Flat and Fast – Tips for WTRL TTT #80 – Watopia’s Waistband

About this Series

Since March I have become obsessed with the weekly Team Time Trial… so I asked Eric if I could share my obsession with you all, in weekly doses.

Each week on a Friday I will give you a profile of the upcoming route, guidance on bike choice and some target times if you want to aim for the Premiere League (top-10 in each coffee class get to be in a special race televised on YouTube). 

If you can’t ride, or even if you can ride, but want more action! Don’t forget to tune in to the live TV show on Zwift Community Live’s YouTube Channel at 6:15 (UK time). 

Review of TTT #79 Innsbruckring

Last week was a return to Austria for three laps of the city center. I called it Six times over the Inn since the route passes over the River Inn twice each lap! I don’t know how you all feel, but for our team the legbreaker (Kleiner Hugel) was definitely where each lap was made. 

The Hyenas did well under the leadership of our very own Matt Rowe as Guest Star DS for the night. We pulled a time of 41:25 which is 32 seconds faster than when we went out in June – good enough for 76th spot in Latte. In the process, we passed two teams, and were passed by one – well done Ballet Bunnies for coming past clean, tidy, and very fast!

Espresso and Mocha… I nailed it. Vienna, Frappe, Latte – how could I ever have doubted you! My team’s experience in Latte sums it up – we were significantly faster than last time around, and higher in the GC rankings… but lower in the Latte rankings simply because the Latte teams have gotten faster. Same with Frappe and Vienna. 

Thursday 29th October – Watopia’s Waistband

After a week away we are heading back to Watopia. This time we have one single lap of Watopia’s Waistband – and I believe it is the flattest 30km route in Watopia. (A little bit of trivia: this route was originally a community-created rebel route but was adopted as an event-only route by Zwift shortly after.)

The route itself is 25.5km – with the long desert lead in of 2.5km on top, making this 28km all-in. You start in the desert pens, head through Fuego Flats to Saddle Springs. Up the Col du Saddle Springs – the most arduous climb of the circuit (which tells you how flat this is) then down the other side and through the undersea tunnels. Turn left at the T-junction and carry on towards the fisherman’s village. From the upramp out of the tunnels to the land bridge to the volcano is probably the most challenging segment for the teams – it’s a mix of gravel, false flat, and downhill – nothing to break you… but the changing terrain will throw off momentum. Round the volcano across to downtown and back to the desert. Phew I’m out of breath….

Here’s the fantastic VeloViewer segment view along with a map. 

What to ride?

Bike recommendations on this route are straightforward. It’s flat and aero rules the day. For me it will be my trusty S-Works Venge and Super9 wheels.

The recent changes to the performance of the Canyon Aeroad don’t change much – it’s still fast on the flat, just not as lightweight for the hills… and we don’t have hills here! Here are my recommendations:

• Level 6 Zwift Aero frame and DT Swiss ARC 62 wheels
• Level 10 Canyon Aeroad 2021 and DT Swiss ARC 62s
• Level 13 Canyon Aeroad 2021 with Zipp 808s
• Level 33 S-Works Venge with Zipp 808s
• Level 35 S-Works Venge with Zipp 808/Super9
• Level 45 get those 858/Super 9 wheels and pair them with the S-Works Venge

You may ask why im not recommending the Speciailized Tarmac SL7 any more. While the SL7 is an excellent bike, and it’s available at a pretty low level, it is expensive, and most at Level 5 Zwifters don’t have enough Drops. On balance it’s better to invest in the wheels for the Zwift Aero frame than buy a new frame. 

I know I say it every week but I cannot stress highly enough that if you are racing you need to be working on Tron. It’ll take a while, but just set the Everest Challenge and forget about it for nine months… like having a baby. On this course, the only thing that beats Tron is the level 35 or 45 setup.

Route Recon Rides

Being so flat, there are quite a few rides on the Waistband route! As always, Zwifthacks has the up to date events listing – all you need to do is click here!.  

If you want to be adventurous though, you can go old skool and ride it like the original rebels had to. 

Here are the turns you’ll make to complete this route. Only turns labeled (manual turn) require you change from the default turn selection, so this route only requires 4 manual turns:

1. Start by selecting “Out and Back Again”
2. Select Left towards Volcano Circuit (manual turn)
3. Left towards Downtown (manual turn)
4. Left towards Downtown (manual turn)
5. Left onto Ocean Blvd (manual turn)

Race breakdown 

Here’s how the ride breaks down for me:

• Pens to Saddle Springs
• Col du Saddle Springs then through the tunnels
• From the tunnels to the land bridge
• Around the Volcano and home

Pens to Saddle Springs

Flat. Hot. Desert. 

You know this route well… straight across the desert practicing your formation and gathering speed the whole way. It’s almost exactly 10km from the pens to the base of the “climb”.

Col du Saddle Springs then through the tunnels

Some wag on Strava coined this term for a segment and I couldn’t resist using it. After 10km flat this is the first real rise – a perfect opportunity for your lighter, stronger climbers to jump ahead and create a split! Rein in those riders and keep everyone together. This little hill is just 2% for 900m – but as you can see from the VeloViewer profile it starts around 3% before flattening out. 

After the hill it’s a nice downhill, but if you’re serious you won’t be resting on the downhill, you’ll be accelerating! Then it’s into the tunnels and under the ocean. 

From the tunnels to the land bridge

This rather convoluted segment is tricky. It starts with the bump out of the ocean then heads into some gravel… from there it’s the false flat up the hill which tightens at the top. The downhill from there to the Italian Villas isn’t enough to supertuck, but it’s enough to pick up speed before hitting more gravel. They really need to fix these roads. 

As with Col du Saddle Springs, the challenge here isn’t that the riding itself is hard – it’s not. The challenge is the constantly changing terrain can throw off your formation. The descent into the Italian Villas in particular is enough to create a split with heavier riders breaking away faster than the poor lightweights can keep up!

Volcano, downtown, and home

This last segment is pretty straightforward. Nothing that’s going to tax the team. The final sprint marker is a good time to begin a final acceleration and bring it home with a flourish. 

Target times

I haven’t ridden a TTT on this route – I started just a few weeks afterwards. The last time was TTT #46 on 5th March and before that it was number 35 in December, where there were only 91 teams… oh how times have changed!

You really aren’t giving me a lot to go on here! Still… 

Last week we were almost back up to 600 teams. I think there will be over 600 this week and competition will be high. Here are my predictions for a PL spot this week.

Wrap up

This race doesn’t have a defining segment like last time in Innsbruck – I believe this is about pain and suffering in the last third – from the Volcano to the finish line. The longer you can keep the team intact the faster your overall time… while that’s always true in a TTT, there’s nothing in this route that should break you apart.