Zwift recently announced plans for their first-ever large-scale community meetup, but it’s much more than a simple meet and greet. It’s a full-on Zwift community cycling holiday combined with fireside chats and other fun connecting events fueled by the infectious energy of Zwift’s global community.
Dubbed Zwift Community Live (ZCL) 2025, it’s all happening in Mallorca on April 3-6, 2025. Tickets are close to selling out, but there’s still time to register.
I sat down for a quick chat with Zwift CEO and Co-Founder Eric Min to talk about what they’ve got planned for the event. (He was actually in Spain at the time, checking out the Zwift Academy finals in person.) I asked him about his goals for this event, because it’s something he’s really been spearheading. He said:
After 10 years, it’s time to bring out community together to ride, connect, and strengthen the bonds we’ve built online. We’re social creatures, and virtual is great. But there’s nothing that replaces the real human connection.
If this is successful, we anticipate this may have the ability to bring thousands of people every year. Whether it’s in Mallorca or somewhere else. We want the first year to be somewhat of a pilot, and hopefully it will go well. We’ll learn, then we’ll scale it further the following year. The ambition is that this would be an annual event.
Here are some details Eric shared about ZCL 2025 that haven’t been released anywhere else…
IRL Rides
We’ll have three days of guided group rides on iconic Mallorcan roads like Formentor and Sa Calobra. Each day will feature short, medium, and long ride options.
Which rides is Eric doing? Perhaps unsurprisingly, he told me, “I’m going to be on the biggest, longest rides. Weather permitting. The roads along the coast are amazing, and I think at that time of year there won’t be so many cars. Just tens of thousands of cyclists taking over Mallorca!”
About the Hotel
Our home base for Zwift Community Live 2025 is the Iberostar Playa de Muro Village located in the charming town of Alcúdia on Mallorca’s north coast. This hotel is reserved exclusively for Zwift Community Live, and Eric actually stayed there two nights recently to “test it out.” He told me, “It’s a 5-star hotel for the price of a 3-star hotel.”
Located right by the beach, this stunning hotel offers single or double-occupancy rooms with breakfast and dinner included. It looks to be the perfect spot to unwind after a day of riding, connect with fellow Zwifters, and recharge for the next adventure. Four things worth noting about our ZCL accommodations:
Exclusive Access: The Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro will open its doors exclusively for ZCL 2025, providing a private and tailored experience for us.
Prime Location: Situated in the heart of Alcúdia, which is known for its pristine beaches, historic charm, and world-class cycling.
Cycling Amenities: The hotel offers bike storage, maintenance facilities, and recovery areas, so our gear will be as ready for the rides as we are! There’s also a full-service bike shop directly across the street if needed.
Luxurious Comfort: It’s a getaway, right? Relax in beautifully designed rooms, enjoy spa treatments, or unwind by the pool with views of the Mediterranean.
Special Guests
Zwift is still finalizing the list of special guests for ZCL 2025, including heads of the biggest community groups on Zwift. In addition, they will bring a selection of their ambassadors and VIP’s. So far they’ve shared with me the following names:
Matthew Stephens – Former pro cyclist and commentator.
Riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Canyon//SRAM teams.
Representatives from GCN
I also understand there will be more big names will be unveiled in the coming months
It’s the other guests I’m most excited about, though. 🤗 I’ll be there with my wife, and we’re stoked to meet lots of Zwifters in person who we’ve only seen in Watopia. I’m particularly looking forward to finally meeting Zwift’s event guru James Bailey, and I know we’ll also be hanging out with Beccah Niesen, who led the charge in us developing Zwift Insider’s women’s racing pages.
Like me, Eric Min sees this as an opportunity for “everyday Zwifters” to meet up. While meeting and riding with pros and influencers is fun in its own way, Eric says, “This is just as much about Zwifters meeting Zwifters.” It’s an opportunity for Zwift micro-communities (like race teams) to come together.
Daily Schedule
This rough schedule is going to be dialed in as the event draws nearer, of course. But this should give you a basic idea of what to expect each day:
April 3
Pick up rental bikes
Shake out rides
Evening dinner for all guests
Special guest speakers
April 4, 5, 6
Guided group rides (see “IRL Rides” above)
Evening dinner for all guests
Special guest speakers
April 7
Departures (guests may stay longer at their own expense)
And More
Eric let me know about a few more things Zwift has planned for the weekend, including:
Previews of what’s coming next on Zwift, including powerful new tools and fresh roads!
Nightly fireside chats featuring special guests, led by Matt Stephens
A Flanders watch party (the race happens on April 6)
How To Register
Attending ZCL 2025 is no small investment, and Zwift realizes this. “We make no money on this event,” Eric said. “In fact, we invest in it, and we’ve negotiated the best possible rates for the guests.”
Tickets start at €1150, and all the details are on the webpage provided by Zwift’s event partner, Huerzeler – The Cycling Experience. Options include high-end bike rentals to help ease travel logistics…
Upon its release, the Zwift Ride received incredible reviews due to its versatility and budget-friendly price point. Now, after 6 months, one reviewer provides a long-term perspective. Does it live up to the hype?
Also included in this week’s top picks are videos about Zwift racing and new Zwift setups.
Zwift Ride 500-Mile Review: the Good, the Bad, and the Caveats
Since receiving the Zwift Ride, Ben Delaney has clocked over 500 miles on the smart frame. In this video, Ben provides a long-term review of the Zwift Ride w/KICKR Core.
The Longest Zwift Race I’ve Done
With some unpleasant weather rolling through the area, Jeff from Norcal Cycling hops in a Zwift Epic Race. Watch as Jeff provides a complete breakdown of his race – can he take the win?
Finally Build My Ultimate Zwift Pain Cave!
Since moving, Thomas has not found the time to properly set up his indoor cycling setup. In this video, The Cycling Tatooist puts together his ultimate Zwift pain cave.
Your Zwift Racing Score drastically changed. Here’s Why!
Wondering why your Zwift Racing Score keeps changing? Adam from Road to A shares the reasoning behind these big changes.
4 Months Off… Zwift Race // Injury Comeback ep. 1
After 4 months off of Zwift racing, junior cyclist Brendan is back at it. Watch as Brendan breaks down his first Zwift race back.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Zwift version 1.80 begins its phased rollout today. While not a major release, Zwifters will be happy to learn that this update brings the new minimap route profile view to all maps. Let’s dive into the details!
Minimap Route Profile Now On All Maps
The new minimap route profile was enabled for Watopia around a month ago, and today’s update rolls out that same view on all other Zwift maps. This will be especially helpful on confusing maps like Neokyo and NYC!
The new profile view clearly shows your full route, progress, any leaderboard segment banners, and how far you have left to go to finish the route. It also shows a lap counter in events, and a blue lead-in section for routes with lead-ins.
Note: if you make a manual turn and deviate from a route at an intersection, the original overview will be shown instead.
New “Screen Shake Effect” Toggle
The screen shake effect can now be disabled in Settings under the Audio & Video tab:
When disabled, the screen will no longer shake when riding on rough surfaces like cobblestones and wooden bridges. Here’s a quick demo showing how gameplay appears with it turned on and off:
More Release Notes
Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update (notes in italics from me):
Fixed an issue that could cause the “Start Ride” button to not be selected by default when viewing a workout.
Fixed an issue that could potentially show incorrect elevation in the dynamic elevation display for the climb in Jarvis and The Grade in Watopia.
Fixed incorrect pedestrian walking animations in New York.
Fixed an issue that could cause the elapsed time icon to overlap with the time value.
Fixed an issue that could cause the “More Power!” alert to overlap with the average power value shown during ramp test workouts.
Fixed an issue that could cause the speed unit shown in the HUD to overlap with the distance value.
Fixed an issue that could cause the in-game leaderboard sidebar to overlap with the upcoming event countdown.
Fixed an issue that could prevent the Shorelines and Summits route in Watopia from being completed if scheduled for multiple laps in an event.
Corrected the peak difficulty of the Tractor Pulls workout which was previously higher than intended. (It asked for 25-second pulls, at 50rpm and 300% of FTP!)
Training Stress Score (TSS) has been renamed to Stress Points (SP). (This is surely a result of TrainingPeaks acquiring IndieVelo…)
Android
Fixed missing bridge railings in the Shisa Shakedown route in Makuri Islands.
Fixed an issue that could cause the Zwifter’s level to not be shown in the HUD after receiving a Ride On.
iOS, tvOS
Fixed an issue that could cause the Zwifter’s level to not be shown in the HUD after receiving a Ride On.
As you may or may not know, each of these sections consists of two activities: first a workout, then a test. I cover the endurance workout and test below.
Endurance Elevator Workout
The Endurance Elevator workout has you tackle multiple longer intervals at or near your FTP. The full workout is 59 minutes long with 3 hard intervals, while the lite version is 33 minutes long with 2 intervals. Here’s what the workouts look like with my FTP set at 310W:
I went with the full 59-minute workout and did it as an on-demand workout because that was the only way to get it done early. I chose to ride the workout on Watopia’s Road to Sky route because I prefer the visuals of a steady climb when doing longer, steady work at sweet spot or threshold.
Watch me ride this workout:
I went into this workout figuring it would involve some steady suffering. But it turned out to be significantly harder than anticipated. The toughest workout so far in this program, in fact!
After a warmup with three 30-second efforts to get your blood pumping, riders are tasked with completing 3 intervals at or near FTP. Here are my intervals:
10 minutes at 310W (100% FTP) and 90rpm
9-minute ramp from 280-340W (90-110% of FTP) broken into 3 cadence-based blocks
3 minutes at 85rpm
3 minutes at 80rpm
3 minutes at 75rpm
10 minutes at 310W (100% FTP) broken into 5 cadence-based blocks
2 minutes at 90rpm
1 minute standing at 70rpm
2 minutes at 90rpm
1 minute standing at 70rpm
4 minutes at 100rpm
Each of these big blocks was significantly harder than the previous one, and I felt like the cadence targets made them significantly more difficult. Some people say “you can ignore the cadence targets” but that’s not always true… cadence affects a workout, and coaches set particular targets for good reason. So I tried to hit those targets, even though it put me further outside my comfort zone.
For the first 10-minute interval, I spun up to a comfortable cadence around 100rpm, then realized the workout was calling for 90rpm. So I dropped it, and finished the interval right on target. I was pedaling slower than I would naturally, but it didn’t feel like I was mashing the pedals.
The second interval, a 9-minute ramp, dropped the cadence even further. Gah! As the power ramped from 90% of FTP to 110%, it told me to drop my cadence from 85rpm to 80rpm to 75rpm. That hurt. Holding power over threshold at 75rpm feels like it really sapped the strength in my legs.
The low cadence targets really sapped my legs, but they also simulated climbing nicely
Then I had one more 10-minute section at FTP left. This one surprised me with its difficulty. The first two minutes at 90rpm weren’t terrible, but I could already feel that the previous 9-minute ramp at low cadence had noticeably drained my strength.
Then I stood up for the 1-minute interval as instructed, and tried to hold the 70rpm target… and I couldn’t! It was a weird feeling, like I didn’t have the body weight to stomp on the pedals at a high enough cadence. It would have taken me really engaging my core and arms so I could force my pedal strokes down in order to hit the cadence target – but I just didn’t have the strength.
So I mashed through that interval at 55-60rpm, then sat down and tried to get my cadence up to the 90rpm target. At this point, my heart rate was at its highest point thus far in the workout (175bpm).
Soon enough, it was time to stand for another minute. This block was even worse, with me only able to hold around 50rpm. I was on the edge of the ERG spiral of death, and it was all I could do to keep those pedals turning over.
When I finished slogging through that block, it was time for the final 4 minutes at FTP. And the workout called for 100rpm cadence! Grrr… I would have happily down 100rpm early in the workout, but now my legs were so dead I couldn’t get my legs over 75rpm. So I just gutted out the final 4 minutes, even though everything in me wanted to hit that left button to drop the FTP bias by a few percent. My heart rate was pegged at 180, a few beats over threshold, and there it sat until I finished my last FTP interval.
Tank emptied
Takeaways from the Endurance Elevator Workout
This was the first Zwift Camp: Baseline stage I had completed where I didn’t get an email from Zwift immediately after finishing. It makes sense – I hadn’t unlocked any new virtual goodies, and there weren’t any test results to display. But I’m not ashamed to admit that after all that hard work, I wish Zwift had sent me some sort of attaboy.
My first takeaway from this workout was that low cadence work really saps my legs, but I probably need to do more of it if I want to climb well. On Zwift, a combination of lower trainer difficulty and lots of virtual gears lets me spin at a higher cadence no matter how steep the climbs may be. But that’s not how it works outdoors.
The other takeaway is a reminder that my body can go further than I might think. When we get pushed to the edge, whether or not we continue pushing becomes a question of mental strength. I’ll be honest: knowing I would be writing this post and sharing my video helped motivate me not to throw in the towel!
Endurance Test
The test for the endurance portion of Zwift Camp: Baseline isn’t like the Sprint or Attacking tests, which were structured workouts. Instead, Zwift has you ride the Elevation Evaluation route:
Using this route as an endurance test began as a good idea from Zwift, and it could have been a really cool experience for everyone if done right. Unfortunately, the way it actually unfolds in game for the everyday Zwifter leaves a lot to be desired. I’ll unpack this more below, but first I want to state two things clearly that aren’t spelled out by Zwift:
The whole goal of this final workout is to put in your best 10-minute power effort at some point during the route. I recommend beginning this effort at the bottom of The Grade KOM, because that lets you make use of the timer in game as your 10-minute timer, plus you’ll see an average power readout as well.
You have to complete the full Elevation Evaluation route for your effort to count as a stage 6 completion. There’s a fair amount of riding to be done even after you climb to the top of The Grade. Just use it to spin your legs out, and make sure you ride through the finish at the Sasquatch Sprint before ending your ride.
Watch me complete the Elevation Evaluation Route/Test:
I started my endurance test with a separate ride, actually. I knew that the Elevation Evaluation route only has a ~3km lead-in when ridden as a free ride, and I wanted a longer warmup. So I jumped in with some robopacers for 30 minutes to break a sweat, spin up the legs, and get the heart rate up.
Hot Tip #1: knowing this is a 10-minute test should help you set your power target quite precisely. There are various ways of doing this. I did two things: I looked at my 2024 power curve in Strava, which showed my best 10-minute power was 344W this year. I also looked at the new way Zwift computes FTP (see chart on this post) and did the math to see I would need to hold 359W (my FTP of 310/0.862) in order for Zwift’s computed FTP to match what I have on my profile.
359W seemed way too high for me to hold for 10 minutes, but 340W seemed doable. So I decided I would target 340W, then increase the power later in the test if I was able.
After my warmup, I saved my activity, then picked the Elevation Evaluation route from stage 6 of the Zwift Camp: Baseline section of my homepage. (I was doing this ride as an on-demand free ride of the route, not an event, because the events won’t be scheduled until next week.)
Recommendation to ZHQ: this page should include text explaining the goal of the ride. Right now it says nothing about what I’m supposed to do. Is this a maximal effort across the entire route? Should I do my best for the full The Grade FTP test? (The fact that it’s a 10-minute test isn’t just well-hidden, it’s not communicated anywhere.)
Hot Tip #2: As I neared the base of the KOM, I reduced my trainer difficulty to 0. This is because I knew there was that flat spot partly up the KOM, and I didn’t want to worry about shifting to keep the resistance (and my power) up during what would be a very suffery portion of the 10-minute effort. Setting trainer difficulty to 0 meant I wouldn’t feel any resistance changes due to gradient at all, so I could control the resistance completely by my shifting.
Hot Tip #3: Even though you can do your maximal 10-minute effort at any time during your Elevation Evaluation ride, plan to begin it right at the start line of The Grade KOM. This is the smart move because it gives you an on-screen timer so you know when you’ve hit 10 minutes, plus it shows your power average on screen, so you’ll know how you’re tracking against your target.
I was feeling good as I started out, and at the 2:30 mark (25% in) I was averaging 355W. But I knew it couldn’t stay that high, so I tried to drop my power closer to 340W so I could sustain the effort.
Just past the 5-minute mark, I hit the flat spot on The Grade. But with trainer difficulty at 0, I didn’t need to shift to keep my power up! #winning My power average was 352W at the halfway mark.
The span from 5-8 minutes was probably the hardest for me, because that was the time when my legs were burning and my mind was asking, “Can I sustain this effort for several more minutes?” At the 7:30 mark (75% done) my power average was 350W, and I was suffering.
Once I hit 2 minutes to go, I knew I could hold close to my 340W target through to the end. (You can do anything for 2 minutes, right?) As I neared 1 minute to go, I tried to up my power and empty the tank. When the clock hit 10 minutes, my on-screen power average was 349W, and as the timer ticked over, my avatar almost came to a stop as I finished my effort with hardly anything left. Whew!
Takeaways from the Endurance Test
My 350W average for 10 minutes was a personal best for 2024, so I was stoked with that result. Here’s my endurance performance report, showing my new PB plus my previous 90-day best:
I’m not sure if I could have paced it any better than I did, or pushed any harder, so I don’t have any personal takeaways from the test. I do, however, have some takeaways for Zwift based on my experience with this final Zwift Camp: Baseline stage.
Takeaways for Zwift
First, as already mentioned above, Zwift needs to communicate what they’re looking for in this final endurance test. I reached out and it sounds like they’ll be at least talking about the 10-minute power goal in the event description text, but that doesn’t even come close to solving the problem. Because we know lots of people don’t read that text, plus many folks will complete the tests as an on-demand workout outside of an event!
Zwift’s original intent was to use Elevation Evaluation as a “route-based workout”, where riders would ride the route together in an event, with popup text instructing them on how to execute the test. But for some reason, that ended up not happening, which means riders are sort of left to figure it out for themselves.
At this point in Zwift Camp: Baseline, I’m not sure there’s an easy fix for the 200,000+ people who have joined and will soon be completing the final workout.
Recommendation to ZHQ: maybe Zwift could send an email to everyone after they complete stage 5, detailing what to do for stage 6?
I didn’t receive a performance report email after my endurance test like I did with the Attack and Sprint tests, which seems odd. In talking to internal contacts within Zwift, it looks like there was some sort of bug where a trigger didn’t fire after I finished the route. Zwift needs to be really sure that this sort of triggering is working in a rock-solid fashion, because it’s really important for people to see the reports they’re expecting after giving it their all.
Recommendation to ZHQ: riders should get their endurance performance report emailed over as soon as they save their Zwift activity.
Perhaps even more oddly, I didn’t get my “Zwift Camp: Baseline Performance Report” until almost 24 hours after I completed this final test. That’s way too long to wait for the big final report that everyone wants at the conclusion of the Camp. Why not send it right away? Zwift has their tech-based reasons, but again, I think they need to look at user experience and try to maximize it.
Recommendation to ZHQ: riders should get their Zwift Camp: Baseline Performance Report emailed over as soon as they save their Zwift activity.
The performance report said my “Rider Strength” is versatility. That is, I’m not a sprinter, attacker, or endurance-focused rider… I’m sort of equally good at all three. Or equally bad? 😁 Regardless, here’s the full Zwift Camp: Baseline Performance Report email I received:
As you can see, the email contains the following:
Rider Strength: this section will tell you whether your strength is sprinting, attacking, endurance, or if you’re rather balanced like me. Zwift figures this out by comparing your power numbers to the universe of Zwifters.
Rider Limiter: basically, your lowest percentile ranking against the universe of active Zwifters.
Looking to improve? Zwift points me to the upcoming Endurance Challenge (workouts to help me boost my endurance) which will be available December 23rd. The email also points me to the “Fondo” training plan.
Zwift Baseline wheels blurb: the bottom of the email has a blurb about the wheels you unlock by finishing Zwift Camp: Baseline. It calls them “performance wheels,” but this a more hype than they deserve, since they’re nothing special.
Recommendations to ZHQ: this email could be improved in lots of ways, but at the same time, I get it: Zwift Camp: Baseline was sort of a “proof of concept”, a first go at something Zwift will undoubtedly do again, and in a bigger way. A few improvements I’d love to see:
Under “Looking to Improve?”, I want to be able to click and see the details for the Endurance Challenge or the recommended Training Plan(s).
More details: keep the email simple, but let me click and see my numbers again plus my percentile rank for each of the three tests (sprint, attack, endurance) somewhere under my Zwift.com profile.
Don’t pitch the wheel unlock like it’s something special. Either give me some really unique-looking wheels that I’d want to roll in casual riding just because of their appearance, or give me some wheels that perform really well. The Baseline wheels are just… not super cool looking, and not fast.
Concluding Thoughts
As I’ve already said, I love where Zwift is going with Zwift Camp: Baseline. There’s so much potential for this idea of assessing rider abilities, then recommending next steps.
The Zwift Camp: Baseline program felt a little bit thrown together in places, particularly on stage 6. And you know what? I’m OK with that, as long as Zwift takes feedback on board and iterates to improve the product. Because that’s how development works! I’ve done my best to detail my feedback in my series of walkthrough posts, and I know for a fact Zwift has been reading these articles, and everyone’s comments, to make tweaks to the program on the fly and also improve future versions of it. So that’s all good.
Overall, in going through Zwift Camp: Baseline myself, as well as conversing with folks within ZHQ about it, I really think this is just the start of bigger and better things to come in this space from Zwift. So I’m looking forward to what comes next.
Watch this space for details on the Sprinting, Attacking, and Endurance Challenges releasing on December 23rd as a followup to Zwift Camp: Baseline.
Questions or Comments?
That’s a wrap on Zwift Camp: Baseline for me. How’s it going for you? Share your thoughts or questions below!
Rapha’s Festive 500 began in 2010 as a simple challenge: brave the winter elements and ride 500 kilometers between December 24-31. Since then, riders have covered over 300 million Festive kilometers, including many virtual kilometers after Covid lockdowns opened the Festive 500 challenge to virtual rides.
This year, as in years past, Zwift is working with Rapha to host events and give unlocks to finishers. Here are all the details…
The Challenge
Your task is to ride 500 kilometers (310.7 miles) in eight days, from December 24-31. Outdoor bike, e-bike, handcycle, and virtual rides all count toward the total.
This is all tracked through Strava, so you’ll need to sign up for the Strava Challenge and upload your rides to Strava to be considered an official finisher.
RoboPacer-Led Festive 500 Events
Any miles you do on Zwift count toward the Festive 500 challenge, but Zwift is spinning up RoboPacer-led events to encourage riders to go the distance. Events are scheduled every two hours, and each event includes multiple pace options led by RoboPacers:
A: 4.2 w/kg RoboPacer
B: 3.2 w/kg RoboPacer
C: 2.6 w/kg RoboPacer
D: 2.2 w/kg RoboPacer
E: 1.5 w/kg RoboPacer
Events will be 50 kilometers long and held on the following routes/dates:
RoboPacers are always active in Zwift, leading always-on group rides at a variety of paces.
Zwift will be breaking the RoboPacers out of their normal schedule and moving them to flatter routes during Festive 500 week, so help riders rack up the miles.
Zwift CEO Eric Min is holding a ride on London’s PRL Full on December 28 at 8am ET. (It’s the last route badge he needs to earn). There might be some special kit unlock(s) associated with this ride… watch for a post about it in the coming days.
Check out the ride calendar in Zwift Companion or this ZwiftHacks link to find more fun, long Festive 500 rides.
Questions or Comments?
Are you up for the challenge? I know I’m in, just like last year. Share below!
With the temperatures dropping in the Northern Hemisphere, indoor cycling season is in full swing! In this week’s top video, watch as one Zwifter builds his ultimate Zwift set-up in his barn gym.
We’ve also selected videos about the recent updates to the FTP algorithm, a DIY upgrade for the Wahoo KICKR Core, an all-out Alpe du Zwift ascent, and a pre-season fitness test.
Ultimate Zwift Setup In My Barn Gym | Part 1
Watch as Mark Lewis, fitness YouTuber, sets up his new Zwift Ride in his new Barn Gym.
ZWIFT Game Update 1.79 – FTP Auto Calculation Updates // December 2024
In Zwift’s latest game release, changes were made to the FTP Auto Calculation algorithm. Learn all about those changes and the other fixes that were included in Zwift version 1.79 in Shane Miller, GPLama’s latest video.
If You Have a Wahoo KICKR Core, You NEED This Upgrade!
Looking for a good budget-friendly way to upgrade your Wahoo KICKR Core? With this Zwifter’s DIY solution, you can add side-to-side motion to your indoor setup to increase comfort.
The Best Indoor Fitness Test… Ever!
In this week’s video, Ryan Condon puts his fitness to the test by tackling an all-out effort up Alpe du Zwift.
One Of My Best Ever Pre-Season Fitness Tests On Zwift!
Ed Laverack tackles a pre-season time trial to see where his fitness is at. Watch as he absolutely drops the hammer in this session!
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Zwift World Series Elite Racing Paused After Trainer Inaccuracies Lead to Rider Annulments
The inaugural Zwift World Series (ZWS) launched in August as a new flagship race series that encompassed both elite and community-level racers during peak Zwift season. The elite ZWS races were set to be the highest-profile, most competitive events on that platform during the 2024/25 season, with cash prizes and Zwift Games 2025 qualification on the line.
But all of the planned elite racing went into limbo on December 3, when Zwift’s Director of Racing Sean Parry sent an email to all elite racers informing them of a pause to the Zwift World Series schedule.
The pause was due to concerns over the accuracy of smart trainer power readings, and it came just after elite riders had finished the qualification race for ZWS race #4.
For the full picture, including elite race schedule changes, I’ve included the original email from Sean below, as well as a follow-up he sent two days later:
Original December 3 Email
Dear Zwift World Series Racers,
Following the conclusion of Open Qualifier 4, we have taken the extremely hard decision to pause the Zwift World Series and, as a consequence, Elite Race 4 will not go ahead on 5th December.
This decision has been made after a thorough review and it has been driven by our desire to uphold the reputation of our sport and protect the well-being of the athletes.
This season in the Zwift World Series we have seen, and we continue to see, a much higher volume of issues with hardware accuracy than we ever have in the past. Unfortunately, this has resulted in many annulments, race to race uncertainty for athletes, and created considerable challenges for our performance verification team and commissaire. We understand and empathise with the strain that this has put on riders throughout the series and this is not something we can allow to continue.
The issues we have seen are not specific to the Zwift platform and have been verified to happen in events on other platforms by Athlete Analytix using data proactively provided by riders.
Whilst the equipment on the ZWS whitelist works extremely well for 99+% of indoor cyclists, the extreme demands that some elite racers place on hardware mean that there are edge cases that have emerged. We firmly believe these edge cases can be remedied by hardware manufacturers developing firmware updates. By postponing the ZWS we will provide valuable time to allow riders and all the manufacturers to further understand, diagnose, quantify and remedy issues so that we can drive increased certainty for athletes.
We have engaged with all the relevant hardware manufacturers and they are motivated to work closely with athletes on any issues - an offer that we would urge you all to take up. Joint collaboration between Zwift, hardware manufacturers and riders during this time will ensure that we can all move fairness in the sport forward together. As part of this process, we will also take a close look at hardware on our white list going forward.
Given the events that have occurred, we will also take this opportunity to revisit and update our ruleset for elite racing. Our emphasis remains on maintaining the highest levels of fairness possible but we would like to explore sanctions and remedies that are less severe than the current rules when athletes encounter unintentional infractions outside of their reasonable control. This is also a process we intend to undertake in collaboration with riders during the next period.
It is anticipated that Elite Race 4, Open Qualifier 5 and Elite Race 5 will now all be held after Zwift Games (taking place in March 2025). This will give us all the time to collectively work through the next steps outlined above and reset for a great Zwift Games 2025.
We will follow up in a subsequent email with further information on topics like Zwift World Series re-scheduling, Zwift Games qualification and how riders can help to further shape the next steps.
I am excited for the next phase,
Best,
Sean Parry
Zwift, Director of Racing
Follow-up Email from December 5
Dear Zwift World Series Racers,
Following Tuesday’s announcement, as promised, this email outlines some further details regarding the next steps. We hope that these clarifications cover many of the open questions you have, but please do follow up with any other queries.
Zwift World Series Rescheduling
The final rounds of the Zwift World Series will be rescheduled for after the Zwift Games. The provisional dates mentioned below will be finalised in January.
Elite Race 4
The final results of Open Qualifier 4 will stand, and all qualifiers and Series Pass riders eligible to race in Elite Race 4.
Provisional Date: Thursday, 10th April 2025
Open Qualifier/ Elite Race 5
Open Qualifier 5 will not go ahead.
Elite Race 5 will become an Open Race open to all ZWS athletes, providing an opportunity for all riders to participate in this season ending finale on the Power to the Tower Course. Athletes will also have an opportunity to race this course in January (see below)
Provisional Date: Thursday, 24th April 2025
Zwift World Series Prize Money
We will now pay out race-specific prize money, including finishing line and primes, for Elite Races 1,2 and 3. We will be reaching out to relevant athletes and teams shortly to begin this process, so if this is relevant to you, please look out for a request for information.
Zwift Games Qualification
The top 50 athletes in the Zwift World Series General Classification as it stands after Elite Race 3, will be automatically invited to Zwift Games 2025 (March 8th, 15th, 22nd). We will be reaching out to all of these riders shortly to request confirmation of interest in taking part in the events.
We will also introduce an additional Zwift Games qualification race for riders that have submitted PV for the Zwift World Series, but are currently outside of the top 50 places. This race will take place on Saturday, 22nd February, two weeks ahead of Zwift Games 2025. Further details about this race including qualification quotas will be included in the Zwift Games Racebook.
Further Zwift Games information
As previously communicated, The Zwift Games Racebook and Rules, will be released on or around 31st January 2025.
Hardware
Ultimately we paused the Zwift World Series because we want to get to a point where you, the riders, have increased confidence in your hardware going into any given race.
We have engaged with all of the relevant hardware manufacturers and they are motivated to work closely with athletes on any issues - an offer that we urge you all to take up.
In the future, the accuracy of hardware on a race-by-race basis will remain the responsibility of the athletes, so it is important that during this period, and on an ongoing basis, you:
Continue to actively test your equipment under race conditions using dual recordings
Please report anything unusual you see to the relevant manufacturer using the special support email addresses we have established. For reference these are;
When contacting the manufacturer, please include as much detail as possible, like your dual recorded data, your hardware serial number and what you have noticed.
This will enable manufacturers to provide direct support and troubleshooting as well as identify any fixes that can be developed through firmware updates.
Testing Events
In order to facilitate this process (and for fun!) Zwift will set up a series of testing events. Riders have no obligation to participate in these events, but they will provide a useful opportunity to test your equipment under race conditions. All elite riders will be added to these events by Monday, 9th December.
These events will be set up exactly as elite events would be. Some riders have expressed a desire to race the Zwift World Series courses regardless, therefore these will still be scheduled as part of the below, on an ‘unofficial’ basis, also allowing riders to further recce the courses ahead of the rest of the season.
Test Event Schedule:
Thursday 12th December - Shisa Shakedown - 7pm UTC
Friday 20th December - Surrey Hills - 7pm UTC
Friday 3rd January - Muckle Yin, 2 laps - 6pm UTC
Thursday 16th January - Power To The Tower - 4pm UTC
Thursday 23rd January - Rising Empire, 2 laps - 6pm UTC
Thursday 6th February - Achterbahn - 7pm UTC
Thursday 13th February - Glyph Heights, 2 laps - 7pm UTC
Men’s and Women’s races will be scheduled at the same time at the times detailed above.
If there is anything specific during these events that we will be testing or monitoring, we will communicate this with riders ahead of the event.
Aside from these events, riders are encouraged to test their equipment in any and all ongoing racing events they take part in across platforms.
Rule updates
We will also take this opportunity to revisit the Zwift elite event rules as we feel there may be opportunities to introduce less severe penalties for riders impacted by equipment malfunctions that are beyond their reasonable control.
This also provides an additional opportunity for riders to provide any feedback on the existing ruleset for further consideration. Our independent commissaire, Isaac LeBlanc, will be leading this process, so If you have any thoughts on this topic, please email [email protected]
Many Thanks,
Sean Parry
Firmware Updates Incoming
First, it’s important that we put the pitchforks away. Or at least, don’t point them at the racers! While cheating in high-level cycling esports is always a concern, Zwift has been very clear in communicating that the hardware inaccuracies aren’t from riders intentionally trying to create an advantage by somehow miscalibrating or artificially increasing smart trainer power numbers. Rather, particular trainer models are reading high in specific “edge case” scenarios – particularly high-torque, low-cadence efforts found on steep climbs.
To ensure maximum fairness via reliable power data, the Zwift World Series Ruleset has a very short list of approved trainers:
Tacx: Neo 2, Neo 2T, Neo 3M, Neo Bike
Wahoo: Kickr v5, Kickr v6, Kickr Move, Kickr Bike v1, Kickr Bike v2, Kickr Bike Shift
Elite: Justo, Justo 2
Based on Zwift’s emails and other sources, it seems that from the list above, only a few trainers from Wahoo and Elite are in question. Recent race annulments appear to be tied to Wahoo’s KICKR v6, KICKR Move, and KICKR v5 trainers as well as Elite’s Justo and Justo 2 trainers.
We haven’t heard anything from Elite on this topic, but Wahoo issued a statement detailing their firmware update plans, saying, “Zwift have been in communication with all the relevant hardware manufacturers and Wahoo is one of these. We have worked quickly on a fix for elite indoor riders competing in events over the coming month – this is now available for KICKR V6 and KICKR MOVE, we expect a fast follow for those KICKR V5. There will be a full rollout to all Wahoo users in early January 2025.”
Leading From the Front
The decision to pause the elite portion of their flagship race series was certainly not an easy one on Zwift’s part. But with so much on the line – athlete reputations, cash prizes, even the viability of indoor cycling as a high-level discipline – it feels like the responsible call. It may damage Zwift’s reputation in the eyes of some, but it helps ensure a bright future for a cycling discipline still in its infancy.
Apart from Zwift, perhaps it’s time for other organizations to step up and push accuracy standards forward as well. This includes trainer manufacturers primarily, but the industry also needs a neutral third party to test and certify trainers. (The UCI, incidentally, has been talking about doing just that in collaboration with Purdue University’s Engineering department for almost a year now. See their test rig mockup below.)
Rendering of a smart trainer homologation device (Image credit: Purdue College of Engineering)
Trainer accuracy standards and specifications to date have been a bit of a “wild west” affair, with a lack of consistent testing and metrics across the industry. A trusted, neutral, third-party test/certification could go a long way toward ensuring accuracy and building trust in cycling esports race performances.
Until that happens, dual recording and subsequent performance verification will remain the standard in high-level indoor bike racing, and racers will need to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring their smart trainers and power meters are reading accurately in high-demand race situations.
Questions or Comments
Did Zwift make the right call in pausing their World Series? How concerned are you about trainer accuracy in Zwift racing? Share your thoughts below!
How did you get into cycling? I have always loved riding my bike, but it was when my husband surprised me with a road bike in 2015 that I really got into cycling – including training and racing – and haven’t stopped since! I started riding in Zwift in that same year. Watopia was the only map available at the time; it had only one 9.1km route, known today as the “Hilly Route”. I used to bump into Eric Min quite often as the route was so short and it had very few riders. As my love for cycling grew, I eventually “retired” from my career in Consulting and started my own coaching business, www.360velo.com
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? About 7 years! I started racing in Zwift when pens did not even exist, back in 2016-2017. I was a member of Team ODZ at the time, and we organized the ODivaZ race, one of the very first women-only races in Zwift. I also participated in the CVR World Cup, a live Zwift event in the Paris Velodrome in September 2017, where I got to meet many of my Zwift friends in person. From there, I’ve participated in various women’s race series, Zwift Pro/AM, and USA Cycling sanctioned events, including Esports Nationals.
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes, I am a member of the Revolution Velo Racing team (REVO) and absolutely love it. It is a women’s team and everyone is very supportive of one another. It’s not only about racing, it’s also about having fun. I race and lead social rides for REVO.
What do you love most about racing? The friendships and support from teammates, and the challenge of pushing myself beyond my perceived physical and mental limitations.
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? Points and scratch races are my favorite because they provide more opportunities for tactics. As a punchy rider, I also prefer the races with lots of variations in speed and power. The Crit races with steering are loads of fun also.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? Tour de Boudicca
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Outside was the 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. It was freezing, there was ice on the course and the course itself was way above my skill level. I had a great start but after falling a few times, my shifting was broken and I made the mistake of trying to finish the race anyway… which resulted in me breaking my leg. It was memorable because there were so many lessons learned from before, during, and after the race. Inside was the 2024 USA Cycling Esports National Championships. I never went so deep during a race, and it showed me how our minds play such a pivotal role in our performance. My heart rate was between 185-195 bpm for the entire second half of the race (25 minutes). I overcame nausea and dizziness and got the win.
What is your favourite food to eat post race? Rice pudding mixed with whey protein powder and maple syrup. I know it’s unusual, but it tastes amazing to me and packs the carbs and protein I need for recovery.
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Have a learner’s mindset: go in with the goal of learning about yourself as a racer (physically and mentally) and the racing itself. Don’t focus on results or others. Rather, focus on discovering the elements that will make you a better racer as you continue to participate in races. Racing in Zwift is as low risk as it gets in competitive cycling, and as such, it is the perfect environment to try new things, push yourself, and have fun. So many racers are worried about what others will think of them, when in reality everyone is just thinking about themselves.
Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? The fall/winter Zwift Racing League and the USA Cycling Esports Nationals again in January!
