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What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Fall 2024 Press Release

Eric Schlange
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83
What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Fall 2024 Press Release

What’s Coming Next? Read “This Season On Zwift” Fall 2024 Press Release

Zwift just released their latest “This Season on Zwift” announcement detailing key new game features and events arriving 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.

Watopia Expansion: New roads launching during Tour of Watopia – November

November brings an expansion to Zwift’s most-loved virtual world: Watopia. Zwifters may notice something unusual appearing from the ocean, just off Watopia’s coast – could they be ancient structures? Zwifters will need to wait until November for Stage 5 of the Tour of Watopia to explore this new land. 

Stage 5 isn’t all that Zwifters have to look forward to during the Tour of Watopia this year. Celebrating a decade of cycling and running on Zwift, Zwifters will take in five stages of Watopia expansions, starting with some of the earliest routes. Zwifters will have the option of three distance options and double XP when completed live during Events, or 1.5x XP when ridden On Demand. 

Revamped Heads Up Display (HUD) for a Customized Experience – Available Now

In response to community feedback, a refreshed Heads-Up Display (HUD) ensures the most critical information is right where users need it. With seven customizable metrics—including cadence, heart rate, average watts and watts per kilogram, among others—users can tailor their experience like never before. 

Runners also receive an update to the HUD, featuring a fixed display of a heart rate zone distribution bar, heart rate and steps per minute. Wahoo KICKR Run owners will also see the new Dynamic Elevation display when utilizing Incline Control.

Zwift Ride Smart Frame Available Now

Available to purchase today, the Zwift Ride Smart Frame retails for $799.99/€799.99/£749.99 and is available in the US, EU, and UK from Zwift.com. The Zwift Ride Smart Frame is exclusively compatible with Zwift Ready smart trainers.

Buy Zwift Ride at zwift.com

Unlock New Challenges and Earn Rewards – From September 9

Introducing a range of new challenges, which can all be accessed via the Challenges section on the Home Screen and can be completed alongside one additional ‘main’ challenge – Everest, Italy or California. 

Cardio Crusher – Sept 9

Catering to a wide range of fitness goals and for time-crunched athletes, the Cardio Crusher Challenge offers five new workouts, all under an hour. Zwifters who complete all five workouts will unlock 250 XP. 

Route Chaser: The Grade – Oct 3

Ideal for users looking for a Challenge to earn new badges. Zwifters must complete five routes to complete the challenge, three of which are new – Mayan 8 (23.1km with 241m elevation gain), Radio Rendezvous (20.5km with 736m elevation gain), and Power to the Tower (44.7km with 1492m elevation gain). 

More Challenges will be added in the coming months.

Enhanced Racing Experience with Zwift Racing Score – October

Zwift Racing Score is set to revolutionize racing on Zwift. This update will ensure that racers are placed in the right category from the beginning of their racing journey, making races more competitive and enjoyable. The score dynamically adjusts based on your current fitness and also your performance in races. With improved matchmaking and rewards for strategic racecraft, Zwift Racing Score is designed to elevate the competitive experience.

Zwift Racing Calendar:

Zwift Racing has come a long way since the community first began to self-organize races on Jarvis Island. Today there are over 100 community event organizers organizing races on the platform, helping to create a competitive space for Zwifters globally.

Complementing Zwift Community events is the Zwift Racing Calendar. Split into four key pillars:

  • zRacing Monthly – Year-round racing with new racing routes landing each month. 
  • Zwift Racing League – The largest team event in cycling with 2,610 teams participating in the 23/24 Season, the league brings Zwifters together offering 3 rounds consisting of 6 races each between Sept and Feb.  
  • Zwift World Series – Five races spanning from September to January, the tailor-made courses offer three tiers of monthly monument racing challenges. 
  • Zwift Games – Launching in March, the Zwift Championships will return for a second year, offering Zwifters the chance to race for Community and Elite levels with more to be revealed in the coming months.

More information about racing on Zwift can be found at zwift.com/racing

Garage Upgrades: Customize Your Ride – Q4 2024

The Zwift Garage is getting an overhaul for 2024. For the first time, Zwifters can look forward to upgrading their virtual bikes. Zwifters will be able to upgrade their bikes by completing Upgrade Challenges to unlock the ability to purchase the next Upgrade Stage using well-earned Drops. All bikes will have five stages of upgrades, offering enhancements such as weight reductions, improved aerodynamics, and lower rolling resistance. 

For Zwifters with Drops burning a hole in their virtual jersey pockets, Zwift will also be introducing Halo Bikes. Halo Bikes like the Pinarello Espada will offer high performance and huge street cred. Only the most brand-loyal Drop Shop customers will be invited to purchase Halo Bikes. More details coming soon. 

Fall Training Content

Zwift Academy returns: Aug 5-Nov 3

Zwift Academy is back and ready to challenge all cyclists to improve their fitness while competing for a chance to join a professional cycling team. This year offers an extended window for riders to compete, spanning from Aug 5 until Nov 3, which aims to make it easier for riders in both the North and South hemispheres. 

2024 has a sharper focus on talent ID with the workouts really focused on testing physiological capabilities. Riders who complete the program can earn the in-game Zwift Academy kit, an in-game Zwift Academy Canyon Aeroad paint job, and a chance to earn a pro contract with CANYON//SRAM Generation or Alpecin-Deceuninck Development for the top-performing female and male respectively. 

Zwift Camp: Baseline:  Nov 18-Jan 5

Introducing a new Workout Program designed to help Zwifters learn more about themselves with six workouts with long and short versions to suit all athletes. Upon completion, Zwifters will receive a report helping identify their strengths and weaknesses based on their rider type. After the program, there will be new Challenges available for riders to take the next step with their fitness goals. 

Celebrating 10 Years on Zwift – September-December

This season, Zwift is celebrating a decade of helping make more people more active, more often. In that time, the Zwift community has logged a collective 8.72 billion kilometres, climbing 81.56 billion metres. Zwift is a collective experience, so many of those kilometres have been earned riding alongside other Zwifters from all corners of the world in group events. Community event organizers are the backbone of Zwift events and have organized an eye-watering 4,034,556 events over the last ten years. To all those community organizers, we thank you!

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!

In the Drops Episode 61: eSports Streaming, ZRL Route Competition Winner + More

Eric Schlange
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0
In the Drops Episode 61: eSports Streaming, ZRL Route Competition Winner + More

In the Drops Episode 61: eSports Streaming, ZRL Route Competition Winner + More

Guest co-host Hollie Burgin talks about her chance to represent Team GB in the upcoming indoor Worlds and a smackdown between this week’s hosts is announced.

We get Hollie’s view on the upcoming ZRacing Stages for September 2024 and Jeremy Dirom gets another race rated, having previously received the lowest rating to date and on the back of coming dead last!

Topic Bookmarks for this Episode

Zwift Update Version 1.73 (134871) Released

Eric Schlange
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112
Zwift Update Version 1.73 (134871) Released

Zwift version 1.73 begins its phased rollout today. This is major update that includes the much-anticipated new HUD plus some new routes and Challenges. See details below…

HUD Update

The HUD update is here! It features a front-and-center profile of any upcoming climbs, configurable fields in the left HUD element, and more. See if you can spot the differences (old HUD on the left, new on the right):

The left HUD has four configurable data slots, with seven fields to choose from. Zwift says more fields may be added in the future…

The seven starting fields are probably the most high-requested ones. But what additional fields would we like to see? Here are some ideas:

  • Draft meter (watts or percentage)
  • Normalized Power
  • W’
  • Riders passed (for chase challenges)
  • Left/Right Balance (when dual-sided power meter is paired)
  • Lap stats (Zwift would need to add a lap button)

That left element also includes a power zone distribution bar which shows how much time you’ve spent in each zone during your activity. So on a recovery ride you’ll see a lot of grey and blue, while in a race you’ll see a lot of yellows, oranges, and reds!

The most obvious addition to the HUD is what Zwift calls a “dynamic elevation display”:

Zwift says, “Any time there’s climbing in your future Zwift will automatically display a zoomed-in elevation display showing the next 800 meters of road gradient.” Nice!

There is just one HUD element we saw in the original previews of the new HUD that isn’t included in this update: it’s the full route profile and details in the right HUD beneath the minimap. Zwift tells us this is still in the works and will be released in the next few weeks – it just needs a bit more polish.

Here’s a quick video walkthrough of the new HUD:

If you’d like to take a longer look at the new HUD in action, here’s a complete recording of a race with the new HUD.

New Routes and Badges

Five routes are now available for free rides and events. They each have achievement badges attached, meaning you’ll get an XP bonus the first time you complete the route:

Additionally, Zwift added three new route achievement badges for routes that will be ridden in the Zwift World Series:

New Challenges

The game has had three Challenges since early days: Tour Italy, Ride California, and of course Climb Mt Everest, aka “the Tron challenge.” (Word within Zwift is that a fourth Challenge is finally on the way!)

But today’s update includes a new type of Challenge. Think of these as sort of mini Challenges that can be accomplished alongside whatever “big” Challenge of the three listed above you have active.

The first challenge, Cardio Crusher, requires you to complete 5 pre-packaged workouts in order to complete the Challenge and get an XP bonus. This Challenge will be available starting September 9:

It’s unclear whether these new Challenges will be time-limited in some way, and what sort of XP bonus we’ll get for completing them. But we’re sure the details will be clarified soon.

More Release Notes

Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:

  • Introduced an improved experience for browsing Training Plans in the home screen.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause some of the forest to disappear and reappear on the Suki’s Playground route in Makuri Islands.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause some roadways to flicker in New York and Watopia.
  • Fixed grass appearing on the roadway on the Quatch Quest route in Watopia.
  • Fixed some flickering rocks on the Spirit Forest route in Makuri Islands.
  • Fixed an issue where avatar hair could be visible through the Alpine hat.
  • Fixed a missing roadside sector marker on the Alpe du Zwift in Watopia.

Discuss this update in Zwift’s forum >

Questions or Comments?

If you spotted any other changes or bugs in the update, please comment below!

Zwift Racing League Week 1 Guide: Douce France TTT

Eric Schlange
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1
Zwift Racing League Week 1 Guide: Douce France TTT

The first race of Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 1 happens Tuesday, September 10, when we’ll be in France for one TTT lap of the Douce France route.

This is about as straightforward of a TTT course as we can get. But experienced riders know that team time trials are rarely straightforward! So let’s discuss route details, bike choice, and all things TTT…

Looking at the Route: Douce France

France’s Douce France route is 24.8km long, with 136m of elevation gain. This is the reverse (counterclockwise) version of France’s R.G.V. which has been raced many times as a ZRL TTT.

Apart from three sections it’s flat and fast:

Rather than take you through a turn-by-turn, let’s just discuss the three key sections of this course from a TTT perspective.

First, Les Intestins (0.6-3.4km). After a lead-in of approximately 500m you will turn right and begin the twistiest section of the course, which we nicknamed Les Intestins. This is a challenging section in a TTT because it’s impossible to remain in TTT formation around the turns which twist right and left while undulating up and down.

Don’t stress about staying single-file here. Rather, have designated riders taking pulls, with the team massing behind. And if you happen to poke your nose into the wind, give a little extra gas to help boost your blob’s speed.

Second, The Jigsaw (3.5-7.8km). Immediately following Les Intestins, a series of looping turns which are never flat may challenge your team’s togetherness just a bit. Once you leave The Jigsaw you’ve got a bit of flat road before the last little hiccup: the Aqueduc.

Third, the Aqueduc KOM (10.1-11.1km). This short climb is the biggest uphill on the route. You climb a total of 20m over 1km of tarmac, making this average 2%. This is actually a series of three short ramps, beginning around 10.1km in to your race.

As with any uphill on a TTT, your goals here should be to keep the team together while keeping your speed high. Strong climbers will want to fly off the front, while heavier riders will tend to sag off the back. Keep your team together, regain speed on the downhill, then fly on the flat to the finish.

Read more about the Douce France route >

Bike Frame + Wheel Choice

This week, bike choice is easy: grab your most aero TT setup! The CADEX Tri is the fastest frame in game by a solid margin, and the DT Swiss disc wheels are the fastest wheels. If you don’t have access to that setup (level 40+) then see this post to determine the fastest TT setup available at your level.

CADEX Tri
Canyon Speedmax Disc

Whatever you do, do not use a road frame. Because just like in real life, even a “slow” TT frame is much more aero than a road frame.

Route Recon Videos and Resources

Here are some recon videos. You may also be interested in the short but sweet recon notes from LevelVelo.

In the Drops

Casual Creations

TTTips

Team Time Trialing on Zwift is a challenging mixture of physical strength, proper pacing, and Zwift minutiae like picking a fast bike and understanding drafting in a TTT context.

Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams who can keep their speeds high over cobbled roads, sneaky short rollers, and false flats. Staying in formation while surging your power for these rises is challenging, especially if riders use various Trainer Difficulty settings.

Climbs like this week’s Aqueduc KOM also present an opportunity to gain or lose lots of time over a short distance. You will want a target pace and attack plan for this section to ensure your team is climbing as fast as possible.

Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on the abilities of each rider. We highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.

If you really want to go down the TTT rabbit hole, check out Paul Fitzpatrick’s zwift-ds.com site. We also highly recommend using Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.

Your Thoughts

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

“BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits” Route Details

Eric Schlange
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0
“BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits” Route Details

“BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits” Route Details

See zwiftinsider.com/route/braek-fast-crits-and-grits/

ZRL Round 1 Route Design Contest Winner Selected

Eric Schlange
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5
ZRL Round 1 Route Design Contest Winner Selected

ZRL Round 1 Route Design Contest Winner Selected

We recently announced the first-ever Zwift Racing League Route Design Competition, where Zwifters were invited to create the route to host the last race of ZRL’s first round of 2024/25. A total of 51 routes were submitted, and a panel of judges narrowed it to just three. Then the Zwift community voted for their favorites. And now, the results are in!

The winning route is BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits, submitted by Zwifter “JackCat [OTR]”. See the Zwift ride creating this route >

Vote Details

If you recall, riders were asked to rank the three routes in order of preference. The voting system assigned 1 point to the first choice, 2 points to the second choice, and 3 points to the third choice. That means the lowest total points wins. Final vote tally:

  • BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits (Scotland): 1190
  • Purettsueru (Makuri Islands): 1511
  • Sky Looper (New York): 1721

The majority of voters picked BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits as their first choice, making it the clear favorite:

  • BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits (Scotland): 402
  • Purettsueru (Makuri Islands): 211
  • Sky Looper (New York): 124

Why was BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits the big favorite? I can only speculate. It was the shortest and least climby of the three top routes (many Zwifters shy away from routes with a lot of elevation). It also has the fun feature of multiple laps of the Breakaway Brae loop, which I found to be especially cool. Lastly, including the key climb at the very start and very end will force riders to make strategic pacing choices early on.

Route Details

BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits is a 20.8km loop with 211 meters of elevation. But it also has a 1.3km lead-in up Sgurr Summit South which adds another ~50 meters of climbing to the front-end of any event. A tough start!

See complete route details >

Round 2 Contest Now Open

The plan is to use a community-designed route as the final race for each round of ZRL 2024/25. The route design contest for Round 2 is now open – submissions must be received by October 12, 2024. See details at wtrl.racing/zwift-racing-league/#routecompetition

Questions or Comments?

What do you think of the community’s route choice, and what do you think of the overall idea of having the community designing ZRL routes? Share your thoughts below!

Woman Racer Spotlight: Catrin Nilsson

Karla Williams
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1
Woman Racer Spotlight: Catrin Nilsson

Woman Racer Spotlight: Catrin Nilsson

Name: Catrin Nilsson

Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden

How did you get into cycling? During covid E-cycling was one of the few sports that had events and races. Never done any type of racing before but I tried it, loved it and also found outside biking after that.

How many years have you been racing on Zwift? 5 years 

Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes, CRYO RDT

What do you love most about racing? Pushing the boundaries. I am amazed how strong our bodies are, and if you have trust and faith in it, it will be stronger than you think.

What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)?  I am a steam locomotive. I can’t do sprints, but in iTT or TTT I can get good results.

Screenshot

What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? In December and January we have Sweden cup with 8 races each week and that is the highlight of the Zwift season. 

What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Outside I race tandem with Louise Jannering, Louise is blind and we race in paracycling. Me in front as pilot and she in the back as stoker. In 2022 we won bronze in world championship in TT in Canada. So proud of that!

Louise (left) and Catrin

What is your favourite food to eat post-race? Nothing beats a cold glass of chocolate milk directly after a race.

What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Trust in your body. It can archive more than you believe, you just need to be brave enough to push it a little bit more. And also, don’t forget to have a lot of fun!

Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? Louise and I are excited to have qualified to race tandem representing Sweden in this year’s Paralympics in Paris. Time trial has been our favourite discipline, but since we started racing Zwift together, we have become better on road races too.

Zwiftcast Episode 204: the “Simon Switch” + thrills on the Alpe + all the Zwifty News

Simon Schofield
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0
Zwiftcast Episode 204: the “Simon Switch” + thrills on the Alpe + all the Zwifty News

Zwiftcast Episode 204: the “Simon Switch” + thrills on the Alpe + all the Zwifty News

After the most thrilling finish to a Grand Tour for many years, perhaps ever, Simon and the Zwiftcasters assess the effect Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is likely to have on the sport in the future. In one of their favourite metrics – bums on saddles – already huge progress is being made. But what more needs to be done? The Zwiftcast’s man on the ground Dave Towle files a personal report and we discuss the Tour and its aftermath.

One of the longest-running inside gags on the podcast – Simon’s non-ownership of a certain virtual bike – looks like it could be coming to an end (Simon thinks) as Zwift implement an autoenroll function for the Everest Challenge. Is it a Simon Switch or an Idiot Switch? The Zwiftcasters discuss.

Zwift is finally opening up its API to selected partners with a service aimed at tri-athletes the first to benefit. While the whole API thing sounds a bit nerdy, in fact the implications for everyday Zwifters are extremely significant. Simon, Shane, Nathan and Eric speculate on how fast changes may happen and what the possible nature of enhancements to the user experience may be.

The Zwiftcast ranges across the latest Zwifty news with coverage of UCI certification of trainers, enhancements to the women’s racing calendar and even a small bone HQ has thrown to runners.

In Correction Corner, the Zwiftcasters chew over the revised figures HQ delivered on the proportions of Zwifters at certain levels. There was amazement at the first version of these stats, which didn’t pass the Zwiftcast sniff test. The new version makes much more sense.

And how do you get to be a Zwift club with 1,000 members in 60 countries? Be more SISU seems to be the answer. Dave chats to one of the founders of one of the most successful clubs on the platform.

We hope you enjoy listening.

Zwiftcast is available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Spotify.

Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of August 31-September 1

Eric Schlange
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0
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of August 31-September 1

It’s a busy weekend as we head into September and the warm-up for Zwift season begins. Our picks below include the first races of Zwift Academy and Zwift World Series, plus a charity ride and some friendly group rides. Want to gain some elevation? Two of our event picks are on the Ven-Top route!

🥇 Zwift World Series Race 1 – Community

✅ Popular Race　 ✅ New Route

The Zwift World Series kicks off this week with race 1, held on the new Richmond Loop Around route! These World Series events happen only once a month, and they’re longer efforts. Sort of like a virtual classics race.

This new route has never been ridden in Zwift, although Richmond’s roads will be familiar to many riders. It’s a punchy, attritional course with key climbs that reward a high VO2 max. And at 42.5km with 550m of elevation, it’s no cakewalk. See route details >

Lots of events Saturday and Sunday
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwscommunity

🤝 Colsensation X Team NL

　✅ Good Cause 　✅ Tough Climb 　✅ Kit Unlock

Team NL is hosting a charity ride of Zwift’s virtual Ventoux in support of Colsensation’s efforts against cancer. Join the pace group you’re most comfortable with, but all riders will be working to complete the Ven-Top route, which is 20.9km long with 1535 meters of climb.

You’ll unlock the Team NL kit, plus there are giveaways for IRL Team NL jerseys and bidons. The ride will be live broadcast on Team NL’s YouTube channel for your supporters and fans!

The supported charities, what they do, and how the money will be distributed can be found on the donation page.

Sunday, September 1 @ 5pm UTC/1pm EDT/10am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4450391

🥇 Zwift Academy 2024 – Race 1

✅ Popular Event 　✅ Unique Event

The first race of Zwift Academy 2024 is here, and it’s a doozy! This is a 30-minute hill climb challenge on the Ven-Top route, which means after a short lead-in you’ll be climbing steadily for the remainder of the race. Bring your climbing bike!

Lots of events Saturday and Sunday
Sign up at zwift.com/zwift-academy

🤝Phoenix Rising Soaring Saturday

✅ Route Badge 　✅ Beginner-Friendly

Join the Phoenix Rising squad for a challenging yet beginner-friendly group ride on the rarely-ridden London Pretzel route (57km, 531m). The leader beacon will keep a pace of 1.5-2w/kg, and may use the fence to keep the group together at their discretion. Join the team’s Discord channel during the ride to help pass the time!

Saturday, August 31 @ 12:25pm UTC/8:25am EDT/5:25am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4488455

🤝 Bikealicious Weekend Social Mixer

✅ Banded Ride 　✅ Beginner-Friendly 　✅ Route Badge

The friendly Bikealicious crew is leading a banded group ride on the fairly fresh route name Itza Climb Finish route (31km, 293m). Grab this route badge if you haven’t done so yet, which comes with extra XP.

Saturday, August 31 @ 8pm UTC/4pm EDT/1pm PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4488564

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!

Tiny Race Series – August 31 Routes, and Last Week’s Results

Eric Schlange
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0
Tiny Race Series – August 31 Routes, and Last Week’s Results

Tiny Race Series – August 31 Routes, and Last Week’s Results

See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

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