“Makuri Pretzel” Route Details (Makuri Islands)
Far and away the longest Makuri Islands route when it was released in September 2024, Makuri Pretzel covers key roads in each of the three Makuri Islands areas: Yumezi, Neokyo, and Urukazi. And it covers them in both directions, which means you hit four different sprint arches in both directions for a total of eight sprint opportunities.
This route is the brainchild of James Bailey, Zwift’s event guru. While it avoids all the Makuri Islands KOM segments, you’ll want to keep your eyes open in a race. There are plenty of sneaky, draggy climbs that provide ample opportunity for attacks.
Far and away the longest Makuri Islands route when it was released in September 2024, Makuri Pretzel covers key roads in each of the three Makuri Islands areas: Yumezi, Neokyo, and Urukazi. And it covers them in both directions, which means you hit four different sprint arches in both directions for a total of eight sprint opportunities.
This route is the brainchild of James Bailey, Zwift’s event guru. While it avoids all the Makuri Islands KOM segments, you’ll want to keep your eyes open in a race. There are plenty of sneaky, draggy climbs that provide ample opportunity for attacks.
Route Basics
Length: 77.6 km (48.2 miles)
Elevation: 616m (2,021′)
+1.1km (0.7 miles) lead-in with 5m (16′) elevation
Map: Makuri Islands
ZIMetrics
Rating: 38.7/100 🛈
Time Estimates 🛈
lead-in + first lap
4 W/kg: 113 minutes
3 W/kg: 125 minutes
2 W/kg: 154 minutes
Start & Finish
Starts and ends at Alley Sprint arch.
Format: Loop
Ride Achievement Badge: 1550 XP
Run Achievement Badge: none
Strava Segments
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
We begin in Neokyo at the dock start pens, or just before the Alley Sprint arch if you’re free riding. Travel out of Neokyo, through the tunnel and into the Yumezi countryside, hitting the Countryside Sprint just before the road tilts upward to Village Onsen. Then continue through the Fishing Village before looping back toward the Castle area and through its marketplace.
Next, you’ll fly downhill through the lap banner and head across Yumezi’s flats to the Slot Canyon, a very scenic descent delivering you to Urukazi’s oceanside roads. Here you’ll take on two dirty corkscrews back-to-back: first the Mech Isle, second the climb up to the Shisa Sprint. These are key attack points in races, so be prepared!
From the Shisa Sprint you’ll descend back to Festival Harbor and head through Mangrove Maze. Catch a quick breath and spin those legs out, because up next you’ve got Pain Cavern: a draggy climb up to Neokyo, and our another key selection point in races.
Once you leave Pain Cavern you’ve got got a stretch of flat road ahead. First you’ll hit the Tower Sprint, then you’ll loop back toward the Alley Sprint Reverse. (We’ve just passed the halfway point of the route, and are now beginning to retrace all the roads we’ve just finished, in reverse.)
So it’s down through Pain Cavern (much less painful this way), up to the Shisa Sprint for a nice view of Urukazi, then down the two dirty corkscrews – a direction we don’t ride often in other routes. Then it’s a climb up the Slot Canyon, followed by our last climb of the day up to the Castle’s marketplace. These climbs, like others on this route, are draftable and not particularly long. But you’ll need strong VO2max power (4-6 minutes) to hold onto the front in a race!
After the last climb it’s a slack downhill through the Fishing Village and Village Onsen. Keep your speed up through the Countryside Sprint, and know that you’ve got flat roads all the way to the finish! Enter Neokyo through the tunnel, hit the Tower Sprint, then loop around the harbor before sprinting through the bustling marketplace to the finish line at the Alley Sprint arch. Nice work!
This one looks like fun!
It’s a shame the KOM’s weren’t included, perhaps that will come with the Makuri Mega/Uber Pretzel!
You want climbing do the 4 horseman
It’s actually 78.7 km long
Correct. That’s route length + lead-in length, per my numbers above…
It’s a tough ride that. I enjoyed it and had fun chasing others on the same route. 😁 😁 😁
Oh, pity it’s not a route on Strava. 😕 😕
Haha Zwift you always create things I had already finished Makuri haha. Today I officially completed it again haha thanks Zwift for always keeping it fresh. Note to self anything that says pretzel is tough
Don’t we still need other Pretzels? When will those happen? France, Yomezi, New York, Scotland
Hmmm… not really. Those worlds have Pretzels, they just aren’t named as such. New York has Everything Bagel, Scotland has The Muckle Yin. France IS missing a route that does all the roads PLUS Ventoux… that would be epic!
I believe the rebel route Toutes les Routes covers all roads in France! I’ll be avoiding that one for sometime or forever! 😆
Here’s my proposal for the France pretzel… from a Rebel Route we made back in July 2020! https://zwiftinsider.com/toutes-les-routes/
This looks amazing. Now to convince the powers that be to make it happen…
See that looks like fun
Beautifully written as always Eric, but should we go for aero or maybe tron ?
Best bike for this route if I don’t have the tron?
Go with it or buy a Specialized Tarmac SL or S-Works Tarmac sl8. No big hills but plenty fast passages.
One of the best +70km routes, it has beaches, city, country side and lush jungle.
Even if it’s a 39k and back it never gets repetitive. Did a 100km on this one and enjoyed it, best Makuri experience for me.