The fifth race of Zwift Racing League 2021/22 Round 2 happens Tuesday, February 8th and it’s the first “climbing race” of the season. With three KOM segments and zero sprint intermediates, this week is all about watts per kilo… and smart racing.
Let’s dig into the race, including tips for bike choice, bike swapping, powerups, strategic options, and crucial segments:
Looking at the Route: Makuri Islands’ Temples and Towers
Makuri Islands’ Temples and Towers hits all three KOMs on the map, covering a total distance of 32.6km with 280m of elevation. All categories will be racing the same course, which is just one lap of the route.
Rather than taking you through a turn-by-turn, let’s just discuss the three KOMs, since that’s where the action will happen. We’ll also talk about the finish a bit…
First, the Rooftop KOM. At 1.87km and 2.7%, this is the “easiest” of the three KOMs. It’s a very draftable climb, especially on the first half, which is a series of steps.
The first selection of the race will happen here, but it won’t be a huge selection. There will still be a sizeable front pack by the time we hit the flat roads at the bottom.
Second, the Castle KOM. At 2.67km and 2.1%, this climb comes in two parts. The first, flatter half is draftable, and the pack typically stays together. The second half, especially after the hairpin left into the Castle area, is where things string out.
Expect a second selection here.
Third, the Temple KOM. This is the big one! 2.5km at 3.6%, this climb is all dirt and thus will take around twice as long to complete as the Castle KOM. ZRL riders will be familiar with this climb, since we raced it last season on the Countryside Tour route.
Strong climbers will put in their biggest attacks here, in a bid to shrink the front pack’s size substantially and grab some segment points.
The finish is set in a custom location for these ZRL events, so it comes before the typical finish if you were to ride the route for one full lap. When you exit the roundabout after the tunnel, you’ll have less than 600m left to go. Watch your distance to go, watch the pack, and sprint smart.
The finish banner only comes into sight with around 200m to go!
Read more about the Temples and Towers route >
PowerUp Notes
Riders will be awarded powerups through each segment banner, meaning we’ll get 5 powerups during the race (one at the top of each KOM, one through the Railway sprint banner, plus one more as you go through the Castle KOM banner on your way home).
Three powerups will be randomly given out at each banner:
Aero Boost (helmet): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds.
Best used when you’re going fastest and air resistance is highest. Very handy in sprints and attacks off the front.
Burrito: turns off draft effect for riders within a 2.5m radius for 10 seconds.
Use when attacking off the front so opponents have to work harder to follow you, or use it in the group to make nearby riders work harder for a bit. Be careful to avoid suicide by burrito!
Steamroller: reduces Crr for 30 seconds so you roll as fast as a road tire on pavement regardless of wheels or road surface.
If you’re on a road bike, use this when you hit a dirt patch. (It also provides an advantage on cobbles, bricks, ice/snow, etc.) Most advantageous on the final KOM of the race, since it’s dirt.
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
An all-arounder setup is your best bet here, since you want something decently fast for the flats and descents, but light enough that it won’t hurt you much on the key climbs.
The Tron bike is a good all-arounder. We also like the Scott Addict RC + ENVE 7.8 wheels – a combo which climbs slightly (less than 1s) faster than the Tron on this route’s KOMs. See our Tron vs Top Performers chart for details on the performance of various top frames and wheels.
The most aero setup in game (Specialized Venge S-Works plus DT Swiss disc combo) loses 2.5s to the 2.5s to the Scott+Enve combo on the Temple KOM, so we wouldn’t recommend going pure aero.
To Swap, Or Not To Swap?
This is the question many are asking. If it’s not worth riding a gravel bike from the start, is it worth swapping to the gravel bike before the Temple KOM, to take advantage of its speed on the dirt? And if so, should you swap back to a road bike… and when?
The answer is… it depends. Let’s run through three likely scenarios…
Scenario 1: Starting the KOM in a large pack (10+ riders), and you are a strong enough climber to possibly get FTS points. Swapping may work, but it’s a big maybe. It would only make sense to swap if you were to stop before the KOM start line, swap, then chase back onto your pack and finish at least 10s ahead of them at the top, so you can swap back to a road bike after the KOM banner and get back into the group. If you can do all this from the front group (and that’s a big if!), you’ll earn FTS and FAL points, still be in the pack you started with, and on a road bike that lets you contest the finishing sprint.
Scenario 2: Starting the KOM in a large pack (10+ riders), and you are not a strong enough climber to get FTS points. If you’re just praying to remain with your group over the top, don’t swap. Because even if you match the power of others in your pack, you’ll probably still be dropped due to the time cost of swapping off the gravel bike. Put another way: the best that can happen if you swap is to “break even” and finish the climb in the same pack you started with. Better to keep it simple and work to hold your position in the pack.
Scenario 3: Starting the KOM alone or in a very small group (less than 10 riders), and you are not in the front group. If you’re in this position, your drafting on the climb will be minimal and you probably aren’t strong enough get FTS points on this KOM anyway. Don’t worry about swapping. Just work to maximize your finish position.
More Route Recon
Many events are now being planned each weekend on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re not familiar with this course, jump into one of these events and do some recon! Here’s a list of upcoming Temples and Towers events.
Looking for a video recon, with lovely British commentary to boot? Check out Si and Sherpa’s recons below:
Si Bradeley
Sherpa Dave
Strategic Options
Points Distribution, Week 5
The maximum points a team of 6 could earn in this race.
As you can see from the chart above, KOM points make up a large majority of the overall points. Winning teams will be those whose riders climb well in the 2.5-7.5 minute range.
So what strategies will riders employ in race 5? Here’s what we predict:
- Smash-n-Ease First Two KOMs: riders strong enough to chase KOM FAL and FTS points will attack the second half of the first two KOMs, but not work to stay away from the pack afterward. It’s not worth the effort to stay away when they know they’ll drop weaker climbers on the final KOM anyway.
- Hanging ’til the Finish: riders who aren’t strong climbers will be doing all they can to hang with the front pack over the KOMs in order to find themselves in the front group on the flat lead-in to the finish. If sprinters can make it over the top with the front group, they should be able to grab high finishing points.
- A Strategic Final 11km: once we finish the final KOM, we expect to see a small group of climbers off the front, with a group of “flatlanders” chasing. Whether those groups come together or not in the final 11km will be a question of teamwork and strategy. Is it smart for a sprinter in the chase group to work to bridge up to the front if he has teammates in that group? What if you aren’t a sprinter? What if you don’t have teammates in front? Lots to consider.
- Destroy the Gravel Riders: if a strong competitor begins the race on a gravel bike, it would be smart to push the pace on the pavement, particularly on the climbs, in order to drop that rider before the Temple KOM. (This gets extra-interesting when you consider that Zwift caches other riders’ bike selections, so what you see on screen may not be entirely accurate…)
- Smart PowerUp Usage: riders will be hoping for a steamroller powerup before the dirt Temple KOM, as it gives you a huge advantage for 30s. In a perfect world, riders would get an aero boost atop the Temple KOM, for use in the final sprint.
Watch the Premier Division Race
Zwift’s top racers will go head to head in the Premier Division the day before the community races. Watch it on GCN Racing’s Youtube channel.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Eric,
As always, thanks for your work and the rundown on this week’s race. In the last pic can you put an arrow on the finish arch? I cannot find it for the life of me.
Done!
pity it doesn’t come up on the mini map a bit clearer.
THX!!!
Don’t agree on the bike swap analysis.
Last season bike swaps (3 of them in the race that featured this climb) worked really well in some divisions. Sailing past riders on the climb like they were cycling in treacle.
I think scenario 2, if you are just hanging on to the pack, you swap and go for it, at the same w/kg as the pack put out you will beat them up the climb.
Scenario 3 – you have nothing to lose and the climb will be “easier” on the legs, so why not practice the change because it looks like they are here to stay as a tactic.
Fair enough – you’re welcome to swap in any situation, of course!
Lower categories (D and C) will get more benefit from swapping. But at B pace (4 w/kg), the gravel bike reaches the top of the KOM 25s faster than a normal road bike (that’s Cervelo Aspero vs Tron).
So if you’re holding the same w/kg as the pack, that gives you just 12.5 seconds to swap bikes at the start and end of the ride. Many Zwifters take at least that long – very few take less.
At A pace, the gravel bike is only 20s faster. But like I said, at D and C pace, it might gain you 30s or more, so it becomes a more viable option.
One last thing: some routes that feature this climb make swapping a smart choice. Other routes featuring this climb it’s not smart. You have to look at where the finish line is. For example – last season’s Countryside Loop race ended atop the Temple KOM. So of course it made sense to be swapped on that final climb, because you didn’t have to swap back!
The WTRL ZRL Schedule website now says “Custom – 33.1km” instead of “1 lap” (what it did say before). Do we have any idea what this means?
This is what was sent out to the PD teams.
“In order to create the best possible racing for both broadcast and for your own race experience, we have tweaked Race 5 – Temples & Towers. The change we have made is a fixed distance of 33.13km which brings the finishing line forward from the originally advertised route finish.”
Not sure if they have done this on the community races as well
Interesting! That’d be worth knowing. Good legs for Monday and thanks for sharing!
Guessing distance breaks down like this. About 0.7km from start pens is lead in once the counter starts. Then the route is about 32.5km normally. Finish adjustment so it is easier to see and cleaner finish sprint for racers and media then the standard route which is on a bend then what the situation was in the first race with just after bend. WTRL and zwift is fixing that issue with this adjustment.
Thanks!
Could you add the distance (from start) where the Power Ups are given?
Another super thorough and very helpful article!
looking at the wheel charts and set-up vs tron, I would find the Zipp 545s an interesting comparison to the ENVE 7.8s. I know the scatter plot would get messy with all of the wheels and bike combos. The Zipp 454s are higher overall in the ranking and while the missing on a bit of time on the flats, they seem to make up for it on the climbs. Or am I reading the data incorrectly? Thoughts?
Nice EFT kit!!!
Eric,
Thanks, as always. Do you know if there’s a similar site for D Cat riders?
We’re numerically the smallest group, so it only makes sense for you and Si and Dave to focus on the C-B split points (your tests are based at 300w).
So, does anybody produce content for the old and weak?
Hi Eric,
I am new to both the sport of cycling and therefore also to Zwift. You do a remarkable job, I spend hours on zwift insider. I am looking for something that may be considered common sense, and yet I don’t know that it is – but a noobs guide to cycling etiquette. I am still learning basic things like sensitivity – I’m being urged to catch up to a group, close the gap only to surpass and then take some insults after slowing down to try and fit in with the tempo of the group. For the most part people are nice, but I cannot ride and text comfortably yet to explain I’m just trying to figure things out.
Do you have an article or a link to a good one on etiquette or just good cycling manners. It seems like it should be obvious but have you ever noticed how easy it is to annoy a bowler at an alley. They have all kinds of little does and don’t. So yes I am looking for some guidance in this area.
I appreciate your time and all you do.
Not Eric, obviously, but that sounds strange! Are you getting this random abuse during races or just riding around? Not that it’s normal in either case tbh. I’d personally just ignore it, although if it’s in a race they might just be trying to motivate you to do the work for them (not that I’ve ever done that 😀 )
I used the ENVE 7.8 in my last race in Legion Crit series over Zipp 454’s on the same bike I used in previous races. It was the only time I was ever dropped from the front group in that race. I still have yet to have a Tron bike come around me in a sprint on 454s, 858s, or 808s non-disc wheels unless they produce 2 wkg higher or 100W more so 1150-1250+ Watts or 14+ wkg. If you are a strong enough rider and looking for FAL/FTS then Scott Addict with 353 or 454 is the route to go by just sticking in the group and then hammering on the Temple and Castle Climbs. The 353 doesn’t roll as well as the 454 so you can’t sit at back, but middle front of the group to negate the aero disadvantage.
Hi Daniel, that seems to make sense and I might swap from my tron plan. Another thing caught my eye, you specified non disc wheel – is that because you’ve found them worse in sprints? I have working theory that the speed tests aren’t granular enough and acceleration is slow on disc wheels, but have never seen anyone else specifically say they don’t use them. Would be interested in if you agree!
I am a low C rider and often find myself in a small group or solo for much of a race. What about a good TT bike and a Gravel bike swap for the Temple ?