Pondering the Possibilities: Elimination Races on Zwift

Today we kick off the series with a well-known race format: the elimination race.

Elimination Race Basics

Fans of track cycling will already be familiar with elimination races. The basic idea is that riders are removed from the race based on their position over the line on particular laps.

There are lots of options here: it may be the last rider(s) who is eliminated (known as the “miss and out” or “devil take the hindmost”), or it could be a “win and out” format where the first rider across the line is removed and given first place, the first rider on the next lap is given second place, etc.

Lap count can vary, of course. Additionally, eliminations may happen on every lap, or at some other lap interval (every other lap, every third lap, etc).

This is how elimination races basically work in real life, on the track. But how would they work in Zwift?

Elimination Races On Zwift

If there was a velodrome in game, races could have very short laps and thus more options for elimination. Currently, though, the shortest lap route in Zwift is Crit City at 1.9km, which takes around 2 minutes per lap for a fast A/B race pack. New York’s LaGuardia Loop is the next shortest at 2.8km.

The challenge with longer laps is that you can’t eliminate just one rider per lap from a pack of, say, 50 riders, if laps take 2 minutes apiece. Unless you want a really long race.

But this is a video game, right? So there are ways to make this work. In fact, what intrigues me most about Zwift is that it allows cyclists to do things that are impossible in real life, but make indoor riding really fun.

The game could auto-calculate how many riders will be eliminated on each lap based on the organizer’s target race length, chosen course, and the number of starters. Two theoretical race examples:

• Crit City Cull
  • Format: Miss and Out
  • Target race length: 30 minutes
  • Chosen route: Downtown Dolphin
  • Start list size: 115 riders
  • With an estimate of 14 laps completed in 30 minutes, you’ll need to eliminate 8 riders per lap in order to have 11 riders left to contest the top spots on the final lap.

• NYC Ya Later
  • Format: Win and Out
  • Target race length: 40 minutes
  • Chosen route: LaGuardia Loop
  • Start list size: 25 riders
  • With an estimate of 12 laps completed in 40 minutes, you’ll need to eliminate 2 riders per lap in order to have 3 riders left to fight for the last 3 places on the final lap.

To make things even more strategic, every banner on a course could be used as an elimination point. So Watopia’s Hilly Route, for example, would eliminate riders at the Hilly KOM banner, the JWB Sprint banner, and the lap banner. This option would give an advantage to those with course knowledge and greatly increase the list of courses that could host an elimination race.

Fun For All

Zwift wants all racers to have a fun race experience, and getting booted partway into your event isn’t much fun. What could happen in Zwift’s virtual world to make the experience better for eliminated riders?

Here’s an idea: allow riders to continue racing after elimination. Once eliminated they would become invisible to anyone still in the race, but the eliminated rider could see all the racers (including other eliminated riders) and keep riding until the event was finished.

It’s fun when Zwift races emulate IRL races. But it’s even more fun when those races function in a way that is impossible IRL but improves the experience for Zwifters!

Why Join an Elimination Race?

Why would Zwifters pick an elimination race over some other race format? Several reasons I can think of:

• It’s a great sprint workout, since you’re doing a hard interval at every elimination point.
• It’s exciting/engaging. There’s no sitting in and spinning to the finish. You’ve got to pay attention to avoid elimination.
• Fresh strategy is required. Whatever works in scratch or points races probably won’t work in elimination races. You’ve got to figure out how to maximize your chances in this format.
• Multi-lap events become more interesting. On a route like a Velodrome or even Crit City, this adds excitement and a new dimension to each route, instead of feeling like you’re just racing on repeat.
• It emulates an IRL race format. Elimination races are well-known in the track cycling world, and this would bring that format into the game.

Required Game Changes

Elimination races can already be held in Zwift – sort of. The race organizer can join the event, watch the race, and message the riders to say who was eliminated. Riders just need to obey the organizer. We’ve seen this in some top-level elite races. The community has done it themselves, as well:

What would Zwift need to implement in order to make elimination races work as a native race format? With the disclaimer that I’m not a game developer or platform engineer, here are a few things I can think of:

• Orientation UI: riders need to know what they’re signing up for, and how the event will work. On-screen messaging should explain this clearly and succinctly.
• Elimination UI: what happens when you’re eliminated? Does your listing in the rider list change color? Does your avatar become transparent, or perhaps glow a different color? Does a message pop up on screen?
• Elimination Logic: organizers would need to have a set of options available for configuring their event (how many riders are eliminated per lap, on which laps) including the option to let the game decide elimination parameters automagically based on race length, route choice, and start list size.
• Results Screens: result logic would need to be specially created for elimination races, as it would be different than scratch race results.
• Helper UI (Optional): the game could somehow highlight the riders at risk of being eliminated, so you know if you need to move forward.

Your Thoughts

First: what do you think of the possibility of elimination races on Zwift? Would you give ’em a go? Can you think of any improvements to my ideas above?

Secondly: what other race formats would you love to see on Zwift, and why? Share below. Your idea may spark a future post in this series!