Watch rider/race

General Discussion
1

Apologies if this has been asked before, but is it possible to simply watch a rider/race and if so how?

2

Yes it is possible. Open up Zwift on your PC as if you want to ride. Then click on the rider list on the right and you will follow that rider, if the rider is not on the list you can use the companion app to search for the rider and click on the “spectate” button, you PC will then show this rider.

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3

There’s no way to watch a race as a spectator from what I understand.

4

@i van: did you see my post? Nathan Guerra do it all the time when he broadcast races.

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5

do you have to start a ride and then join the event that they’re in?

6

Yes you have to start a ride , joining the event makes it a lot easier. But if you can find them on the companion app you can also do a spectate view in the game.

7

I’ve just tried this morning using the Android app (selected ‘skip’ when it came to sensor pairing). My brother was riding and I select ‘ride with’ but it just dumped me on the road with my brother nowhere in sight. I repeated this several times to no avail.

If you can’t jump to them using Ride With it can be very difficult/impossible to find them using the map and/or clicking other riders, hoping the one you’re after appears in the list.

I feel Zwift needs a proper Spectate button, because the current way of doing things is very clunky and unreliable.

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8

You do not do ride with. Find him on the companion app and “watch” him. Ride with just dumps your avatar next to him. You could quickly click on his name on the right where you see riders nearby then you go into watch mode until you select go back to self.

9

@Gerrie_Delport Thank you for the info. I can search and find the rider in the companion app, but don’t see a “spectate” button. Is that on the Android version?

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10

Never mind I figured it out… “Fan View” button and only works if you are already viewing others. Quite complicated, but cool when you finally figure it out.

11

Fan view doesn’t work on apple tv

12

ok, just to re-cap.

i get a notification that my friend is riding.
i log in and “ride” or “just watch”
using companion app go to the friends profile and click “fan view”

will i then be watching them ride?

13

@Roger_Hall7281: The last time I tried this, the Fan View button had no effect. But that was a while ago. If it works now then it’s been fixed in the meantime. I’ll try again next time I log in. I’m talk specifically about Zwift on the AppleTV. I don’t have any experience using fan view on any other platforms.

14

If you set up your app for notifications, you will know when they start ‘zwifting’. If they enter an event or ride the Alp (and you are at a level too low to enter), then you will be ‘dumped’ near the main starting point.
You can ride/draft riders in a race even if you are not in the event, if a broadcast shows where they are on course. But remember, from live until the broadcast on Youtube/FB, there is probably a 20-40 second gap.You can see them, but riders in an event only see their race opponents. From that point, you can watch through any of the racers by clicking on them (and always give a Ride On, of course)

15

What worked for me:

  • Load up Zwift on the laptop
  • Enter the same world as your zwift friend you wish to view
  • Load up the zwift companion app on the mobile (making sure the app switches to the view where it recognises you are on zwift).
  • Search for your zwift friend, select their name and select “Fan View”. Laptop should then switch to them to view.
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16

If they are racing it’s best to join the event before it starts and then do fan view. Otherwise most of the time you can’t see them when they are in a race.

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