to push his limits, break the record, and do it in a fair and equitable way for all who cycle virtually. In addition to the physical feat, Matthew is dedicating his ride to his mom, who is battling Stage 3 Breast Cancer. Incentives to give to the National Breast Care Foundation as well as directly to his mom’s treatment will be shared throughout the event.
Join Matthew!
Matthew invites the public to join him virtually (on Zwift) or physically. He will be riding beginning at 8am ET on April 19th.
ENVE HQ will be open to the public during the entirety of the event. If you are local to Ogden, Utah and want to join in person, Matthew’s team will have several indoor bikes set up, including a Zwift Ride and KICKR Core. You’re also welcome to bring your own bike and trainer.
You can join via Zwift by searching for the “24hr-Record” bot on Tempus Fugit. The event will also be streamed live on YouTube and feature interviews with Tyler Pearce (VC Adventures), Hoppo, Marko Baloh, Hayden “Farmwatts” Pucker, Magnus Kulset, Vidmar Mehl, and others.
Details of the event can be found here. Be sure to follow Matthew for updated information: @matthew.lefthand on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Strava, and Zwift.
Why ride the new roads in Zwift’s France when you can race them? The team at SISU Racing is holding the next edition of their popular SISU Reissu series. It’s the France Reissu, and it happens April 14-20!
The Finnish word Reissu roughly translates as a journey or trip, embodying the concept of travel, adventure, or excursion. The Reissu is a 3 or 5-stage GC series. The rider, and team, in each grade who complete the series with the lowest cumulative time will be crowned with the Johtaja Jersey (symbolically at this stage). Stages 1, 3, and 4 comprise a 3-Stage GC, or race all 5 for the full journey.
How did you get into cycling? I am a runner so I use cycling to cross-train. I did indoor cycling at gym first, then heard about Zwift from Strava athletes and it sounded interesting. I really invested in it when Covid hit and wanted to keep up my fitness. I worked throughout Covid as a health care worker, so any spare time I had had to be in isolation, and that’s where Zwifting came into play!
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? 2 years now
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes, was headhunted by eSRT to join their D category women’s team. I thought it was a joke at first! Then thought what the heck let’s just do it! It could be fun! They are really supportive and when I joined it opened up a whole new world of women’s racing!
What do you love most about racing? The fact you race against other women around the world without leaving your home!
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I love TTT – working and communicating with the team about tactics over Discord is always a thrill and also can be very entertaining! The Sunday Minis are also a great HIIT workout to improve endurance and sprint training.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? Oh I absolutely love them all! My fave has to be the ICENI and Zwift Women’s Racing Series – competing against ladies with similar abilities to you, in different styles of racing formats, with both individual and Team GC competitions really keeps you coming back for more! I also did my first Tour de Boudicca with 3 races over 3 days. I thought I couldn’t last all 3 but I did – I surprised even myself!
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Most memorable was Zwift Womens Racing Series 2 on Mountain Mash – I sprinted out the gate wanting to get a lead on the rest of field (as I am a horrible climber) and got a third of the way up the climb before getting caught by the pack! I didn’t win, of course, but still managed to come 11th out of 28!
What is your favourite food to eat post race? I’m never hungry post race, but I do drink a large glass of chocolate milk!
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Give it a go! We’ve all been where you are, you are never alone in women’s racing, they are all very supportive!
Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? ZRL and ICENI!
Where can people follow your racing adventures? On Zwift Companion App!
As we enter the outdoor season, some of you may have noticed big performance differences between riding indoors and out. This week’s top video explains why you feel this way and shares solutions.
We’re also highlighting videos about a rider’s first race on Zwift, a review of the Zwift Ride, a review of the Caveworks Rivet, and an analysis of an elite Zwift race.
Your FTP is Wrong – Here’s Why!
If you’re struggling to hit the same numbers indoors and outdoors, this video is for you. In this video, Sarah from Everything is Photogenic breaks down why indoor and outdoor power is often so different.
My First Zwift Race was Brutal!
Lazy Fitness Man joins his first-ever Zwift race. Watch as he provides commentary over his unexpectedly hard race.
£1199! Is The Zwift Ride Really Worth That? – Long Term Review
Biker Campervan shares a long-term review of the Zwift Ride. After 4000km, how has it held up? Is it worth the price?
Caveworks Rivet In-Depth Review // Get This or The Zwift Ride?
After logging lots of miles on the Caveworks Rivet, Desfit provides an in-depth review of the indoor cycling frame and compares it to the Zwift Ride.
Getting Destroyed by a National Champion
Jeff from Norcal Cycling talks to e-sport national champion Brian Duffy Jr. as he analyzes his recent race in the elite Zwift Games.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
