The third race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 4 happens Tuesday, April 21, and we’re back in France for our first-ever race on the Croissant route.
This is a fairly unremarkable route, particularly for a scratch race format that doesn’t encourage segment efforts. Will riders spice it up, or will everyone sit in the wheels and conserve?
Let’s dig into the course layout, powerups, bike decisions, and strategic options.
Looking at the Route
France’s Croissant is a quick, flattish loop covering all the new roads added to the map in April 2025. There’s a 3.2km lead-in, then each lap is 9.3km long, with 49m of elevation gain. A/B teams will be racing 4 laps (40.4km, 219m), while C/D will race 3 (31.1km, 170m).
Here’s a profile of 1 Croissant lap:
This is a rather unremarkable route, particularly for a scratch race. The bit most suited for attacks is the Dos d’Ane Sprint Reverse segment at the end of each lap (and at the end of the lead-in), since it’s the longest uphill on the circuit. While attacks will surely happen elsewhere, you can bet your sweaty bib straps they’ll happen on this segment, every lap.
The start of Dos d’Ane Sprint Reverse is easy to spot, as it’s the only place on the course where you ride beneath an overpass:
The Dos d’Ane Sprint Reverse segment is 750 meters long, but it’s far from a steady grade. I like to think of it in four parts:
- Flat lead-in (~100 meters)
- First climb (~250 meters)
- Slight descent (~100 meters)
- Second climb (~300 meters)
Timing will be crucial on the finish, as it’s easy to go too hard too soon and blow up on the rises of Dos d’Ane Sprint Reverse. You may want to recon this segment before your race, or even be a bit cheeky and use the first laps of the race to do your recon.
Powerups will play a huge role in the finish as well. Read on for those details.
Read more about the Croissant route >
PowerUp Notes
Three different powerups are on offer for this race, given with equally-weighted probability at each arch. There are three arches in each lap of the route: the Dos d’Âne Sprint at the start of each lap, followed by Sprint du Cratère ~2km later, then the Sprinteur Sprint just 1.4 after that.
We’ll also get a Draft Boost powerup in the start pens.
Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, where weight slows you more than it does on flats and descents. This is probably the least useful of the three powerups, since this is such a flat route. Use it on the second climb of the Dos d’Âne Sprint Reverse if you’ve got it.
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). This powerup lasts the longest and is most useful when sprinting in a pack at the finish, or if you want some recovery on the flats/descents while sitting in the wheels. Not a bad powerup for the finish, particularly if you trigger it on the downhill/flat middle section of Dos d’Âne Sprint Reverse and use it to sit in the pack and/or move up to a good position near the front.
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). This powerup is the best of the three to use in the final sprint, even if it’s slightly uphill. It’s also useful if you want to put in a mid-race attack on the flats, or perhaps bridge up to riders just ahead.
Bike Recommendations
Bike recommendations for this race are simple: use the most aero road bike and wheelset you’ve got. That means one of these for most racers:
A note for the super-Zwifters: this is a rare ZRL race where using your fully-upgraded Halo bike (the Tron or Project 74) is also a good option, as they are super aero!
(And while the S-Works Venge is technically just a smidge faster than the top 4 all-arounders in terms of pure aero performance, it’s a much worse climber, so it’s hard to recommend.)
For wheels, I’d put the DT Swiss 85/Disc on, since it is about 4 seconds faster across an hour compared to the next best.
Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision.
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, and check out Fastest Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level to determine the fastest setup available to you.
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. I’ll add them below as I find them!
J Dirom
Nathan Krake
Strategic Options
It’s been a while since we had a scratch race on such a flat route. While it may very well result in boring races, remember: the riders make the race. It’ll be interesting to see how teams work to maximize their results.
Remember: all that matters is your finishing position.
Here are some of the strategies we’ll be seeing next Tuesday:
- Planned Attacks: Strong climbers will put in hard attacks off the front, forcing other teams to chase while their teammates ride the wheels. A coordinated full-team breakaway, the holy grail of race victories, may even be an option.
- Sitting In: Many riders will take the approach of sitting mid-pack, surfing the wheels, and letting others close down any gaps to attacking riders. This is the lowest-effort approach, but it also carries the risk of being dropped if the elastic snaps ahead.
- Dos d’Ane Sprinting: This segment will be a hard effort every time, as it’s the only easy-recognizable location on the map where a slight uphill lends itself well to attacks.
- Going Long: Riders who don’t fancy their chance in a bunch uphill sprint will begin rolling off the front well before the final Dos d’Ane Sprint segment. Expect the last 5 minutes of the race to be an over-threshold effort, with an extra hard 60-second finish as icing on the cake!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
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