“Epic Run” Route Details
See zwiftinsider.com/route/epic-run/
Zwift Insider Tiny Race Stats 2024: Rider Counts, Naughty Countries, Prolific Racers
Zwift Insider Tiny Race Stats 2024: Rider Counts, Naughty Countries, Prolific Racers
With another year of Tiny Races under our belt, it’s time to crunch some numbers and share fun Tiny Race stats. How would recent numbers compare to last year’s stats? What do the week-to-week participation trends look like? Which country is home to the most well-behaved riders (and the naughtiest)? And who has completed more Tiny Races than any other rider on Earth?
Let’s dive in and find out!
Overall Data
With Tiny Race results saved since October 15, 2022, we’ve got over 21 months of weekly data to work with. Here are the total number of races finished each week since I began saving the data. This is broken down by time zone into the three event timeslots we run (Zone 1 at 2am, Zone 2 at 8am, and Zone 3 at 2pm Pacific time):
Zones 1 and 2 track quite closely to each other, with zone 1 being popular in the UK/Europe and zone being popular in the US/Canada. Zone 3 is always much smaller. While Zone 3 mostly exists to cater to Australia and New Zealand, it’s interesting to note that race completions have dropped off during the southern hemisphere’s winter, indicating that 1) Aussies and Kiwis don’t Zwift more in the winter and/or 2) a good portion of Zone 3’s racers aren’t in the southern hemisphere.
Next, we look at how many unique riders participated each week, combined across all three zones. We see a similar trend to the chart above, with numbers decreasing in summer months.
We peaked at 1636 riders on February 18, 2023, which was the second week of our special Worlds Experience races.
This Year’s Data
If we narrow our scope to the past 12 months (August 2023 through July 2024) we can simplify the charts and concentrate on more recent trends.
One thing we’ve been doing for the past several months is experimenting with alternative ways to categorize riders. First we started moving the power windows, then Zwift Racing Score was released and we’ve been testing it, first with Zwift’s standard category bands, and now with our own custom bands.
Each of these tweaks affected the sizes of the categories. You’ll see the E category is finally getting some use now that we’re testing our Zwift Racing Score’s 5-category approach, and category sizes are closer than they’ve ever been before.
Next, we wanted to break down participation by location. Which countries participate the most in Tiny Races?
It may look like the USA is first and Great Britain second, but if we look closer, ZwiftPower breaks out England, Scotland, and Wales as separate countries. If you add their numbers to Great Britain’s, GB edges the US as the most Tiny Racing country!
The Naughty List
The intention of the Tiny Races is to do 4 back-to-back hard races in one hour, but we found some riders were jumping into later races in the set so they could get a better result against fatigued riders. Therefore, we developed a unique “no sniping” rule that basically says “You can’t skip a race then return.”
How many disqualifications do we issue to snipers? A lot, sadly:
We’ve noticed a consistent trend:: Zone 1 gets less DQs than Zone 2, who gets less than Zone 3. Why? We’re not sure.
Disqualification rates by zone for the past 12 months:
- Zone 1: 6.83%
- Zone 2: 9.09%
- Zone 3: 9.58%
Going further down the rulebreaking rabbit hole, here’s a list of countries whose riders participate in the Tiny Races, sorted by who is naughtiest (or nicest, depending on how you look at it) in the past 12 months. This shows the percentage of race finishes which end up being disqualified for sniping. (Keep in mind you have to be registered on ZwiftPower to even show up in the results, so this chart – and all of the charts on this page – leaves out data from riders who aren’t on ZP.)
South Korea wins the award for being the naughtiest, followed by Russia. Both of these countries had relatively low participation rates, though, with around 250 race finishes for the year. And just like last year, Italy is the first major participant (over 2500 race finishes) to have a pretty bad score, averaging 12.5% disqualifications.
Kudos to Costa Rica for having the lowest overall DQ rate by a good margin. Also, a shout out to the good people of Sweden, who just like last year have the lowest DQ rate of any major participant, coming in at 5.6% with over 7000 race finishes.
Most Prolific Riders
Lastly, we wanted to see which riders had raced the most Tiny Races over the past year. The results are impressive, with last year’s most prolific rider maintaining their place at the top, averaging 7.2 Tiny Races per week. Nice work, Naofumi!
- Naofumi Nozaki (AHDR): 375
- Christoffer Wikman [ZWDL]: 222
- Tak Itagaki: 204
- E Payne: 190
- Mads Buster: 180
- Kaan Kayin: 180
- Berk Kayin: 180
- Robin Andersson [eSRT] CRP: 178
- Michel LAURENT: 176
- Henry Li-Zwift Fighter: 171
Looking a bit deeper, 67 riders have successfully completed 100 or more Tiny Races in the past year. Awesome!
Three Requests for Zwift
The Tiny Races have always pushed the boundaries of Zwift’s race events. For example: did you know we had to customize the events to only remind you of the next race 1 minute before it starts? This avoids riders getting reminders popping up as they near the finish of an earlier Tiny Race!
There are two features I’d love to see from Zwift because they would simplify the signup process and greatly reduce cheating in Tiny Races:
- Sign up for all 4 events at once: I get it, the idea of signing up for 4 race events isn’t exactly intuitive. I’d love it if Zwift could design it so you do one signup, and you’re signed up for all 4 events. This would reduce confusion, and reduce the number of snipers.
- Verify rider category when entering pen: if a rider signs up for an event in, say, the C category, then gets upgraded to a B before that event begins, Zwift still lets them join the C race. Zwift should verify riders’ current category before letting them enter the start pens. Signed up for to low a category? Just pop up a message and let them pick their new category.
- Don’t automatically move riders to an event when they’re already in one: if you do get within that 1-minute time window, Zwift might pop up the reminder of your upcoming Tiny Race then take you out of your current race and into the next one before you’re finished. That’s not ideal. It seems like an easy fix: if the rider is currently in an event, don’t automatically take them out to the next one. Force them to choose that option. This is how it should work throughout Zwift.
Looking For More Numbers
Perhaps I have a fourth request.
As I crunched the stats above, I was reminded of how painfully difficult it is to extract useful event data from Zwift’s systems. (There’s so much other data I’d love to see, and I’m only able to generate the data above because I have it stored in a custom database which I use for crunching numbers and disqualifying snipers.)
As an event organizer, I would love to have access to a portal that shows me participation numbers, rider satisfaction scores/comments, and other stats from my events. This sort of actionable data would help me create a better experience for racers, which would be a win all around.
Wrapping It Up
The Tiny Races have always been about trying something different. I’m not particularly interested in holding “just another Zwift race,” which is why these races have such a unique setup. It’s also why I jump at the chance to test beta features like pack dynamics and custom category boundaries.
Thank you for trusting me enough to race the races and share your feedback. It means a lot.
As we head into peak Zwifting months, we’ll continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in Zwift racing. See you on course!
Questions or Comments?
Did you find any of the data above particularly interesting? Got a Tiny Race question or comment? Share below!
Zwift Update Version 1.71 (133225) Released
Zwift version 1.71 begins its phased rollout today. This update includes lots of new route badges for runners to earn (including two new run routes), plus some new short workouts for riders. See details below…
New Fitness Jumpstart “Lite” Workouts
Zwift added five new short workouts to the New Workouts Collection. These are shorter “Lite” versions of the workouts from the Fitness Jumpstart collection.
Note: these will not be visible in game until August 8.
New Run Badges
Zwift threw a bone to the runners in this update, adding two new routes (with badges):
They’ve also added badges for 8 existing routes:
- Hilly Route Reverse
- Champs-Élysées
- Lutece Express
- Cobbled Climbs
- Queen’s Highway
- Mech Isle Loop
- Glasgow Crit Circuit
- Loch Loop
Challenge Progression Added
Your selected Zwift challenge (Everest, California, or Italy) is now shown in the Challenges section of the home screen, along with a progress indicator. (Zwifters who have completed all three of these challenges will not see this card.)
Clicking the challenge card pops up a window showing your progress details:
Now all we need is that 4th challenge!
New Road Surface
If you’re riding through Watopia’s Fuego Flats, you may notice the pavement turns to a lighter color just before the desert start pens:
Zwift’s art team has been working to visually refresh road textures around Zwift. They’ve changed the look elsewhere as well – on wet roads, and “fresh” roads – but the desert is the most obvious. (Before you ask: don’t worry. This is just a visual change. It doesn’t change the Crr values!)
Here’s a comparison showing the old surface and the new, just outside of Saddle Springs:
More Release Notes
Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:
- Fixed an issue where previous PRs may not be displayed when riding a Climb Portal route that was previously completed.
- Fixed a visual issue with the minimap that could occur when teleporting from Oh Hill No to Alpe du Zwift (and vice versa) in Watopia.
- Fixed an issue that could potentially cause black squares to appear in-game on some devices.
- Fixed a crash that could occur in low memory conditions.
Discuss this release on Zwift’s forum > (link coming soon)
Questions or Comments?
If you spotted any other changes or bugs in the update, please comment below!
From Zero to ZRL: Every Pedal Stroke is a Win!
From Zero to ZRL: Every Pedal Stroke is a Win!
Like so many, I started Zwifting in 2020 thankful for the online community which allowed me to continue to ride in the virtual and safe world of Watopia. I am a weekend warrior who turned to Zwift as a weekday workout alternative and never thought I would be racing in the Zwift Racing League, much less a captain of one of Coalition’s Women’s Cat D teams!
My foray into racing started in January 2021 when my competitive nature kicked in, bored with solo and Zwift group rides. I joined a race team not knowing what to expect. I soon found a group of women who shared my competitiveness and my love of cycling, appreciated my humor, put up with my heavy breathing and occasional swearing up the climbs, and most of all accepted me as I was, even when I was in the back of the pack. They motivated me to keep climbing, to keep mashing those sprint gears, and to keep getting stronger. They became some of my best friends – friends who have welcomed me into their lives virtually and in real life (IRL).
In the beginning, although I knew I had to work to get stronger and faster, I was discouraged because I couldn’t stay with the pack. I started to get down on myself. “You work out all the time, why can’t you keep up?” I had to change my perspective. I had to find a way to make racing fun.
What I found was a peace in understanding what my body could do, how I wanted to train, and how I could encourage others to be their best wherever they were in their fitness journey. After three years of Zwifting, I am still a Cat D racer while others have “graduated” to Cat C. I found I was a sprinter and had no endurance – something I work on to this day – but I still can’t keep up with many of the other Cat D women as they blast out of the pen. While I continue to improve my endurance and climbing, I have learned to use my sprint legs strategically and as a “puncheur” to pass “rabbits” on short climbs and with my sprinter’s focus to “kick it” in the last third of the race to pass more “rabbits” on the way to the finish with my teammates in my ear pushing me forward.
No one is ever on their own during a race. My teammates and I share successes and challenges. Whether in the front or back of the race, we count on each other to rally to the finish… and there are always lots of laughs on the way!
Here are a few quotes from Coalition teammates that reflect how many of us feel going from Zero to ZRL:
“What motivates me are the people on the team, always supportive no matter my ability, always making me feel welcome and part of the team. What I have gained are really good friends from across the globe, whom I know have my back virtually and in real life.”
“At first, in 2001, I was crossing the finish line as the 2nd to last racer. This, and my teammates, compelled me to train harder and become a better racer. It took a bit of work, but I finished in the Top 10 of my division last year! I race with a group that’s extremely inclusive. My teammates celebrate achievements together and lift each other up regardless of the outcome.”
“It’s all about having fun and encouraging each other. It doesn’t matter how fast or how slow you are – as long as you try your best!”
We hope you will join us as we ride and race through Zwift’s worlds! Know this truth… every pedal stroke is a win!
How many Zwifters are at each level? Here are Zwift’s (corrected) stats.
How many Zwifters are at each level? Here are Zwift’s (corrected) stats.
Zwift has historically been very tight-lipped about membership numbers, but when Zwiftcast host Simon Schofield asked for a breakdown of members by level, Zwift surprisingly provided some stats! These were discussed in the latest Zwiftcast episode, where Simon described them as “absolutely gob-smacking.”
There was just one problem: some of those numbers weren’t accurate.
It turns out Zwift was in the middle of a system migration, and while they told Simon up front that some of the numbers might not be 100% accurate, I don’t think anyone realized just how inaccurate they were. Until this week, that is, when I asked Zwift for some clarification on the stats, and they came back with a mea culpa… and fresh stats.
So I’m sharing those new (accurate) numbers because I know they’ll be interesting to Zwift fans. I’m sure these will be further discussed in an upcoming Zwiftcast episode as well, but let’s go ahead and dive in!
Percentage Breakdown of Zwifters By Level
Most of the stats from Zwift are for what they call “engaged Zwifters.” These are people who are both paying subscribers and actively riding on the platform. (Zwift didn’t further define what “actively” riding entails.)
Here’s how engaged Zwifters break down by level:
- Levels 1-10: 10% of all engaged Zwifters
- Levels 11-20: 14% of all engaged Zwifters
- Levels 21-30: 19% of all engaged Zwifters
- Levels 31-60: 47% of all engaged Zwifters
- Levels 61-100: 10% of all engaged Zwifters
Additionally, Zwift provided another stat: only 0.06% of Zwifters have reached level 100, the highest level possible.
Levels 1-10
Getting to level 11 is pretty easy. It requires earning 13,000 XP, which works out to around 650km (400 miles) of riding if you don’t include route achievement bonuses, XP+ powerups, and weekly streak bonuses.
I went back and checked my first month on Zwift (November 2015). Based on kilometers ridden, I would have hit level 11 in less than a month.
What is it about Zwift and the Zwift experience that leads to 10% of engaged Zwifters being at levels 1-10? A few thoughts:
- Seasonality matters: yes, Zwift has certainly attracted some new customers by advertising at the Tour de France. But this is still a quiet time of year for new signups. Internal contacts tell me this number grows to around 20% in January when the platform sees its largest influx of new riders.
- New member churn: some portion of these low-level Zwifters are new members who just haven’t been around long enough to level up. Some of them may even (*gasp*) decide Zwift isn’t their thing and cancel their account within a few months.
- Barely active subscribers: As with any fitness platform/venue (think: your local gym) there will be people who sign up, ride a bit, but never become frequent users. These are the folks who pay for a service in hopes that it motivates them to use it regularly (this rarely works). If you only ride once a week for 30km it would take you over 20 weeks to reach level 11. That means this level 1-10 group may contain riders who signed up several months ago!
- Not “indoor riders”: some of these newer “engaged Zwifters” may prefer to spend the vast majority of their riding outside. They maintain a Zwift membership, but only ride when absolutely necessary, perhaps 1-4 times per month when the weather is bad.
- Average Zwifter ability: as a dedicated, competitive cyclist, it’s easy to project my abilities/priorities onto others. But the truth is, most riders on Zwift are less fit and put in fewer miles than I do. (That’s no brag on my part, either: I know exactly where I stand as a middle-of-the-road B racer!) Or to put it another way: most new Zwifters will need more than a month to get to level 11. And that’s OK!
Levels 11-20
Getting to level 21 requires 36,500 XP, which works out to 1,825km (1134 miles). While that might take a dedicated indoor cyclist 3 months to knock out, someone who only uses Zwift occasionally (say, one 35km ride per week) would need an entire year to get to level 21.
Having 14% of Zwifters in this level range isn’t surprising to me. It means nearly 1 in 4 Zwifters is level 20 or below, and that’s actually a slightly smaller number than I would have guessed.
Levels 21-30
Zwift says 19% of engaged Zwifters are at level 21-30. It takes 73,000 XP to reach level 31, meaning:
- It would take around 22 weeks to reach level 31 riding 100 miles per week on Zwift
- If you rode just 35km once a week on Zwift, it would take you 2 years to reach level 31
Levels 31 to 60
Zwift lumped the next set of 30 levels into one group, sharing that 47% of engaged Zwifters are at levels 31-60. This is slightly more than the 43% who are at levels 1-30.
Zwift’s levels get harder to reach as they increase, so getting to level 61 requires 321,000 XP, while getting halfway there (level 31) only requires 73,000 XP. It may take you 2 years to reach level 31 if you’re only riding 35km once a week, but it would take you over 8.5 years to reach level 61 at that pace!
(Or if you’re a very dedicated rider, putting in 100 miles per week on average, it would take you nearly 2 years to level up to 61.)
Levels 61-100
One in ten Zwifters is in this final cohort. What can we say about this group? It contains three classes of Zwifter, as I see it:
- Medium to long-time riders who recently reached level 61 and aren’t on an accelerated leveling program. Many of these riders are also very seasonal in their Zwifting.
- Long-time riders with more than 807,000 XP who are still working their way through accelerated levels, although they’ve got enough XP to be at level 100.
- A small group of riders who have already reached level 100 and are now stuck doing level 100 repeats until Zwift changes things.
One thing is certain: this group has Zwift experience. If you’ve put in the time to earn 321,000 XP or more (level 61), you’ve put some time into Zwift.
Level 100
Only 0.06% of all Zwifters have reached level 100. That’s a very small subset of the Zwift community, but it’s based on all Zwift accounts, not just engaged Zwifters. To be precise, this is based on every Zwift account ever created which has recorded at least one activity.
Look at it this way: Eric Min recently confirmed that Zwift has over 1 million active subscribers. If we say there are 3 million total accounts, that means 1800 Zwifters are at level 100. A very small percentage of the whole. But also, not a small number of riders!
On top of that, one could argue that this number is artificially skewed low due to the way Zwift rolled out levels 61-100, requiring riders to put in work to level up even if they had the XP to earn those higher levels. As mentioned above, because of Zwift’s accelerated leveling scheme there are certainly Zwifters who have earned more than 807,000 XP but aren’t yet at level 100. We don’t know how many Zwifters fall into that camp, though, since Zwift didn’t provide that data.
Concluding Thoughts
When Zwift gave us the initial data stating that 45% of all engaged Zwifters were at levels 1-10, Simon was rightly gob-smacked. Having nearly half of your user base new and/or barely engaged didn’t seem possible. Nor did it seem healthy.
The updated numbers above, though, are wildly different. They’ve also been verified by Zwift’s data team, so we know they’re trustworthy! Lastly, they pass the sniff test, which is something I’ve learned to trust in my dealings with Zwift over the years.
The data above tells me that Zwift has a very sticky business. Sure, athletes will come and go. But Zwift has a dedicated community of long-time users – 57% of them at level 31+ – who are invested and engaged in the platform.
Which leads me to consider one other cohort not mentioned above. Many (most?) Zwifters don’t maintain their subscription year-round. What about long-time users who have stopped their subscriptions for the summer? They aren’t included in the numbers above, since they aren’t currently paying subscribers.
I don’t know how large this group is, and Zwift’s recent price increase, coupled with strong competition from other platforms, probably made this cohort larger today than it’s been in past years. Would their inclusion drastically alter the level breakdown percentages above? Quite possibly. Maybe I’ll ask for some follow-up level breakdowns from Zwift in January!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the level breakdowns above? In your view, what do they say about the Zwift community and Zwift as a business? Share your thoughts below!
Top 5 Zwift Videos: Fitness Goals, Meeting Pogacar, and Budget Set-ups
It’s hard to believe that we are already over halfway through the year! This week’s top video highlights a Zwifter’s gameplan for reaching his big goal for the remainder of the year: a 4 w/kg FTP.
We’ve also included an inspirational film about meeting Tadej Pogacar, a comparison of Zwift and reality, a budget Zwifting PC build, and a video about Zwift Racing Score.
Plan to hit 4 w/kg | How to…
The Dream of a Lifetime: Meeting Pogačar
Zwift versus Reality | Cote de Domancy
4K 60fps Zwift PC budget build!
Zwift Racing Score
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Woman Racer Spotlight: Arielle Verhaaren
Woman Racer Spotlight: Arielle Verhaaren
Name: Arielle Verhaaren
Hometown: Williamsburg, VA
How did you get into cycling? My dad! Started racing BMX when I was 5 and never stopped pedaling a bike.
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? 5? I think?
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes! The best, Aeonian!
What do you love most about racing? The friendship and community of women I race with and against and the convenience of doing it from home.
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)?Points, Scratch and TTT… I like variety!
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? Any women’s series Karla Williams is involved with.
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Winning the Zwift Grand Prix with Aeonian in 2023.
What is your favourite food to eat post-race? Cookies
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Draft!
Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? I’ve got some big outdoor races coming up but looking forward to possibly doing the WTRL TTT worlds with the ladies and def back into ZRL and Grand Prix in the fall.
Racers: Design the New Zwift Racing League Route!
Racers: Design the New Zwift Racing League Route!
Riders who jump into the world of Zwift soon learn that the vibrant community is really the game’s secret sauce. Simply put, there are many rabid Zwift users who love to dig into the game’s details and push it to its limits. (I should know: I am one!)
This month, WTRL and Zwift are collaborating with the community to design a route that will be raced in the Zwift Racing League. Here’s how it will work!
Contest Basics
Riders have just 10 days (August 12 deadline) to create and submit a route for consideration. The selected racer-created route will be used for the final race of ZRL’s 2024/25 Round 1 on October 15th.
This is a unique opportunity for ZRL participants to influence the series, showcase your creativity, and leave a lasting impact on the community! The winning route will not only debut in the Zwift Racing League but also become available to all Zwift users in the future.
How to Participate
- Plan Your Route: I recommend using zwiftmap.com to design your course. It makes it easy and fun!
- Test Your Route: Ride your designed route on Zwift to ensure it provides an exciting racing experience.
- Submit Your Route:
- Send a link to your Zwift Activity covering the route to [email protected].
- Include the following information:
- Route Start Location: You may need to ride to the start point near the event paddocks. Let WTRL know the kilometer in your activity where the route starts.
- Route End Location: Try to finish your activity where the route ends at a segment arch.
- Lappable Routes: If applicable, specify the lap point, especially if there’s a lengthy lead-in. Point to Point non-lapped routes or single-lap routes are preferred.
- Description: Write a short description (max 100 words) explaining why your route would be ideal for the ZRL.
Route Requirements
- Start and End Points: The route must start at an event paddock and end at an existing segment arch.
- Distance and Elevation: The rroute should be 20-35 km long and not exceed 400m of elevation gain.
- Originality: The route must be unique and not an existing in-game route.
- No U-Turns: Only intersections can be used.
- Existing Roads: Only existing roads can be used.
- World Selection: You can use any Zwift world.
Submission Deadline
Submit your route by August 12th, 2024. After the deadline, a panel of judges will shortlist three routes. The community will then vote to determine the winner!
Helpful Notes
- To find your Zwift Activity link log on to www.zwift.com/feed, click on JUST ME, find your ride activity, click on the activity name to navigate to the activity, then copy the full URL of the activity to submit. The link will be in this format: https://www.zwift.com/activity/[activityID]
- The activity’s privacy setting will need to be set to Public. This can be changed using the settings cog on the activity page.
- If you want to make your route on a world that is not available on the world rotation, you can access the world using the My List feature. Details of this process can be found in Zwift Insider’s My List article.
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 1 Details
Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 1 Details
Now in its 13th round, Zwift Racing League continues to take racing to the next level on Zwift! Team signups for the first round of the new season are now open.
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s coming next for Zwift Racing League…
Table of Contents
Intro to Zwift Racing League (ZRL)
ZRL is the world’s largest virtual cycling competition. How big is it? Over 36,000 riders participated in the 2023/24 season, making it the biggest season on record!
Organized by WTRL, this is a team-based points competition spread across multiple weeks, with teams organized into divisions based on time zones and ability. Races happen every Tuesday, and the season is broken into three 6-week rounds with short breaks in between.
ZRL is Zwift racing at its highest level. Its unique structure and varied race formats drive serious Zwift racers to show up week after week while providing a place for new racers who jump in and find their first team home.
This page contains the latest info about the current ZRL round, and is updated as WTRL announces new details.
Route Design Contest
For the first time in Zwift’s history, a unique chance is being offered to Zwifters to design a route. The chosen route will be used for the final race of round 1, and will also become available to all Zwift users in the future!
Read all about the contest here >
Ruleset Updates
If you’re new to ZRL, you’ll definitely want to get familiar with the ruleset and scoring structure, as these inform strategic team decisions.
There are no rule updates for round 1 at this time, but scoring is changing somewhat. Here are the new details:
- FAL points: the first 20 across the line now score (1st gets 20, 2nd gets 19, down to 20th getting 1) vs the top 10 scoring in previous rounds
- FTS points: unchanged – fastest 10 score, 10 points down to 1
- FIN points: at the finish line, points are issued based on number of riders beaten (ie field of 50, 10th place = 40 points). There are also podium bonus points: 1st = 5, 2nd = 3, 3rd = 1.
Timeslots and Divisions
Some divisions and start times get tweaked between each round, so make sure you pick the time slot that works for your team.
Teams and Registration
ZRL is a team-based competition – you cannot sign up as an individual rider. Teams can have up to 12 racers rostered, but only 6 can race in each event. Teams must have at least 4 riders on their roster, and a rider can be rostered on no more than 2 teams per round.
Team registration opened on August 2 at wtrl.racing/zrl-registration.
Want to race, but don’t have a team? Here are six ways to find a team:
- Recruit friends onto a new ZRL team, then sign up your team at wtrl.racing/zrl-registration/.
- If you’re already a member of a larger Zwift Club, contact a senior Club representative to see if you can join one of your Club’s ZRL teams.
- Join an official team-lead ZRL Group Recon Ride where several teams can be found looking for more riders. These run several times a day starting two weeks before the first race. Learn more >
- Join the ZRL Facebook Group and post preferred race times/league, Pace Group Category, and any other preferences under the #zrlteamhunt tag where many teams are eagerly waiting.
- Reply to one of the #zrlrecruiting posts that teams make in the ZRL Facebook Group if you don’t want to post your own request.
- Reach out directly to WTRL and they can match you to a team based on race times, category, and team preferences.
Race Routes and Dates
Each ZRL round comprises weekly races which are either scratch races, points races, or team time trials (TTT). Scratch Races and Points Races are both actually points-based in terms of final results, but Points races include intermediate segments while Scratch Race points are all earned at the finish line. TTT winners are the teams who complete the race course fastest, with team time taken from the fourth rider across the line.
Race #1: Douce France
September 10, 2024 (TTT)
We start with a TTT this round, on a route familiar to ZRL racers. It’s not a particularly technical TTT route, but you will need to work to keep it together on Les Intestins at the start, and up the Aqueduc KOM!
- 1 Lap of France’s Douce France (24.8km, 136m elevation)
- PowerUps: none 🛈
Race #2: Sugar Cookie
September 17, 2024 (Points Race)
A new route for ZRL (as are the rest of the routes this round!), Sugar Cookie starts with four sprint sections in quick succession, then throws in a spicy VO2 climb up to the Epic KOM cutoff road that will surely force the race’s key selection.
- 1 Lap of Watopia’s Sugar Cookie (39.2km, 260m elevation)
- PowerUps (in order of arches): Aero, Aero, Aero, Aero, Feather 🛈
- Intermediate Segments:
- Stoneway Sprint (FAL)
- Acropolis Sprint (FTS)
- Sasquatch Sprint (FAL)
- Woodland Sprint (FAL)
Race #3: Country to Coastal
September 24, 2024 (Scratch Race)
This is a fairly flat route… except when it isn’t! There are no KOM sections here, but the opening climb to the start/finish, plus the climbs up to the Shisa Sprint and up through the slot canyon will all prove decisive when it comes to sprint FAL segment points and overall finishing points.
- 1 Lap of Makuri Islands’ Country to Coastal (33.6km, 280m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (33%), Draft Boost (33%), Aero Boost (34%) 🛈
Race #4: Greater London 8
October 1, 2024 (TTT)
Our second TTT of the round starts off fairly flat, then takes riders over Box Hill. It’s an uncharacteristically climby route for a TTT that will test your w/kg while challenging teams’ abilities to stay together.
- 1 Lap of London’s Greater London 8 (24.3km, 280m elevation)
- PowerUps: none 🛈
Race #5: Glyph Heights
October 8, 2024 (Points Race)
The Queen Stage of this round, Glyph Heights has an uphill finish and includes three official KOM segments. The longest climb of the race isn’t even an official segment, though: it’s the upper half of The Grade followed by the last 3km of the Epic KOM!
- 1 Lap of Watopia’s Glyph Heights (34.0km, 618m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (80%), Draft Boost (20%) 🛈
- Intermediate Segments:
- Itza KOM (FAL+FTS)
- Mayan Mountain (FTS)
Race #6: BRAE-kfast Crits and Grits
October 15, 2024 (Scratch Race)
For the first time ever, Zwift + WTRL hosted a contest for Zwifters to design a custom race course for this event. And we have a winner! Click route below for details…
- 1 Lap of Scotlands’s BRAE-kfast Crits and Grits (22.1km, 245m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (60%), Draft Boost (20%), Ghost (20%) 🛈
Tips for First-Timers
If this is your first time racing on Zwift, here are a few tips to get you started fast:
- You have to be signed up for ZwiftPower to participate. Instructions >
- You must create a WTRL account as well – do so at wtrl.racing/registration
- The minimum category you’ll race is determined by your power history on Zwift. See this post for details.
- Riders must use a power sensor to transmit power to the game – this would be a smart trainer, smartbike, or power meter. (You’re allowed to race C and D categories with a “classic” trainer and virtual power, but your points are cut in half.)
- Heart rate monitors are required. (You’re allowed to race without a HRM, but your points are cut in half.)
- Cadence monitors are required (new rule for Round 2).
- You’ll want to have at least a few races under your belt before you try to join a team, so you are confident that you’re in the correct category. It causes a lot of hassle if you join a team, and then are forced to upgrade to a new category mid-round.
Recons and Broadcasts
Official Recon Rides
If you’re unfamiliar with a particular week’s race course, join a ZRL recon ride! These happen multiple times per day and are led by experienced racers who may share route info and racing tips as you ride.
You can find a list of upcoming ZRL recon rides at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
Live ZRL Broadcasts
Select ZRL races will be broadcast with commentary on Zwift’s streaming channels, including YouTube.
2024/25 ZRL Season Dates
- Round 1: Sept 10-Oct 15, 2024
- Round 2: Nov 12-Dec 17, 2024
- Round 3: Jan 14-Feb 18, 2025
- Finals: Apr 8-22, 2025
Questions or Comments?
We recommend checking out WTRL’s Zwift Racing League page for rules, team registration, results, and more. They also have a Help Center with lots of useful info, and their Facebook page is the place to go for discussion of all things ZRL.
You may also share questions or comments below!