The revamped structure, featuring a regular season and Championship, a consistent schedule, a defined pathway from community to elite, and new qualification criteria, provides increased incentives and promises exciting and competitive racing.
In an unprecedentedly early move, the Zwift competition team announced the high-level season structure for Elite Community Racing on the platform for the 2024/25 season. Zwift sent the Zwift Elite Community Racing Season 2024/25 Race Book to elite Zwift racers and teams on June 20th (it was sent on July 31st last year for the 2023/24 Zwift Grand Prix).
It features several sought-after changes designed to enhance the racing experience, provide a clear pathway from community to elite, and create a more compelling product for racers, the community, and the fans. Based on multiple rounds of rider and influencer feedback, these changes aim to make the upcoming season even more exciting and competitive.
The 2024/25 Zwift Elite Community Racing Season Overview
The 2024/25 Elite Community Racing Season will undergo a significant overhaul. Zwift is replacing the previous Zwift Grand Prix and Zwift Premier Division with the new Zwift World Series, which represents the “regular season.”
The Zwift Games will return for a second edition as the season-ending Championship in March 2025 with several enhancements and a 30-place prize purse.
The upcoming season introduces a year-long pathway into elite racing that is open and democratic, accessible to all Zwift riders and teams, and supporting community events.
The formats have been simplified for both competitors and fans to make the races easier to follow. The competition will feature smaller field sizes and challenging courses to ensure more exciting and engaging races.
A regular monthly schedule of races will maintain a continuous and engaging seasonal narrative, beginning over a month earlier than last year (2023/24 Zwift Grand Prix Round One was October 19th). Enhanced incentives are in place for individual riders and teams, rewarding performance in each race and throughout the season. The structure intends to spotlight talented riders, reward standout performances, and create heroes within the community.
The season-long narrative will build up to the climactic Zwift Games season finale. Additionally, each round will include a community race on the same course, allowing broader participation and fostering a sense of community.
The precise details will continue to emerge as the season draws closer. Here’s what we know so far!
Zwift World Series Overview: Schedule
The Zwift World Series five-race regular season will begin on Thursday, September 5th, with an open qualifier, followed by Race 1 two weeks later. The remaining schedule will follow a similar cadence of race action every two weeks to Race 5 on January 30th.
The Scratch race format (races 1-4 featuring two primes) will have a starting field of only 50 riders, and the Men’s and Women’s races will be back-to-back on the same day. Zwift will announce the courses when they are finalized closer to race day. It is unclear at this time whether the Zwift World Series and Zwift Racing League courses will overlap.
Zwift World Series Overview: Qualification—Series Pass
At the beginning of the Zwift World Series, the top 8 men’s and women’s teams from the 2023/24 Zwift Grand Prix will be able to award Series Passes to three specific riders from their teams. These 24 riders per gender will receive an automatic slot in each series race and are exempt from participating in any qualification races. These named riders must commit to competing in all five races of the Series.
As the season advances, additional riders can earn Series Passes based on their performance. During the first four races of the Zwift World Series, any rider who finishes in the top 10 or wins at any Prime location will earn a Series Pass, provided they don’t already have one. This Series Pass grants them automatic entry into all remaining races in the series, eliminating the need for them to qualify for any further events.
Riders without Series Passes must enter and compete in the Open Qualifiers to participate in each race. If a rider with a Series Pass fails to participate in two or more races during the Series, they will forfeit their Series Pass and must qualify for any subsequent Series events through the Open Qualifiers.
Zwift World Series Overview: Qualification—Open Qualifiers
Once teams allocate their Series Passes, Zwift will fill the remaining slots in each race (up to 50 total) through an Open Qualifier held two weeks before the race on the same course. This setup allows any Zwift racer from any team to qualify for a spot at the start line. Teams with Series Pass riders can also expand their rosters for each race by participating in the Open Qualifiers.
For Race 1, the Open Qualifier will grant a spot to the first 26 finishers. These qualifiers are open to all riders who have completed the pre-verification process, and the number of participants is not limited.
Zwift will provide details on the registration process for the Open Qualifiers soon.
As more riders obtain Series Passes throughout the season, the number of spots available through Open Qualification will decrease to ensure the starting field remains around 50 riders. However, at least 10 Open Qualification spots will always be available in each race, regardless of the number of Series Pass holders.
If any Series Pass holders cannot participate in an upcoming event, their spots will be awarded to the next highest-ranking qualifiers, ensuring the total number of racers remains balanced at 50.
Zwift World Series Overview: Individual Race Prize Purse
In the Zwift World Series, each men’s and women’s race will feature an individual prize pot determined by riders’ finishing positions, along with a team prize for the best-performing team. Additionally, Races 1 through 4 will offer bonus prizes at two prime locations during each race.
Each race has $7,400 up for grabs to individual racers, with a top prize of $2,000 down to $100 for tenth place. There’s $1,000 per race for the team with the top three finishers and races one through four have 2 prime locations paying out three deep, $500, $200, and $100.
Zwift World Series Overview:
Series Prize Purse and Zwift Games Qualification
In addition to individual and team cash prizes for each race, racers will have substantial incentives to perform well throughout the season. A series-wide classification and the only opportunity to qualify for the Zwift Games are at stake.
Individual racers will earn points based on their finishing positions in each race throughout the season. These points will accumulate into an overall individual Zwift World Series ranking.
A prize pot is designated for the top 10 finishers in the series, awarding $3,000 for first and $250 for tenth ($10,350 total), providing additional motivation for consistent performance across all races.
However, most racers need no greater motivation than a coveted invitation to the season-ending Zwift Games Championship.
In 2025, the Zwift Games will eliminate its separate open qualification system. Instead, qualification will primarily depend on riders’ performances throughout the Zwift World Series.
The top 50 riders with the highest overall points from the series will qualify for the Zwift Games. This change transforms the Zwift Games into a true season-ending championship, offering opportunities for any rider on Zwift to qualify based on their performance during the World Series.
Click the image to listen to Emma and Chris break down the exciting changes to the 2024/25 Zwift Elite Community Racing Season!
How To Be A Part of the Action!
Keep an eye out. Zwift intends to distribute the finalized Zwift World Series Race Book with a description of the rules, the courses, and registration deadlines during the first week in July. That will signal the opening of the Performance Verification window, which will close on August 18th. More details will be available soon. Good luck!
Semi-retired as owner and director of his private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice after over 20 years, Chris is blessed with the freedom to pursue his passion for virtual cycling and writing. On a continual quest to give back to his bike for all the rewarding experiences and relationships it has provided him, he created a non-profit. Chris is committed to helping others with his bike through its work and the pages of his site.
In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to New York to support the charity he founded, TheDIRTDadFund. His “Gain Cave” resides on the North Fork of Long Island, where he lives with his beautiful wife and is proud of his two independent children.
You will read him promoting his passion on the pages of Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. Chris is co-host of The Virtual Velo Podcast, too!
