The VeloViewer-powered Route Hunter leaderboards were first rolled out in October 2019. They were an immediate hit in the Zwift community because they gave people a tool to track which routes they’ve completed, as well as a competitive leaderboard for anyone wanting to see how they rank against the universe of Zwifters.
Since then, new routes and maps have been added to Zwift, and we’ve created new Rebel Routes as well. All these new routes are added to the Route Hunter Leaderboards soon after their release.
Additionally, in May 2020 Strava made major changes to their services in an attempt to drive subscriber growth. This didn’t change anything if you’re a paying Strava Premium subscriber, but for free users, the Route Hunter Leaderboards no longer show segment times for yourself or others. Instead, they act more as a checklist of which routes you’ve completed.
About the Leaderboards
There are 10 different leaderboards, each containing their own Zwift routes:
Leaderboard rankings are based on points. You receive points for
- Completing a particular route/segment (20 points for each), and
- How quickly you completed the route
These two numbers are then added together for your total points count for each leaderboard.
Getting Started
Getting your data into the leaderboards is easy! It’s probably easier on a large screen than a smartphone, but it can be done with either.
Start by visiting the Zwift Insider Route Hunter homepage on VeloViewer.
- Click “Connect with Strava”. (If you’re already signed into your Strava account in your browser, skip to step 3.)
- Log into your Strava account. You will be redirected back to the leaderboards homepage.
- Click “View” beneath one of the leaderboard titles.
- If you are not yet a member of the Zwift club on Strava, click the link to join the club, click “Join Club”, then return to the leaderboard page and click “Recheck Club Membership”. (If you are already a member of the Zwift club on Strava, skip to step 5.)
- Click “Update Your Times” to import your Strava rides into whatever leaderboard you are currently viewing. You may only click this link once per day for each leaderboard.
Using the Leaderboards
Here are a few tips for using the leaderboards:
- While they will work just fine on a smartphone, the leaderboards are much easier to browse on a large screen.
- Click any column title in a leaderboard to sort by that column.
- Click “View” next to the route title to view that segment’s details in VeloViewer. It’s not always clear where particular segments may stop and start, so looking at the actual Strava info is helpful if you’re chasing segment times.
- Filter by gender using the buttons at the top-right.
- Clicking a rider’s time for a particular route will take you to their Strava activity, where you can look for reasons to rationalize them beating your segment time 😄
Can You Ride Them All?
Very few Zwifters have ridden every segment in the leaderboards (114 segments as of August 18, 2020). Can you do it?
A Note About Group Ride Efforts
Due to the location of start pens in relation to spawn points and lap start/finish banners, we had to make a choice with some routes when selecting which segment would be used for the leaderboards:
- Start from the start/finish banner (eliminating group event traffic) or
- Start from the start pens (eliminating free ride traffic) or
- Start well after the start pens and start/finish banner, creating a rather wacky segment with an arbitrary start point which isn’t accurate when riders do multiple laps.
We chose to go with #1, because we didn’t want this to be restricted to “event-only” efforts, and we don’t want segments with a weird start point.
This means many of your group ride efforts will not be included in the leaderboard times. This is especially apparent on Watopia routes which begin downtown, since the start pen is located after the start/finish banner. You may also notice it with New York routes, and some other routes in other worlds.
Shout Out to VeloViewer
Ben over at VeloViewer is giving us this functionality free of charge. But if you find it useful, please consider upgrading your VeloViewer account to a Pro or Pro+ account. Cost is only £10-£20 per year, and you get lots of premium features–read more about those here.
Changelog
- July 21, 2020: added France and Paris maps, including their KOMs. Also added Toutes les Routes, Petite Douleur, and Down Up Down Rebel Routes.
- March 26, 2020: added Downtown Titans Rebel Route.
- Feb 27, 2020: added Three Little Sisters Rebel Route.
- Feb 21, 2020: added Eastern Eight Rebel Route.
- Feb 18, 2020: added Richmond KOMs in reverse direction (Richmond KOM reverse and 23rd Street KOM Reverse).
- Dec 16, 2019: changed Dust in the Wind segment to reflect Zwift’s finish line at the desert arch.
- Nov 29, 2019: changed the Road to Sky segment to reflect Zwift’s recent move of the spawn point. Segment now begins at the junction of the new Jungle start pens. Changed Muir and the Mountain to reflect Zwift’s route change, which has this route officially beginning and ending at the Titans Grove KOM.
Suggestions or Questions?
Post them below! Thanks for joining in the fun, and Ride On!
Is this any different than Zwift Power?
Yes. Think of it as a Strava add on to see all your segments on a table compared to others
I love the leaderboards. With the new worlds, I’ve found some new inspiration to get riding more. I wish there were leaderboards for running too.
What happened to your PDF route list? I found that to be very handy.
This is GREAT! Thank you so much for setting this up. It will be another tool in the motivational box. Really marvelous!
How about adding Cobbled Climbs to the Richmond leaderboards?
I think the only small issue from a badge hunter perspective is that Veloviewer will pick up rides you completed before the route badge existed. I’ve noticed there are often old times I’ve ridden a route according to Strava, but not according to Zwift.
Also picks up segments you have ridden as part of another ride (i.e. London loop is part of PRL full and maybe also PRL half) so there will be a time on the leader board even if you may not have completed the course according to zwift.
I want to unsubscribe from your notifications but I cant see how to do that!
I rode “triple flat loops”, and while strava shows a time for the route, it doesn’t appear on the route hunter in veloviewer. I did make miss a turn buy a few meter but promptly did a few u-turns and go back on track. Incidentally i make the same error when navigating “three little sisters” but that route is appearing on veloviewer. any thoughts on what might be the issue?
“we had to make a choice with some routes when selecting which segment would be used for the leaderboards”
Couldn’t you have created 2 segments on those routes, one for group rides and one for freerides?
Sure, we can create 2 segments. And we have, actually! But we can only use ONE segment on Veloviewer (otherwise, you would have to complete both segments in order to complete all the Veloviewer leaderboard routes). Hope that makes sense.
I’m trying to check off the ‘Richmond KOM Reverse’ and ’23nd St Kom Reverse’ from my Veloviewer Leaderboard but I can’t seem to figure out which route I have to take. I have ridden all the routes in richmond.
Can you advise which route to take?
Requires manual navigation. Start with any Route and make the turns needed to go backwards on the climbs.
just start any course and immediately hit a u turn, then you can’t miss the climbs
I love this leaderboard, great incentive to ride all the routes and improve times.
Would it be possible to do a similar leaderboard for Zwift sprints?
Hi Ben and Eric, I love Veloviewer, the data insights and the different leaderboards, I love it all. Last year I did a lot of indoor cycling and completed all the Zwift Routes, I was looking for some additional zwift entertainment, and have now decided to also ride all the event only routes too. Maybe it is an idea to also create a event only routes leaderboard and add them to the already existing 118 zwift routes & KOM’s in the current zwift insider leaderboards. It would bring the number of routes and KOM’s to 160. Additionally, a run leaderboard… Read more »
I have completed all 4 of the new Zwift routes recently and Zwift awarded my the route badges for them but I have not received credit within velo viewer for two of them. The routes are beach island and two bridges loop. Strava doesn’t have me as having completed any “Strava verified” route segments for those routes which I’ve contacted them about but no solve on that end yet. Any thoughts?
I have the same issue
The Strava segments are banner-to-banner, but spawn points for the new routes (Beach Island etc) are after the banner, so you have to make a U-turn, pass the banner, and then another U-turn.
If I start a route, pull a u turn, ride past the start banner and pull another U turn, will it revert to automatically following the route, or will manual navigation be required to compete the segment?
answer is yes, tested on two bridges loop
In your note about group ride efforts you state “This means many of your group ride efforts will not be included in the leaderboard times. This is especially apparent on Watopia routes which begin downtown, since the start pen is located after the start/finish banner. You may also notice it with New York routes, and some other routes in other worlds.” This occurred when I completed it as a free ride, not a group ride. When this occurs, is there a way to manually update the data? How do I get credit for completing a ride that did not update on the… Read more »
If your ride covered the full Strava segment, it should show up on the Veloviewer leaderboard. So first, make sure it covered the full Strava segment – make sure Strava shows that segment for that ride.
If it did, but doesn’t show up on the Veloviewer leaderboard… post the link to your Strava ride here and I’ll take a look.
There’s no way to manually update the data, since it’s already been loaded to Strava. There’s not more data to load!
Eric, I have written the four Horsemen multiple times and the big loop as well and had previously been 15 out of 15 on the walk Topia long routes. It is only in the last couple of months that I have log back on to find that I have drop these routes. I have tried all the tricks that you have suggested and it is clear as others have written that our toil is of no value in getting these routes into Velo viewer. We beg of you, those of us who support your site and those of us Who… Read more »
Same here. I’ve tried the various fixes but can’t get my segments back. Amongst the longer rides, I have Four Horsemen and Uber Pretzl which I have already dsone more than once and don’t want to do again. No guarantee that doing it again will work anyway. Unfortunately, I think my use of Veloviewer has also come to an end
There is a fault with the new Flat 8 rebel route Strava Segment, it starts then does two U-turns before it carries on. Not sure who sorts this but thought I’d let you know.
Is Strava rationalising their zwift segments? I see far fewer segments now and the zwift insider verified segments no longer show up. Also the segments linked from the veloviewer leaderboards seem to have changed i.e. fan flats (zwift insider verified) now juts links to fan flats.
On the leaderboards few people are showing as having completed the Volcano circuit. I have the volcano circuit and the 25 laps badge, but apparently no time on the correct segment according to the route hunter leaderboards.
Hi Eric, does the work Strava are doing explain the “loss” of times for three routes on the Watopia short section of the Veloviewer leaderboards?
Something odd going on here. Looks like Volcano Circuit and Flat Route have had the ZI verified labelling removed from the segment meaning that it’s now showing as not done in my leaderboard. Figure 8 reverse still has the ZI label but the segment is now slighty longer so again now showing as not done in the leaderboards.
The strava segment times for Flat Route and Fig 8 Reverse now date from 2016/17…
And that Figure 8 Reverse strava segement is incorrect, it’s rather second half of Fig 8 forward followed by first half.
I’ve had the same problem too.
You can make Strava find new segments for an old activity by editing the activity and change “Sport” to Surfing/Swimming/whatever, press Save, and then change back to Virtual Ride.
Thanks. Just done that and worked! The only problem now is that my rankings are way too high as so many others are missing.
I love veloviewer and the leaderboards are a quick way to check your progress and give you incentive to do better. I feel it’s missing a leaderboard though. “Event only routes”. Crit city, magnificent 8 etc. These are just as valid as rebel routes.
cheers
Navigated over to VV quickly today after the Chase Race on Watopia’s Waistband, only to sulk away after realizing it’s not a tracked route. Womp womp.
Zwift starts you on the far side of the banner for Flat Route & Beach Island Loop (and possibly others), but the Strava segment used for the leader-board starts precisely at the banner. So, to get the route badge in Zwift, you just have to ride the route from where Zwift starts you, but to get credit on veloviewer, you have to either do two laps, or a couple of u-turns to get on the correct side of the banner (which may then result in having to manually choose directions at intersections since, according to Zwift, you’ve now abandoned the… Read more »
My time for Uber Pretzel was suddenly removed from the leaderboard on VeloViewer. Has the segment changed?
Big Loop and Four Horsemen have disappeared from my Veloviewer results, and those of many other riders too – presumably the routes have been changed in conjunction with Tour of Watopia and the recent mass ride respectively. I can’t revive them on Strava as I didn’t have a record of the activities – funnily enough, I rely on Veloviewer to tell me when I completed the >100 ZI routes, rather than keeping a separate ledger. Any tips on getting these back?
I’ve seen a similar thing, looks like I’ve got “Four Horseman from Banner”, but the ride won’t pull in the “Four Horsemen (Zwift Insider verified)” segment, even though I fully go around the route (and some). If it was a piddly little route like the volcano then no big deal, I’ll just do it again, but that’s 4-5 hours worth of slogging.
I don’t see all my completed routes showing up. The leaderboard is also missing the Epic KOM which I completed many times (showing as nit completed) and the Zwift reverse KOM which I also have done several times. Whom should I report these issues to?
I am also missing Velo Viewer credit for Four Horsemen, Big Loop and Uber Pretzel. I completed Mountain 8 as a part of Tour of Watopia and that one is not showing up either.
Found the issue – for both rides (Four Horsemen and Uber Pretzel) Strava didn’t match the segment due to a different starting point. I think that this needs to be fixed since there is no way to control the spawn point where Zwift drops you when you select the route. Here is the link to both rides: Four Horsemen: Zwift: Four Horsemen – 4 new PRs on all major climbs! | Virtual Ride | Strava and Uber Pretzel (note that I extended the ride by about 30 miles): https://www.strava.com/activities/4773252169/segments/27313482/potential-segment-matches Can someone please look into this? This is a great feature… Read more »
Something is wrong with the Four Horseman Strava segment. I’ve ridden it 3 times (not in events) and I had a time in VeloViewer that disappeared . Having tried the usual changing activity type and then reverting back and also refreshing segments it won’t appear. Also friends did a meet up today on it and one got the segment recognised and the other did not. Finally when I try the Strava segment matching tool you can search for the Four Horseman (Zwift Insider Verified) but you can’t choose it. Looks like a broken segment. Please fix! Riding it again doesn’t… Read more »
Does anyone know how to get back the missing routes? I’ve made a few attempts to get the Reverse Figure 8 route back again, and I can see a time on the segment listed as “Zwift Insider Verified” on Strava afterwards, but it doesn’t register with VeloViewer. These are solo rides, not races or group rides. Do I have to set times only as part of a race or group ride in the future for the time to show up? What am I missing?
I went to Strava and used the “crop activity” function to move the start point forward one point. Did it successfully for Four Horsemen, Uber and Big Loop and then clicked “Update your times” in the appropriate VeloViewer leaderboard. This has worked for me in the past, too.
You appear to have been making changes/additions to some Watopia (LONG) routes. The Veloviewer ZI leaderboard is no longer pointing to the “from the banner” start points as you suggest in this article above. Accordingly, many persons who were previously recorded as having completed these routes, are no longer captured by the leaderboard. It’s telling that only the tiniest fraction of riders, to wit: It seems unjust that the actual official routes that one rolls if use the straight, free-ride route selection screen on Zwift (and for which achievement badges are granted) are NOT the routes that the ZI leaderboard… Read more »
i noticed a discrepancy in the points, I added the overall totals for each map manually, it adds up to 22.3 more points than what is shown on the main leader board. im guessing its a simple calculation mistake in the programming. just thought id point it out
I’ve completed uber Pretzel twice. Once in an event and once in free ride. Neither matched to the segment (though I do have the route badge). Not sure what I’m missing. https://www.strava.com/activities/2829401041
So I have completed the four horseman route both as a group ride and the start gate but the segment is not showing up. I have the badge. I really do not want to do it again. Any ideas?
On desktop strava website there is a ” Don’t see the segment you’re looking for? ” link on the bottom of the activity, you can try that, might give you an idea.
Try to crop the activity 1 sec in Strava (accessed via tree dot button on activity web page). That often fix issues with segments not showing up.
Great the Makuri board has been updated but I think it’s using the old version of Neon Flats
It looks like this is not being updated anymore with the new routes. Have they given up on it?
It usually takes a little bit of time for new routes to get added. So far I think only Twilight Harbour and Castle to Castle haven’t been added. Is there anything else missing? Legends and Lava and Climber’s Gambit have been added.
@Eric Schlange Will the newest Makuri Island routes be added? Noticed that Twighlight Harbour isn’t there.
Thanks
I too am hoping that the new routes are added as they become available. Thanks!
is there any chance of a leaderboard for event only routes. Bologna, crit city, waistband etc. it does encourage more people to do them.
I’d like to see this! But I’d also like to see a similar thing for every zwift strava segment, so I’m a bit insane.
Is the Strava Route for Royal Pump Room 8 working properly? Is it really banner to banner? It seems to start at an arbitrary straight segment on the course before the pens.
It could be that the route for veloviewer starts at the S/F arch which the free ride mode does. The event route from the pens do not go through the S/F arch. It is the same issue for some other routes on zwift with veloviewer. There is list of thoes routes somewhere. So if you have not checked off the route in veloviewer, then have to do the ride in free ride mode.
I think you are right temps 09. The segment Royal Pump Room 8 (from after Start Pen) https://www.strava.com/segments/30929222 was just created.
I just refreshed the veloviewer leaderboards for two maps and rather than adding my new completed route times, it actually removed all of my times for the map. Happened on two separate maps (at which point I stopped refreshing the others, which are still showing). I’m still in the Zwift club, and still a paying Strava member. Any ideas?
Ok – I’ve figured it out. For anyone else that has this issue – I had tagged my Zwift rides as ‘indoor’ and for some reason it stopped picking them up after I did that – they were no longer recognised in the leaderboards. So don’t do that!
I’m bummed that the leaderboards have been updated and some Routes are only counted ig you do them as a group ride. Eg: 4 horsemen and Uber. I put alot of sweat and tears into getting good times on those in small meetup rides – why the change?
That’s not correct. The segments for four horseman and uber pretzel were edited so that they count if you are doing an event or a free ride. However editing a segment after people have placed on it causes many of those rides to no longer match the segment (just like if you create a new zwift segment it doesn’t match old rides, it’ll match a few, but not most old rides). You can get your old rides to recalculate segments and they will match the edited segments but it’s a bit tricky. You used to be able to toggle the… Read more »
Will the Event-Only leaderboard be reinstated? URL not found. Thank you for all the work you’ve done!