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Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 3: Sa Calobra (The Uber Pretzel)

Eric Schlange
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16
Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 3: Sa Calobra (The Uber Pretzel)

Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 3: Sa Calobra (The Uber Pretzel)

With days 1 and 2 of Zwift Community Live 2025 ridden and uploaded, I was feeling the fatigue in the legs. But the weather was beautiful in Mallorca, the vibe at ZCL was perfect, and nothing was going to stop me from taking on the toughest ride of the week up Sa Calobra! Here’s how the final day of ZCL unfolded for me…

Ride Plan

Today I was again taking on the “Uber Pretzel” version of the three ride options. If ZCL had a “Queen Stage”, this was it: as much distance as the day before, but twice as much elevation! We would ride from sea level up to the top of the famous Sa Calobra climb, then descend it all the way down to sea level before turning around to climb our way out:

I really wasn’t sure how well my tired legs would handle all the elevation, so I resolved to take it easy and enjoy the ride so I could finish ZCL on a high note.

Ride Summary

Getting Started

Once again, the dining room was buzzing for breakfast as all the Uber riders chatted about their day. Sa Calobra is a bucket list climb for many, so there were lots of excited – if not a little nervous – riders in the room. I was one of them.

After a quick breakfast full of clean carbs (whole grains, fruit, and yogurt) I kitted up and headed out to the starting area.

Since I wanted to make sure I saved my legs for the climbs without holding up my group too much, I resolved to join a more medium-paced group instead of one of the first, faster groups. I was also looking to ride with some Zwifters I hadn’t ridden with yet, so I joined the group led by Zwift’s Director of Women’s Strategy, Kate Veronneau. (I knew from prior experience that Kate is both a very strong rider and an experienced ride leader. She wouldn’t steer us wrong!)

Let the Fun Begin: Coll de sa Batalla

The first 10km of the ride were quite flat, and the group got into a rhythm. Then the ground sloped up so we were climbing – but this was just the easy stuff. 25km in, the switchbacks began as we made our way up the Coll de sa Batalla (7.9km at 6%):

This is where most of the group pulled away from me, and I just rode my own ride, enjoying the switchback climb and valley views as I lugged my “overmuscled” physique toward Sa Calobra.

Solo climbing time on Coll de sa Batalla
Valley view from Coll de sa Batalla

I caught up to the group where they’d stopped at the Repsol gas station, and I thought we were close to the start of the Sa Calobra descent.

We were not.

Thinking we didn’t have much climbing left, and with legs that felt decently fresh, I followed the front two guys (one wearing an Everesting jersey, which should have tipped me off) who quickly got away from the rest of the group as we put in a solid climbing effort to finish off Coll de sa Batalla.

A Surprising Climb

A fun rollercoaster descent followed, lulling me into a sense of security. Then the road pitched upward – surprisingly so – and I realized I had made a bit of a mistake. We still had another 3.1km at 6% to climb to the top of Coll dels Reis before we could descend the other side (which is Sa Calobra). I was soon caught and (once again) passed by most of the group. Ha!

We regrouped at the top of Coll dels Reis on the Sa Calobra side, and Kate explained that we could hang out there, at the top of Sa Calobra. Or we could descend it, then turn around and climb back up. Everyone in our group was there to ride Sa Calobra, so down we went.

Descending Sa Calobra

It’s hard to adequately describe my experience descending Sa Calobra for the first time. It’s such an otherworldly and unique road. The smooth, serpentine turns seem to undulate endlessly, contrasting with the rocky mountainside as you look down and try to wrap your head around how it’s all laid out.

The road was smooth and dry, the temperature was cool but not cold, and there were no cars getting in the way. I took advantage of it and enjoyed the descent, staying off the brakes when it felt safe (because fast is fun), but not taking any unnecessary risks, either.

It was perhaps halfway down that I began passing Zwifters who were in the first, fast group and on their way up the climb. Nick Nellis from TFC, Nick Kalkounis from ZwiftHQ, Jeff Linder from NorCal Cycling, Nathan Guerra, Jason Stern from DIRT… I yelled “Allez allez!” at everyone I recognized, flashing a smile as they suffered their way up the climb. I knew I’d be there soon enough.

Soon enough I was down at the bottom with a whole lot of cyclists, and it was time to turn around and pay the piper.

Climbing Sa Calobra

I told the two riders with me that I was going to treat this like a Zwift TTT race: holding what seemed like too easy of a pace at the start so I still had something to give at the end. So I chugged along around 220W, somewhere between 2.5 and 3 W/kg, and just enjoyed this infamous climb.

(At least, I think that’s where my power was. I’m not convinced my Garmin pedals were reading accurately, since my L/R balance was way off, indicating at least one misreading pedal.)

In the early part of the climb, I met one of the Zwifters with me: Vlad. He’s from the Ukraine, and lives in Kyiv. He’s only ridden indoors, on Zwift, since the war began. ZCL was his first opportunity to ride outside in over three years. Wow.

Zwifters from later groups began zipping past us, descending as we climbed, and we started yelling “Ride On!” to everyone we recognized. You could hear the Ride Ons all over the mountain as Zwifters shared the love. Super fun!

The end of the climb actually came a bit earlier that I’d expected, but that’s not to say it felt short. The Zwift support van was parked perhaps 100 meters before the finish line of the Strava segment, so as I neared the van I heard yells of “push all the way to the sign!” Everyone had to go hard to the line.

I clocked a blazing 50:28 on the official segment, earning me 81,823rd place out of 165,549 riders. Top 50%!

All Downhill from Here

We regrouped at the support van, then made our way together to the coffee shop for a welcome shot of caffeine and cake. Our 2000 meters of climbing were essentially done, we just had a mostly-downhill 40km left to knock out.

Cyclists know that’s a great way to end a ride. Top-knotch route design right there.

It was probably bad form for me to enjoy a cheeky supertuck off the front of the group on a long, straight section of downhill. But it felt like such a fun and Zwifty thing to do. (Take that, UCI!)

Supertucking
Spinning with the Zwinfluencers

And it’s also possible that a few others and myself enjoyed ourselves a bit too much, relishing the speed of the rolling descent. Kate eventually rolled up to the front to get things slowed down and grouped together, and we began making our way toward home as a unit once again… slowly.

Mercifully, when a faster group of Zwifters rolled by, Kate said we could join them if we wanted to roll faster, so a few of us did just that. That’s how I ended up riding next to Ayesha McGowan (@ayesuppose) and Carolyn Carter (@la_triathlete) in a zippy group of influencers (Zwinfluencers?) who towed me the rest of the way into Mallorca.

A fun end to a big ride.

See today’s ride on Strava >

Finishing the Day: Fireside Chat with Two Sirs

The day was far from over, though. After a shower and some hangout time with Monica to hear how her ride went, we headed for dinner (fajitas!) followed by the final fireside chat hosted by Matt Stephens.

This third chat was by far my favorite of the three nights. Matt’s two guests were Sirs Chris Hoy and Mark Cavendish, and those three men held everyone’s attention for over an hour. The conversation was expertly guided by Matt and included serious notes (Sir Chris talking about his stage 4 cancer diagnosis) but also lots of stories and laughs.

Stephens with Hoy and Cav
Thanking the ride leaders and ZHQ crew

Eric Min came up next, thanking everyone for coming, inviting the Zwift staffers and ride leaders up for a round of applause, and promising a ZCL for 2026. (Everyone cheered, because everyone wants to do it again!)

We ended the night with a ZCL highlights video that really captured the week’s positive energy and epic rides. It felt like the perfect ending to an incredible few days! (The full video can’t be shown on YouTube due to music rights issues, but Zwift created a short version of it:)

That’s a Wrap

I may write one more post with additional thoughts on all things ZCL, because there was so much I haven’t shared in these daily summaries. But since it’s past midnight here in St. Andrews, Scotland, where Monica and I have extended our European stay, for now I’ll leave you with a #humblebrag shot of the sweet aero socks Zwift gave everyone at ZCL:

How the Race Was Lost: Tiny Races as VO2 Workouts

Eric Schlange
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9
How the Race Was Lost: Tiny Races as VO2 Workouts

How the Race Was Lost: Tiny Races as VO2 Workouts

The Tiny Races concept came to me while I was riding outdoors one day, trying to figure out a way to make workouts on Zwift more enjoyable. Like many Zwifters, I’d done a lot of structured workouts on Zwift, and I’ll readily admit that they provide very efficient and targeted training stimulus.

There’s just one problem: I find structured workouts to be lonely, painful, and boring.

So the Tiny Races were created, with the goal of pushing riders hard in 4 back-to-back events lasting 5-10 minutes each. The hope was that you’d get a lot of VO2-level work in on each race, effectively turning your hour of racing into an hour-long VO2 workout.

But Tiny Races aren’t a perfectly structured VO2 workout. Yes, you’ll get a lot of VO2-level work in. But it may vary greatly depending on your strengths as a rider, and the course chosen for the day.

So on this Saturday, I decided to try something I’d never done before. I would simply treat the first 4 minutes of each race as a VO2 interval, shooting to average 350W during that time. Then I would ease and recover as I finished the race.

Then do it again, and again. And again. Four VO2 intervals. Because on this particular day, I was more interested in getting a quality workout in than I was in finishing high in the race rankings.

Here’s how the races (workouts?) unfolded…

Race 1

The first race was 6km of The Muckle Yin, ending at the Breakaway Brae Reverse banner. I chatted a bit with the other racers, even telling them what my plan was:

Soon enough, we were off! I found myself in the wind as we climbed The Cliffs section, and as a racer, this just felt wrong. I was wasting watts! But not today. Today, I needed to hold 350W for the first 4 minutes.

I stayed on or near the front for most of that climb, then the clock hit 4 minutes and I eased up.

4 minutes at 352W, HR 173bpm

We were so close to the top of the climb and the descent that followed that I put in a little extra work to hold onto the pack so I could stay in the draft until the Corkscrew Castle climb. When we hit that climb the pack flew away, and I finished the last 1.5km easy, clicking to watch the front riders finish before I crossed the line in 36th.

My racing score dropped from 549 to 529 in this single race.

Race 2

The second race was on 6.2km of Loch Loop, ending at the entrance to Corkscrew Castle. This race begins with a long, slack descent down The Cliffs section that we climbed in the previous race. Again, I had to hold 350W for the first 4 minutes, so against my racing instincts I went hard out of the gate onto the descent where I would normally be recovering.

I got an aero powerup at the start, and decided to use it as I went off the front, to make the race more interesting. One rider, A. Sherman, saw my attack and followed. Let’s go!

I was using my steering to shorten the course a bit, but Sherman didn’t have steering, so eventually I gave up and let the game autosteer so we could work together. (Although “work together” really isn’t accurate, because all I was doing was holding 350W. Sherman would have to decide if he wanted to sit on my wheel or push hard and be in the wind.)

I’d say he chose poorly, sitting in the wind just ahead of me for most of my 4-minute effort instead of taking some time to recover. But maybe he was doing a VO2 interval too!

When I sat up at the 4-minute mark, I messaged, “Good luck!” and let Sherman ride away. We had a 6-second gap on the peloton.

4 minutes at 352W, HR 176bpm

I clicked to watch how Sherman got along. He ended up getting caught on Breakaway Brae with 1.2km to go. Nice try, sir!

I rolled in at 34th place out of 36. My racing score dropped from 529 to 509. Woah!

Race 3

For our third race, we were taking on 2 laps of Glasgow Crit Circuit. The VO2 intervals weren’t killing me yet, so I knew I had the power to do it again. But how hard would it be to hit that 350W average on Glasgow’s undulating roads?

Only one way to find out.

Once again I was off the front early. Then we hit the Clyde Kicker, and I almost got dropped as everyone revved up the power big-time and I tried to keep it fairly steady! I used my aero powerup to chase back onto the group, finding myself off the front again before the lap was finished.

4 minutes at 350W, HR 178bpm

I finished 31 out of 39, dropping my racing score to 503. One race/interval left!

Race 4

The final race was on City and the Sgurr, a route I rather despise since it quickly takes you up the gravel side of the Sgurr climb, where I always get dropped.

No pressure today, though. I just needed to hold 350W for 4 minutes, which would put me somewhere in the middle of that climb.

Again, I found myself on the front for most of the lead-in to the climb. And I stayed there for the initial bit of the climb before the pack swamped me when things got steep:

I finished my last 4-minute interval just a few meters off the back of the peloton. Job done!

4 minutes at 354W, HR 177bpm

I finished the dirt climb, descended the other side, then climbed the paved side to complete the race at the top of the Sgurr 30th out of 35., dropping my racing score to 490.

Watch my race video:

Takeaways

My “Tiny Racing as VO2 Workout” experience left me with two key takeaways to discuss.

A VO2 Workout that Doesn’t Suck?

I must say that doing a VO2 workout this way was much more enjoyable than doing a typical structured VO2 workout. And I’ve done a lot of structured VO2 workouts! I found it easier than anticipated to hit the target average wattage, and in fact impressed myself with how close I got.

I think it’s a combination of the rush of being off the front of a race (which pushes you to keep pushing) as well as the rush of just being in a pack of riders who are all pushing hard. It took my mind off of the suffering of the VO2 effort somewhat, and the intervals didn’t feel as long.

If structured workouts are lonely, painful, and boring, doing them in a race wasn’t lonely at all, less painful (thanks to some distraction) and much less boring, partly due to the challenge of hitting the target power without Erg mode, and partly due to being in the middle of a race.

What I’d like to do next is work to extend these intervals by increasing the target wattage (increments of 10W) or time (increments of 30s). I’d like to work up to 5 minutes at 360, then see if we can keep pushing!

Tanking My Zwift Racing Score

I’m a fan of Zwift Racing Score, but I must say I was surprised by how precipitously it dropped in these four races.

It was particularly surprising because the three races I’d done leading up to these had been Zwift Games climbing races where I’d lost badly, but my score had only dropped a total of 6 points across those events:

  • Stage 3: 550 to 549 when I finished 94th out of 128 (see results)
  • Stage 4: 549 to 548 when I finished 39th out of 60 (see results)
  • Stage 5: 548 to 544 when I finished 25th out of 33 (see results)

I’m at a bit of a loss to explain how those three events lowered my score by only 6 points, while the four Tiny Races dropped my score by a total of 54 points. All I can figure is that placing very near the bottom of the race impacts your score a lot more than placing, say, in the bottom 1/3 of the group.

(If you’ve got any great insights into how my score dropped so significantly, please share them in the comments below! I’ve reached out to my contacts at ZHQ to see if they can provide any insight…)

Questions or Comments?

Have you ever done a race as a structured workout? Explain your approach, and how it went. Got other questions or comments? Share below!

All About the New Cannondale CAAD13 on Zwift

Eric Schlange
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5
All About the New Cannondale CAAD13 on Zwift

All About the New Cannondale CAAD13 on Zwift

Zwift’s latest update included the welcome addition of several new bike frames, including two bikes from US-based Cannondale. We’ve already written about the speedy SuperSix Evo LAB71, so today we’ll cover the more budget-friendly CAAD13, which Cannondale calls “the speediest, smoothest, best handling, finest performing aluminum race bike on the planet”:

You’ll need to be updated to game version 1.86+ to see the CAAD13 in Zwift’s Drop Shop. You’ll also need to be at level 14+ with 500,000 Drops to buy it. Here’s how it’s described in the Drop Shop:

“Experience the Cannondale CAAD13, a bike that embodies Cannondale’s legacy in aluminum frame design. Its lightweight, aerodynamic structure offers exceptional speed and agility, ensuring you conquer every virtual climb and sprint. With a tapered head tube and wider tires for enhanced stability and handling, the CAAD13 is perfect for both spirited rides and competitive races. Elevate your cycling experience with a bike built for performance and comfort, ready to tackle any challenge.

See our master list of all frames in Zwift >

It’s rated 3 stars for aero and 3 stars for weight, so we know it’s not the lightest bike. But a 4-star system isn’t the most granular of performance measurements, so we ran this frame through our precise tests to measure performance at nerd-level detail. Let’s dive in!

Note: test results below are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using Zwift’s stock 32mm Carbon wheelset.

Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance

The CAAD13 is surprisingly fast, given its cost and unlock level. It trims 58.4s off our baseline Zwift Carbon frame over an hour of flat riding, putting it less than 5 seconds behind the game’s fastest frame.

Climb Performance

The CAAD13 performs worse climbs than it does on the flats, coming in at the 47th percentile in our rankings.

This bike shaves 28.8 seconds off of our baseline Zwift Carbon’s time on an hourlong climb, which means it’s ~27 seconds slower across an hourlong climb compared to the fastest climbing bike (S-Works Tarmac SL8).

Upgrading Your Cannondale CAAD13

Like all frames in Zwift, the CAAD13 can be upgraded in five stages. As a mid-range race bike, the first four stages result in a performance improvement. The Cannondale CAAD13 upgrade stages are as follows:

  1. Ride 160km, pay 50,000 Drops for an aero upgrade
  2. Ride 200km, pay 100,000 Drops for a weight reduction
  3. Ride 240km, pay 150,000 Drops for a drivetrain efficiency improvement
  4. Ride 280km, pay 200,000 Drops for an aero upgrade
  5. Ride 320km, pay 250,000 Drops for a 5% boost in Drops rate

You can expect a fully upgraded CAAD13 to be approximately 28 seconds faster on a flat hour and 36 seconds faster on an hourlong climb vs the “stock” CAAD13.

Conclusions

Cannondale’s CAAD13 is the worst performer of the four new frames added in Zwift’s latest update… but that doesn’t make it a bad bike. If you’re a Cannondale fan looking for a different frame, this may be the ticket.

It doesn’t have a color slider, but it is more affordable and unlocked at a lower level than the other three new frames.

Questions or Comments?

Got questions or comments about this frame? Share below…

Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.

Sizzle and Flash: All About Zwift’s Aero Lightning Socks

Eric Schlange
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62
Sizzle and Flash: All About Zwift’s Aero Lightning Socks

Sizzle and Flash: All About Zwift’s Aero Lightning Socks

Update: Zwift changed the color of the Aero Lightning Socks from blue to white after this post. Which was a good move – because white is so pro!

It’s time to talk about something very serious. I’ll get right to it: Zwift, like many cyclists, has a bit of a sock problem.

First came the Fire Socks, enticing us to work toward level 50 so we could sprint to flaming glory in the next race.

But that wasn’t enough. Zwift had to up the ante and create the glorious Confetti Socks so level 100 Zwifters bring a party to any peloton.

And now we have a third pair of socks: the Lightning Socks. Which is actually two pairs of socks, although you can only own one pair at a time. Confused yet? Let’s jump in and learn everything there is to learn about the newest socks on Zwift!

Animation/Effects Details

Lightning socks include cool visual effects which are triggered as you hit certain power levels. The power levels are multipliers of your FTP, and there are four levels of animation possible, triggered when you hit 1.5x, 2.1x, 2.7x, and 3.2x your in-game FTP.

If your current power is greater than 1.5 times your FTP, the first effect, called the “sparks and tire halo” effect, will appear. This works whether you’re wearing Lightning Socks or Aero Lightning Socks.

Ramp up your power to 2.1 times your FTP and the “tire size flash” effect will be added to the effect above. This works whether you’re wearing Lightning Socks or Aero Lightning Socks.

Why stop now? Pour it on and hit 2.7 times your FTP and the “full Aero Lightning effects” will be added to the effects above. (This only applies if you’re wearing the Aero Lightning Socks.)

There’s one more level! Hit 3.2 times your FTP and the “lightning feet” effect will be added to the effects above. (This only applies if you’re wearing the Aero Lightning Socks.)

Here’s a quick video showing what these animation levels look like in action:

How to Unlock Lightning Socks

Lightning Socks and Lightning Aero Socks are unlocks for Zwift’s Factory Tour Challenge. You can click to read all about that challenge if you’d like, but to summarize:

  • Lightning Socks are unlocked when you finish the first part of the challenge by completing 250 power units. (1 power unit=riding at 1 W/kg for 1 hour)
  • Your Lightning Socks are upgraded to Aero Lightning Socks when you finish the hidden and much larger second part of the challenge by completing 600 additional power units!

Lightning Socks vs Aero Lightning Socks

Lightning Socks only offer two levels of animation/effects (see samples above) and do not give any performance benefit. The Aero Lightning Socks make you more aero, and offer four levels of animation/effects.

You will automatically unlock the Lightning Socks once you complete 250 units in the Factory Tour Challenge. They will be added to your garage, and your avatar can wear them whenever you’d like.

If you continue on in the Factory Tour Challenge and do another 600 power units, you will automatically unlock the Aero Lightning Socks. These will replace your “basic” Lightning Socks, automatically upgrading them to aero socks with more effects.

Speed Tests

So, just how much faster do the Aero Lightning Socks make you?

We ran a test with and without the socks, using our standard bot (75kg, 183cm tall) at 300 watts. The Aero Lightning Socks made our bot approximately 12 seconds faster across an hour of riding on flat roads.

Questions or Comments?

Are you working on completing the Factory Tour Challenge? What do you think of the Lightning Socks as a reward? Share below!

“La Guardia After Party” Route Details

Eric Schlange
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0
“La Guardia After Party” Route Details

“La Guardia After Party” Route Details

See zwiftinsider.com/route/laguardia-after-party/

Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 2: Sant Salvador (The Uber Pretzel)

Eric Schlange
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5
Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 2: Sant Salvador (The Uber Pretzel)

Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 2: Sant Salvador (The Uber Pretzel)

With day 1 of Zwift Community Live 2025 done and dusted (read about it here), I was looking forward to day 2 and the prospects of a longer, harder group ride. The weather looked to be beautiful in Mallorca, the ZCL vibes were good, and I was excited to roll on new roads. Here’s how the day unfolded for me…

Ride Plan

Today’s ride was called the Uber Pretzel as it was the longest of the three ride options. We would ride from our resort in Platja de Muro to the top of Sant Salvador, then loop back for a total distance of 115km and a bit over 1000 meters of elevation:

I was looking for a ride group that would push a bit harder than the previous day’s, with fewer and shorter stops along the way. And I was looking for some epic roads. This route looked like it would tick all the boxes.

Getting Started

The dining room was buzzing when I arrived around 7:15am. Clearly, lots of riders were planning on doing the Uber Pretzel as well (which wasn’t a surprise given how the week’s routes were planned), and everyone was eating early since we would be starting at 8:30.

After another tasty granola bowl, some fruit, and a smoothie, I headed back to my room to kit up and meet Monica at the starting area. (She’s a stupendous sidekick, by the way: fetching bikes and forgotten gloves and filling bottles to help make my experience even better.)

Riders are grouped into packs of 12 which leave a few minutes apart. (The goal is that the faster packs leave sooner, so packs stay separated and large groups of cyclists don’t clog up the roads.) I looked around for a group to join, and saw that the first group would definitely be too spicy for my taste. It contained the likes of Nathan Guerra, Jeff from NorCal Cycling, Zwift Academy 2024 winners Noah Ramsay and Emily Dixon, and Freddy Ovett… among others.

But just behind them a group was forming up that included Zwift CEO Eric Min, VP of Marketing Steve Beckett, and the great Kristin Armstrong. This looked like the group for me, so I hopped in, along with Zwift Academy 2023 winner Louis Kitzki and a few others.

Soon enough, we were off. Two abreast, we quickly got up to a nice cruising pace on the flattish lead-in to the centerpiece climb of the day. Chugging along at ~35 kph, we quickly spun our way toward Sant Salvador, upping the power on the inclines to keep our speed rolling without going so hard that our legs would burn out early. A sensible tempo pace.

Riding two abreast gives you the chance to get to know your ridemates. Along with those already mentioned we had an Olympic runner, a coach/triathlete from the UK, a man who was an early investor in Zwift, a woman who helps lead Rocacorba Cycling, the guy who heads up the CORE sensor team, Tim Perkin from Mountain Massif, and others!

It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the big climb of the day. As the road ramped up, around half the group fell off while the other half pushed on ahead at a higher pace. I was one who fell off – no surprise there – and I was perfectly fine with it. With another 60km left to ride, I wasn’t interested in blowing up on the slopes of Sant Salvador. I wanted to enjoy the ride and take in this beautiful climb, hairpin by hairpin. And that’s what I did!

It really is a nice climb, with lots of shade, smooth pavement, and gorgeous views over the edge as you negotiate the turns. I love climbs like this that alternate between a sort of walled-in tunnel of trees and wide open vistas that let you see all the way to the ground and be surprised again and again at how high you’ve climbed.

Soon enough, I was at the top, having averaged 308W for 21:53. (This rocketed me to 29,209th out of 69,900 on the Strava segment. The best time on the day? ZCL attendee Beast On A Bike | Louis Hatchwell at 14:30. His average power? 432W.)

View from the top!
My ride crew atop Sant Salvador

We took some photos at the top, admired the near-360-degree views, refilled bidons from the support van, and headed downhill knowing our coffee stop was 30km ahead. (Eric Min was hungry, so we weren’t waiting around!)

The way home was a nice mix of flats and slight downhills, many of which were narrow country roads with very little traffic. Once again we churned through the kilometers, stopping only for a bit of coffee and cake in Sineau before winding our way home.

After just over 4 hours of riding we were back at the hotel, enjoying a beer and a snack in comfortable couches overlooking the Mediterranean beach. 118km, 1000m of elevation, and an average speed of 28.8 kph. Another good day out on the bike in beautiful Mallorca!

See today’s ride on Strava >

Finishing the Day: Recovery, Dinner, and a Fireside Chat

Today ended much like yesterday: kickstarting recovery with good nutrition and Normatec boots, eating a tasty dinner with some new Zwift friends from Austria and Germany, then sitting on the night’s fireside chats. (Monica and I also took some time to cool our feet in the ocean and enjoy the beautiful beach just outside our door.)

The first chat was hosted by Matt Stephens and featured Zwift’s Director of Women’s Strategy Kate Veronneau along with the 4 winners of Zwift Academy from 2023 and 2024. The discussion centered around the Academy winners’ experiences, and what Zwift Academy is doing to change how riders get into the sport.

The night ended with Matt calling a surprise guest to the stage: Mark Cavendish! He and Matt chatted about Cav’s life now that he’s retired, along with obscure topics like how eating cheese late at night can affect one’s dreams. I’m sure many Zwifters were just as starstruck as I was to see Cav in person. What a legend!

Coming Up Tomorrow

Tomorrow’s ride will be the biggest of ZCL: the Uber Pretzel featuring Sa Calobra! It’s essentially the same distance as today’s ride, but twice the elevation. Here’s the route:

Watch this space to learn how it goes…

Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 1: Cap de Formentor (The Mega Pretzel)

Eric Schlange
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18
Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 1: Cap de Formentor (The Mega Pretzel)

Zwifters in Mallorca, Day 1: Cap de Formentor (The Mega Pretzel)

Hundreds of Zwifters have arrived here in Mallorca for a few days of quality riding and IRL hangouts at Zwift Community Live 2025. With so many people to meet and new roads to ride, each person’s daily experience at this event will be unique and personal…. but here’s mine.

The Warmup

Before diving into Day 1, let me give you a few highlights from the days leading up to it:

  • My wife Monica and I spent two lovely nights at the home of Simon Schofield (creator of the Zwiftcast), just south of Girona. Simon and his wife Jennie were, of course, incredible hosts, and I even got a ride in with Simon in which he put me to work chasing his ebike’s wheel up the local climb! See it on Strava >
  • We arrived in Mallorca a few days before the official first day of ZCL, because Zwift had invited members of the media out for a “This Season on Zwift” presentation (read the details of what was announced here.) New roads, Zwift Ride crank length options, more HUD data, fitness metrics and outdoor rides giving us XP… it was a lot of good news!
  • I rode out to Cap de Formentor (the lighthouse!) along with Nathan Guerra, Shane Miller, DC Rainmaker, DesFit, Eric Min, and other media and Zwift HQ folks. It was a great ride with incredible views and just enough climbing, wind, and goats to make it interesting. See it on Strava >
  • The day before Day 1 (Thursday), Zwift held a meeting with key Club leaders to discuss upcoming features and here from leaders about how Zwift could help them build their communities even more. It was a really fun conversation, and the chattiness in the room made it easy to see why all these folks were good at building communities on Zwift.
  • The night of Day 0 featured the first of our fireside chats, hosted by Matt Stephens. It was a sort of kickoff chat that featured Zwift CEO Eric Min plus the VP of Product at Zwift, Mark Cote. They spoke of the importance of community at Zwift, some goals for ZCL, and generally set the tone for the event.

Pride Goes Before a Fall

On the flight into Mallorca, I had joked with Monica, “How long into this event will we go before the first Zwift crashes their bike?” (Because the joke is, of course, that Zwifters can’t handle their bikes outside.)

It turns out, not long at all.

Before the epic Cap de Formentor outing on Wednesday afternoon, I was 20 minutes into my first ride in Mallorca, testing the rental bike and shaking out my legs with Nathan Guerra.

It started to rain just a bit… then a bit more… and soon enough, it was a full-on downpour. As we went through a roundabout I felt my rear wheel lose traction, and I quickly hit the deck, body and bike sliding across the entire lane.

So I got the honor of being Zwift’s first “incident report” for the event. Happily, a few scrapes and some soreness weren’t enough to hamper any ride plans. The bibs weren’t even torn through. Ride on!

Breakfast

Now, let’s get into Day 1.

It began with breakfast. Without giving a full review of all the food we eat at ZCL, let me just say that the folks at Iberostar Playa de Muro Village do it right! The food is amazing. A huge variety of high-quality, tasty options are served for breakfast and dinner in a massive buffet style aided by attentive and courteous waitstaff.

I made a granola bowl with fruit and yogurt, and also had a beet-based smoothie, two small pastries, and a cappuccino. Fuel for the fight.

In the dining room everyone was chatting about their ride plans for the day: are you doing the Uber? The Mega? The Pretzel? Which pace group? (Each of ZCL’s three days centers on a bike ride, and attendees have the option of three different ride lengths, aptly named the Uber Pretzel, Mega Pretzel, and The Pretzel. Each ride also has three pace options, and all the groups are led by qualified ride leaders.)

The Mega Pretzel

I went with the Mega Pretzel – the medium-length ride – for two reasons:

  1. It went out to the Cap de Formentor lighthouse again, and I had really enjoyed the ride two days earlier. I wanted to tackle it again now that I had knowledge of how the roads (climbs) layed out.
  2. My left wrist was sore and swollen from the crash, and I wasn’t sure how it would hold up on the longer Uber Pretzel.

Here’s the route we had planned:

The Uber riders had left an hour earlier, and the Mega riders (the largest group) were slated to leave at 9:30am. We started by breaking into groups of ~12 riders, each with a leader. Dave Towle was on hand to send each group out, and soon enough we were off!

The Lead-In

The ride begins with a flat lead-in to the pitchy road that takes you out to the lighthouse. We rode two abreast, keeping an easy speed of ~30kph, then turned onto the first climb of the day: Coll De Sa Creueta. This is the biggest climb on the route, and I had already decided I wanted to hammer it a bit and beat my time from two days prior. And I did! 325W for 11:18 got me to the top, the “first lookout”, around 70 seconds faster than before.

A Star-Studded Cast

As we continued to make our way toward the lighthouse, I spotted various recognizeable Zwifters: Tim “Bacon” Searle, Shane Miller, Florence Nakagwa from Canyon/SRAM Generation, Tim Perkin (Mountain Massif organizer), and others.

I was pushing fairly hard up one climb, passing lots of riders on my right, when a big guy flew past me on my left. He was in the saddle, undoubtedly churning out big watts, but looked beautiful doing it with ease and perfect form. “Who is this cycling Adonis?” I said to myself. I hammered a bit to catch his wheel, and soon discovered it was Sir Chris Hoy himself, here to deliver a fireside chat later in the week.

That’s Sir Chris Hoy’s wheel I’m struggling to hold!
In this shot: Leah Thorvilson, Maddie Le Roux (2023 Zwift Academy winner), Rick Zabel, Chris Hoy, and others…

Near the end of the ride, we made our scheduled coffee stop at a cafe along with a few other 12-member ZCL groups. As I stood in line, I looked around and marveled at everyone in the room: Matt Stephens, Leah Thorvilson, two Canyon/SRAM riders, Rick Zabel, Sir Chris… and lots of “ordinary” Zwifters too. What a crowd!

The Long and Windy Road

The road out to the lighthouse is twisty, with epic views around every corner, and (at least in my experience) stiff winds as you near the turnaround point at the lighthouse. Once you’re on the more exposed final few kilometers of tarmac leading up to the point, the views are wild, the winds are high, and all the senses are firing. Amazing. Highly recommended.

Wrapping Up the Ride

Once we came back from the lighthouse on the same road we’d gone out, it was time to finish up with ~30k of rolling/flat roads back to our base in Platja de Muro. Easy peasy.

Matt Stephens (left) and ride leader Andy pulling us home on the flats

We heard that Chris Hoy was behind our group along with Zwift’s Chris Snook, as Sir Chris had suffered a bit of a mechanical. We were getting close to home and our group didn’t want to wait around for the Chrises to close the 10-minute gap, but I decided I did.

It turned out to be a good call. Riding and chatting with those two was more interesting than sitting in the larger group and cruising home. Sir Chris shared stories of his early years, riding in Mallorca as an 18-year-old. And before we knew it, were were back at the hotel. 84km with 1028 meters of elevation done and dusted! See it on Strava >

Finishing the Day: Recovery, Race Meeting, Dinner, and a Fireside Chat

I arrived back at the hotel around 3 in the afternoon, meeting Monica who had finished her ride a bit earlier.

The day ended with:

  • Kickstarting our recovery with powerup cookies and Normatec boots
  • A brainstorming session with ~15 of the top race organizers on Zwift and members of Zwift HQ
  • An amazing dinner
  • Everyone gathering for a hilarious and inspiring fireside chat with Kristin Armstrong (3x Olympic gold medalist and level 51 Zwifter) hosted by Dave Towle and Matt Stephens. Kristin talked about coming to Mallorca where everyone trains, and how now… we’re everyone.

Coming Up Tomorrow

Today’s ride was lovely, and it was great to sit in and chat with lots of Zwift community members. My wrist felt good, too, so I’m looking for something a bit more challenging tomorrow. It’s time to jump into the Uber Pretzel group! Here’s the planned route:

Watch this space to learn how it goes…

Zwift even has pro photographers taking shots throughout the event… here’s me descending from the lighthouse.

Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of April 5-6

Eric Schlange
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0
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of April 5-6

It’s the last week of the Big Spin, plus we’re featuring some big endurance rides and races and one popular new event from Shimano.

🤝 Zwift Big Spin Makeup Stages

✅ Popular 　✅ Fun Unlocks 　✅ Last Chance

Did you miss a stage of the Zwift Big Spin? Or maybe (like me) you’ve ridden them all… multiple times… and still haven’t unlocked the coveted BMX bike. Either way, this weekend is your last chance to knock out a Big Spin stage or two! Events are hourly, on the half hour, rotating through each of the 4 stages.

Learn all about the Big Spin >

Hourly events this weekend
Sign up at zwift.com/the-zwift-big-spin

🤝 Epic Race Series: Deca Dash

✅ Unique Event 　✅ Endurance Challenge

Zwift has rebooted the Epic Race Series for April, making some interesting changes to make the races more compelling (read about all the changes here). We’ve got mass starts, forced categories, category kits, and a refreshed ride schedule. The first race is on Jarvis Island’s Deca Dash (52.6km, 499m).

Events scheduled throughout the weekend
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftepicapril

🤝 SZR Endurance Ride

✅ Endurance 　✅ Legacy Leaders

This endurance ride from SZR is really three rides in one, since each category (C, D, and E) has its own pace, route, and leaders. This weekend’s lengths range from 100-120km.

Saturday, April 5 @ 6am UTC/2am ET/Friday 11pm PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4928348

🤝 Cycle Nation Endurance Ride

✅ Endurance Challenge

Like the SZR ride above, this one is sort of like 3 rides in one. Three categories, each with their own pace, and lengths right around 100km.

Saturday, April 5 @ 4am UTC/12am EDT/Friday 9pm PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4928332

🤝 Shimano Super Cycling Sunday

✅ Route Badge　 ✅ Popular　 ✅ Guest Leader　 ✅ Kit Unlock

This new series from Shimano is proving popular! These are open-paced group rides on newer Zwift routes that include a #SuperCyclingSunday kit unlock, special guest riders, and more! This week’s ride is on Watopia’s Tair Dringfa Fechan (32.1km, 374m).

Read all about the Shimano Super Cycling Sunday series >

Sunday, April 6 @ 2pm UTC/8am EDT/5am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4868280

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

  • Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
  • Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
  • Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
  • Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
  • Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
  • Is it for a good cause?
  • Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
  • Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Spring 2025 Press Release

Eric Schlange
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159
What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Spring 2025 Press Release

What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Spring 2025 Press Release

Zwift just released their latest “This Season on Zwift” announcement detailing key game features, Companion app updates, and hardware offerings releasing in the next few months. We’ve posted the complete press release below, and in the coming days will be diving into some of the announcements in more detail.

There’s lots to love here, so let’s get on to the big news…

Track Your Fitness Progress Using Zwift Companion App Whether RIding Indoors or Out

Plus, many more updates are landing This Season On Zwift, including new roads in France, HUD updates and Streak Flair

Zwift, the biggest training destination for cyclists worldwide, is excited to lift the lid on a host of Zwifter benefits launching This Season On Zwift. As seasons change across the globe, Zwift is better equipped than ever before to support Zwifters on their training and fitness journey.

Zwift Companion App is set to receive a significant update, allowing Zwifters to set weekly goals and track their fitness progress within the ecosystem for the first time. From April 8th, Zwift Companion gets a new look, bringing fitness metrics to the fore. Here, Zwifters will be able to set weekly goals, using the following metrics: Time, Distance, Calories, Stress Points, or Kilojoules. 

Zwifters will now be able to track their fitness progression with Zwift’s new training score. Training Score reflects your long-term cycling fitness by averaging your recent training load over time, combining both workout volume and intensity into a single, easy-to-understand daily number.

Additionally, Zwifters will also see a new Training Status indicator within the Zwift Companion app. Training Status reflects current training load by comparing long-term fitness (42 days) and short-term fatigue (7 days). Higher training loads build fitness, but it’s vital to balance this with recovery. Zwift Companion will indicate five levels of training status:

  • Ready – Ready to start or return to Training
  • Fresh – Active and ready for a challenge
  • Productive – Consistently training and recovering well
  • Overreaching – Training heavily but in need of more recovery. Rest weeks are essential for recovery and peak performance.
  • Detraining – loss of fitness due to reduced training.

Outdoor now counts on Zwift! To provide the best training insights, Zwift Companion App will now ingest outdoor riding data from Garmin and Wahoo devices. Hammerhead compatibility is expected later in the summer. Zwifters will need to ensure they have enabled the correct permissions in the Zwift Connections portal. Once enabled, outdoor data will be pulled into Zwift Companion App to best inform Training Score and Training Status metrics. From launch, Zwifters will be able to scroll back through their previous history and view their weekly training record.

Rolling out later this summer, Zwift Companion will receive a second update that will enable Zwifters to track their fitness trends. Updated screens will allow Zwifters to dive deeper into individual metrics and track historical trends for their Training Score, Training Status and Weekly Streak.

To make things truly fun and Zwifty, paying Zwift members will earn additional XP for their outdoor rides, at a rate of 5XP per kilometre. Additionally, paying Zwift members can also keep their streaks alive with outdoor riding. 

Streaks have proven to be a popular feature since their introduction. Currently, 53% of active Zwifters have a 4-week streak or greater, and 9% have an active six-month streak – Ride On! For those with impressive streaks, there will now be the ability to show off to the rest of Watopia, through Streak Flair. Streak Flair can be toggled on in the ‘Fun Settings’ within the game menu. At four weeks, Zwifters unlock a Scotty medallion, 12 weeks secures a Scotty Key Chain, and 24 weeks will unlock a waving animated Scotty.

Launching Spring, the Zwift HUD will receive a number of updates, including one of the most requested features – splits! Enabled from the Zwift Action Bar, Zwifters can enable splits, providing lap functionality – perfect for manual interval training. Laps will display time, distance, average power and average heart rate. 

Additionally, Zwifters will also be able to toggle on a critical power display, allowing them to view peak 5sec, 60sec, 5min and 20min power.

The Configurable HUD, found in the top left, has been a favourite since launch. Zwifters now have a range of more advanced training metrics to choose from, including Power balance (L/R), Average w/kg, Average Speed, Weighted Power (WP) and Body Temp and Heat Strain Index (HSI), enabled by a new integration with CORE Body Temperature Sensors.

For Zwifters looking to explore, from April 7th they will have new roads to discover in the France map. New connecting roads now make the France map more explorable than ever before and include numerous cobbled sectors, just in time for Paris Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift! A new Route Chaser Challenge will be live in-game for Zwifters to explore the new routes and secure bonus XP for completion.

Ven-Top has also received a significant update, which is live now. Similar to Alpe du Zwift, Ven-Top now features timed segments in the HUD, helping Zwifters break the climb into manageable chunks. For those who make it to the top, the spinning reward wheel has also made the trip across from Alpe du Zwift, bringing greater reward for conquering such an epic challenge.

And there’s one more thing! Zwifters who wish to use differing crank lengths on their Zwift Ride now have the option to purchase adjustable cranks as an upgrade accessory. The Zwift Ride adjustable cranks provide five crank length options – 160/165/170/172.5/175. They will be available to purchase via Zwift.com from April 16th within the US, EU and UK for $99.99/€99.99/£99.99.

To find out more about This Season on Zwift visit zwift.com/this-season-on-zwift

Your Thoughts

What do you think of Zwift’s plans for the next few months? Share below!

Top 5 Zwift Videos: Bike Upgrades, Zwift Racing League, and Alpe du Zwift

Oli Chi
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2
Top 5 Zwift Videos: Bike Upgrades, Zwift Racing League, and Alpe du Zwift

It seems as though Zwift has been on a roll recently: first the 4th challenge, and now bike upgrades! Learn all about bike upgrades in this week’s top video.

We’re also highlighting videos about bike upgrades in ZRL, climbing Alpe du Zwift in under an hour, pre-season FTP tests, and tips and tricks on using Zwift as a beginner.

Zwift Bike Upgrades // Requirements // How It Works

We recently saw the launch of the long-awaited bike upgrades feature on Zwift. Hear from Shane Miller, GPLama, as he explains the basics of Zwift’s new bike upgrading system.

The biggest secret to the new Zwift Bike changes for the Zwift Racing League Finals

How will the new bike changes actually impact Zwifters? Casual Creations shares several important tips to help Zwifters choose their equipment correctly for the Zwift Racing League Finals.

Can I climb Alpe du Zwift in under an hour?

Ryan first climbed Alpe du Zwift in 107 minutes. Now, after a bit over a year of training, he is chasing sub-one-hour. Watch as Ryan attempts to conquer this challenge in his Epic Alpe Race.

FTP Test on Zwift and Afternoon Run Session with Sam Long

In Lionel’s second vlog of the 2025 season, he races the Zwift Games as an all-out FTP test to see where his fitness is at.

Zwift & Indoor Cycling 101

As Zwifter Black British Cyclist Kendizle rides The Big Spin, he shares a boatload of tips and tricks on how to get started with Zwift.

Got a Great Zwift Video?

Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!

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