Introduced in Zwift’s December 2020 update, Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop is the first route to use the new Epic KOM Bypass – a twisty, rolling, narrow stretch of cliffside road connecting the lower sections of the Epic KOM and Epic KOM Reverse.
A wonderful choice for anyone seeking a scenic Watopian sightseeing spin, this route should also make for fun racing, as it gives lightweight riders a chance to get away on a short, steep climb halfway through. Heavier, more powerful riders can spend the back half of the loop trying to chase any breakaway down before the finish!
Introduced in Zwift’s December 2020 update, Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop is the first route to use the new Epic KOM Bypass – a twisty, rolling, narrow stretch of cliffside road connecting the lower sections of the Epic KOM and Epic KOM Reverse.
A wonderful choice for anyone seeking a scenic Watopian sightseeing spin, this route should also make for fun racing, as it gives lightweight riders a chance to get away on a short, steep climb halfway through. Heavier, more powerful riders can spend the back half of the loop trying to chase any breakaway down before the finish!
Route Basics
Length: 19 km (11.8 miles)
Elevation: 146 m (479‘)
Lead-In: 0 km ( miles)
Map: Watopia
Start & Finish
Starts and ends at the Downtown Watopia start/finish banner.
Achievement Badge: 380 XP
Sprint & KQOM Segments |
| None |
Strava Segments
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
This loop begins in downtown Watopia, heading in the direction of the Volcano. After making our way around that magmanamous mountain and over the land bridge, we climb up the short dirt switchback section to the Italian Villas. But there’s no time to pause for pizza – we’re on a journey, so we hang a right onto Ocean Boulevard and descend to the fishing village, staying straight at the windmills as we head toward the Epic KOM and Mayan Jungle areas.
Just up the road is the only substantial climbing of this route: a 67-meter gain that begins with a steep, twisting section before leveling off into a gradual climb on the bridge. This is the beginning of the Epic KOM Reverse, but you won’t actually be completing that climb on today’s route. Also: this is where power-to-weight workhorses will show their stuff in races, so be prepared to go all-out up this section. You can recover later!
Now it’s time for the new tarmac – a left turn takes us onto the Epic KOM Bypass section. Notice how the road narrows, increasing the perception of speed and making you feel like that cliff on your left is just a little too close.
This bypass feels like easy, twisting rollers, but it’s actually a false flat in this direction. You’re still climbing, but it somehow feels faster thanks to the narrow, twisty road and occasional short descents.
After the bypass you’ll turn left onto the suspension bridge, then descend down to the Ocean Boulevard tunnel. Almost there! A quick ramp out of the tunnel and you’ll find yourself back in downtown Watopia. Nice work!
Loved this route. Just enough climbing to not be easy, but no so much to detract from being a regular in the rotation.
It looks like a pearl for race meetups!
When is this new route going to be available in the companion app for meetups, just updated it but no cigar 🙄
“These new routes are available for free ride today, and will become available for events and Meetups next week.”
HI….just wondering what might be the issue in that none of the new routes show on my Watopia routes?
Probably need to update the Zwift app!
Haven’t yet ridden this route, but it looks like it’ll be a blast! I particularly love the idea of the KOM Bypass. That’ll add lots of free-ride options, such as multiple rides up the KOM without going over onto the flats.
What I’m thinking of here is essentially a cut off on the Mountain Route, bypassing all of the flat. This could also be used to develop a new interesting figure-8 route.
I really like this new route. It looks great especially at dusk when one of the segments lights up with Christmas trees.
Great route!! Love the new addition
Just rode this loop (with the badge awarded) and it was not the same as is detailed here. Was 30km and included the reverse KoM and two visits to the Volcano circuit before heading over to the Cliffside. Nice route, great way to explore, hilly but not overly so, scenic.
Really fantastic route, thank u ZWIFT!
I just rode it and got the badge right at 19km, at the downtown banner.
This is fine, but not enough. We need much more new tarmac in watopia. So much race developing, but almost nothing for regular zwifters. Don’t misunderstand me, I love racing, but I’m tired of the same roads of watopia one time, and another, and another… I want to get lost like I do on the real roads.
Awesome can’t wait to give it a spin!
I rode today and noticed that the “ruins” are made of a brownish stone. Where did they get that stone from? All the rocks (and other buildings in the area) are gray stone. Seems like a lot of effort to drag that stone from the Mayan Jungle or the desert, when there was plenty of good gray stone just lying around. Just saying.
Maybe it’s like Stonehenge where the stone was considered sacred, sourced from 100s of miles away.
Maybe it was transported stone by stone by Buffalo bike?
i think that a lot of the stones are now thought to come from the Marlborough area, about 20 miles away
I thought they were cut in the Presceli hills of south Wales and erected into a ring there, like close by…. but when the people moved to Salisbury Plain they dismantled everything and moved it with them, then put them up again where they are now.
Along the cliffside portion of this route there appear to be a number of ‘artifacts’ next to, and over, the road to indicate a ‘collapsed’ structure similar to the giant ‘stone’ cycling and running sculptures found elsewhere in Zwift. At one point there appeared to be a giant hand on the right side of the road. Any idea what this is/was? With no aerial view available (in Apple TV, anyway) I can’t get a wide enough view of the area to see all of the pieces.
Looks like you ride under a shoulder or elbow of a collapsed cycling sculpture at one point. I missed the hand – will have to go and have another look.
Any idea when this is on Apple TV. tried to find it yesterday but no joy
Good news it’s working today 23rd Dec. Very nice it is too.
Good new route. Any thoughts on doing the Reverse Route as a Strava Segment?
Rebel Route suggestion – Cliffside Epic (elevation about 1100m, distance 37-40 km) It covers bypass, Epic KOM And Epic KOM Rev (from bypass to the Tower KOM summit) in both directions. Start : Jungle/RoadToSky, then U-turn Straight to bypass at the bypass end turn right to Epic KOM after summit turn left to Tower KOM, round the tower downhill than turn right to castle turn left to bypass at the bypass end turn left to Epic KOM Rev before summit turn right to Tower KOM, round the tower downhill than turn left to jungle/italian village End: left to the jungle/roadtosky… Read more »
Really enjoy this route
I found a bug in the game this evening that affects this section of road when riding it in the reverse direction, coming from the start line for the Epic KoM, climb up the first section on the island and crossing the bridge before making a right turn: the sense of the left/right arrow keys to select the turn direction have been accidentally reversed! In order to make a right hand turn to ride the Epic KoM Bypass in reverse, you need to press the left arrow key, not the right arrow, as would be expected. This is also the… Read more »
How do you sign up? Will the ride appear in the ZCompanion ?
Sign up for what?
Magic. Really love this tour
This route is my nemesis! 😂
Thanks Eric, love your work!