The penultimate race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 1 happens Tuesday, October 20, and we’re in New York for our first-ever ZRL race on the Green to Screen route.
This is a fast route, with a few draggy climbs that are sure to draw out attacks. Will you spice it up, or sit in the wheels and conserve? Read on for course tips, powerup details, bike recommendations, and strategic options.
Looking at the Route
All categories will be racing 1 lap of New York’s Green to Screen, which is 28.5km long with 207m of elevation. Here’s the route profile:
This is a scratch race, so the only thing that matters is your position across the finish line. Sprint and KOM segments don’t matter at all, except that you’ll get powerups at their arches. Let’s look at key sections of this route, with a view towards maximizing your finish line placement:
- The Start: Expect the first ~4km of your race to be quite easy, apart from the typical hard Zwift race start. The initial kilometers are flat or even downhill, and riders will be wisely saving their legs for hard efforts up the road.
- Powerup at The Peristyle Sprint arch @2.6km: Your first powerup on the day. Ideally you’ll get a feather here for help on The Hilly KOM just up the road, but a draft boost is also a solid option.
- Powerup at The Hill KOM arch @4.7km: This powerup comes at the end of your first climb, which is short (500 meters at 3.7%). You can attack this climb to soften your competitors’ legs, or sit in the draft and save yourself for something up the road.
- Climb up to the Manhattan Sprint @9.1km: This draggy climb is the next place where the pack will predictably attack. Will you be the nail, or the hammer?
- Powerup at Manhattan Sprint arch @10.2km: Legs will be burning and heart rates will be up as riders ride through this arch and descend the other side. Some may keep pushing to stretch or snap the elastic, while others will want to sit in and recover.
- Powerup at Times Square arch @18km: You’ll ride up and around the glass roads of the Times Square Circuit before traveling through this arch as you head back the way you came. The Times Square Circuit offers a few slack climb sections where riders can push the pace, so pay attention!
- Climb up to Brooklyn Bridge KOM starts at 21.5km: The biggest climb of the day, this section is ~1.4km of ~3.5% to the KOM arch. Cagey sprinters will be surf the wheels, while climbers and puncheurs will try to drop everyone else.
- Powerup at Brooklyn Bridge KOM arch @22.9: The last powerup of the day!
- Slight rise up to circle @ 26.9km to 27.3, around 2%: This final short climb is the last chance for riders with a w/kg advantage to put it to use before the flat finish.
- The Finish: The final ~1.2km of the race is very flat, so you’ll want a draft or aero boost powerup to help you achieve maximum speed in the fast finishing sprint.
One final note about escalators: almost 1/3 of this route’s stated elevation comes from the 4 escalators taking riders up and out of subway stations, which means this route is actually even less climby than you might think. But here’s the big secret: attacking on the escalators doesn’t really work. Because Zwift gives everyone an artificial speed boost on these upramps, you pouring on the power only adds a bit of speed. It’s probably smarter to save your big efforts for other parts of the course.
Read more about the Green to Screen route >
PowerUp Notes
The lap arch which we ride through at the start and finish of the race will award a 250 XP bonus to any rider who isn’t holding a powerup through the arch.
Additionally, three different powerups will be given with equally-weighted probability at each arch. That means a total of 5 powerup possibilities, as detailed above:
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. Very useful on The Hill KOM and the Brooklyn Bridge KOM.
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.
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 in the final sprint. 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
You’ll see riders on a variety of virtual steeds for this race, given its flat profile and shortness. The fastest bikes here range from the top “aero all arounders” (Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 or SL8, Cannondale Supersix EVO Lab 71 Team Edition) to purely aero bikes like the Cervelo S5 or Canyon Aeroad CFR, which are also a perfectly acceptable option since all the climbs on this route are short and draftable (that is, not steep) and speeds will be high throughout.
Halo bikes, particularly the Concept Z1 (Tron) and Specialized Project74, will also make an appearance due to their strong aero capabilities.
For wheels, it’s hard not to recommend the latest disc wheels, since they put a solid 7-8 seconds into the best non-disc wheels across an hour of riding at higher speeds. Top three recommendations:
- Cadex 4-Spoke/Disc
- Shimano C99/Disc
- SwissSide HADRON Ultimate 650 (if you don’t want to race with a disc wheel)
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
John Rice
TacticalWatts
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: only your finishing position matters.
Here are some of the strategies we’ll be seeing on Tuesday:
- Planned Attacks: Strong climbers will put in hard attacks off the front on the rises, 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 launched from the Brooklyn Bridge KOM.
- 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.
- Going Long: Riders who don’t fancy their chance in the flat final sprint will attack the Brooklyn Bridge KOM hard to force a selection heading into the final 7km. Be ready to follow, and mind your position so you don’t have to burn your final powerup early.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
