The second round of the Zwift World Series 2024/25 will feature a showdown of cycling esports' top elite talent.
Important Format and Ruleset Change Update
According to an email correspondence sent by the Zwift Race Team to all Zwift World Series Racers on October 11, 2024, the following findings by the performance verification partner Athlete AnalytiX resulted in format and ruleset changes for Race 2.
The Zwift Race Team revealed that during the post-race performance verification for the men’s ZWS Open Qualifier 2, Athlete AnalytiX (AA) identified anomalies in power output for several riders, occurring exclusively during climbs (steep gradients at high power outputs) on the race route.
These discrepancies prevented the verification of their performances. Since all affected riders used the same trainer model, Zwift and AA initiated an investigation with the manufacturer to determine the cause and inform final decisions about the race.
Wahoo Responds to Hardware Bug
Wahoo responded, “Under extreme conditions—specifically high absolute power on extended climbs at 100% trainer difficulty—power may drift slightly on KICKR V6 and MOVE only. We believe this to be an edge case that impacts only the most powerful indoor racing specialists. We are working on a bug fix, but in the interim, we advise elite riders to set trainer difficulty to 50%.”
Format Changes
The issue primarily affected racers in the men’s Open Qualifier 2. However, since the circumstances were beyond the control of Zwift or the racers, the commissaire made the following final decision (applicable to men’s and women’s fields):
- No Annulments will be issued for men’s Open Qualifier 2.
- All riders who finished the Open Qualifier 2 race will be eligible to race in Elite Race 2 on Thursday, October 17th.
Ruleset Changes
The format changes outlined in the final decision will impact the Zwift World Series Ruleset, requiring the following mid-season changes:
- Field Size: Starting fields for Elite Race will exceed 50 riders. The existing points structure will remain in place, awarding points up to 75th place.
- Trainer Difficulty: To compensate for the vulnerabilities in the hardware AA identified, the minimum trainer difficulty (TD) setting will be 50%. Riders may adjust their TD between 50% and 100% for the event.
Editor’s Note: The following preview contains details based on publicly available information about the race and does not reflect the changes mentioned above, as these were not communicated to the community prior to publication.
Zwift kicked off the Community Elite season with Race 1 on September 19th and saw stellar performances and several racers (seven men and three women) securing season passes.
The fortunate few—19 men and 23 women—from the Race 2 Open Qualifier on October 3rd will round out the field of fifty for Zwift World Series Race 2 on October 17th.
The top three Women’s Finishers in the Race 2 Open Qualifier were Mary Kate McCarthy (Rocacorba Collective), Lucy Charles-Barclay (NeXT P/B Enshored), and Jacqueline Godbe (Saris Esports). The top three Men’s Finishers were Thomas Perren (NeXT P/B Enshored), Jasper Pardaens (ABUS-Synergy), and Ruben Dhondt (Hexagone). The complete results are here.
Here’s what we know about the format, route, prize money, and how to watch the thrilling high-powered racing.
Three racers from the top eight Men’s and Women’s teams from last season’s Zwift Grand Prix get a Series Pass and an automatic slot in each race.
Riders finishing in the top ten or winning either of the Primes during the first four races can also earn a pass, making it increasingly challenging to earn Open Qualification spots each race in the reduced fifty-racer fields.
The top 19 male racers from the Open Qualifier will join 24 Series Pass holders and the three riders who earned their spots during the first round of the Zwift World Series on September 19th. Similarly, the top 23 female racers in the October 3rd Open Qualifier will join the Series Pass holders and the three racers who secured their spots in race 1.
In the Women’s Race, Anne Nevin (THE COALITION) and Liz Van Houweling (NeXT P/B Enshored) came across the line in ninth and tenth to secure a pass, joining Maria Holdcroft (CRYO RDT) who took the Broad St. Sprint Prime.
The Men’s Race saw more fortunate riders breathing a season-long sigh of relief, including winner Jo Pirotte (Abus-Synergy), Richard Barry (NeXT P/B Enshored), Ricardo Panizza (Team Castelli pb Elite), Neal Fryett (Saris Esports), Johannes Randrop Keiding (Restart pb Alex Coh), and Mads Buster. The FrenchyFuzion rider Adrien “Legriffondor” Legriffon moved on by way of his 23rd St. KOM Prime win.
The revamped Zwift World Series format gives the riders a lot to race for this season. In addition to cash prizes for individual, overall, primes, and team classification, the riders are fighting for a spot in the season-ending Zwift Games 2025.
There’s also a Zwift World Series Team Leaders helmet for the front runners in the team classification, which the men’s NeXT Esports P/B Enshored and Women’s Aeonian riders will sport in Race 2.
The Top 50 riders in the Individual Classification in the Zwift World Series will earn an invitation to race in the Zwift Games 2025. For complete details, read the article linked below.
Race 2 of the Zwift World Series takes riders to the designed-for-ZWS Watopia Peak Performance course, featuring 46.6km up The Grade, reaching 730m of elevation. The Titans Grove Reverse KOM (.9km 4.3%) will test the racers early on, followed by the Woodland and Sasquatch Sprints. Then, they attack The Grade KOM (3.6km 8.7%) and descend to the flat run into the finish in downtown Watopia.
The Scratch Race will have two Prime locations—the Woodland Sprint at approximately 15km and The Grade KOM at around 25km.
$7,400 is up for grabs to the first ten racers over the line, and $800 per Prime paid out three deep. The team with the best three finishers puts a grand into the team’s coffer.
You can catch the action by tuning into the Zwift YouTube Channel, and you can enhance your viewing experience with real-time data, racer cams, and more at ZwiftWorldSeries.com.
The Men’s race starts at 1715 UTC, followed by the Women’s at 1850 UTC. Enjoy the show!
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
