New Features and Events Will Help You Get Ready For The Outdoor Riding Season
New Features for This Season On Zwift
New Scotland Map
We’ve created worlds modeled on real places in the past, and maps that exactly replicate UCI Road World Championship courses, but Scotland is the first Zwift map that’s influenced by the real-world UCI World Championship location and also designed to optimize all racing on Zwift.
The new map supports a three-race format that will be used for the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships in February, and includes features not seen anywhere else in Zwift, including a loopable hill and a dedicated time trial course that will make racing at every level fun.
The Scotland map is inspired by the bucolic Scottish landscape, the city of Glasgow’s distinctive architecture, and the surrounding areas. As you ride through the world, you’ll see famous landmarks and attractions from the country, including castles, mountains and cityscapes.
All Zwifters will have the chance to join events on the new map starting in February You’ll be able to free-ride in Scotland starting in mid-March.
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Personalized Leaderboards
Coming to Zwift Companion App in January
I like parsing my data as much as you do, and I’m so excited to share this new feature with you. This update to the Zwift Companion app will allow Zwifters to see and analyze their times on Zwift segments. Zwifters will be able to track their time on segments and see how they change over time. When Personalized Leaderboards launch, Zwifters will be able to compare their times across their lifetime on Zwift.
In the future, this feature will allow Zwifters to compare and analyze other Zwift data.
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HoloReplay Updates
Since launching earlier this year, HoloReplays have quickly become one of our favorite Zwift features. While it’s tempting not to mess with success, we’ve decided to add more functionality to HoloReplay, letting Zwifters now ride against their Replays on entire routes in addition to segments.
As before, Zwifters can replay their 90-day PR, last effort, both at the same time, or you can turn your replay off. HoloReplays can come on during Pacer Group rides and free rides, and all your segment and route times are recorded, except for group workouts, MeetUps, or other activities that have rubberbanding enabled.
Coming early 2023.
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Zwift ‘For You’
The new “For You” carousel will appear at the top of the homescreen and will make it easier for Zwifters to discover their preferred in-game content, including group rides, other Zwifters they may want to ride with, and on-demand workouts. All of the content Zwifters use most often will be right there where it’s easy to find.
In the future, “For You” will allow Zwift to recommend content to you based on your recent rides, events you’ve signed up for, and Pacer Groups rides you’ve participated in.
The new ‘For You’ carousel will gradually roll out to all Zwifters starting in December.
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Discord Chat Integration for Clubs
Riding down the road chatting with a friend is one of the greatest pleasures in any cyclist’s life. Discord – the leading social platform for voice and tex chat – makes it easy to talk while riding on Zwift, when you’re not within earshot of your friends. It’s a fun way to ride and chat, and a very helpful tool to allow teammates to coordinate tactics during a race. To make it easier to find your club’s Discord chat, we’ve introduced a way for clubs to integrate a Discord link into their profile in the Zwift Companion App.
Discord Chat Integration for Clubs is live now.
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Sub 30-Minute Workouts
In an effort to provide greater variety for time-crunched athletes and the growing number of beginner and recreational cyclists on Zwift, we’ve added 10 new sub-30 minute workouts, doubling the number of workouts in that collection. These new workouts will help anyone fit in a fun, productive ride in even the shortest window of time.
Sub 30 minute workouts can be found in the on-demand workout library on Zwift now.
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Join A Zwifter
Back by popular demand, Join a Zwifter lets you easily ride or run with people you follow on Zwift, pro athletes, or even the occasional celebrity. You can find Join a Zwifter on the homescreen, and it will be in the “For You” carousel, when it rolls out.
In its new iteration, Join a Zwifter will show you the average speed of people in your Join a Zwifter screen, as well as their elapsed ride or run time, so you don’t join someone chasing a HoloReplay who won’t want to chat, or someone just finishing a ride.
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New Event Experiences Coming This Season On Zwift
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UCI Cycling Esports World Championships
To amp up the excitement for the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, Zwift has partnered with the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. The real-world events will take place in Glasgow in August, 2023. For the Esports World Championships, taking place in February, Zwift has created a new map, inspired by Glasgow. This new environment is Zwift’s first to be designed specifically for a UCI Cycling Esports World Championship event, and was created to support a new format of racing due to debut at the event, The Zwift Battle Royale.
This format will crown the ultimate all-around Zwifters. To do that, the World Championships events will include three races, each taking place on a course specifically built for that stage of racing. The first stage, The Punch, will send racers out on a rolling circuit that will provide an immediate test of racers’ fitness, strategy, and Zwiftcraft. Out of 100 starters in both the women’s and men’s races, only the top 30 stage one finishers will advance to stage two.
The second stage, The Climb, is a climber’s race that will repeatedly send the remaining field up steep grades – 161 meters of climbing in 8.6 kilometers. Only the top ten finishers on this stage will advance to the third and final stage.
Stage three, The Podium, is an elimination race contested on a challenging crit circuit in virtual Glasgow. The elimination is a popular and exciting format of racing commonly seen on a velodrome’s banks. On Zwift, the elimination will pull out the last rider across the line at each of the circuit’s two arches, bringing track racing excitement and tactics to Zwift’s virtual roads for the first time. Once the field has been whittled down to the last three riders, there will be a sprint for World Champions’ stripes!
With eliminations occurring throughout the three races, and PowerUps enabled, this race will be the ultimate test of on-bike strength and speed, as well as Zwift strategy and skill.
The national teams lining up to race the world championships include both riders selected by federations and top finishes at the continental qualifier races held in November. Unique to world championship racing, any Zwifter had a chance to earn a berth at worlds through these qualifiers. Be sure to watch what promises to be the most exciting racing action Zwift has ever seen in February.
Z Fondo Series - December-April
The Zwift Fondo Series brings the fun and collective excitement of “The Big Ride” to Zwift. This year’s series includes three endurance challenges: Gran, Medio, and Bambino lengths, each one designed to fit into different schedules, and to provide options for Zwifters of all fitness levels.
Each of the fondo weekends offers three distance options: An A group that will cover 90 kilometers, a B group that covers 70 kilometers, and a C group that covers 50 kilometers. Everyone can pick the distance that makes the most sense for them, and then connect with other riders on the roads of Zwift.
Fondo weekends will take place the first weekend of each month, starting December 2, 2022, and ending in April 2023:
December 2, 2022 - December 4, 2022
December 30, 2022 - January 1, 2023
February 3, 2023 - February 5, 2023
March 3, 2023 - March 5, 2023
March 31, 2023 - April 2, 2023
Rapha Festive 500 - December 24-31
The Rapha Festive 500 is one of the year’s most enjoyable collective cycling events, challenging riders to pedal 500 kilometers between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. It’s a time of year when many people are off work and taking advantage of the extra time to ride. We’re excited to work with Rapha to host some Festive 500 rides on Zwift; make sure you register for the Festive 500 on Strava to track your Zwift and real-world miles. Complete any Festive 500 rides on Zwift, led by a Rapha ambassador or a PacerBot, and you can unlock a unique in-game Festive 500 kit.
Tour de Zwift - January 10 - February 13
The Tour de Zwift is one of the largest cycling events in the world, and gives all riders the chance to explore eight of Zwift’s worlds over eight stages that will show you all of the worlds’ most fun and scenic routes and courses. Participants will get the chance to unlock new route badges, earn an in-game kit, and can also purchase a real-world kit made by Pedal Mafia, so that you can match your in-game avatar.
Zwift Racing League Season Three and Championships
ZRL is the most fun you can have racing on Zwift; form a team with friends and riding partners, and then compete in six races – four points races and two TTTs. Courses include all of Zwift’s most popular worlds. The third and final round of ZRL starts in January and top teams will be invited to the ZRL finals in early March.
Zwift’s new Scotland map will be the scene of intense competition at the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships in February. Before the championship racing starts, there will be ZRacing events and route recon rides joined by pros on the new map. These events will give you the chance to reconnoiter the new courses, take in all of the imaginative Scottish scenery, and revel in the excitement of riding on the 2023 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship course.
Super League Arena Games
Back in February for its fourth season, this year’s expanded series will continue to have the world’s top professional triathletes swimming in a pool, and then riding and running on Zwift, creating an exciting, spectator-friendly triathlon spectacle.
As in 2022, Super League Triathlon will again partner with World Triathlon and will host events in four cities. You can stream the action, or attend in person if you live near any of the four events.
Interested in seeing how you compare to the top-level triathletes racing in the games? You’ll be able to test your fitness in a number of events on Zwift.
Zwift Academy Run
For 2023, Zwift Academy Run will include seven structured workouts. To help you get through them, Zwift will provide lots of training tips along the way, and you’ll be able to connect with a community of runners who are all united in the mission of getting fitter and faster. At the end of the program, you’ll complete a finish line.
We worked with world-class coach Terrence Mahon and three-time Jen Rhines to create all the workouts, which are designed to help you improve your fitness, whether your goal is to set a marathon PR or finish your first 5k.
Everyone who graduates from the program has the chance to win the grand prize, which includes gear from top running brands and an entry to the 2023 Berlin Marathon.
Tour of Watopia
Tour of Watopia is the tour that levels you up faster, whether it’s your in-game level or your fitness level. Boost your fitness and fun while you unlock new gear, Keeping your avatar looking fresh. The rewards of hard work are amplified when you score double XP, taking you to the next level faster than a sprint!
If you finish all five stages, you’ll unlock the in-game 2023 Tour of Watopia kit.
