The first race of Zwift Racing League 2026/27 Round 2 happens on Tuesday, November 17, and it’s our first time racing the London Calling route in ZRL.
While the route may be unfamiliar due to its newness, the roads it covers are well-worn by Zwift racers over the years. This is one of the less technical TTT routes we’ve raced, which may be welcome news if you’re on a team of diesels or one lacking TTT experience.
With key TTT rule changes in effect and Zwift releasing a pile of new TT frames and disc wheels last month, there’s a lot to process as we prepare for this event. So let’s get into it!
Looking at the Route: London Calling
All categories will race 1 lap of the course, which totals 31.8km with 211m of climbing:
Instead of a complex course breakdown outlining each section, I think it’s simpler to highlight the key climbs and powerup locations:
- Aero Boost at lap arch (0.6km)
- Northumberland Kicker (3.6-4km): Our first proper uphill of the day, you’ll want to up the watts on this short climb to keep your speeds high. Recover on the slight descent that follows.
- Piccadilly Rise (10.9-11.8km): You’ll know this rise is coming when you ride below the overpass. This is a straight, draggy two-step climb on your way to the Classique Reverse section. Hold formation, but kick up the effort to keep your speed up.
- Draft Boost at The Mall Sprint arch (16.5km)
- Richmond Rises (25.8-28.2km): The longest climb of the day, this is really a two-part climb. The first 600 meters is steeper, then there’s a slight flat/downhill section before the final kilometer of slack, very draftable climbing.
- Up from the Underground (30.1-30.2km): Zwifters are familiar with these short, sharp kickers up from the tube. You’ll want to hit the ramp with speed and keep your power high up and over the top. This ensures you maintain momentum and get back up to cruising speed afterward.
Apart from what I’ve listed above, the course could generally be described as “rolling” with lots of small changes in gradient, but nothing major apart from what I’ve called out. That means you’ll want to ride with Trainer Difficulty at 50% or more, so you can be sure to feel small changes in gradient and respond automatically with boosted power, to keep your speed high even on slight rises.
Read more about the London Calling route >
Powerups
This race includes a draft boost and aero boost powerup, as shown above.
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.)
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).
Teams should discuss how best to use these powerups, as you’ll only receive one of each during the race. I see “offense” and “defense” approaches to powerups in this race:
- Offense: Leverage the powerups to maximize your speed on the front. That means triggering your draft boost ~45 seconds before your turn on the front, so your legs are as fresh as possible and you can pull a bit harder. It would also mean using your aero boost while you’re on the front. Note: I’d recommend warning your team over the radio that you’ll be taking a harder/faster pull, so they’re ready for the speed increase.
- Defense: Leverage the powerups to minimize your effort so you can stay in touch with your team without slowing them down. If you’re one of the weaker riders on your team, use the draft and aero boosts while you’re sitting in the wheels to grab a bit more recovery so you can stay in formation and help your team all the way to the finish.
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
Zwift released several new disc wheelsets back in October, and you may want to buy one for this race. I recommend the CADEX 4-Spoke/Disc, as it’s only 0.2s slower than the most aero disc wheelset in game (the new Reserve Infinity Disc) while climbing 11.5s faster. (It’s also 1.6s faster on flats than the good ol’ DT Swiss 85/Disc many riders own, and handily outclimbs that wheelset.)
Which frame is best for this route, given the terrain? Zwift also released 10 new or updated TT frames in October, and TT racers have been trying to upgrade their frames to stage 5 ever since! If you’re comparing TT frames that are all at the same stage, the new Factor Hanzō is the best choice, as it’s the most aero by 3.1 seconds. The new Canyon Speedmax CFR, which many riders have fully upgraded, is the next best choice.
The Upgrade Stage Question
Of course, many riders will be in a place where they must choose between their older, fully-upgraded TT bike and a newer, less-upgraded one. Happily, you don’t have to do much math to figure out which one to choose! Zwift’s TT bike upgrade scheme is such that the final upgrade step (to stage 5) is massive, making the bike ~26.5 seconds faster across an hour of flat riding. That’s huge, and completely eclipses the performance differences between the top TT frames. Read all about the performance improvements you receive from upgrades >
So despite Zwift releasing a pile of fast TT frames, we’ll see most racers rocking fully upgraded CADEX Tri and Canyon Speedmax CFR bikes this week. Because those are by far the fastest TT weapons most riders have in their garage.
Dive deeper into TT frame and wheel performance:
More Route Recons
Many recon rides are planned each week on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and familiarize yourself with the route! Find a list of upcoming ZRL recon rides 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. See those below…
John Rice
J Dirom
TTTips
Successful team time trialing on Zwift requires mastering a challenging mix of physical strength, proper pacing, precise positioning, and Zwift minutiae like picking the fastest rig, understanding drafting in a TTT context, and fully upgrading your frame. On top of that, this is only our second ZRL TTT with two key rule changes:
- 5-Person Teams: Time is still taken based on your fourth rider across the line, so you can only lose one rider! This means teams must be extra careful to stay together longer, and “mechanicals” can really mess up your race.
- Steering Enabled: Will riders use steering to come off the front? Cut corners? Position themselves in the pace line? Or let the game auto-steer because it gets too messy otherwise?
Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams with two strengths:
- Big pure-power riders who can keep their watts high on the front while staying in single-file formation to conserve in the draft behind – this will be the biggest key to top performance in London
- Good course awareness, with the rider on the front upping the power significantly on rises in order to maintain pack speed
On a course like this week’s, I recommend all team members set their Trainer Difficulty to the same value, and make sure that value is at least 50%, so you feel slight gradient changes and increase power to compensate. This will help you automatically punch on the uphills, keeping your overall speed high.
Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on each rider’s abilities. I highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains inexperienced TTT riders.
Lastly, if you want to go further down the TTT rabbit hole, I highly recommend Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.
Questions or Comments?
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