Tiny Race Series – February 14 Routes –
See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.
Rebel Route: The Marvelous Metric (Watopia)
After leading the Thursday Pizza Burner 100km for over a year (sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/blameeric), I’ve started wishing for longer Zwift routes that are also fairly flat.
- I want longer routes because seeing different sites and riding different roads is more interesting/engaging than riding multiple laps of the same circuit.
- But the routes need to be fairly flat, because the Pizza Burner is about putting in a longer, steadier effort with a group.
Here’s the thing about Zwift’s current route library, though: all the long routes have too much climbing.
The mega-flat Tempus Fugit has only 1.5 meters of climbing per kilometer of distance, and routes typically feel “flat” to me if they have around 5.5m/km or less. But all of Zwift’s truly long routes (100km+) are over 12m/km (save the France Classic Fondo at 7.6km, which has two Petit KOM climbs early on, so that’s a no-go). And even if I wanted to do multiple laps of a shorter ~50km circuit, these medium-length routes typically have way too much climbing as well, or a key longer/steeper climb that would break up my group ride. (Watopia’s only exception is The Big Ring, and even that route takes us up through the Jungle each lap.)
So I got to thinking: surely we could piece together a 100km flat route using Fuego Flats, the Southern Coast, and the rest of Watopia’s flatter roads. We could pull various tricks to make it happen, including starting from a higher elevation and riding big flat sections in both directions.
What I’ve settled on is a non-loopable route with only 489 meters of elevation gain over 102 kilometers (so 4.8m/km). That makes this the 13th-flattest route in Watopia, and by far the least climby “long route” in the entire game.
Or looking at it another way: there are flatter routes in Zwift, but they are all much shorter (the longest is around 36km). Unless you include Litus Fugit, a 60km 4.4m/km loopable Rebel Route I created which hasn’t yet been added to the game but really should be.
I hope you enjoy The Marvelous Metric. And I hope someday Zwift adds it to the game, so I can lead The Pizza Burner on it!
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! Rebel Routes are also included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
A complete turn-by-turn tour of this route would be too much, so I’ll summarize it instead.
You can set yourself up easily by selecting the Mountain Mash route. This puts you at the route’s start point near the Jungle start pens, heading toward Watopia. (Starting from here is a tricky move on my part, as it lets us start with a bit of descent, making the start more gentle. It also gives us a faster overall speed, since we’ll descend more than we’ll climb.)
Cut across the Epic KOM Bypass (one of my favorite stretches of road in Watopia), then head down to Ocean Boulevard and out to Fuego Flats for a ride through the desert in the “forward” direction.
At the LAX Roundabout we’ll turn onto the long Southern Coast road for an out and back which quickly racks up 45 rolling kilometers. We use the bottom of the Jungle, and the Mayan Bridge Cutoff, road, for a quick turnaround at the end of the Southern Coast, allowing us to come back the other way.
When we arrive back at the LAX Roundabout, we’ll head up the Col du Saddle Springs and get onto Ocean Boulevard for a trip through the Marina and out around the Volcano into Downtown Watopia.
Head back out Ocean Boulevard and up into the edge of Titans Grove to hit Fuego Flats once more, this time in the “reverse” direction. By the end of the Fuego Flats road you’ll be over 95km in.
Wanting to make the final ~5km interesting, I’ve routed us across The Esses, down the Dirty Sorpressa, and out to the Volcano. Turn the first right to head into the Volcano for the route’s finish at the Volcano Circuit arch.
Turn By Turn Directions
Begin by choosing the Mountain Mash route, which starts you at the Jungle Pens, heading in the right direction.
- Straight to Epic KOM Bypass
- Left to Sequoia Circle
- Straight (Left) to Sequoia Circle
- Right to Downtown
- Right to Desert Flats
- Straight (Left) to Desert Flats
- Left to Ciudad La Cumbre
- Right to Ciudad La Cumbre
- Straight (Left) to Jungle Ruins
- Straight (Left) to Jungle Ruins
- Right to Mayan Loop
- Left to Mayan Bridge
- Left to Mayan Loop
- Straight (Left) to Jungle Loop
- Right to Ciudad La Cumbre
- Straight (Right) to Ciudad La Cumbre
- Straight (Right) to Fuego Flats
- Straight (Left) to Fuego Flats
- Left to Epic KOM
- Straight (Right) to Epic KOM
- Left to Epic KOM
- Right to Sequoia Circle
- Left to Italian Villas
- Straight (Right) to Italian Villas
- Left to Italian Villas
- Left to Volcano Circuit
- Straight (Left) to Volcano Circuit
- Straight (Right) to Volcano KOM
- Left to Volcano Circuit
- Straight (Right) to Volcano
- Left to Downtown
- Left to Downtown
- Left to Ocean Blvd
- Straight (Right) to Ocean Blvd
- Left to Epic KOM
- Left to Desert Flats
- Right to Desert Flats
- Straight (Left) to Desert Flats
- Left to Downtown
- Straight (Right) to Ocean Blvd
- Right to Downtown
- Right to Downtown
- Straight (Left) to Sprint
- Right to Volcano Circuit
- Right to Volcano Circuit CCW
Route details:
Distance: 102km (63.4 miles)
Elevation Gain: 489m (1604′)
Strava Segment
See on ZwiftMap.com
Rebel Route Suggestions
Got an idea for a great Rebel Route? Share it below and maybe we’ll publish a post about it!
SISU Racing Club Championships New York Edition Announced Beginning March 3
SISU Racing Club Championships New York Edition Announced Beginning March 3
The SISU Racing Club Championships return for their third edition in March, and this year they’re taking the fight to the brand-new roads of Zwift’s New York map.
Riders will be tested across four disciplines: an individual time trial, a criterium, a climbing route, and an endurance road race. Every stage matters and every second counts, as winners in each category will be decided based on combined time.
Registration
Registration is now open. To be included in the final results, fill out the registration form, join the SISU Racing Club in the Companion app (where the race events can be found), and make sure you’re registered on ZwiftPower.
All Zwifters are welcome to race. While this is a Club Championship for SISU (meaning the top-placed SISU rider will be crowned Club Champion), everyone is welcome to compete.
Race Schedule
Toefield Tornado (Individual Time Trial) – Tuesday, March 3
The championships kick off with a true test of focus and pacing. Toefield Tornado is all about riding the knife-edge between power and precision as racers face the clock alone. Smooth lines, disciplined pacing, and mental toughness will define the early leaderboard—and set the tone for the battles to come.
Avon Flyer x 8 Laps (Criterium) – Tuesday, March 10
Fast, furious, and relentlessly tactical, the Avon Flyer brings pure criterium chaos to the streets of New York. Expect tight racing, constant accelerations, and decisive moments in the blink of an eye. Positioning is everything, and only the sharpest racers will survive the speed and sprint for glory.
Points in each grade will be awarded as follows:
- FAL (First Across The Line) at Centre Sprint at the end of laps 2, 5, and 6 to the first 20 riders: 40, 38, 36, 34, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2.
- The first 20 riders in each grade across the line at the end of the race will be awarded: 250, 240, 230, 220, 200, 180, 160, 140, 130, 110, 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10.
Powerups: Draft, Ghost, Aero
Events will be held in multiple time zones, with the total points determining the Club Championships (should there be a tie on points, the fastest time will determine the winner).
Stay Puft Pursuit (Climb) – Tuesday, March 17
The championships turn uphill on Stay Puft Pursuit, where raw watts meet resolve. This is a climber’s proving ground—no hiding, just sustained effort and inner strength. Gaps open quickly here, and contenders will need to dig deep to stay in the championship fight.
Powerups: Draft, Feather, Aero
Fuhgeddaboudit (Road Race) – Saturday, March 28
It all comes down to the Fuhgeddaboudit road race—longer, tougher, and packed with opportunity for bold moves. Endurance, teamwork, and race IQ collide on this iconic New York route. Championships will be won and lost here as riders empty the tank in one final showdown.
Powerups: Draft, Feather, Aero, Anvil
February Tune-Up: 3 Training Focuses for March Peak
With the championships in March, February is about sharpening—not smashing yourself.
1. Discipline-Specific Intensity
- One TT-style workout per week (10–15 min steady efforts at race power).
- One VO₂ / anaerobic session for crit readiness (30–90 sec repeats).
- One sweet spot or threshold climb simulation.
2. Fatigue-Resistance Training
- Long endurance ride with race-pace efforts late in the session.
- Practice fuelling exactly as you will on race day.
3. Race Craft & Recovery
- Jump into shorter races to sharpen positioning and pack skills.
- Prioritise sleep and easy days—fitness gains come from recovery, not just watts.
Zwift Racing Score
Riders enter using peak Zwift Race Score from the last 30 days for category enforcement. Race categories will be:
- 690-1000 (A Grade)
- 520-690 (B Grade)
- 350-520 (C Grade)
- 180-350 (D Grade)
- 1-180 (E Grade)
More Information
- All riders are welcome – the SISU Club Champion title goes to the top SISU Racing member.
- Overall GC decided on combined time across all four stages (iTT + Crit + Climb + Road Race).
- Open events with separate Men’s and Women’s results.
- Race one discipline or all four – specialists welcome, all-rounders rewarded.
- Mass start racing with all riders visible, true to SISU spirit.
- ZwiftPower profile required.
- ZPower riders and riders without heart rate data will be excluded from results.
- Learn more on SISU’s Club Championships homepage.
Run Tracking Added to Zwift’s Fitness Trends, Goals, Streaks
Run Tracking Added to Zwift’s Fitness Trends, Goals, Streaks
Yesterday, Zwift rolled out a much-requested upgrade to the Fitness Trends feature, adding running as a second activity type. This means that, effective immediately, your Zwift runs and outdoor runs will count toward Fitness Metrics, Week Streaks, and (optionally) Weekly Goals. Read on for details…
Fitness Trends + Running
Everyone’s Fitness Trends now include Zwift running activities back to January 2025, as well as outdoor runs tracked on Garmin or Wahoo. Runs show up as pink bars in the weekly Fitness Trends chart in the Companion app:
(Not seeing it? You need to be running Zwift Companion version 3.78 or later, so you may need to force the update from your app store.)
This means your current Training Score is now a combination of Stress Points (SP) accumulated via riding and running. If you’re an athlete whose primary training consists of riding and running, your Training Status (Fresh, Overreaching, etc.) should now be more accurate, whereas it was previously understated.
Related: All About Zwift’s Fitness Trends Metrics: Training Score, Training Status, Stress Points, and More
How Zwift Calculates Stress Points (SP) For Running
Zwift uses industry-standard algorithms to compute SP for your virtual and outdoor runs:
- If your run includes heart rate data, this is used to calculate the SP for that activity based on the hrTSS formula.
- If an outdoor run lacks heart rate data, Zwift uses the RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) from that activity as synced from Garmin or Wahoo to estimate SP using the method shown here.
- For Zwift activities without heart rate data, SP is calculated with a default RPE of 5 using the method shown here.
Importing Outdoor Runs (History, XP, De-Duping)
Many runners track their outdoor runs using a Garmin watch. If you haven’t yet connected your Garmin account to Zwift, you’ll want to do so, as it allows those outdoor rides to automatically sync to your Zwift account!
To do so, go to Settings>Connections in the Companion app. You can also do it via the web by signing into your account at zwift.com, then going to Connections. Tap on Garmin, walk through connecting your account, and you’ll be all set.
The past 90 days of runs are “backfilled” into Zwift’s Fitness Trends system when you connect your Garmin or Wahoo account. If you connected Garmin or Wahoo back in April when the Fitness Tracker was first released, that means you’ll have your outdoor runs stored in Zwift’s system going back to early 2025. If you connect it to today, it will backfill 90 days (approximately November 10, 2025).
Outdoor runs, like outdoor rides, now earn in-game XP. Outdoor runs earn 8 XP/km, which is 1/5 the rate of XP earned for Zwift runs (40 XP/km).
Some runners who dual-record their Zwift runs on a Garmin watch are already reporting duplicate entries in their Zwift activity lists. There’s a bug in the system currently where runs flagged as virtual runs are still being imported from Garmin to Zwift – this should be fixed soon. Zwift is also working on implementing further de-duping for rides and runs, but have shared no additional info at this time. For now, my best advice is to use Companion to manually delete duplicate activities from your Zwift activities feed to maintain accurate Fitness Trends.
More Running Platforms?
Zwift currently supports syncing outdoor rides and runs from Garmin. Garmin is, of course, a popular platform for tracking outdoor runs, since Garmin’s watches and fitness tracking ecosystem are mature and feature-rich. Zwift also supports Wahoo and Hammerhead, who are less popular with runners, although their phone apps can be used for tracking runs.
The community of runners on Zwift is already asking for integration with additional popular run-tracking platforms, namely Suunto and Coros. Hopefully Zwift is working with these (and other?) partners to broaden their outdoor activity tracking ecosystem.
Weekly Goals + Running
You can now choose to include running activities in your Weekly Goal. Do this by tapping the “Weekly Goal” box in the Fitness Trends window of the Companion app:
Weekly Goals can be set based on Distance, Kilojoules, Stress Points, Calories, or Time.
Zwift says, “…if the Include Running toggle is on, goals will be a single overarching target covering both running and cycling rather than sport-specific. Expect this to evolve over time.” So it sounds like Zwift is planning to let us set Weekly Ride goals separately from Weekly Run goals in the future.
Week Streaks + Running
One last bit of news re: running on Zwift. Beginning at midnight on Monday, February 16 (2026), Week Streaks can now be extended by logging a run!
Questions or Comments?
Share below! You might also want to check the official announcement thread on Zwift’s forum.
Top 5 Zwift Videos: Winter Training, Elite Racing, and FTP Tests
Looking to stay fit through the remainder of the winter? In this week’s top video, hear one rider share how he’s been using Zwift to get through the winter slump.
Also included in this week’s picks: elite Zwift racing, an FTP ramp test, a photo finish, and a rider’s first Zwift workout.
How I am keeping fit in the winter slump with Zwift training.
No.1 Ranked Zwift Racers Assemble For This Race – 11W/kg Repeated Efforts
FTP Ramp Test as a Professional Cafe Rider
My Closest Ever Zwift Race
First Zwift Workout In Ages!
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Zwift Update Version 1.107 (158475) Released
Zwift version 1.107 begins its phased rollout today. This is a minor update containing mostly bug fixes. See details below…
Workout Card Improvements
Zwift says this release includes “Various visual improvements to how workout blocks are displayed in workout cards on the Home Screen. These changes include fixes to how small workout blocks, free ride segments, and workouts with many blocks are displayed.”
The more detailed display of the workout that you see when clicking the card has also been modified. Examples below:
Neon Shore Loop is Open
Makuri Islands’ Neon Shore Loop route was originally launched as event-only to host TTT races for the ZRL Round 3, which wraps up this week. This update makes the route free rideable, and it can also be scheduled for meetups once it’s added to the list in Companion app.
Note: this isn’t a new badge, it’s just a change from the route being event-only to being open for free rides, meetups, etc. If you already raced the route in ZRL, you’ve already got the route badge.
Release Notes
Zwift supplied the following additional release notes:
- Fixed an issue that could cause chat emojis to not be visible after game updates or fresh installations.
- Fixed an issue that could cause Coffee Stop to not work when joining an event from a workout.
- Fixed an issue that could cause Power Segment leaderboard results to be delayed.
- Windows: Fixed an issue that could cause heart rate values from CORE sensors to be missing.
- iOS/Android: Fixed an issue that could cause bodies of water to be missing in some locations in Makuri.
Discuss this update in Zwift’s forum >
Questions or Comments?
If you spotted any other changes or bugs in the update, please comment below!
Join Fast Talk Labs + Expert Guests on Zwift
Join Fast Talk Labs + Expert Guests on Zwift
Fast Talk Labs + Zwift have spun up a new weekly ride series featuring Fast Talk Podcast cohosts Trevor Connor and Chris Case, with a new special guest each week.
Ride Schedule and Distinctives
- Each week features a different guest expert answering your questions (see below)!
- Events are every Tuesday at 2pm UTC/9am EST/6am PST
- Rides are 60 minutes long
- A different route is chosen each week, to keep things fresh
- Rides are banded, so you can ride at any pace you’d like without being dropped. As long as you keep pedaling, you’ll stay in the pack!
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/fasttalklabs >
Guests and Routes
February 10: Fast Talk Labs + Isaiah Newkirk Q&A Ride
- Special guest Isaiah Newkirk is a former professional road cyclist and USA Cycling Level 1 (Advanced) Coach. He is Performance Director for the Project Echelon UCI Continental road cycling team, one of the top-ranked teams in the U.S.
He has served as a data scientist for the Human Powered Health World Tour team and for riders on Jumbo-Visma and EF Education First. He was head coach of the Stanford University Cycling Team and for Boulder Junior Cycling.
As founder of Training Edge Coaching, Newkirk is known for his experience in athlete development and data analysis. He coaches road, gravel, and mountain bike riders and hosts The Training Edge podcast.
Learn more about Isaiah Newkirk at trainingedgecoaching.com/about. - Route: R.G.V.
February 17: Fast Talk Labs + Dr. Stacey Brickson Q&A Ride
- Special guest Dr. Stacey Bricksonis is a physical therapist, athletic trainer, and strength and conditioning specialist with over 30 years of experience. Dr. Brickson has worked in clinical practice and academia, serving on the faculty of UW-Madison in the Department of Orthopedics and in the Human Performance Lab, researching the relationships between sleep, mood, and training load with injury and illness in athletes. She worked with professional bike fitter Colin O’Brien at Cronometro for 10 years and is a certified bike fitter with Serotta International Cycling Institute and Bike PT. She is a USA Cycling Level 1 (Advanced) certified coach, a NICA Level 1 Coach, and a member of the USA Cycling Coach Development program.
She’s also pretty fast, so it’s a good thing this is a no-drop ride! Dr. Brickson has completed 6 Ironman races including the Ironman World Championship in Kona and has top 10 finishes in a variety of endurance races including Haute Route Norway, Unbound 100, Big Sugar 100, Chequamegon, Wausau24. She’s also earned her belt buckle at the Leadville 100 MTB.
She is founder of BrickO’s Drafters, a grass-roots cycling club with over 150 riders of all ages.
Learn more about Dr. Stacey Brickson and see her Fast Talk Labs here. - Route: Greater London Flat
February 24: Fast Talk Labs + Brent Bookwalter Q&A Ride
- Special guest Brent Bookwalter is a former professional road cyclist who raced for 16 years in the WorldTour, mostly with BMC Racing Team and Mitchelton-Scott. He earned a reputation for being a versatile rider with strengths in time trialing and served his teams as a road captain toward the end of his racing career.
Today, Bookwalter is an Olympian, Tour de France veteran, and NBC Sports analyst who helps endurance athletes, performers, and leaders strengthen their mindset, optimize their habits, and unlock their potential when it matters most.
Bring your questions for Brent about sport psychology and mental performance!
Learn more about Brent Bookwalter at brentbookwalter.com. - Route: Countryside Tour
March 3: Fast Talk Labs + Dr. Stephen Seiler Q&A Ride
- Special guest Dr. Stephen Seiler is the groundbreaking researcher of the polarized training method and a professor at the University of Agder in Norway. He served as research consultant and scientific advisor for the Norwegian Olympic Federation, which contributed to Norway’s strong performance in recent Winter Olympics and influenced the Norwegian training method now in widespread use among elite athletes in track and field, running, and triathlon.
Over the last 15 years, Dr. Seiler has become internationally known for his research publications and lectures related to the organization of endurance training and intensity distribution. This work has included both descriptive and experimental approaches, investigating cyclists, rowers, cross-country skiers, orienteers, and distance runners. His work has influenced and catalyzed international research around training intensity distribution and the “polarized training model.”
Dr. Seiler has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications and written over 100 popular science articles related to exercise physiology and the training process. He has also given scientific lectures across Europe, the United States, China, South Africa, and Australia. He is also a founding editorial board member of the International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance.
Join this ride to ask your questions about polarized training and Norwegian training. Learn more about Dr. Stephen Seiler and see his 50 articles, videos, and podcast episodes at Fast Talk Labs here. - Route: Watts the Limit
March 10: Fast Talk Labs + Dr. Scott Frey Q&A Ride
- Special guest Dr. Scott Frey is a cognitive neuroscience researcher and mental performance coach with 33 years of experience in the field. Frustrated with the “neck down” focus of endurance sports training, Dr. Frey embarked on a journey of original research and clinical work with endurance athletes, including leading two brain imaging research centers and a PhD program.
His coaching business, Cerebral Performance, focuses on brain training for higher endurance sports performance.
Join this ride to ask your questions about mental performance and brain training! - Route: The Fan Flats
March 17: Fast Talk Labs + Ben Delaney Q&A Ride
- Special guest Ben Delaney is a veteran bike tester now devoted to reviews of the best gravel bikes, races, and destinations on his popular YouTube channel, The Ride with Ben Delaney. Delaney has tested hundreds of road and more than 100 gravel bikes over his 25-year career as a cycling journalist.
Writing for premier cycling media like VeloNews, Cyclingnews, BikeRadar, and Outside, he has ridden the gnarliest gravel courses like Unbound Gravel, Belgian Waffle Ride, SBT GRVL, and dozens more. He has tested bikes and other gear while reporting on cycling’s marquee road races like the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, road world championships, and Tour of Flanders.
Through his YouTube channel, Ben Delaney offers in-depth and technical reviews of gravel bikes, road bikes, saddles, shoes, helmets, bike racks, and tools, shedding light on characteristics like ride quality, handling, comfort, climbing and descending, and rideability in varying terrain, surface, and weather conditions. He also interviews cycling tech experts to understand what makes the best gravel cycling gear so good. - Route: Rolling Highlands
March 24: Fast Talk Labs + Dr. Paul Laursen Q&A Ride
- Special guest Dr. Paul Laursen is an exercise physiologist and founder of HIIT Science, a catalog of high-intensity interval training courses for coaches and scientists, and Athletica.ai, an AI-powered endurance training platform.
Dr. Laursen is a globally recognized sport scientist and adjunct professor of exercise physiology at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and University of Agder in Norway. Currently based in Canada, Dr. Laursen led the physiology team at High Performance Sport New Zealand, focusing on driving performance in Olympic sports before the London and Rio Olympic Games.
Dr. Laursen is an endurance athlete himself, completing 17 Ironman triathlons (including a sub-10-hour performance) and two team Race Across America (RAAM) events. - Route: Watopia’s Waistband
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/fasttalklabs >
All About Zwift Games 2026: Where the World Comes to Race!
All About Zwift Games 2026: Where the World Comes to Race!
The third edition of Zwift Games, the platform’s most popular stage race series, has just been announced. Racing begins February 16, but related rides kick off today!
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about indoor cycling’s premier race festival.
Table of Contents
New This Year
Zwift’s learnings from previous Games have been applied to this year’s events, leading to various improvements, including:
- Fresh routes: Six new routes have been added to the game to host the Games stages.
- Road to Glory intro events: New to Zwift racing? These orientation events kick off today.
- Power metrics in leaderboards: Web-based GC leaderboards now include 90-day and Zwift Games 2026 power best metrics, so you can directly compare your Zwift Games metrics to recent performances.
- On demand: Zwift Games routes can be ridden “on-demand” as a solo effort beginning Friday, February 13 when the quest opens at 16:00 UTC. This makes it easy to recon the races, and you’ll also get credit for completing the stage! (Note: the bonus stage 6 can only be completed as an event.)
- Bonus Stage 6: for the first time, Zwift is offering a sixth “bonus stage” with two unique race formats:
- Individual Time Trial: This will be Zwift’s first mainstream TT experience
- Crit Cade: Gamified race in Crit City using steering, boosts, and hazards
- New unlocks: Of course, what would a big Zwift event be without new unlocks? This year features Oakley glasses and a helmet, Zwift Games 2026 kit, and a big XP bonus!
- Equipment not neutralized: This will be the first year that bike frames and wheels aren’t neutralized, meaning your virtual bike choices will affect your speed in game. Upgrades also count!
- Bonus XP at arches: Most Zwift Games races will give you a feather powerup in the start pen, and that’s the only powerup you’ll get for the entire race. Any arches you ride through without holding a powerup will give you a 10 XP bonus, and there’s an increased 5% chance that you’ll get a 250 XP bonus at each arch.
Most of these new items are discussed in more detail below. Read on!
Stage Details
Zwift Games is an escalating challenge! Stages get progressively more difficult, with each route both longer and more climby than the one before:
Stage 1, February 16-22: Sprint
- Makuri Islands’ Kaze Kicker (17.3km, 140m elevation)
- Powerup: Feather given in the pens
- Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026stage1 >
Stage 2, February 23-March 1: Sprint
- New York’s Hudson Hustle (20.4km, 216m elevation)
- Powerup: Feather given in the pens
- Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026stage2 >
Stage 3, March 2-8: Punch
- Richmond’s Cobbled Crown (24.3km, 288m elevation)
- Powerup: Feather given in the pens
- Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026stage3 >
Stage 4, March 9-15: Climb
- France’s Peaky Pavé (30.8km, 371m elevation)
- Powerup: Feather given in the pens
- Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026stage4 >
Stage 5, March 16-22: Epic
- Watopia’s Three Step Sisters (38.1km, 586m elevation)
- Powerups:
Feather given in the pens, and at the arches prior to the final two climbs(March 16 edit) watching YouTube race streams, it appears the Feather is given in the pens and at every arch on course except the Jarvis KOM. This includes feathers at all 10 arches up The Grade! - Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026stage5 >
Stage 6, March 23-29: Bonus/Optional Races
- iTT on Scotland’s The Epiloch (10.9km, 92m elevation)
- Scratch Race on Crit City’s Crit Cade (steering required) – learn more about Crit Cade events
Make-Up Races: March 30-April 5
See all upcoming races at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026
Standard Schedule
The largest race fields will be found in the Standard (mixed) events held hourly, 24x daily, at 10 minutes past the hour. These races alternate each hour between two different Racing Score ranges:
- Range 1: 0-159 | 160-269 | 270-389 | 390-509 | 510-650
- Range 2: 0-209 | 210-329 | 330-449 | 450-569 | 570-725
The two ranges give racers a choice between a stronger category that may help them get a faster course time (great for the GC competition) or a slightly weaker category that gives them a better shot at a race win.
Advanced Schedule
Racers with a racing score of 650+ can jump into the Advanced Races held every two hours at 15 minutes past the hour.
See Advanced races at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026advanced
Women-Only Schedule
Women-only races will be held 5x daily at 10am, 12pm, 5pm, 6pm, and midnight UTC.
These races will use their own Racing Score-based bands: 0-199 | 200-299 | 300-399 | 400-499 | 500+.
If you’re a woman who hasn’t raced yet on Zwift, see our Women’s Racing homepage for a bit of inspiration >
GC Leaderboards
Zwift Games race results are delivered via leaderboards on Zwift.com. The following leaderboards are available:
- Overall General Classification
- Rankings for each stage (1-5)
- Ranking for TT (Bonus stage)
- Ranking for Crit Cade
Leaderboard rankings can be filtered by Gender, Racing Score band (buckets of 100), and Country. These filters can be used in combination.
View Leaderboards at zwift.com/racing/leagues/zwiftgames2026
This year, Zwift has added power metrics to the leaderboard, so you can compare your Zwift Games numbers to your 90-day bests. Here’s a mockup Zwift sent, where my League Best numbers may be a bit overstated…
View Leaderboards at zwift.com/racing/leagues/zwiftgames2026
Zwift Games Unlocks
A total of four in-game rewards are available to all Zwifters:
- Any one stage: Oakley Sphaera Strike Glasses
- Any three stages: Zwift Games 2026 Kit
- Any five stages: Oakley Velo Stelvio Helmet
- All six stages: 6000 XP bonus
Road to Glory Events
This year, Zwift has spun up special “Road to Glory” events to help newer racers learn the basics of Zwift racing. These group rides feature on-screen text throughout the event explaining powerups, drafting, Ride Ons, particular Watopia course features, and more. Rides are on 1 lap of Watopia’s Triple Twist, which is 24.5km long, with 201m of elevation gain.
I recently rode a Road to Glory preview event and found it well-planned, with many helpful tips packed into a relatively short time. I highly recommend it if you’re at all nervous about Zwift racing and looking for some hands-on training.
How to Register
No special registration is required – simply join any Zwift Games event to participate, or ride the courses on demand! Events should be available for signup beginning today (February 9).
See all upcoming races at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftgames2026
Questions or Comments?
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