Want to be part of one of the most exciting new race formats on Zwift? (Don’t just take my word for it, those that have taken part so far have called it “Game changing”, “A blast” and “The most enjoyable races I have taken part in.”) Read below to learn all about the Zwift Club Ladder!
Innovation, Collaboration
A collaboration between Team Electric Spirit Co., TT1, Sunrise Racing, and Rhino Racing, the Zwift Club Ladder promises to be one of the most exciting new formats on Zwift in a long time. Currently midway through its first season, nearly 30 teams are involved, with over 400 riders having taken part in races so far.
Leapfrog Ladder League
The league is a team-based one operating in a leapfrog ladder league format. Never heard of that before? It’s a particularly popular format in racquet sports, so you may have taken part in one at your local tennis club. It works through a series of challenges, with each team free to choose who to play by challenging teams up to 5 places above them in the league to a race on the course of their choice. They then race against that team and if they win, leapfrog above them in the standings, and bump their opponents down.
Points Format
The races themselves are run in a head-to-head team format, with two teams of 5 riders going up against each other. The winning rider scores 12 points, through to 1 point for 10th. The points are then totalled up, with the team with the highest combined points winning the match. If you’ve not previously raced in a 5v5 team format like this, it makes for hugely tactical racing as teams look to outsmart their opponents.
One Big League
An innovative feature of the league is the way it mixes all abilities into a single uber league together. Each individual team is made up of a squad of riders based on Zwift Racing Rank, and upon joining the league for the first time they will be ranked accordingly against current teams.
From there, the only boundaries in who they race are those within 5 places in the league, whether they are riders of a higher “category” or not. While this might seem daunting at first, we are already seeing teams taking the scalp of those that would traditionally race in a higher “category”. The format in particular helps with this, as very rarely do pure watts win the day in such a tactical racing format. The fluid nature of the league also means it never ends, the battle is not to be at the top of the table at “season end” but to climb as high as you can and continually battle the challengers around you to keep your spot. This also makes it very easy for teams to join or leave the league on an almost ongoing basis.
Scheduling Flexibility
For captains and managers pulling their hair out at chasing riders for a set time every week, the flexibility of organizing for the league is a breath of fresh air. It allows teams to fit racing around their schedules and other racing commitments, with the power to choose their opponents, race dates, times, and courses.
This does mean there is a bit more involvement from captains required to pick courses and set races up themselves using Zwift Clubs. Hence, it’s not quite as simple as turning up to ride, so we do ask that everyone interested in participating takes the time to read the race book carefully before deciding if you want to sign up. Find the race book here.
Get More/Sign Up
If all that was not enough to whet your appetite, how about checking out some of the race action in a recent Swedish Zwifters v Team Electric Spirit Co. battle:
Or head on over to the league website to check out the current standings and upcoming fixtures: https://ladder.cycleracing.club/
Read all that and want to come battle? Sign up here and we’ll be in touch very soon.
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
Looks awesome! I think I saw something about this a few weeks ago, but glad it is popping up again here. Once DIRT Racing Series ends (May 16th) and we had a few days to recover, then I will see about getting my team involved. It looks right up our ally.
I’ve done one race and saw a couple others from my team, it was a blast and I’m not a racer. Your team might do great, just don’t show up in handcycles 😆
I’ve done a few of these. By far the most tactical (and stressful – lol) races I’ve been a part of. I highly recomend giving them a try!!
interesting format … in which Cat-range are the current 30 teams ? only B’s and A’s ?
is taking part in this zwift racing app mandatory ? or is the Zwiftpower ranking enough ?
are any women-teams involved ?
All riders are welcome, the current ladder goes from Silver II all the way up to Challenger II (using the Zwiftracing.app categories.) That would roughly equate to legacy Zwift C/D to A+. If you’re on ZwiftPower you are already on Zwiftracing.app, as it pulls in all data from ZP. My team has two women currently; I don’t think we have any all-female teams but nothing prevents it. If you’re interested in just joining up with a squad as an individual I’m sure one of the teams can make some roster space especially with outdoor season upon us. Hop on the… Read more »
Usually racing in Zwift is only nominally a team effort unless you’re in a TTT and there the opponent is the clock. In 5v5 we use Discord like a TTT except we’re trying to work tactics against a live opponent! The whole race feels so much more engaging and ultimately rewarding if and when it all works out.
Highly recommend anyone with even a passing interest get involved as 5v5 will quickly become a staple in your race week. Ride on!
I love the core idea of a Leapfrog League implementation, however personally I’m not a fan of it being just 2 teams of 5 per race. Maybe just me but I tend not to enjoy races with very few riders even if they are points races that are more tactical than just “Watts wins”, with so few riders if you do get distanced at one section or have a technical that drops you especially if that happens early on then it can become a horrible riding solo experience just to not let the team down – I know this may… Read more »
Honestly, reading your comments I’m not sure if you have even tried it yet. From my experience, falling back on your own can happen of course – as in all other races, too. But from the ladder races I have done I can’t find it to be happening more often because of the small field. Usually, even if splits happen, it is more rewarding to go on compared to most “big-field” races, because you often find yourself with an opponent or close enough to try to catch one back – and even if you’re fighting it out for the 9th… Read more »
No, I haven’t ridden it at all yet, those were just my initial thoughts based on the article and my personal likes/dislikes etc. Like I say, wasn’t trying to criticise it just giving my personal thoughts
Hi Andrew, not sure you are talking about the same competition as your points aren’t entirely valid for the Ladder comp that is being talked about here. 1) Challenge organisation is quite flexible but there exists a whole part of the system dedicated to declaring availability to make it as easy as possible to organise races. 2) Courses are loosely limited by distance/time guidelines, but if both teams agree you can race whatever you want. If the challenging team picks a course that fits the guidelines the challenged team cannot refuse. In the coming season there will be mandatory “themes”… Read more »
I think a racing league like this with consistent time scheules would be perfect. It requires finding an algorithm by which it is determined who gets to challenge and if there are conflicting challenges, choose which challenge has priority.