This week Zwift is rolling out a much-anticipated addition to Watopia, the game’s largest and most popular map. Adding 19 kilometers of fresh pavement to Watopia’s southern coast, the expansion includes eight new routes, four sprints, new wildlife, and lots of future possibilities!
Here’s everything you need to know about Watopia’s new southern coast road…
Table of Contents
New Routes
This expansion includes eight new routes. Four are over 40km long! (Note: the distance figures below include lead-ins from the free-ride spawn point, but some routes will be longer when used in events.)
Accelerate to Elevate
41.3km distance
1152m elevation
A point-to-point route from Fuego Flats to the new coastal road, finishing up Alpe du Zwift!
The Big Ring
48.9km distance
268m elevation
This large, flattish loop starts on the desert side and covers a clockwise perimeter of Watopia, sans Alpe du Zwift.
Canopies and Coastlines
27.5km distance
246m elevation
A point-to-point route that starts in Titans Grove and ends at the last sprint arch of the new coastal road.
Coast Crusher
42.4km distance
208m elevation
An out-and-back route starting in the Jungle, turning around at the desert LAX roundabout, and ending at the last sprint on the coastal road. Eight sprints!
Going Coastal
16.5km distance
63m elevation
A point-to-point route from Fuego Flats to the new coastal road, ending at Sasquatch Sprint.
Shorelines and Summits
50.1km distance
793m elevation
A large CCW loop beginning in the Jungle, hitting the new coastal road, then going up and over the Epic KOM (including Radio Tower).
Sugar Cookie
39km distance
258m elevation
A large CCW loop beginning in the Jungle, hitting the new coastal road, then taking the Epic KOM bypass back toward the Jungle.
Temple Trek
10.4km distance
42m elevation
A short one starting in the Jungle and riding down the coastal road through Sandy Coast to the Acropolis Sprint.
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New Route Badges
Each new route also has a route badge, so you’ll earn a chunk of XP and the achievement badge the first time you complete the route! (Zwift tweaked the way they compute route XP in this release, and we’re not sure what the new algorithm is. But it’s close to the previous 20XP/km, so you’re effectively earning double XP the first time you ride each route.)
- Accelerate to Elevate: 825XP
- The Big Ring: 977XP
- Canopies and Coastlines: 444XP
- Coast Crusher: 684XP
- Going Coastal: 308XP
- Shorelines and Summits: 924XP
- Sugar Cookie: 660XP
- Temple Trek: 128XP
Sightseeing Tour
The new road has four distinct areas. Here’s a quick photo tour of each one, progressing from the Fuego Flats side toward the Mayan Jungle side (east to west).
Googie Springs
Turn at the LAX roundabout in Fuego Flats and head through the narrow corridor and you arrive at the hamlet of Googie Springs. Named for the architecture style you’ll find just up the road in Saddle Springs, this fishing village includes the world-famous Mr Crankie’s Crab Shack.
Evergreen Coast
Up the road from Googie Springs, the trees close in around you as you enter the large Evergreen Coast section. Here you’ll see lots of Sasquatch (Bigfoot) references, an old shipwreck, Misty Pines campground, and your first two sprint segments (Woodland Sprint and Sasquatch Sprint).
Ciudad La Cumbre
Ride through the “tunnel with a view” and you’ll find yourself in Ciudad La Cumbre (“Summit City”), named as such since it’s located at the base of the Epic KOM.
This Spanish-themed town includes many colorful buildings, a beautifully-tiled oceanfront walk, and even an “umbrella sky” art installation.
Sandy Coast
Another tunnel takes you out of Cuidad La Cumbre and you’re heading into the fourth and final section, the settlement of Sandy Coast.
This area features distinctive colorful Mayan architecture and has two more sprint segments: Acropolis Sprint and Stoneway Sprint.
Keep going and you’ll find yourself on the Jungle Circuit.
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Four Sprints… Or Eight?
It may be hard to believe, but before this expansion, Watopia only had three proper sprint sections:
This coast expansion adds four sprint arches to the map, each with a sprint segment in both directions. This means eight new sprint segments have been added to Watopia!
- Woodland Sprint
- Woodland Sprint Reverse
- Sasquatch Sprint
- Sasquatch Sprint Reverse
- Acropolis Sprint
- Acropolis Sprint Reverse
- Stoneway Sprint
- Stoneway Sprint Reverse
In-game leaderboards show the same sprint name regardless of direction, but that’s confusing when referencing a sprint segment for points races like Zwift Racing League. Therefore we’ve added “reverse” to the sprints’ names in one direction. We’ve set the “forward” direction as coming from the Jungle (so traveling east) and the “reverse” direction as coming from the desert (traveling west).
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Believe the Legend
In the Evergreen Coast section you’ll see various references to Sasquatch, including warning signs:
Does Sasquatch exist? Well, we knew his cool cousin the Yeti was in Zwift, so we assumed Sasquatch was as well. Then we found him:
More Videos
Accessing the New Road
All Zwifters can ride these new routes as soon as they update to Zwift version 1.51+. Choose any of the new routes from the Watopia route list, or freely navigate your way there by making the proper turn near the Jungle Circuit lap arch or the LAX roundabout in Fuego Flats.
Beginning October 30, some of the new routes will be featured in the fifth stage of the Tour of Watopia. Once the Tour of Watopia ends, Zwifters must be at level 10+ to ride the new road/routes.
More to Come?
Zwift’s press release about the new roads includes this tantalizing bit: “In the future, Watopia’s construction planners expect to use the new causeway as a backbone for additional new roads, giving Zwifters access to other remote parts of Watopia that are not currently developed for cycling.”
We aren’t sure what Zwift’s planners have in store, but a connector climb from the coast to midway up the Epic KOM would make a brilliant (and scenic) addition!
Your Thoughts
Got questions or comments about Zwift’s newest road? Share below!
Rode it earlier today. I thought it looks nice, but it dragged on to the point where it felt more like a chore to ride than anything that might hold my interest. Not helped by the fact that you can’t just start on the new bits. I’m hoping I’ll warm to it, though….
Will the Watopia map poster at the shop be updated to include the new roads?
Yep.
also make sure to update your companion app. it had me in the middle of the ocean on this road until i updated it
I still don’t have the update on the PC. is there a way to force update it?
Same for me, I tried to uninstall Zwift and then reinstall it, but I’m still on the same version.
There is not.
half way along there is roads that look like they may be used for that connector blocked off by cones – climbing straight out of the coast. they could do a really cool climb from there.
Agreed!
I noticed a big road going straight up the mountain when riding this morning, from Ciudad La Cumbre. Now I’ve read this article and seen that means “Summit City”, that’s my bet for where the road will connect.
Riding Accelerate to Elevate and get photos of both Sasquatch and Yeti should be an automatic level up. 😂
Yes! That should be a 10x level up!
I am not a Zwift basher. I think I get a good value at less than $1/ride. But this “rolling release” approach to software updates, particularly for desirable upgrades like this new coastal experience, means that by definition, half of all users must wait to receive new goodies until after the other half gets. Perhaps a simultaneous rollout to all users on all platforms overwhelms Zwift’s limited technical support staff, or is too risky. I don’t know. But this isn’t a good way to manage your customers. (For perspective, I personally started looking for 1.51 on the morning of the 25th, and I was able to upgrade this evening, the 26th. Some won’t be able to get it until tomorrow.)
Agreed. I’ve shared this sentiment with key players at ZHQ today, in fact. They’ve heard the community’s frustration with this rollout! Hopefully these sorts of release will be done differently in the future.
Thanks for passing that along. I was hoping to ride the new routes both on the 25th and 26th and still do not have the update (PC). It’s really not an enjoyable user experience.
Being in the internet app business for many years, I can say: there are quick rollouts and there are smooth rollouts, but there are no quick, smooth rollouts.
The best way to do a rollout, so that it doesn’t potentially disrupt the entire world, is to roll it out: 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% 100%
France, friday 27th, Level 30, we don’t have it yet ! May be one day… several days after others as always…
Same for me…Spain
France and I got the update today at 11:00AM local time. I rode a section of the new road.
The new towns feel eerily empty? Totally different vibe to the Makuri roads which are very much alive
I’m level 60 and my kids are both above 19 so it doesn’t necessarily impact us but level locking this makes little sense. Paying customers should be able to ride anywhere. And if level locking it means they won’t use robo pacers on those new longer routes, then it impacts everyone in a negative way.
I for one like the idea of being able to unlock routes. Gives you an additional carrot to chase.
That said, this southern coast route pales in comparison to the Alpe, which you can already unlock at level 6. It makes no sense that to unlock this little road you need to get 3x the XP needed to unlock Alpe.
My guess is that there will be additional climbs starting from this route which would make this area more desirable in the future.
I agree that shutting off part of the map is unfair. We all pay the same subscription, we should all have same access to the routes. If my tv subscription launched a new channel then told me I could only access it for 10 days I would be pretty mad. I agree that drops, bikes etc are motivators. I have been with Zwift a month, am level 9 and only 1000XPs away from level 10 which is no more than 2 rides away so this isn’t a personal gripe. I emailed Zwift, received three replies which were all just vague, non specific but polite excuses. With little climbing, the new routes tend to favour the less experienced or older rider (me!!). I am sure the restriction will get lifted in some future update.
I hope they start runnin the bots on these roads! Especially coco. Add a second coco ffs!
Nobody at Zwift figured out that it would be (a little) more fun to take the left / reverse route in the Jungle, when you descent to the arch for the second time? Or is it just me?
Rode most of it this morning and lots of visuals to take in, kept changing the camera. There are also some cones leading to a road behind the small village in Evergreen Coast. It reminded me of the small towns at the base of many European climbs. Maybe a route up the back of KOM?
I wish there was a turnaround by the jungle entrance when going clockwise. I would love to be able to basically double the “Tempus Fugit” route length by using this road without having to do a U-turn to head back towards the desert.
Agreed! That may just be the first Rebel Route I make…
Rebel route with a u turn, I think that’s a first.
Came here to say exactly this! Would love the built in turn around at the Jungle end.
I honestly assumed the big dots indicating the start/end of routes was a new roundabout/turnaround circle.
That was the first “route” I did on the new roadway. (I’m level 35, don’t care at all about XP or badges at this point)
Could we get the more speedy version of these videos … like the ones they share for races.
Yet another flat route, when was the last time zwift opened a decent climb? Highlands of scotland had one 5 minute effort. a new good 10-15-20 minute efforts are needed more than more flat road.
They opened the entire climb portal just recently with a dozen or so climbs.
The new climb portal was not visualized. These ugly colors don’t count for me. It also definitely needs a few more reasonable climbs.
I rode it today and it’s a shame they didn’t include a roundabout or two. That would make it easy to arrange a few more short routes, or maybe shorter races.
I did found the Sasquatch during my last ride
If you look out to sea at the horizon, there seems to be a land mass to the south. Would be great if they would develop that as North Africa, or Greece, or some other such land. Would need an express tunnel or similar to get there, as there would be no point just having it as a separate world.
Will these new badges be added to ZwiftHub?
Thanks Eric for all you do with this, such a great resource.
I rode Temple Trek this morning. At some point along the course the top middle stat panel stopped showing the remaining distance, etc. as if I was off course, however, I was following all the colored directional signs. The stated route details for this course is 6.4 miles, however, I road to 10.2 miles before the route completion banner appeared. I’ve learned to rely on total distance for a route with a grain of salt.
How is it that Zwift doesn’t always get the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing when posting the route details? This is not an isolated case.
I like it! Watopia was starting to feel very cramped and claustrophobic, this pavement opens up some big new routes and makes the world feel a lot bigger.
In regard connector climbs. If Cuidad la Cumbre is an anticipated southern gateway to the Col d’Zwift, then howabout a bonkers gradient route directly up to the Radio Station (bypassing the Epics) akin to Angliru, with a Colombian twist and turn or two?!
My wife and I both rode Canopies and Coastines today. I was unfocused because Amazon music stopped working just as I wanted to drop the hammer. I like the idea of multiple sprints in a row.
However, my wife went through a few hours later and it was recognising my sprints as her previous attempts. We were both using separate accounts. Anyone else seen this bug?
Never heard of that. My guess is there’s no bug, but you somehow were signed into the wrong account.
Thanks. I should have mentioned both rides synced correctly to Strava without issue and saved correctly under our individual names, so does not appear to be an incorrect account.
When I rode this morning my wife’s sprint attempts showed on my coastal sprints, but none of her previous attempts showed on the Tempus Fugit area. Appears to be limited to the new roads, but I may have to experiment further.
My screen locked after about 1 1/2 laps on “Going Coastal” That’s the first and last time I ever ride a “Beta” route on this platform. Whoever signed off on releasing this needs to be fired.
probably nothing to do with the route
Eric,
The Route Badge XP for the new routes don’t seem to give credit for lead-in distance. I looked at older routes and the badge XP calculation included lead-in. Is this a new feature? TIA David
Perhaps a turn around in the jungle could use the Mayan bridge to create a continuous out and back on the Southern Coast with the LAX turnaround in the desert? A new rebel route?
Absolutely. It’s on the list!
When will https://zwifthub.com/ be updated with the new route badges?
Probably this week.
💗Thanks Eric!
Trying to do the Shorelines and Summits route – I kept getting turned off the route.
The first attempt kept routing me around the Jungle Loop. I restarted the route and paid attention to pick the correct turn out of there, but then it sent me down the wrong turn when I hit the desert.
I guess I’ll need to print out a route sheet to make sure I pick the correct turns.
That’s odd. You shouldn’t have to do any manual navigation at all when doing any of Zwift’s preplanned routes.
I had the same experience again on two routes – Sugar Cookie and Shoelines and Summits. I’m wondering if it has anything to do with using Sauce. I turned on its map, and I noticed that it didn’t show these roads. I tried a short route without Sauce (Going Coastal – only one turn), and it got that turn correct.
Turns out that the error was user error. I had dug my Sterzo back out and didn’t realize I was steering myself off the course by cutting the curves. I think when Sterzo first came out, it wouldn’t actually select the different turns, but it does now – and probably has for some time. Badge hunting brings this into play in a way that other rides like the Tour of Watopia don’t.
Will these routes be added to ZwiftHub?
Yep. Working on it!
The coast crusher route seems to have a bug. Today, reached 39.5 km then I saw it suddenly jumped off route, to hilly loop. I didnt touch anything. This is the second time this happens, so after twice targeting the route no badge. Really annoying, with this happening 2 km before the end.
The thumbnail for Sugar Cookie is incorrect down the Jungle part. The animation on https://zwiftinsider.com/route/sugar-cookie/ shows it correct path down the outer part.
Yeah, that’s what I get for using graphics supplied by Zwift! 😂