September marks that start of Zwift’s new indoor cycling season and Zwift will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year. It could arguably be their biggest as they continue to rollout their hardware making it more accessible to use as well as making updates to the existing platform, including introducing new roads, new functionality and new events.
To celebrate this, in a recent Press Conference, Founder and CEO Eric Min was on hand to speak about their journey.
“10 years have gone by pretty fast, but our mission and goals have not changed. We started back in 2014 in the hope that we could build a business that would make the world a slightly better place, all around creating healthy habits through training, competition, and community. And while we’ve done quite a lot over the last 10 years, we’ve certainly not pivoted from the original founding principles.
I can tell you that we’re super excited about all the things that we still want to do for the community. There is just an endless amount of, a long list of things that we think we should continue to build on. 10 years have gone pretty fast, and we’re super stoked about all that we’ve accomplished, and really looking forward to what this will look like in the next 10 years.
And I think you can be assured that the founding principles won’t change, and I think we’ll just continue to focus on what we can do for the community.”
With that in mind, here is a summary of what is coming up over the new few months.
New roads, “Challenges” and routes
New roads – It’s what we always want and can’t get enough of. In November, Zwift will launch a new road which will be showcased in their annual Tour of Watopia. Zwift are being decidedly cryptic about what this entails but they have explained that during the Tour of Watopia, the road will be developing before our very eyes and will be available in Stage 5.
Challenges (including new routes) – To give riders more to tackle and provide people with goals to chase, Zwift is introducing a new feature called “Challenges.”
These will be shown in the Challenges section of the Home screen. Initially, there will be two different ones to tackle they are:
- Cardio Crusher
- Route Chase: The Grade
Cardio Crusher – This contains five new workouts to tackle within this challenge and will all be under 1 hour in duration. These are:
- Make it Sting – 15 minutes
- Ignite – 25 minutes
- Half Hour of Power – 35 minutes
- Climb Time – 45 minutes
- The Kitchen Sink – 55 minutes
This launches September 9th and Zwifters who complete all five workouts will unlock 250 XP.
Route Chaser: The Grade – This is aimed at those who like exploring Zwift and collecting the various route badges that are on offer. Zwift are introducing three new routes to Zwift, which all contains aspects of the Grade. These are:
- Mayan 8 (23.1km with 241m elevation gain)
- Radio Rendezvous (20.5km with 736m elevation gain)
- Power to the Tower (44.7km with 1492m elevation gain)
In total there will be five routes to complete in this challenge which launches October 3rd and those who complete all five workouts will unlock 250 XP.
Interestingly Radio Rendezvous and Power to the Tower are the first two routes in Zwift that finish at the Radio Tower, in the past, event organisers have had to calculate that. I look forward to Zwift having a classic Tour de France style route that is flat and then goes up the Epic KOM reverse and finishing on the Radio Tower. That would an exciting event to race.
In addition to those new routes, in Zwift’s new release 1.73, there are an additional few new routes to tackle which are:
- Makuri Pretzel (78.7km with 620m elevation gain)
- Navig8 (63.9km, with 417m elevation gain)
Mark Cote, VP of Content did mention there would be a new fourth big challenge to complete, but that is being kept under wraps, but for those who have long since completed the other three, this will be something to look forward to, when it arrives.
New Features
Revised Heads-Up Display – Zwift have revised the information being displayed on screen, ensuring the most critical information is where it needs to be. This will be going live as of September 4th.
Changes include:
- Dark transparent colour scheme
- New Power Zone distribution bar and zone indication (top left bar)
- Customizable metrics in top left display
- New Dynamic Elevation display
For the customizable HUD, there are 4 slots and you can choose 7 different metrics which are:
- Cadence (RPM)
- Heart Rate (BPM)
- W/kg
- Average Watts
- TSS (Training Stress Score)
- KJ
- kCal
Running has not been forgotten, Zwift also note that “Runners also receive an update to the HUD, featuring a fixed display of a heart rate zone distribution bar, heart rate and steps per minute. Wahoo KICKR Run owners will also see the new Dynamic Elevation display when utilizing Incline Control.”
Garage updates – Zwift is overhauling the Garage function. “Zwifters will be able to upgrade their bikes by completing Upgrade Challenges to unlock the ability to purchase the next Upgrade Stage using well-earned Drops. All bikes will have five stages of upgrades, offering enhancements such as weight reductions, improved aerodynamics, and lower rolling resistance.”
What this means is that at long last, Zwifters will be able to spend their Drops on upgrading their favourite and most used bike. Upgrades will include reduction in weight, improvements in aerodynamics and rolling resistance. Challenges need to be complete to upgrade the bike, which will require spending Drops.
There will be a new series of elite bikes that can be purchased once you have unlocked all 5 stages of that particular bike. These are elite bikes and are being referred to a “Halo Bikes.” Zwift state “Halo Bikes, like the Pinarello Espada will offer high performance and huge street cred. Only the most brand-loyal Drop Shop customers will be invited to purchase Halo Bikes.”
Zwift Racing Score – Zwift is changing how racing will be undertaken and will use this new feature. Zwift states that “this update will ensure that racers are placed in the right category from the beginning of their racing journey, making races more competitive and enjoyable. The score dynamically adjusts based on your current fitness and also your performance in races. With improved matchmaking and rewards for strategic racecraft, Zwift Racing Score is designed to elevate the competitive experience.”
This will be interesting to see in action, ensuring people are better aligned with who they are racing, making it more competitive and providing a more all-round better experience.
Events
As previously mentioned, Zwift’s Tour of Watopia will commence in November and in addition to that there will be the annual Zwift Academy, which is already underway and spans from August 5 to November 3rd and Zwift’s new training called Zwift Camp: Baseline, as well as a number of new racing events.
Zwift Academy – August 5th to November 3rd
Zwift Academy returns and as Zwift explain “this year offers an extended window for riders to compete, spanning from August 5th until November 3rd, which aims to make it easier for riders in both the North and South hemispheres.”
Zwift Camp: Baseline – November 18th to January 5th
With six exercises that have both long and short variations to accommodate all athletes, this new exercise program is meant to help Zwifters discover more about themselves. Zwifters will receive a report at the end that will help them determine their strengths and weaknesses according to the sort of rider they are. Following the program, cyclists will have access to new challenges to help them reach their fitness objectives.
Zwift Racing Calendar – The Zwift Racing Calendar is split into four key pillars:
zRacing Monthly – Year-round racing with new racing routes landing each month.
Zwift Racing League – The largest team event in cycling with 2,610 teams participating in the 23/24 Season, the league brings Zwifters together offering 3 rounds consisting of 6 races each between Sept and Feb.
Zwift World Series – Five races spanning from September to January the tailor-made courses offer three tiers of monthly monument racing challenges.
Zwift Games – Launching in March, the Zwift Championships will return for a second year, offering Zwifters the chance to race for Community and Elite levels.
Summing up
It is evident that Zwift are really pushing to move the platform along and provide a range of mechanisms to keep people engaged with the product. The updates to the HUD differentiate them from their competitors. The new roads, routes and challenges will keep long term Zwifters entertained and the focus on racing will give those who thrive on that the opportunity to push themselves to new heights. It appears that Zwift is catering for a broad audience and I look forward to receiving the updates.
