Today Zwift released further details of their upcoming “The Grade” Watopia expansion. See below for the latest info, including a live stream collaboration with Zwift Community Live up The Grade tomorrow!
New Route Details
This expansion will bring 8 new free-ride routes to Watopia:
- Oh Hill No, 7.8km with 306m elevation – the most direct pathway to The Grade
- Coastal Crown Loop, 15km with 185m
- Glyph Heights, 25km with 537m
- Mayan Mash, 34km with 755m
- Tide and Temples, 36km with 459m
- Peak Performance, 45km with 725m
- Snowman, 44km with 577m
- Elevation Evaluation, 44km with 1493m
Note: Based on ZRL’s Summer Showdown using a “new and exclusive route” in Watopia, our guess is that this expansion includes one or more event-only routes.
Release Date
Zwift says The Grade expansion will roll out to Zwifters between June 11-13. This follows Zwift’s typical bi-weekly update schedule and phased rollout methodology: the release (version 1.67) will occur on Tuesday, June 11, but won’t reach all Zwifters until the 13th.
Community First
Zwift is inviting the community to take the lead in organizing events on the new routes. Events can start on June 13, and there’s an event request form to fill out if you’re interested.
“The Grade” FTP Test
The most interesting development in this expansion is “The Grade” and its new FTP-detection algorithm. This climb is a KOM segment like others in the game, but Zwift will compute your FTP using your average power over the segment’s duration.
Related: All About FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and why it matters on Zwift
Why the change? Zwift explains, “Traditionally, FTP tests have daunting workouts and therefore dreaded by many cyclists. The Grade aims to provide an easier and more accessible way to calculate this number by building a test into the natural terrain of Watopia’s Southern Coast.”
How does it work? Zwift analyzed over 700,000 FTP tests conducted on the platform, matching the FTP test result to the riders’ critical power curve to “create a system capable of calculating FTP on any completion time over 8 minutes.”
Your average power on the segment is shown as you ride, to help you target a particular pace. The climb is also broken up into 10 segments (like Alpe du Zwift and the Climb Portal) to help you track progress.
When you cross the finish line (up near the intersection with the Epic KOM) you’ll be greeted with a signpost displaying your detected FTP. If your FTP increases you’ll get a pop of confetti, and the game will automatically update your saved FTP value for use in future workouts.
Route Restrictions
All of the new routes will be restricted to level 10+ Zwifters, just like the other southern coast routes.
That said, if you’re below level 10 you can still join the many community-led events that will be held on these routes!
More Info
More information on this expansion can be found at www.zwift.com/watopia-expansion
See It Live
Shane Miller (GPlama) along with Zwift Community Live and Zwift Insider have been granted early access to The Grade. Shane has just published a video of his experience taking it on, including five tips for success:
Zwift Community Live’s Nathan and Gabi Guerra will live stream their FTP test on The Grade tomorrow (Tuesday, June 4th) at 11am PST/2pm EDT/6pm UTC along with Eric Schlange from Zwift Insider.
Check out Zwift Community Live’s YouTube channel or Zwift Insider’s YouTube channel to watch the live streams tomorrow!
Direct link to ZCL’s scheduled live stream >
Direct link to Zwift Insider’s scheduled livestream >
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
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