Yes, it exists on other platforms.
For fun, which real life route would you have used for The Grade climb?
I think Trollstigen Norway would have been perfect replicate for a short climb. You got 8.4% grade over 11km, with 11 hairpin turns and a waterfall next to the road.
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I would have used Col du TĆ©lĆ©graphe (D902) from Saint-Michelle de Maurienne - itās a fairly steady gradient.
Otherwise I would have picked Col DāIzoard which is another nice one that isnāt too hard - although it has some flatter sections that might upset pacing for some people.
For a longer effort (for those who demand the 1 hour power tests) this one is excellent:
https://www.strava.com/segments/19166258
Grand Carrey to Co de La Loze, 1430m+ 21.97km
The fast people do that at average ~300w and 18km/h average speed (just over an hour)/
It is relentless (past Le Praz for instance) as you go up through the different levels of Courchevel - but given the steady nature you can get into a good pace. Itās only the Co de la Loze section at the top that isnāt steady, it has some extremely steep sections at 16% or more.
Is the FTP also calculated if I donāt finish the segment? For example, if I only ride for the minimum 8 minutes mentioned?
Or if I donāt complete the entire segment because I blow up after 12 minutes?
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Until we either find out in a few dayās time by testing, or someone from Zwift answers hard to say.
But I can say, it will impact your zFTP curve of course; so it can impact your pace category if you hit PRās.
The in-game FTP is itās own thing, and really only tied to workouts and training zones.
I always mix up the Madeline with the Madone, but one of them.
Wow that new road behind the temples to halfway the Grade is amazing. Really good for races.
I agree. When people ask for a velodrome I wonder āhave they ever really ridden on one and do they understand the dynamics?!ā
I have ridden them (the one from Sydney 2000 Olympic Games) and some flatter outdoor ones.
My guess is people just want a dead flat course to do their 100kms in shortest time. As long as you stay on black line it is fast.
Elsewhere in Zwift flat courses are never fully flat, especially the newer ones. Maybe thatās why they want a velodrome.
You would really need a fixed gear trainer bike to make it really realistic. And if it detects someone stop turning then pedals they should be crashed over the bars and out.
My fixed gear by is a Langster Pro. Crazy light bike for alloy!
That depends they donāt need to make it pan flat. e.g increase resistance as you go up the bank. Potentially look at making more use of steering.
Pan flat velodrome if it came with associated race formats to make the most use of it would still be welcome though.
I ride a 96 inch fixed on Zwift on Wahoo Kickr Rollr. Iāve tested cycling tech for a few years and this is THE best ride out there. Iād suggest that anyone asking for a track nip to Derby or whatever is near them and get accredited.
Elimination races are perfect for it.
Or, if Zwift wants to keep going down a road theyāve been playing with; the Gamification Crit City boost and brake pads.
I am indifferent to the whole velodrome that folks are always asking for (I donāt see the obsession over it, and I donāt believe PD and how the steering functions do anything but work against it).
But Elimination races? Would be hugely fun.
An extra large one able to hold like 40+ people too, could be engaging.
For ZHQ though; these additions to Watopia have been great.
BUT PLEASE, can we get some attention on the old worlds and expand them?
Watopia is starting to look like an entirely new game compared to the other worlds.
France doesnāt have a day / night cycle, which is the weirdest bunch out of them all, and would is a great canvas for more roads (but please at least give it a day/night cycle for crying out loud). I donāt even need to say how many roads could be added; some of which all seem interconnected anyway but we canāt ride them; including the road that goes out to St Michelā¦
Innsbruck still has some wonky clouds; but another city with beautiful river passing through, along with one of the most well known airports in the whole world which is literally there in the map zone that would be worth being able to ride out to, along with the mountain range up to the skiing resorts to the north.
Richmondās sunrise/sunset looks like itās still from the release of the map, with tons of city area that could be explored, along with the entire James River coastline and national parks; Belle Isle could be added as well. A very beautiful area that greatly deserves attention.
New York; streets of Manhattan have tons of flat roads to offer.
Everyone seems to love flat roads in Zwift (Tempus). Manhattan is a great opportunity to offer another ātempusā like road everyone seems to want.
Yorkshireā¦ poor yorkshire. Is it even on the monthly calendar anymore? A tiny shame because I love the squirrel gnomes; but, I can understand why this is probably the least favorite map on Zwift thanks to how hilly it is.
Bologna; another missed opportunity to expand a beautiful city with a great countryside to the south end of the map.
I beg you ZHQ; Watopia and Makuri are good for the time being; letās see the old worlds get the love they deserve; theyāre being left in the dust, and are beginning to look terrible compared to Watopia, Makuri/Urukazi/Neoyko, and Scotland.
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Forest City, 51 degrees
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It appears to me from the Gabby, Nathan, Eric data that the power depreciation to get FTP is higher with this test than it is on the 20 minute test.
This may make sense since the formal 20 minute test has a hard 5 minute effort preceding it. That would reduce Wā somewhat.
My calculations suggest the Wā/CP ratio assumed in this test is approximately 130 seconds, which is on the high side. This implies that more of the power up the relatively short Grade climb is assigned to Wā not part of FTP. This calculation assumes FTP = CP ( 1 + 130 / 3600), (ie you use all of Wā during the hour, not FTP = CP. If it took me 20 minutes to get up the grade, and I did 100 watts, my FTP would be 93.5, not the 95.0 assumed in the 20 minute test.
But on the pragmatic side if Zwift FTP is used a a race predictor, since anaerobic work capacity (AWC or Wā) is important in racing, it makes sense to use shorter efforts to bin riders. So a 10-15 minute test may be more relevant than a 20 minute test.
If Iāve understood this āThe Gradeā FTP calculator correctlyā¦
Itās going to give a different value than 95% of best 20mins as well as Category Enforcement zFTP.
For someone like me assigned to the lowest racing pen, getting to the KOM banner to get a āThe Gradeā FTP estimate is going to take longer than a ramp test, or getting an estimate from a threshold 20min+ effort doing a Tempus Fugit TT etc.
Iām not sure who this āThe Gradeā calculator is supposed to appeal to, Iād much rather have had an intresting ascent, such as a series of Cat 3/4 inclines (~260-1000 feet at 3%+) spread out with some flatter sections up to the intersection with Epic KOM.
We know a Roubaix style velodrome is on itās way.
New York should be ripe for expansion, as itā 100% Zwift, ie no 3rd party contracts, Iād love more NYC roads !
London, not sure if itās tied to any 3rd parties or if Ride London just used an existing planned world.
UCI worlds, not sure Zwift wants to do much with them while they are branded on top of any Contract.
France, maybe the upgrade money goes to the IRL race ?? 
Assuming it doesnāt change over time cough Epic cough, itās at least a baseline you can give yourself, and use as a reference such as ADZ is; exceptā¦ at a more reasonable scale time wise (ie, most races in Zwift are barely 30-40 minutes, an average 60+ minute ascent up ADZ for most folks, isnāt going to be the most telling of fitness).
Plus, ADZ time is affected by some draft, there isnāt a ton, but there is more than none.
Looks like The Grade will have as little as possible impact from drafting, given its location. It appears GPLlamaās now famed ābailout roadā, is the only draft-able location on the climb of The Grade itself, which is only a few secondās worth of flat for the turn point.
I donāt expect to see people going up it all too often, but, regardless it should be a welcomed feature; that doesnāt technically involve going into sub menus of different menus of different pages, just to do a ātest.ā That as a feature alone, IMO is quite big. (Similar to climb portals being featured in the maps and donāt require exiting your ride to do it).
Sure, you could end your ride and go straight to it, but the fact itās a location, and not a workout mode, is a welcome feature.
Daniel put it correctly though; as stated, since Zwift races are so short anyway, everyone wants their harder, yet shorter, efforts realized; this is a good test. And again, assuming nothing changesā¦ itās just a data point that shouldnāt be affected greatly like other climbs.
Most races in Zwift are determined by real efforts under 10 minutes; not by a total 1 hour + capacity, because those races mostly donāt commonly exist short of a handful of events (and rarely / maybe only once per year by Zwift themselves).
Regardless; everyone here on the forum by now should know FTP varies daily, and hourly, and the differences in a handful of watts is mostly meaningless; it could be the difference in stress, food, 20 more minutes of sleep, etc.
These shorter tests, should definitely burn you out more.
Personally, the handful of times Iāve done the 20 minute FTP tests, I likely could keep going, but lack the interest at staring at numbers on the screen for that long of a period, and just watching the timer count down; and might as well not even be doing it on a Zwift world in the first place. But at the end, I still always felt like my legs could easily keep going at the same power for at least another 10 minutesā¦ if I could force my brain to want to keep going.
These shorter effort tests will really, again as Daniel mentioned, impact your bodyās capacity, and will really bottom out you Wā, where on a 20+ minute test, you try and stabilize into your CP zone so you can survive it.
FTP for the record should be something like that indeed 95-96% CP.
Regardless, as mentioned; a handful of watts here and there shouldnāt matter that much, daily differences will create bigger gaps.
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Least they can do then is provide rebel routes or make new ones at least for the time being; especially London.
Regardless, itās definitely a fact that the older worlds seem to have outdated lighting or at least outdated sky models from years past of when they were introduced.
Sunrise in worlds like Yorkshire, London, Richmond, Innsbruck, look nothing at all like the ones we have in Watopia currently.
Though, Iāll still continue to wish and dream for more weather in more worlds; including snow for those higher up biomes.
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No one said a velodrome is coming.
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Maybe not explicitly, but we had that screenshot from Eric Min back in February.
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