Here at Zwift Insider we like to publicize and even host experimental Zwift events, because we know that’s an important part of pushing the platform forward.
Zwift Play controllers launched last week, and with them a renewed interest in experiencing and developing in-game steering. So we’re hosting Zwift’s first-ever series of steering-required races beginning tomorrow.
That’s right: you won’t be able to enter these events unless you have a steering device paired!
The goal here is to find out what it’s like to race when everyone can steer. Until now, if you raced with a steering device you were virtually surrounded by riders without steering. We’re hoping these events attract a critical mass of steering riders who want to experience a new sort of racing on Zwift.
What will it be like when everyone can choose their road position? Will the peloton take the fast line by diving into the corners? Will we see more attacks up the edge of the road, and sprinters veering to shake wheelsuckers?
Schedule and Routes
This 4-week series rotates to a different “steering-friendly” race course each week:
- Week 1: Crit City Bell Lap (12 laps)
- Week 2: Glasgow Crit Circuit (8 laps)
- Week 3: Volcano Circuit (6 laps)
- Week 4: Seaside Sprint (4 laps)
Every week has 3 race events scheduled on different days/times for maximum availability. Here are the signup links for week 1’s events in Crit City:
- Wednesday, June 21: 12 pm PDT // 3 pm EDT // 8 pm BST // 5 am AEST (Thursday)
Sign up here > - Saturday, June 24: 11 am PDT //2 pm EDT //7 pm BST // 4 am AEST (Sunday)
Sign up here > - Sundays: 1 am PDT: // 4 am EDT // 9 am BST // 6 pm AEST
Sign up here >
Rules and Results
These are simple scratch races, and each race is a standalone event. Category enforcement will be used, with each category starting separately. (Depending on turnout, future events may feature all categories starting together in order to have a critical mass of racers.)
A smart trainer or power meter is required to enter (no virtual power racers).
Since we don’t need ZwiftPower for special post-race results processing, final results will be available on screen as soon as you cross the line.
Steering Required
Steering is required to enter the start pens for these race events, so when you log in to the game to join the event, make sure you have your steering device connected. When the join event prompt appears, you can only enter the event if you have a compatible steering device connected.
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
What will it be like?..a race before steering existed surely….blobs blobbing & breaks trying to break draft.
I am very pleased Zwift are seperating steering races from non-steering races – Long may it continue.
Did Zwift change the number of U Turns you can do in one Session?
No.
So … no Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, etc. permitted.
Not exactly. Sure, the Play controllers don’t ship to those countries. But lots of other steering devices do (Elite Sterzo, JetBlack steering block, smart bikes, etc.)
Was about to ask for a list — looks like a good start. Does ZI have a round-up somewhere or one in the works?
I managed to obtain it in Singapore using delivery forwarding services.
Great idea Eric … these races will be very interesting
What about the old steering block? Will it work as well?
Yup!
Jury’s out for Apple TV paired Play steering as the lag from button press to action means you’ve missed why you wanted to turn in the first place or you’ve oversteered and are in the grass at the side of the road!
When comparing the Elite Sterzo vs Jetblack’s Smart turn block, is one more reliable when paired with Zwift? There are limited choices in Canada but both are on Amazon. Thoughts or suggestions welcomed!
Are there steering controllers available in Canada that don’t require a front wheel?
Smart bikes or the Elite Rizer. None of which are cheap devices!
Any chance we can wear our own kits for these events?
Yeah, that was a misconfiguration of the event. Put in a request for Zwift to fix it after today’s race.
Is there a way to get a Wahoo Kikr bike to synch to allow steering? Mine won’t seem to do it.
Yep. KICKR bike allows for steering.
Fun race yesterday, much more dynamicin in the race! The roller coster section was were I noticed the biggest inprovment. Just find the Y- bottom for power up a bit missed placed and hard to activate. Should like to have that as a more fast action trigger on the side of the controller .
Will cutting corners actually give you an advantage on the road as in the past I don’t think it did. Also will you have to be directly behind a cyclist to be able to draft them ?
Yes, cutting the corner gives you a shorter line. You’ll get the strongest draft directly behind a rider, but will get some off the the side as well.
Got a steering race article coming out at 11am Pacific today which may interest you.
If you want maximum availability you should consider race times in CET instead of BST. BST is only a fraction of CET, so the suggested times will not be optimal for Europe, hence availability is not maximized.
Was in the C cat race Sat 11am PT – We looked liked a line of drunks trying to stay in line together – for a while we looked like a fine tuned TTT group.(only 7 racers). Lap 4 someone flew off so I went hard to catch him and I wanted to see if we could make a 2 person break — but he slowed for the group. So since I had burnt that match – I figured dig for a couple of laps and see if steering helps on a break. I stayed away for 8 laps to… Read more »
Oh one thing I noticed – if I stood up to punch over a little hill – I was catching the brake on the play – so I had to make sure where my hands were before standing to avoid this.
Hey Eric, this is only semi related, but thought I would post here first. I’m new to steering and one huge annoyance I have had, at least with the Sterzo I’m using, is that moving or initiating a steering change also selects the course change if you are in that area where the course change is allowed. Consequently I have inadvertently taken the wrong course several times while riding with pace partners. I imagine this is just a programing issue with Zwift, so not sure how to even log it as an annoying issue…