This week we have our second TTT of the season, and the route is Greatest London Flat – around the City of London itself, then over to Surrey with the flattest of the three paths through. Two little things to remember:
- This isn’t the Greater London Flat… it’s the GREATEST London Flat. Two very different routes.
- It starts and ends at The Mall, not at the Start/Finish banner on Upper Thames Street. Remember to add the extra 7km to your ride as you sail past!
This route has the usual 7.5km lead-in from the Pens, followed by a 23.6km loop through London and Surrey. The Zwift Insider route description is here.
What to ride?
This is almost as flat as the route name implies, so aero rules. If you have it, the Cervelo S5 2020 with DT Swiss Disc wheels is the pick of the bunch. Tron is almost as good on this course, and if you haven’t done it yet – kick off the Everest Challenge and start the long painful climb to get Tron.
If you don’t have either of those two setups, here are the fastest frame/wheel pairings at each Zwift level.
As always, the Zwift Insider reports on frames and wheels are superlative so if you want to find the perfect bike and wheel combo for you, check them out.
Route recon
This is a single-lap race. Starting at the pens it’s mostly downhill to Northumberland Avenue, where you head up the hill to Trafalgar Square. Sharp left at the top and then a right as you head towards Buckingham Palace and then down the Mall to the reverse sprint. You are now 7.5km into the ride, and this is where the lap actually starts.
The jaunt around Central London is mostly flat/false-flat, except when you head down Piccadilly through the Hyde Park Corner underpass and up the other side. Soon enough (17.5km) you will head across the river to Surrey – but fear not, you aren’t tackling Box or Leith, you are just heading through the beautiful Surrey parkland.
Through the Underground Station and across Tower Bridge (23.5km) and you’re soon on familiar ground – because you’ll pass the Pens and be back on the lead-in with 7.5km to go. Just follow Upper Thames Street, up the Northumberland Avenue hill to Trafalgar, left, right, past Buck House and a quick Reverse Sprint to cross the line.
There are loads of rides on this route if you want a proper recce. Check out zwifthacks.com.
What to look out for on the ride
There are no significant hills to split the group, but there are a few areas to watch out for:
- From the pens it is a nice flat start, allowing you to get into formation and go. 3.7km into the ride you make a sharp turn onto Northumberland Avenue – that’s a 150m stretch at 4% – keep the weight-weenies in check and you’ll be fine.
- Just past the 11km mark you will head down Piccadilly (1.1km where you will pick up speed) into the underpass and back up the other side (where you will lose it again). The incline out of the underpass shouldn’t split the group but keep an eye on your teammates.
- At 18km you hit what I think of as the worst part of the course. Legs are starting to get worn, and there’s a 3km stretch of just annoying ramps. Can’t describe it better than that… annoying and just in the right place to create a split.
- Right before 23km you exit the Tube station – it a short, sharp shock peaking at 15%. This will hurt.
- Once more down the lead-in, with the main lump being Northumberland Avenue again.
- No time to look, but you’ll see Nelson’s Column, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace again then SPRINT for the line with whoever’s left in the group.
Ride summary
There’s a good reason why this route has made a TTT appearance in every ZRL season so far. It’s a great ride to showcase your TTT skills!
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