The sixth and final race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 2 happens Tuesday, December 9, and we’re back in NYC for a scratch race on the Empire Elevation course. This new route has some sneaky climbs, escalator intrigue, and a very spicy finish.
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerups, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s dive in!
Looking at the Route
Empire Elevation is a 26km long point-to-point route with 266m of elevation gain from start to finish. This is a new, event-only route created just for ZRL, which means many riders haven’t yet completed it, although most will be familiar with the New York roads it covers. All categories will be racing the whole route:
Clearly, the finishing climb up the NY KOM is the big feature of this route. But there are a few slight warmup climbs before we get there:
- Climb up from Peristyle Sprint @ 3.8km (900 meters at 2.4%): the first climb on the day, even if it’s a small one.
- The Hill KOM @ 5.9km (500 meters at 3.7%): another short one, but a bit steeper than the first.
- Manhattan Bridge @ 10.8km (1km at 2.6%): a draggy but draftable climb up to the mid-bridge Sprint banner.
Let’s Talk Escalators
Riders will take three downramps into subways during the course of the race… and also three escalators up and out of the subways. The downramps will certainly speed things up, but it’s the escalators that may make things truly interesting, if lighter riders choose to take advantage of what they offer.
You may recall, in preparing week 4’s race guide, I did some bot testing on the new NYC escalators. I ran bots of various weights up one of the longer escalators on the route (the final escalator you’ll hit, in fact). Each bot’s power was set so they would all have approximately the same escalator entry speed (~46 kph), and that power remained steady as they went up and over the top of the escalator. Here’s how much each bot slowed between entering and exiting the escalator:
- 50kg bot @261W: slowed 3.2 kph
- 75kg bot @339W: slowed 11 kph
- 100kg bot @390W: slowed 16.1 kph
It appears as if Zwift is adding a flat power boost to all riders on the escalators. (In the comments section of the week 4 post, astute ZI readers Carl and Tom used some climbing speed calculators to estimate it at 1200-1400W.) If instead Zwift had given the same w/kg boost for all riders, the speed gap would be minimal. But 1200W is a huge number for a lightweight rider (20 W/kg for a 60kg rider) while being comparatively tame for a larger rider (12 W/kg for a 100kg rider), which is why the bot tests show what they show.
Zwift has acknowledged this is a problem, and they’ll roll out a fix soon. But it won’t be out before Tuesday’s race, as far as I know.
If I were a light rider, I might take advantage of this and attack on the escalators to soften the legs of heavier rivals. I could also just soft pedal up the escalator to conserve my energy! Think about it: assuming Zwift is indeed adding 1200W, a 60kg rider could coast up the escalator while a 100kg rider puts in a solid 8 W/kg dig, and both would have the same effective W/kg:
- 60kg at 1200W=20 W/kg
- 100kg at 800W+1200W=20 W/kg
Watch for escalators at 10km, 15.8km, and 21.7km.
NY KOM Finish @ 24km
The official KOM segment (shown above) is 1.4km, averaging 6.3%. But the actual climb is 1.8km long, averaging 6.2%. This will be a legit VO2 max effort: expect the full climb to take just under 4 minutes for top riders, almost 5 minutes for B category, and 5-6 minutes for C category and below.
This is a fairly steep climb, so drafting will offer a minimal advantage, except on the three short flat bits. And the final 200 meters are the steepest part, so it’ll be a fiery finish for Round 2!
Read more about the Empire Elevation route >
PowerUp Notes
Powerups will be awarded at each segment arch, including Power Segment arches in the subways, which means we’ll have 10 powerup opportunities on this route. You have an equal chance of getting a feather, van, or helmet powerup at each arch.
Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Save one for the final climb, since it’s the most important section. You may also want to use them on the escalators if you’re a heavier rider.
Draft Boost (van): increases the draft effect you are experiencing for 40 seconds.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents) when you are already drafting off another rider (since this powerup only helps when you are drafting.)
Aero Boost (helmet): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents), especially when no draft is available (although it is still useful when drafting.)
Bike Recommendations
This race’s steep finishing climb definitely makes me steer away from pure aero setups and look at climbing bikes and all-arounders instead. While a more aero setup would have a time advantage on a solo effort of the whole course, what you’re really looking for is maximum advantage on the finishing climb.
My recommendation, then, is to use the new ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels paired with one of these bikes:
- S-Works Tarmac SL8
- Cannondale SuperSix EVO LAB71
- Pinarello Dogma F 2024
- Canyon Aeroad 2024
- Specialized Aethos
Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision. A fully upgraded Aethos will outclimb the other four frames, but that’s not the case when comparing un-upgraded versions.
Related: All About Zwift’s New “Bike Upgrades” Functionality >
See Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers for more nerd-level detail on frame and wheel performance.
More Route Recons
Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. This is a new route on fresh roads, so many riders will find recons particularly helpful this week. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
Additionally, riders in the Zwift community do a great job every week creating recon videos that preview the courses and offer tips to help you perform your best on the day. Here are the recons I’ve found (comment if you find another!)
John Rice
J Dirom
Strategic Options
How will the race unfold, and what strategies will riders employ to bring home a team win on Empire Elevation? Here’s what I predict:
- Escalator pandemonium: Expect some lighter riders to attack on the escalators, as explained above. This becomes more likely as the race progresses.
- Escalator and chill: Expect some lighter riders to simply coast on the escalators, as explained above.
- Going long: Teams with pure-power riders who don’t fancy their chances in a W/kg slugfest may attack on the flats to get up the road and boost their chance at a high finishing position.
- Save it for the climb: Most riders will do this. Simple conserve, conserve, conserve for the first 24km, then “give it the beans” for the final 4-6 minutes and hope for the best.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
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