“Power to the Tower” Route Details (Watopia)
Power to the Tower is perhaps the most inventive of the new routes announced July 2024 for the inaugural Zwift World Series. It features three tough climbs: the Epic KOM Reverse, The Grade, and the Epic KOM forward with the Radio Tower KOM as the finish line!
As of July 2024 this is, in fact, the only route in Watopia ending at the Radio Tower KOM.
Power to the Tower is perhaps the most inventive of the new routes announced July 2024 for the inaugural Zwift World Series. It features three tough climbs: the Epic KOM Reverse, The Grade, and the Epic KOM forward with the Radio Tower KOM as the finish line!
As of July 2024 this is, in fact, the only route in Watopia ending at the Radio Tower KOM.
Route Basics
Length: 43.8 km (27.2 miles)
Elevation: 1494m (4,902′)
+0.9km (0.6 miles) lead-in with 3m (10′) elevation
Map: Watopia
ZIMetrics
Rating: 38.7/100 🛈
Time Estimates 🛈
4 W/kg: 96 minutes
3 W/kg: 113 minutes
2 W/kg: 154 minutes
Start & Finish
Begins in downtown Watopia, ends at the Radio Tower KOM banner.
Format: Point-to-Point
Ride Achievement Badge: 900 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 downtown Watopia with the longest stretch of flat road on this route. Spin those legs for 4-5km, then it’s time to begin our first climb of the day: the Epic KOM Reverse. This climb comes in three semi-equal parts with short breaks in between.
Once you make it over the top you’ll descend just a bit of the Epic KOM before turning right to continue with a fast descent down The Grade. Don’t get too comfortable, though: the roundabout at the bottom of The Grade turns you around and takes you right back up this FTP-testing climb!
Push hard up The Grade and you may just get a confetti celebration at the top as the game detects an increased FTP. Read more about how The Grade works as an FTP test >
After finishing The Grade you’ll turn left to ride the top of the Epic KOM then descend the Epic KOM Reverse. Turn right at the wind turbines, head into the Ocean Boulevard tunnel, and hang another right at Sequoia Circle to head up the Epic KOM for our final climb of the day.
This is sort of an extra-long version of the Epic KOM, though, because after you ride through its finish banner you’ll turn left onto the Radio Tower KOM. This steep, brutal climb is the final effort on this course. The finish line is at the top. Go go go!
Oof! That’s a tough route!
When do you go to the Tower?
Oh, it finishes on the top of the Tower? Is there a new finish line up there?
Yes, Zwift added the Radio Tower KOM as an official segment when they did The Grade expansion a couple months back. See segment details at https://zwiftinsider.com/segment/radio-tower-kom/
So you didn’t bother to actually read the article?
Oh goodie… another route with the Grade in it.. 😉
I’d be quite surprised if I get a new FTP detected half way through this route 😉
Does this route offer bonus XPs at the end?
We don’t know yet, until it’s actually in-game and we can test it. But I bet it will give an XP bonus and achievement badge, since other new routes have done the same lately.
@Eric Schlange A suggestion: Perhaps you could start adding a foot note in the hill-top-finish route articles – ‘A wise Zwifter never ends the ride at the top of the hill’. You know what I mean! 😄
oh yes, all those free XP on the descents 🙂
I’m so looking forward to completely bonk on this one.
Wow, that’s tough monster. It will eat some folks during the event. Me included. But it’s still better just another flat route.
With the long history of people commenting on the tower climb, sometimes in a negative way, ending a route at the tower was well overdue. This celebrates a pretty nasty segment.
This route makes way more sense than the majority of routes in Watopia.
Part of me hopes that the non-elite Zwift World Series races are still using the w/kg categories, so we get to see the absurdity of 100kg+ C-graders winning on a course like this
What bike would you all choose for this route? Plenty of climbing and finish line at the end of a very steep bit, but also quite a bit of descending along the way.
Since the route is not yet updated on Zwifter Bikes, Muir and mountain Suggests: Scott Addict and wheel set EVE SES 7.8. That is for my weight and FTP so there could be some variables. Plug in your data and see what you come up with.
https://zwifterbikes.web.app/route/muir-and-the-mountain
Updated:
https://zwifterbikes.web.app/route/power-to-the-tower
I’m thinking that this course would be perfect for the 10,000,000 drop Specialized Turbo Creo.
When will this open up? Don’t see any events (even when set to “all days” and “upcoming” in ZwiftHacks) with it
It’s set to be used for race 5 of the Zwift World Series, in January 2025.
I’d be surprised if Zwift open it up before that
I see it is this week in the chasing red tour race.
I rode the route this weekend and did a time-accelerated video (shrinking 1 hour 44 down to 13 mins 30 seconds) if anyone wants to see the route in game without having to ride it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9QpBdBX7g
that looks frigging awesome and brutal at the same time
is this route getting added to ZwiftHub? Thanks!
Ouch. That was painful. Zwift must have underestimated the time taken by most cyclists @ 90 minutes or less, unless it was based on Tadej Pogacar performance.
Definitely preferred doing 1542 m of evaluation with this type of route compared with 1534 m of Ven Top.
Fyi 2hrs 36 mins at 20.4 km/h (151 w avg)
Zwift says “90 mins or less duration for most riders”.
They need to start putting in avg times for different abilities.
Congratulations Zwift Insider I just noticed you have done this for Ven Top.
Rode the route this morning in 2hrs 20min (2.3’ish??). Agree with other comments that the <90 minutes designation is optimistic for many riders. The course is nasty but a great challenge and long-overdue Radio Tower finish, similar to a grand tour stage. I received 900 XP at the finish route bonus
2 hours at 200 watts average power at 71.5kg. Your ZIMetric estimate was pretty perfect.
230 watts on the climbs. 150ish watts in between.
Good fun.
Excellent!
I had to go up the tower climb twice, but still ended getting the route badge
I love that Zwift’s estimate for this is <90 minutes haha.
Hup hup!
absolutely loved that route and will be doing it again very soon😀
Well that was ….. fun 😀Tough , but doable. Though it was a slog for me , got it done 😀The Downhills are great.