The fifth race of Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 3 happens Tuesday, February 11. We are in New York City for this round’s Queen Stage: a points race on the punishing Everything Bagel route.

Let’s dive into crucial route segments, bike selection, strategic powerups and more…

Looking at the Route: Everything Bagel

All categories will be racing on New York’s Everything Bagel route for a total race length of 34.9km with 527 meters of elevation gain.

This route is basically never flat, so you will need to stay alert and constantly modulate your power in order to maintain an ideal pack position throughout the race. Let’s look at the key sections of this race course…

NY KOM Reverse @ 2.9km (1.1km, 8.1%) (FAL + FTS): The NYC KOM Reverse climb is an interesting one, because it’s really two climbs. First you’ve got the lead-in of ~800m, then the actual timed segment which is 1.1km long. Make no mistake – the effort will begin at the bottom of the lead-in, and it will be an all-out slugfest because riders know that all the intermediate bonus points will go to the group that makes the front selection.

You will receive an anvil powerup at the KOM arch. Most folks will use this powerup on the descent that immediately follows, although there are other descents up the road where it would also be helpful.

NY Sprint @13.2km (150 meters, -4.3%) (FAL + FTS): the first points segment of the race is this technical sprint. It begins with a kicker before the start line, then the actual sprint is downhill and fast. Mind your pack position and timing.

You will receive a feather powerup at the sprint arch. This is probably best used on the NYC KOM up the road, or on the climb that comes before that as you hit the glass roads, if you’re struggling to hold on.

Glass road climb from 19.1-20.5km: though not a points segment, this climb is long and steep enough that it will force yet another selection.

NY KOM @ 24.4km (1.4km, 6.3%) (FAL + FTS): the second time up the NY KOM, but on the forward side this time. It’s steeper this way.

You will receive an anvil powerup at the KOM arch. Most folks will use this powerup on the long descent that immediately follows, and even if you want to save your anvil, you may need to use yours just to keep up!

NY Sprint Reverse @28.1km (230 meters at 0%) (FAL + FTS): riders, especially in groups, will carry a head of steam into this sprint from the just-finished descent of the NY KOM. You’ll want to consider how these higher speeds affect your approach to this final intermediate segment of the race, including the option of holding your anvil until you’re closer to the bottom of the descent.

You will receive a final feather powerup at the sprint arch. This could be used on the slight climb that begins at 29.6km if you’re struggling or want to attack. Most riders will save it for the final sprint, though.

The finish here is flat and fast, with most of the final kilometers being slightly downhill. Tip: Typically, wins go to riders who sit in the draft as long as possible, as riders tend to poke their nose into the wind with long attacks on this finish.

Read more about the Everything Bagel route >

PowerUp Notes

Riders will receive powerups at each arch: anvil powerups at the NY KOM arch (2x) and feather powerups at the NY Sprint arch (2x):

Anvil: makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. It won’t hurt you on uphills, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater. Use this on downhills. Pair it with a supertuck to go extra fast with zero effort!

Feather: reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most.

Bike Frame + Wheel Choice

We tested various setups over this full course, and looked at segment times for the crucial KOMs. Our results show that, while an ultra light setup only gives an advantage of perhaps 0.3 seconds up the NY KOM compared to an all-arounder like the Tron, the all-arounder has an advantage of 1-1.25 seconds on the KOM compared to a full aero setup.

Therefore, our recommendation is for a climbing-skewed all-arounder like the Pinarello Dogma F 2024 or Canyon Aeroad 2024 with ENVE 7.8 or DT Swiss 62 wheels, or the Tron bike. This offers a strong advantage over the aero setup on the crucial climbs, while delivering strong aero performance for the intermediate sprints and finish.

See Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot) for more nerd-level detail on frame and wheel performance.

More Route Recons

Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.

J Dirom

The Syco-List

John Rice

Strategic Options

Points Distribution, Everything Bagel (1 Lap)

This chart shows the maximum points a team of 6 could earn in a race with 60 participants.

There’s no escaping the fact that this will be a tough race for the pure sprinters. It’s really well suited to the puncheurs who can hang with the front on NYC’s punchy climbs while also packing a solid sprint.

There are 4 intermediates on Everything Bagel, each awarding extra points for those first over the line and fastest through. These intermediates begin with the initial selective climb up the KOM Reverse, and riders who miss that strong front selection will stand very little chance of earning any intermediate points down the road.

(FAL points will be impossible to earn if you’re dropped, since they will be grabbed by the front group. FTS points could perhaps be taken by chasing groups on the sprints, but it will take a bit of a coordinated effort to create a strong enough pack draft.)

The pack will be strung out over the top of the first KOM effort, and it will be well worth the work to use your anvil and push hard to close gaps and catch riders up the road, especially if you’re in the top 20, since the first 20 across the line get FAL points.

This week’s race, more than any other on in this round, will see many riders dropped within the first 10 minutes, with no hope of getting anything except some finishing points at the end. The attrition rate will be high in this slugfest, with the final front pack being a small percentage of the original start pens.

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!