Pondering the Possibilities: On-Demand Zwift Time Trialing

Credit where credit is due: this article began with someone else’s great idea. Back in December, reader “Gordon” posted this comment on my Zwift Announces Race Calendar Cleanup post:

It would be a shame if TT events were culled heavily as they are very much a solo effort. As much as I hate them myself I know others like them.

What I’d like to see with TT is having something a bit different. Some way to choose a course/route of the week yourself, signup and ride it at any time then have a global/team leaderboard.

This is where Zwift is missing out, constrained by Zwift events and ZwiftPower scoring formats.

(His comment, by the way, received 32 likes as of the writing of this article on January 14. That’s a lot of likes for a comment.)

Gordon’s idea got me thinking. Could Zwift create a sort of “on demand time trial” competition? And would it be compelling?

Déjà Vu?

As I began to ruminate on this idea, a feeling of familiarity hit me. Why did this on-demand TT idea seem so obvious? And then I remembered: I had created a small local competition here in Lake County, California around 10 years ago. I even made a logo:

The big idea was this: each week for a month, local road riders were invited to turn in their best possible time on a chosen Strava segment. The rules were simple: it had to be a solo effort.

Whoever turned in the best time each week won a prize. We had gift certificates from local restaurants, and of course prizes from the LBS. It was all a lot of fun, and riders were watching wind forecasts and putting in multiple attempts to get their best possible time.

This on-demand TT idea is, in many ways, a Zwifty version of my Solo Strava Smackdown Series.

On-Demand Time Trials: The Basics

The basic idea for on-demand time trialing in Zwift would be this: Zwift would designate a course of the week (or month), and if you complete that course within the designated time window (say, Monday through Sunday) on a TT bike you are automatically added to a global leaderboard.

Thinking Through the Details

Let’s unpack the basics above and dig further into this idea.

Course Selection

One fun aspect of this approach to time trials would be the opportunity to mix up routes so they cater to different rider strengths. One week may feature Tempus Fugit, the flattest route on Zwift, tailor-made for riders with big watts. The next week might feature Bologna’s rarely-used Time Trial Lap, which ends in a punishing climb for the w/kg workhorses.

We could also mix up distances. One week’s TT could be on a single lap of the Volcano Circuit for a total of 7.7km, while another week might see riders taking on something like the Mountain Route which could be completed in around an hour at 3 w/kg.

Qualifying Activities

This is a solo race against the clock, so drafting would need to be disabled for an activity to count. Rather than having people “accidentally” enter if they complete the chosen route on a TT bike, it may make the most sense for Zwift to add a card to the homescreen for the on-demand TT. If you want to participate, you have to click the card.

This would pop up details of the featured route, a simple explanation of the competition, and a button you can click to proceed to the start pen.

Clicking to ride would drop you into the start pen, where you could configure your TT bike for maximum speed. And as soon as you start pedaling the timer begins. Go go go!

Rider Visibility

What about seeing other riders on course? Sure, you aren’t able to draft, but still, seeing other riders has a psychological effect. I see a few options here:

1. Show all riders: show every rider on the road, whether they’re taking part in the on-demand TT or not.
2. Show competing riders: only show other riders who are currently putting in the on-demand TT effort. These would be carrots to chase.
3. Show only myself: hide all other riders. It’s just me and the clock.

Of these three options, I like #2 the most. I don’t want to ride through a sea of non-competing riders, but I like the idea of having a few riders up the road, and some riders chasing behind. I think that would be motivating.

Global Leaderboard

A leaderboard would be essential if Zwift wants to inspire participation in these on-demand TTs. A simple leaderboard would be sufficient for the initial launch of a minimum viable product. Zwifters could see the leaderboard via the Companion app or log in to see leaderboards at zwift.com. The result page would show their name and rank at the top, with a scrollable list of all results below, along with simple power and other metrics and a link to view the rider’s activity.

Of course, the leaderboards could become much more interesting. Let us filter results by age, gender, country, or weight class. Let me view only riders who are in the same Club as me. And of course, let me view past weeks’ results as well as the current week.

Making the leaderboard available in the Companion app would also be nice.

Partner Prizes

Many riders are motivated by prizes, which is why I lined up local restaurants for my Solo Strava Smackdown Series. Zwift could easily line up prize giveaways with partners to inspire more participation in the on-demand TTs.

I wouldn’t recommend giving prizes based on overall rankings, but rather, giving them to random finishers. A pair of Oakleys, a new pair of shoes, a sweet new speed suit, a set of Ceramic Speed jockey wheels. The possibilities are endless!

Leader’s Jersey

The icing on the cake: if you finish in the top 1% by gender for the week, you get access to the leader’s jersey which you can wear if you so choose for the following week. It doesn’t last long, but it’s fun while it lasts!

Why It Would Work

Why do I love this idea so much? Let me count the ways…

1. I love it when Zwift builds on IRL ideas but takes them next-level in ways that are only possible in virtual cycling. This is just such an idea.
2. The ability to mix up routes means the competition would attract different types of riders each week.
3. It’s completely flexible in terms of schedule, so anyone can compete at any time.
4. It’s a new way to inspire people to give their all, which in turn helps build fitness.
5. It’s an even less intimidating way to race than standard Zwift scratch racing.

Required Game Changes

An MVP version of this idea could be created with very little work on Zwift’s part. Here’s what would need to happen:

• Select the route of the week: someone at Zwift would need to set up a schedule of routes for the weekly (monthly?) competition.
• Detect and log qualifying efforts: at its very simplest, Zwift could simply log any effort on a route that was completed on a TT bike. This could include all types of rides (free rides, events, workouts), as long as drafting was not involved.
• Display a leaderboard: a simple leaderboard would need to be available on zwift.com and/or in the Companion app.
• Announce the competition: riders would need to know what the featured route is each week. This could be announced in the “This Week on Zwift” email, on Zwift’s racing homepage, on the game homescreen, or in other places.

That would be a very basic implementation, though. To really do it as I’ve described above, Zwift would need to do some additional work:

• On-Demand Event Flow: it would take some UI changes to let riders click to start their effort, which places them in a start pen where your ride timer doesn’t begin until you start pedaling. That’s not how Zwift events currently start.
• Rider Visibility: making it so you could see other on-demand TT riders on course may also require a few tweaks.
• Leader’s Jersey: automatically calculating who gets the jersey, then temporarily placing it in their garage and notifying them of their win would take some setting up and design work. But once the system is in place, it’s a zero-maintenance affair.
• Partner Prizes: Zwift would need to interact with partners to line up prizes if they decide to add this fun facet.
• Fancy Leaderboards: as explained above, the leaderboards could be given lots of fun features to make the competition even more compelling.

Your Thoughts

What do you think – does the on-demand TT competition model appeal to you? Are there any great ideas you would add to it? Share your thoughts below!