Zwift Racing League Week 2 Guide: 2019 UCI Worlds Harrogate Circuit (Points Race)

The second race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 3 happens Tuesday, January 13, and we’re in Yorkshire for a punchy points race.

Don’t understand how ZRL points races work? Read our explainer >

There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!

Looking at the Route

Yorkshire’s 2019 Worlds Harrogate Circuit is 13.9km long with 245m of elevation gained per lap. A and B teams will be racing three laps of the course for a total of 41.6km with 737m of elevation, while C and D teams will race two laps for 27.8 km with 492m of elevation. Here’s the lap profile:

As you can see, this route is never flat. Racing well on this course requires constant heads-up riding, and the ability to put in hard 1-3 minute efforts to maintain position on climbs.

Out of the start pen you’ll get a feather powerup at the lap arch, then the road turns a hard right, and the first climb begins. The Otley Road climb is 1.8km long and averages just 3.1%. Even though this isn’t a points segment, efforts will lift, and you can expect some riders to get dropped.

Tip: With a rather low average gradient, speeds will be high enough for drafting to play a significant role, so hold onto those wheels!

A few lumps and bumps bring us to the steepest descent on the route, down Pot Bank. Play this one right with momentum and/or powerups and you may be able to bridge up to riders ahead. Play it wrong, and you’ll get dropped!

Then we climb up a bit from Pot Bank, descend to the river, and begin the Yorkshire KOM, our first points segment. At 1.2km and 5.5% average, this is the second key selection point for the race, and the place where the biggest efforts will happen each lap:

You’ll get an aero powerup at the KOM arch, perfect for use on the upcoming sprint or perhaps the finishing sprint on the final lap.

Descend from there and turn a hard left onto Cornwall Road, AKA Millionaire’s Row. A short climb will sap the legs, then you’ll turn a hard right and hit the Yorkshire Sprint start line, the second points segment on each lap. The finish line isn’t even visible until the final ~10 seconds, so this is a tricky sprint for sure!

Grab a feather powerup at the sprint arch, then enjoy the short descent before proceeding over a couple of lumps and a quick climb back to the lap start/finish banner.

That’s one lap done. But you’ve got one or two more to go!

Read all about the 2019 UCI Worlds Harrogate Circuit route >

Powerups

For this race, specific powerups will be given at each arch:

• Feather at Lap banner
• Aero at KOM banner
• Feather at Sprint banner

Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds.
Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. These will be most helpful on the steepest parts of the Yorkshire KOM.

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.) Useful if you’re contesting the sprint for points, or going all in for the finish.

Bike Recommendations

This race’s sawtooth profile definitely make us steer away from pure aero setups and look at climbing bikes and all-arounders instead. Because while a more aero setup has a pure time advantage on laps of the full course, that time advantage evaporates if you get dropped on the first climb!

Our 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. 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!)

J Dirom

John Rice

Strategic Options

Points Distributions, 2019 UCI Worlds Harrogate Circuit

3 Laps

2 Laps

These charts show the maximum points a team of 6 could earn in a race with 60 participants. To learn how ZRL points races work, see this post.

Because the Harrogate Circuit is laid out the way it is, all the points are “hidden” behind challenging short climbs. If you get dropped before the top of the first Yorkshire KOM, you’re out of the running for significant KOM and Sprint points, as well as finishing points.

That said, this is the type of course where lots of riders will get dropped. If that includes you, remember: in ZRL, every point counts. The points you earn by continuing to push from the chase group may just be enough to put your team over the top.

What sort of strategic decisions will we see in this race?

I predict riders will fall into three groups:

• Racing snakes: Riders with high ~3-minute power to weight would be well-served to attack the early climbs to thin the pack and drop sprinters. Once the big selection is made, the front pack will just need to keep the pace high enough to stay away and mop up all the big points. (It worked for MvdP in 2019… until he blew up!)
• Puncheurs: If your VO2 power lets you hold your own on climbs, but you’ve also got some pure watts in your sprint legs, you may just be in the sweet spot to grab a lot of points in the race. (Alternatively, if the climbers rip your legs off on the KOMs, but you still survive in the front group, you can at least repay the favor by taking the sprint points.)
• I’m a survivor: Not sure how you’ll fare on one KOM, let alone two or three, plus that blasted Otley Road climb? You’re not alone. At least ZRL’s FAL points structure gives everyone something to fight for. Remember: every point matters, and sometimes you can chase back on the descents!

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!