Today, we’ll focus on a race format that is already used on Zwift and also seen regularly in outdoor competition. Let’s dive in!
Points Race Basics
In very generic terms, points races are events where riders earn points based on their ranked performance against other riders. Instead of the winner being determined by who crosses the finish line first (a classic scratch race) or who survives the longest (an elimination race), you win by amassing more points than everyone else.
This opens up a world of possibilities for race organizers and racers:
- Organizers can designate which “segments” they’d like riders to compete on, decide what sort of competition is being held (typically first across the line and/or fastest through segment), and decide how to allocate points to the finishers.
- Racers must then strategize how to maximize points based on the race’s setup, their individual abilities, and competing riders.
The Now and Not Yet
Unlike some of the race concepts I’ve written about in this series, such as elimination and relay races, points races are already happening on Zwift. In fact, they are arguably some of the most popular races on the platform, showing up in Zwift Racing League, the Tiny Races, and other community-organized leagues!
But the current state of points racing on Zwift is best described as shoehorned into the platform. Nothing in the HUD or course design elements indicates that a particular section is a points segment, or how those points work. And instead of being natively supported and displayed in game, points are tabulated and displayed on third-party websites like ZwiftPower or WTRL.racing. You don’t see points in real time on Zwift’s HUD as you race. You only see them after the entire race is over, and then only if you know where to look.
This, of course, hampers riders’ ability to race strategically. Without native points support, it’s hard to know when to push and when to conserve, to know how well you’re doing, and to identify who your real competitors are.
Points Racing Possibilities on Zwift
What would it look like to upgrade the current Zwift Points Racing experience? From the riders’ point of view, upgrades fall broadly into two categories:
- Real-Time HUD: the first and most obvious experience upgrade would be a HUD that shows race points in an intuitive, useful, and immediate way as each unique race unfolds.
- Custom Segments: the second, less obvious experience upgrade would happen when race organizers have the ability to designate custom start and end points for points segments. Can you imagine the variety of courses and strategies that would unfold as a result? I don’t think anyone can! And that’s the fun of it.
With a real-time HUD in place and custom segments at organizers’ fingertips, points race possibilities become endless. Of course, you could do “standard” points races like we see in ZRL today, where riders compete for FAL (first across the line) and FTS (fastest through segment) on sprint and KOM segments. The real-time HUD would just take those races to the next level, especially if team functionality is also supported. You could also level up simple events like the Tiny Races, assuming Zwift builds a structure so multiple events can be scored.
But beyond upgrading existing races, the ability to designate custom points segments on any route would lead to a wide variety of new race experiences. Maybe it’s a new timed climb where no in-game KOM has ever existed, or a downhill sprint where we’ve never seen an arch before. Maybe it’s an extra-long segment that allows more strategic riding to unfold compared to the typical “sprint the segment” approach.
Perhaps some segments are FAL, while others are FTS. And perhaps the points awarded vary in such a way as to cause riders to truly think strategically about the best approach on the given course.
As you can see, the possibilities are virtually endless.
Fun For All
How can points racing on Zwift be made more fun for everyone? This is an important question to answer when it comes to any ride format in Zwift, because Zwift needs to remain an inclusive platform where everyone can find motivation and fun, regardless of fitness level.
There are two aspects of points racing which support Zwift’s inclusive ethos: segment variety and strategic complexity.
With a variety of segments possible in points races, organizers can ensure their event (or series of events) is a balanced competition that attracts all types of riders. Mixing up flat/downhill segments with climbs would make the race attractive to lighter riders with strong w/kg as well as heavier riders with strong pure watts. Longer and shorter segments could also be used to appeal to riders with strong short-term power as well as those whose strength lies in the longer efforts.
Organizers could make their points races as strategically complex as they’d like. A higher level of strategic complexity may prove extra attractive to “thinking racers” who can use their mental acuity to get a leg up on the competition.
Why Points Races?
Upgrading the Points Race experience on Zwift is important for several reasons:
- A fresh approach: given the right tools, creative organizers could create a variety of points racing experiences never before seen on Zwift
- Improving popular existing races: as mentioned above, some of the biggest races on the platform today are points races. Making improvements to support points races natively would level up these events.
- Uniquely indoor: while points racing already happens outdoors, indoor training platforms can improve on that experience with intuitive HUDs and in-game elements, so riders are better informed and thus able to race more strategically.
- The competition is already doing it: both MyWhoosh and TrainingPeaks Virtual already support points racing natively, as shown from these livestream grabs:
Required Game Changes
What would Zwift need to implement in order to make points races work well 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:
Must Haves
- Points HUD: races would have to display a real-time points tracker in the HUD.
- Segment Visibility: it must be crystal-clear which segments in the race are being contested for points. Right now, this sort of information is (at best) buried in the event description text.
- Results Screens: the standard race results screens in game, Companion, and at Zwift.com would need to be modified to rank results by points and display those points clearly.
- Segment Designator: even if Zwift doesn’t let organizers define custom points segments, they’ll need to let them define which segments on a given course are assigned which points and based on which results (FTS and/or FAL).
Possible Extras
- Team Builder UI: I’ve called this out in some other race format posts, but if points races are going to be contested by teams, ideally Zwift would build the menus and functionality to create teams so points can be tabulated on a team-by-team basis during and after a race.
- Cross-Event Tracking: many points races are actually a series of events. Being able to view series points in the HUD, and not just points from the current event, would enhance competition and lead to more creative race series.
- Custom Segment Creator: if Zwift wants to let organizers get truly creative and define their own points segments on course, they’ll need to create the tools to do so. A simple point-and-click web-based interface similar to ZwiftMap.com is exactly what race organizers like myself would love to see!
Your Thoughts
What did you think – should the points race experience be upgraded on Zwift? Did I miss any great ideas above? Share your thoughts below!
Hi Eric,
I got upgraded to A today which in theory is great 😅. I did a 20 min effort at 4.02 wkg. I also did 5 min effort 4.9wkg. Do you know what the limits are to push you into A as I see a lot of B with higher numbers that haven’t been upgraded but pushing higher numbers. I do weigh more at 87kg.
Thats confusing me as a 70 year old D rider too!
At the bottom we have races for 0 – 210 and 160 – 240 and 190 – 270 ZRS points l
Why this mess?
Why not like before when you do a D race at 240 watt then your C
The nice thing about the ZRS system is that all riders who aren’t at the very top or very bottom can find a race where they’re in the top half of the allowed range. With the old system, a newly promoted rider was stuck always being one of the slowest riders in their fields until they either got faster or fell back down to the lower category.
The categorization depends on what type of race you are in.
Read more about the classic “Zwift CE” system at https://zwiftinsider.com/category-enforcement/ and the newer “Zwift Racing Score” (ZRS) system at https://zwiftinsider.com/racing-score/ – but be aware that some events have custom categories. Generally, just opt for the category Zwift proposes and you’ll be fine.
Stay away from “sandbagging” (e.g., trying to bring yourself below some category limit), just do your best and take what you get.
Yes!!! This is much needed for Zwift. The segment being highlighted is definitely a must have, if not thought about it but it’s imperative for a native pickup points race, and would be a necessity for public teams races like I’ve discussed recently on my channel. Zwift can add the graphics to like workout gates or something like the “new” New York power segment.
A new HUD is a must before this can go live. You need to see the next segment and live scorings from yourself and the people above and below you so you know who to beat on that last segment.
But it would be fun. Although I rather have elemination races I think.
Zwift racers the past 7 years: Can we please get native support for points races?
Zwift: Here is a new useless feature called power segments! Ride on!
I believe Zwift can easily combine zwiftpower.com data into the game and real time display the data. Why they don’t do it?
The real time HUD will be amazing improvement:)
I also missing on the mini map (the right top) start of segment, not only the arch. Often in a big group you dont see start of segment untill you pass it, when is already too late to start sprint..
It would certainly be a great change, and it would definitely give us organizers the means to make the races even more exciting.
However, I would also add another thing that would be very welcome: an update of ZwiftPower, which truly seems to me to be in need of an update or a radical change, making it a modern and aesthetically pleasing website for finalizing events😉
I find it so hard to think that a certain boost mode got earlier to the game than point races or indeed, team based racing.
Gamification is fun, but does not need to be fancy. I would jump in the air if this is finaly on Zwift!
Hi Eric,
I’ve done points races IRL, in the 70s, they can be fun. Another race along the same line is “MISS ‘n’ OUT” done mostly on the track or crit type race also in early season training races. A good work out.
I’d LOVE to see some elimination race formats on Zwift! I wrote about that a while back: https://zwiftinsider.com/pondering-elimination-races/
I’ve always thought that zwift’s implementation of ghosts of your previous PR’s was very underwhelming. The 90 day limition and the non-event limitation means that even a very active zwifter is unlikely to even say a PR ghost, and even then it’s likely not going to be a relevant target for their current ride.
Having these kinds of live carrots to chase (live ahead/behind) has been the most motivating thing in my cycling life but yet I can’t recall a single time I had a useful PR ghost motivating me on zwift.
So I’d vote for a pondering article about PR ghosts. They were one of the most requested features until zwift added them, and now I never see anyone talking about them anywhere, I think because people just don’t find the current implementation useful.
As much as I thoroughly enjoy using Zwift, I think out of all of the issues with the platform it’s the lack of in game points that really sticks in the throat most. The article refers to points being ‘shoehorned in’ but it might be more accurate to say that Zwift asks us to ‘pretend’ that points exist and calculate/display them on separate websites. It’s a key part of their flagship race series, for goodness’ sake, and we know the game has some concept of relative rider performance through segments as we get those mini leaderboard times shown when we’re near them. Would urge zwift to incorporate on screen prompts as to upcoming point segments (maybe even an optional visual effect as you are going through them, similar to when you’re suffering in workout mode), show what points you got after each segment, and ability to, for example, tap or hold a button to show the current points table on screen.
The “Real-Time HUD” element of that is already a feature (and yes is a real improvement for points racing!) in the “Sauce for Zwift” add-on which allows riders to set up and see Individual and/or Team points live in-race.
Just like most of S4Z’s features it uses data already there for use which Zwift is too lazy to actual make use of to improve the HUD experience for users, but you can at least get it from elsewhere
The only logical reason I can think of as to why Zwift haven’t implemented this along with elimination races etc etc, might be down to how Zwift has been built from a program perspective.
The racing demographic size is likely not worth the investment and time from Zwifts point of view.
So many things from rider verification implementation, race types etc have been asked for from the racing community for years and yet here we still are.
More and more racers are leaving the platform for racing, especially those riders completely fed up with the community races where obvious cheating goes completely unpunished.
Points Races + Elimination Raced + iTT = Omnium @ Velodrome!!
As someone who does a bunch of the HERD races and ZRL, both of which feature points… In game points races would be an absolute game changer. I know some people are using a plugin to deliver this, but in game would prevent the bunch of people who arrive in races and don’t know the format… Get on at Zwift Eric!
Points races are the best fun. ZRL, DRS and the recent Mitten 4-day series have been the best fun I’ve had on Zwift (Tiny Races are great fun too).
If you have Sauce there is a mod called ZenMaster by Arend Teraa which can give you a live segment scoreboard on the screen. It literally is a game-changer as it allows you to make strategic decisions on-the-fly. In races like ZRL you can even see how your team-mates are doing. I believe handling teams is work in progress.
Obviously it’s much harder for outsiders to do this, but the fact that it is already possible shows it should be eminently doable in-game. I would love to see in-game points support and user creation of points races.
There would be nothing better than a nicely balanced points race with something for all phenotypes. The way ZRL is now doing points is so much better than it was a couple of years ago. Now we need it in-game please Zwift 😀
Hi Eric. Not so sure that the point system on Zwift racing actual works. If I compare the results of this morning race . Where I beat a rider with a higher race score but his race score increased and mine decrease afterwords
Points races are great fun!
I do wish Zwift had done a better job naming FAL and FTS, because my little brain can never keep them straight.