Zwift Racing League (ZRL) has taken racing to the next level on Zwift. It’s well-organized bike racing on an unprecedented scale, a multi-week team points competition held across timezones catering to thousands of teams. And that’s why serious Zwift racers show up week after week: because everyone knows ZRL is where Zwift racing is at its highest level.
With six successful rounds completed over the course of the past two seasons, ZRL organizers WTRL continue to evolve their systems and tighten rulesets to provide a fair, engaging, and competitive platform for Zwift racing.
The next ZRL round begins September 13th, and it’s officially named 2022/23 Season – Round 1. We’ll use this page to display all the key info in one place, and since some race details are still being decided, updates will be made to this post as more info becomes available.
Ruleset Updates
See the latest version of ZRL rules on WTRL’s website
If you’re new to ZRL, you’ll definitely want to get familiar with the ruleset and scoring structures, as these will inform strategic decisions made as a team.
Timeslots and Divisions
This round’s divisions are the same as last round. But it’s worth noting that Oceania and APAC are fixed to cities/timezones that will change their clocks during the Round 1. If you aren’t in Australia or New Zealand, these two leagues will appear to have a time shift 1 hour backward when these 2 cities “spring into” their winter.
Teams and Registration
New teams can register now at wtrl.racing/zrl-registration. Team registration closes midnight UTC on Friday, Sept 9. All teams must have at least 4 riders confirmed by Sunday, Sept 11 at noon UTC. You can have up to 12 riders nominated for your team. Again, see the ruleset for details.
Want to race, but don’t have a team? You can find a list of teams recruiting riders by visiting wtrl.racing/zwift-racing-league/#teams (“All Teams” in the ZRL menu). WTRL says an inquiry form will be available soon on that page, so you can click and ask to join a team that is recruiting.
Until then, you can track down the team’s contact info and message them, or simply post your info on the Facebook group to have teams contact you. Use tags so your post can easily be found by others using “popular topics”:
- If you are looking for a team, tag your post with the topic #zrlteamhunt
- If you are recruiting, tag your post with #zrlrecruiting
Tips for First-Timers
If this is your first time racing on Zwift, here are a few tips and links to get you started fast:
- You have to be signed up for ZwiftPower in order to participate. Instructions
- You must create a WTRL account as well – do so at wtrl.racing/registration
- The category you’ll race is determined by your FTP in watts per kilogram. Talk to your team manager if you have any questions on where you should race, or read this post from Zwift.
- Riders must use a power sensor to transmit power to the game – this would be a smart trainer, smartbike, or power meter. (You’re allowed to race B, C, and D categories with a “classic” trainer and virtual power, but your points are cut in half.)
- Heart rate monitors are required. (You’re allowed to race B, C, and D categories without a HRM, but your points are cut in half.)
- It’s really best that you have at least a few races under your belt before you try to join a team, so you know what sort of power numbers you can hold in a race.
Race Routes and Dates
Each ZRL round is made up of weekly races which are a mix of points races and team time trial (TTT) formats. Points race winners are the teams who amass the most total points by the end of the race, while TTT winners are the teams who complete the racecourse fastest (team time is taken from the fourth rider to cross the line).
“Intermediates” are sections on the course where riders compete mid-race for points. Intermediates may count for Fastest-Through-Segment (FTS) and/or First-Across-Line (FAL) points – see the scoring page for details.
Race #1: Climber’s Gambit
Sept 13, 2022 (Points Race)
In a bold move, we’re starting this round off with the Queen Stage. Riders will take on a sprint and two smaller climbs before heading up the Epic KOM Reverse for a brutal fight to the finish!
- 1 Lap of Watopia’s Climber’s Gambit (28km, 671m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather, Draft Boost, Aero Boost 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- JWB Bridge Sprint REV (x1)
- Titans Grove KQOM REV (x1)
- Epic KQOM REV (x1)
Race #2: Park Perimeter Loop
Sept 20, 2022 (Points Race)
This route covers all of New York’s ground-level paved roads, which are a GPS replica of Central Park. These roads are rarely flat, but there are no long climbs, either. Typically the rolling terrain and short climbs create an attritional race which ends in a reduced bunch sprint on the short uphill finish.
- 3 Laps of New York’s Park Perimeter Loop (29.7km, 381m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (40%), Invisibility (20%), Anvil (40%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Greyshot Arch Sprint FWD (x3)
Race #3: Wandering Flats
Sept 27, 2022 (TTT)
For the first time in ZRL history we have just one TTT in this round. And it’s on a TTT route we’ve never raced in ZRL! Makuri Islands’ Wandering Flats is a mostly-flat route, making it easy for TTT riders. But the bit of climbing near the end will certainly hurt legs which are already burning.
- 1 Lap of Makuri Islands’ Wandering Flats (25.2km, 146m elevation)
Race #4: Champs-Élysées
Oct 4, 2022 (Points Race)
One for the sprinters, the uphill sprint on each of 7 laps will require both strategic team smarts and strong legs. This is the second-longest race of Round 1, so fatigue will begin to set in as riders are forced to sprint uphill on each lap. (Note: we think we’ll see a lower lap count for C/D categories, but those plans are still being finalized.)
- Paris’ Champs-Élysées
- A: 7 Laps (49.5km, 289m elevation)
- B: 6 Laps (42.9km, 250m elevation)
- C: 5 Laps (36.3km, 210m elevation)
- D: 4 Laps (29.7km, 171m elevation)
- PowerUps: Burrito (25%), Aero Boost (50%), Steamroller (25%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Champs-Élysées Sprint (each lap)
Race #5: Legends and Lava
Oct 11, 2022 (Points Race)
Never raced in ZRL, Legends and Lava makes for an exciting points race since the fireworks and selections can happen early on the Titans Grove KOM Reverse. The intermediate sprint that follows will be contested by a reduced front group, then the remaining riders will fight it out up the Volcano KOM to the finish line!
- 1 Lap Watopia’s Legends and Lava (24.5km, 321m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (40%), Draft Boost (30%), Aero Boost (30%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Titans Grove KQOM REV (x1)
- JWB Bridge Sprint FWD (x1)
- Volcano KQOM (x1)
Race #6: Eastern Eight & Downtown Titans
Oct 18, 2022 (Points Race)
Making its first appearance in ZRL, Eastern Eight is a former Rebel Route and the longest course of Round 1. While it includes lots of flat roads, two trips through Titans Grove and the climbs up into the redwoods will sting the legs.
In a twist we haven’t seen yet with ZRL, the C and D categories are racing an entirely different course – Downtown Titans – another former Rebel Route. This fun race route features two short climbs before the sprint segment and final run-in via The Esses to the finish line.
A and B Categories:
- 1 Lap of Watopia’s Eastern Eight (54.7km, 413m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (40%), Draft Boost (30%), Burrito (10%), Aero Boost (20%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Fuego Flats Short Sprint (x2)
- Titans Grove KQOM FWD (x1)
- Fuego Flats Long Sprint (x1)
- Titans Grove KQOM REV (x1)
C and D Categories:
- 1 Lap of Watopia’s Downtown Titans (25.4km, 295m elevation)
- PowerUps: Feather (40%), Draft Boost (40%), Aero Boost (20%) 🛈
- FAL and FTS Segments:
- Titans Grove KQOM REV (x1)
- Hilly KQOM (x1)
- JWB Bridge Sprint (x1)
March Championships
After the three rounds of the 2022/23 season, WTRL is planning a championship based on this season’s rounds. This will happen in March.
Adieu, Premier Division
Since ZRL began, a pro-level “Premier Division” has run alongside, racing similar courses before the community races. These events were broadcasted and gave ZRL racers a way to recon routes before their big race.
This is changing, with pro-level race events being completely decoupled from ZRL events beginning with this round. This series is called the Zwift Grand Prix, and will happen each Friday. Read this post for details >
Questions or Comments?
We recommend checking out WTRL’s Zwift Racing League page for rules, team registration, results, and more. Their Facebook page is the place to go for discussion on all things ZRL.
Feel free to share questions or comments below!
No Premier League 🙁 I thought that ZRL season 3 finishing in February was to avoid this year’s Premier League woes. Guess that was not the reason so I’m curious now why the seasons are shortened from the original 8 races and we end the ZRL year so much earlier than before. Any ideas?
My guess is they’re ending the season earlier because a lot of racers were heading outdoors before last year’s season ended. Maybe they’re trying to wrap up ZRL before riders start racing outside in earnest.
Zwift let go much of their staff who was handling PL stuff. You won’t read that anywhere, but that’s the real reason things are on hold for the moment. Take it from an insider.
Things aren’t on hold – they’re just totally DIFFERENT from what’s been done in the past. I need to put together a post about what’s happening for the pro-level racers this season, but Zwift has already reached out to all the pro teams with details of what they’ve got planned.
C and D racers do not need shorter races!
Speaking only for myself (70 Old Fat Slow), yes we (I) do!
having the races be around the hour mark is great for planning purposes
As much as I would like a longer C race (which I tend to do better at), I don’t want my race to be ending at 10pm
I think the image for Race 6 is the Legsnapper. Got me hopeful that we were doing multiple laps of Innsbruckring, which I’d prefer to Eastern Eight. They’re really pushing the new routes this season. I liked it when we had a couple routes (and especially when one of them was the first week and a TTT) that were sort of old familiars that everyone has raced on lots of times so that we sort of knew them by heart.
Oops! Forgot to swap that one out… will fix soon.
Eastern 8 is an interesting one, especially if they do FTS on Fuego Flats Reverse…..
Sandbaggers unite!
Hopefully with the Epic KOM in stage 1, we might see some of the more obvious sandbaggers go over the category limits and not be spared by the “four race rule” this year like in previous seasons. Not going to hold my breath though…
I think the 4 race rule needs to go. I understand why they wanted to do it, but it’s manipulated so much and has normalized the “control your power so you don’t get promoted / DQ’d” mindset. Just use Category Enforcement categories based on CP and be done with it.
I agree. Even better would be to do an automatic sorting based on race ranking so you couldn’t play with the category limits of cat enforcement the way a lot of cruisers now do. In the last ZRL season, I was a low to mid C. Since then, I’ve moved up to an even lower B (3.23 W/kg). The last 2 weekends I’ve gone really hard on 2 long-ish climbing races (Innsbruck KoM and Epic KoM on Herd’s Climber’s Gambit) because my oldest effort that made me a B was going to expire off of Zwift Power and I didn’t want to drop back down to a high C (even though it would have meant better race results). Lots of people would prefer to play the system and ride right up to the power limits as a C. Guess we’re all just wired differently.
There are no categories needed anymore. Just different level of leagues and moving up and downwards would work better than this system!
But Tobias, what do you do if a returning team decides to recruit new members? They could change from a “B2” team to an “A2” overnight, because there’s no system enforcing who is actually on a team unless you have categories.
I agree, there are so many people (even in my own club) who abuse this. Clearly capable of Cat A efforts, have been in Cat A before but deliberately moved down to Cat B over the summer by not doing races that require 20 min efforts. All because they’d rather win in a Cat they are too good for than suffer the ‘injustice’ of not being in the top 5 every race in the Cat above
I wish they would kick sandbaggers out after they go over the limit the first time – not give them multiple races.
Here’s hoping there are no power ups. The racing with them disabled last season was the best all year.
the interest of A1 riders like me without the playoffs will certainly be smaller…. RIP PD
Pumped for this! If anyone is looking for a cat “B” Mixed team to join, check out “OverTheEdge Bs” in Americas East and reply to this post. #zrlrecruiting
Noob question, but I am confused by the timezone chart. What do the dark colored, light colored and plain white cells indicate? Presumably the darkest is a for-sure time of a race. Are the lighter colored ones alternate time options?
I’m not completely sure, but I THINK the dark colored cells show that those times will always be the same, since the times are based on local time in the city indicated to the left.
Light colored cells, perhaps will also stay the same, they’re just not for the cities that the times are based off of.
Maybe. 🙂
The good news is, for this season most of the time changes happen between rounds. Just the Oceania and APAC will happen while racing.
they need to standardise the finishing points – having FAL points for finishes at a KOM should then mean there are sprint FAL points when there is a sprint finish.
Is it possible to join more than one team, each team in different time zone?
Yes. Lots of racers race on more than 1 team each week. (I don’t know how they do it. But they do!)
Hi Eric, I will be racing the MAAP Achterbahn. I am level 50 with just about every frame and wheels in my garage. I would greatly appreciate your choice of the specific bike frame and wheels for racing this.:-))
https://zwiftinsider.com/fastest-climbing-by-level/
Specialized Aethos with Roval Alpinist wheels. Or Lightweight Meilensteins… they perform the same as the Alpinists.
2x up that mountain. It’s gonna hurt no matter which bike you use!
Have I got this wrong or is it now not possible to register a team until *next spring* ? Or does team registration re-open before each round?
I’ve only just read up on ZRL (do normal 1 off zwift racing) and me & some club mates had hoped to enter as a team but see registration is now shut. Really hoping they don’t close it off until end of ‘season’ as that means we can’t join in for the entire winter…
I’m sure you’ll be able to register a team for the next season.
But can we get a team that wasN’t registered to “round 1” into “round 2” of this season of ZRL?
Great article as ever!
What’s the relationship between Rounds and the Season? Do League Points just carry over between Rounds, making it a 18 event season, or are there separate leagues for each Round?
No relationship that I know of. Each season just has 3 rounds, that’s all…
How about a walk-through checklist or Wizard on Zwift to guide us through the “Escape Room” that is the Zwift Racing League signup and navigation?
Can we make a new team for Round 2, or are the existing teams “it” for all 3 series?
Same question here. We thought we would get in at round 2, after the cyclocross season. Are only the Teams registered in Round 1 can pass into round 2?