On Friday, the Indoor Specialist squad took on the third race in Zwift’s newest Pro-Am Invitational: Tour de Zwift. The series of races pits 23 teams against each other in an epic battle for points on some of Zwift’s best race circuits.

The Competition

The men’s Pro-Am Invitational features 16 of the strongest amateur / community organized teams on Zwift and 7 UCI-level professional teams. The merging of the professional with the amateur teams shows exactly why eSports Cycling is so unique: Zwift racing is a skill that takes time to perfect!

While we love our week-in, week-out community races, getting to line up against professional teams on our own turf is such an incredible opportunity!

Indoor Specialist racers who lined up for this race were: Aaron Coles, Tully Lyster, Holden Comeau, Matt Gardiner & Ryan Larson.

The Course

Racers faced off this week on the 2015 UCI World Championship course in Richmond, Virginia. Race organizers are surely hoping to see someone be inspired by Peter Sagan and go for a solo-breakaway win from the 23rd street KOM — but first let’s dive into how we get to that famous climb!

Richmond starts with 8km of pancake-flat-but-cobbled roads. Traditionally, this stretch of road is calm and quiet as racers get ready for the course’s final 4km, but in the Tour de Zwift, there are 2 intermediate sprints over the flat section of course; the first sprint coming at 4km into the race, and the second sprint just 3km later. These two sprints are sure to mix up the racing and make the finale even more grueling than usual!

After the sprints are over, racers are given a brief kilometer of descent and flat before the race hits the first of 3 brutal climbs: Libby Hill. This climb is an all-out minute on cobbled road and the top-10 racers across the line will grab crucial points for their team. Racers will not want to be caught too far back after this climb, as the second KOM on 23rd street comes less than a minute later — power on this climb is more like a sprint than a climb: FULL GAS.

As racers crest the 2nd KOM, they are greeted with a glorious minute of descent and flat leading into the finale of this course on Governor Street. The drag-race sprint on this course is one of the toughest finishes on Zwift!

The Race

In all of our experiences on Richmond, we knew that the pace from the start to the first sprint would be hellish — but we are shocked to say we underestimated it!

Immediately, racers on the front of the peloton set a hurricane pace above 50kph, which made “sitting in” much more like “hanging on”. Our 5 racers found the front early and worked to maintain position as the race neared the first of the two intermediate sprints.

As racers rounded the hairpin turn, a torrent of power-ups were deployed and avatars lurched out of their saddles in a mad dash to get the first points on the board. The peloton strung out over 200 meters, but came back together quickly as racers near the back reconnected, knowing the next sprint was less than 3 km down the road.

The stretch of road between the sprints, a net downhill, allowed for some much needed rest. The pace slowed slightly as racers caught their breath, rehydrating and fueling for the next effort. As the peloton turned onto West Broad Street, the pace lifted in anticipation of the sprint. With 300m to the start of the sprint section, attacks were thrown and power-ups were deployed, a gap formed as 8 racers raced towards the line. With a small-but-measurable gap of 5s on the peloton, the break kept on the pace, forcing racers in the main pack to reel it in. Just ahead, a straightaway descent down to the riverside offered reprieve for the racers.

The peloton came back together as the speed increased on the descent, with the entire pack of racers entering a super-tuck as racers coasted on their smart trainers. The real racing set to begin just a few kilometers down the road on the famous Libby Hill KOM. With the climb looming, no racers dared to burn matches with a move off the front of the pack. As the group rounded the hairpin turn to begin the iconic 3-climb finish, racers increased the pace in preparation for the climb.

Those contesting the KOM moved to the front and activated their power-ups, forming a single-file line up Libby’s cobbled road. The rubber-band snapped, and over the top of the climb a select group of 15 racers emerged, leaving the peloton behind by a quickly growing margin of over 10 seconds. With just 500m of road before the next KOM, the leaders caught their breath briefly before refocusing on the task at hand: a 20 second all-out sprint up the cobbled 23rd Street KOM, the climb where Peter Sagan famously attacked and rode away to a UCI World Championship title.

Indoor Specialist Ryan Larson gave his best Sagan effort, but the pack was too strong. He took the maximum KOM points with the pack close behind over the top of the climb, securing the lead for the team as the race headed for the finish. With two KOMs in the racers’ legs over the last 3km, the lead pack enjoyed its gap on the chasing peloton — easing into the final climb up Governor Street as if a truce had been reached. Though before anyone could get too comfortable, Canyon ZCC racer Philipp Diegner pushed through the group with a draft power-up, increasing his effort as he hit the front of the race. A gap opened and the pack behind him watched as the gap grew from one, to three, to seven seconds.

The group made the final turn onto East Broad Street, the straightaway to the finish-line 500m down the road, and the pace lifted to reel Diegner in. Dropping their final power-ups, racers got out of their saddles giving every bit of power their legs had remaining to finish. The sprinters caught Diegner with only 100m to go, and crossed the line before coasting to a stop — undoubtedly draped over their handlebars in their homes.

One of the hardest races to ever take place on Zwift — a brief-yet-brutal 19 minutes and 38 seconds. It’s clear that the level of competition in the Tour de Zwift is higher than we’ve ever seen before.

The (Provisional) Results

Our team entered this race knowing we would need to go after every point available. With two intermediate sprint competitions and two KOM competitions before the finish, the points opportunities were ample.

• 1st intermediate sprint: Ryan Larson took 3rd, giving our team 8 points.

• 2nd intermediate sprint: Ryan took 2nd and Matt Gardiner took 6th, giving the team a total of 14 points, and putting us in the lead at 22 points.

• 1st KOM competition: Ryan took 4th, Matt took 8th, and Holden Comeau took 10th, giving the team a total of 11 points, and maintaining our lead—extending our points total to 33 (8 points ahead of 2nd place Canyon ZCC).

• 2nd KOM competition: Ryan took 1st and Matt took 10th, giving the team a total of 11 points, and bringing the total to 44 (7 points ahead of 2nd place Canyon ZCC).

• Finale: Matt finished 10th, Ryan finished 16th, and Aaron Coles finished 19th, giving the team a total of 33 points, bring our total to 77, 21 points behind a dominant Canyon ZCC, which placed 3 racers in the top-10.

Overall, this was such an incredible result for our team — fighting with every ounce of energy we had throughout the race! Link to finalized results can be found here!

Note: After ZADA review of racer data, rider disqualifications moved Aaron Coles up to 18th place and increased our point total by 1.

The Data:

All race data for our racers in the Pro-Am races is publicly available below: dig in!

Tully Lyster

“As brutal as that race was, it is so much fun stepping into the Tour de Zwift with my Indoor Specialist teammates. The pace was on from the very beginning and just never let up!”

Matt Gardiner

“There is no better feeling during these races to see the points totals updated throughout with your team in the top spot. Entering the final climb to the finish with the lead pack on this course was one of the most exciting and daunting moments I’ve had in Zwift racing — the level of pain endured to get there was more than I thought I could suffer. Crossing the line in 10th with teammates close behind made every second of pain worth it! Second place overall! HELL YES!”

Aaron Coles

“ I couldn't wait to take on the Richmond UCI course! I wasn't disappointed as the pace from the start was unrelenting. After only just missing out on points in the first sprint I tried to recover in time for the second half of the course. My effort up Libby Hill left me just off the back of the front pack and so I was playing catch up until hitting the finish line. I was ecstatic to finish in the top-20 and pick up some good points for the team! I was even more proud by how well the team worked together to secure the most points possible, the team finished 2nd overall!”

Ryan Larson

“I figured nothing could be worse than Bologna last week. I was wrong. That one hurt, but I’m happy to have been able to score points for the team in every intermediate competition and still finish in the points! It was such a strong field and thrilled to have been able to help lift our team to the podium!”

Holden Comeau

“The strength of this field in the Pro/Am races has been so immense. I haven't experienced anything like it before on Zwift. Even though I was suffering, I could see the points rank being updated at each mark with my team on top. It was so motivating. I couldn't see who was scoring and what was happening, but I knew my guys were crushing it. My teammates continue to inspire me to reach for new goals. To set my expectations higher and higher. On days like today especially, I'm so thankful and proud to be on this team.”