Which race routes are the most popular, and why do you suppose that is? Recently ZwiftPower.com webmaster James Hodges produced a report for me summarizing which routes have been used the most by race organizers in the past three months.

It is worth noting that this report isn’t based on participation (that is, number of racers) but on which routes were selected by race organizers.

#1: Watopia Flat Route

No big surprise here, as this is the most popular route in-game. For all our talk about wanting big climbs, Zwifters gravitate towards the flat stuff. This, I believe, is why ZwiftHQ is working on bringing more flat roads to Watopia soon–because this route is quite crowded when freeriding on Watopia days.

Of course, this route isn’t completely flat: the slight climb up from Ocean Boulevard can be painful in a race, and the ramp into the Esses is where attacks always happen. But overall this is an exceptionally flat course, built for the wattage bazookas.

Learn more about Watopia’s Flat Route >

#2: Volcano Circuit CCW

The “CCW” is key, because in the clockwise direction you don’t have a long enough climb to make things interesting. This is a super-fun crit course with one kicker per lap and a hard-to-nail finish. It’s one of my favorites and a favorite of many racers, so it’s no surprise seeing it at #2.

Learn more about Watopia’s Volcano Circuit >

#3: London Classique

As a very flat course with a single kicker per lap, the Classique is sort of London’s version of Volcano Circuit CCW, but with a simpler finish. It’s a fun race course, especially if you get the feather powerup so you can attack on the kicker and put fellow racers in the hurt locker.

Learn more about London’s Classique >

#4: Volcano Flat

This route is just a bit flatter than Watopia Flat, with no significant climbs to speak of. It’s not a favorite because it’s interesting for racers: it’s a favorite because it’s so flat. It’s not one of my favorites, although in the reverse direction the dirt climb up to the Italian Village is fun.

Learn more about Watopia’s Volcano Flat >

#5, 6, and 7: Volcano Climb Watopia Hilly Route, Greater London Flat

We have a climbing route, a flat route, and a mixed route all tied for fifth place. How strange! Volcano Climb is the surprise here for me, since it features (by far) the largest climb of any route in our top 5 list. Why do you suppose it is a favorite of race organizers? My guess is it’s because 1) it’s on everyone’s favorite course, Watopia and 2) the Volcano climb is just long enough to force a split between many of the pure climbers and pure flatlanders. The Hilly KOM isn’t long enough to do this, and the Epic KOM is so long that it can become a TT and turn racers off.

Learn more about Watopia’s Volcano Climb >

Learn more about Watopia’s Hilly Route >

Learn more about Greater London Flat >

Complete Report

Here is Jame’s complete report of all routes used in races on the last 3 months.

Total races in last 3 months: 4,433

  1. 9.1%    Watopia Flat Route
  2. 8.4%    Volcano Circuit CCW
  3. 6.9%    London Classique
  4. 5.5%    Volcano Flat
  5. 4.4%    Volcano Climb
  6. 4.4%    Watopia Hilly Route
  7. 4.4%    Greater London Flat
  8. 3.8%    Laguardia Loop
  9. 3.8%    Astoria Line 8
  10. 3.6%    Watopia Figure 8
  11. 3.5%    London Loop
  12. 3.4%    The 6 Train
  13. 3.2%    Jungle Circuit
  14. 2.7%    Innsbruckring
  15. 2.3%    Park Perimeter Rev
  16. 2.0%    Laguardia Loop Rev
  17. 2.0%    Park Perimeter Loop
  18. 1.9%    The 6 Train Rev
  19. 1.9%    Road to Ruins
  20. 1.6%    The Highline
  21. 1.6%    Lady Liberty
  22. 1.5%    Volcano Circuit
  23. 1.3%    Knickerbocker
  24. 1.2%    Watopia Mountain 8
  25. 1.2%    UCI Worlds Short Lap
  26. 1.1%    Everything Bagel
  27. 0.9%    Greatest London Flat
  28. 0.8%    Richmond UCI Worlds
  29. 0.8%    Greater London Loop
  30. 0.8%    Road to Sky
  31. 0.8%    Rising Empire
  32. 0.8%    Three Sisters
  33. 0.7%    Mighty Metropolitan
  34. 0.7%    Greatest London Loop
  35. 0.7%    Surrey Hills
  36. 0.6%    Richmond Flat Roads
  37. 0.6%    Triple Loops
  38. 0.5%    Greater London 8
  39. 0.5%    Lutscher
  40. 0.4%    Watopia Figure 8 Reverse
  41. 0.4%    Achterbahn
  42. 0.4%    Tour of Fire and Ice
  43. 0.4%    Watopia Mountain
  44. 0.3%    Innsbruckring KOM
  45. 0.3%    The London Pretzel
  46. 0.3%    5K Loop
  47. 0.3%    Volcano Flat KOM
  48. 0.2%    Big Loop
  49. 0.2%    The Highline Rev
  50. 0.2%    Lutscher CCW
  51. 0.2%    Grand Central
  52. 0.1%    Leith Hill After Party
  53. 0.1%    Hudson Roll
  54. 0.1%    London PRL Half
  55. 0.1%    Watopia Pretzel
  56. 0.1%    London 8
  57. 0.1%    Richmond Hilly Roads
  58. 0.1%    Shuman Trail Loop
  59. 0.1%    London Classique Reverse
  60. 0.0%    Grand Central Rev

What Do You Think?

Did your favorite course make the top 5 (7)? What characteristics make an ideal race course for you?