Pondering the Possibilities: Relay Racing on Zwift

Today, we’ll focus on a race format that exists in some form in IRL track cycling: the relay race. Let’s go!

Relay Race Basics

The big idea behind a relay race is that it allows teams of riders (just a pair of riders is probably ideal) to trade off efforts while resting in between. In track cycling we have the Madison race, where a team (usually two) riders are taking turns, with one rider racing while the other rider makes their way around the track at an easier pace. When they’re ready to trade off, the racing rider grabs the resting rider hand-slings them up to speed.

How would this work on Zwift? Well, in the world of track running, relay events are very entertaining to watch, with runners handing off a baton. This is more the style of relay race “handoff” I’m envisioning on Zwift, except that riders would hand the race off to their teammate each lap. Let’s dive deeper into this idea…

Relay Racing on Zwift

There are lots of ways a relay race could be structured on Zwift, but here’s one approach using teams of two.

I envision relay races happening on a short loop course: perhaps Crit City, Makuri Islands’ Neokyo Crit Course, NYC’s LaGuardia Loop, or even Watopia’s Volcano Circuit. These routes vary from 2-6 minutes in length, so it’s just a question of how long the race organizer wants each rider’s efforts to last.

Riders would all begin at the start pens, but only the designated Rider #1 would be racing the first lap. When the lap line is first reached, Rider #2 would automatically stop. (They could still pedal, but their rider would be on a virtual trainer, like you see in the start pens before an event begins.)

Rider #1 would complete the first lap, then automatically stop as soon as they cross the lap line, with rider #2 automatically released to begin traveling forward.

Races could be done with or without drafting enabled, although I generally prefer draft-enabled events because of the added strategic component.

The first team to complete the assigned number of laps would win.

Fun For All

How can these events 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.

Ideally, it would be super simple for riders of any fitness level to sign up for the relay race. That means Zwift would need to build a system to automatically match riders together to maximize fairness and competition. The system would also need to let riders do their own matchmaking if they have a friend they’d like to race with.

Zwift could automatically categorize teams based on rider metrics. And to ensure competition among riders, perhaps the strongest rider would always be in the #1 slot, so you don’t have one team’s strongest rider going head-to-head with another team’s weakest rider – unless a team gets lapped, of course.

Having dedicated races for mixed teams (1 woman and 1 man) would be fun, too.

Existing lap leaderboards could be used to add a competitive element of which team is fastest. You could even give a time bonus to the team with the fastest lap, encouraging riders to try and top the leaderboard.

Why Relay Race?

Relay Races would be fun for several reasons:

• Teamwork: you can’t do a relay race by yourself. Working with others is good for us!
• Interval workout: relay races would make excellent interval workouts. For example, a 10-lap race of LaGuardia Loop would have each rider completing 5 laps (3-5 minutes per lap) with a break in between. That’s a solid VO2 workout!
• Fresh strategic options: do you go hard at the start and try to get into a breakaway? Do you save your efforts for the end of the race? Does it depend on lap count?
• A special “virtual-only” format: this is a format that doesn’t really have an outdoor equivalent, and there’s something extra fun about that.

Required Game Changes

What would Zwift need to implement in order to make relay 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:

• Team builder UI: Zwift would need to build the menus and functionality to create a relay race team, or at least sign up for a race to be automatically placed onto a team.
• 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.
• Teammate tracking UI: you would want to see where your actively racing teammate is located and ideally also see metrics like their power numbers and heart rate.
• Handoff Functionality: fresh game functionality would need to be coded, stopping a rider as they hit the lap line while simultaneously releasing their teammate to jump into the action.
• Results Screens: the standard race results screen would need to be modified to display team results instead of individual results.

Your Thoughts

What did you think – does the relay race concept have any merit? Share below!