The first race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26’s final round happens Tuesday, April 7, and it’s a team time trial with a spicy finish!

Hell of the North was named in a nod to Paris-Roubaix, my favorite one-day race on the cycling calendar. The name is perhaps a bit dramatic, given that this is a flat route with a “petit” climb at the end. Be that as it may, it’s one of France’s newer routes, hasn’t been raced yet in ZRL, and should make for an interesting opening TTT.

Let’s dig into the course, look at bike selection, and more!

Looking at the Route: Hell of the North

All riders will race 1 lap of France’s Hell of the North, for a total race length of 20.1km with 241m of elevation gain.

Broadly speaking, this is a simple route: 17km of flattish roads, finishing with the Petit KOM, a 2.7km climb averaging 4%:

But let’s drill down a bit into key sections and waypoints:

• First Draft Powerup given in the start pens
• Flat Start + Les Intestins (first 3.6 km): Get up to speed quickly on the flat lead-in, then rotate pulls in a way that keeps you fast over the three peaks of Les Intestins. This may be the most technical portion of the route.
• Ramps Up Dos d’Âne Sprint @5.6 km (600 meters long, 2-3%): Two short, cobbled ramps up to the sprint arch will reward teams who raise their power to keep speeds high.
• Dos d’Âne Sprint Arch and 2nd Draft Boost Powerup @6.1km
• Sprinteur Sprint Arch and 3rd Draft Boost Powerup @11.9km
• Ramp after Sprinteur Sprint @12.6 km (300 meters, 2.5%): Another slack climb you’ll want to power through.
• Sprint du Cratère Reverse and 4th Draft Boost Powerup @13.4km
• Ballon Sprint and 5th Draft Boost Powerup @16.2km

The Petit KOM is, of course, the standout feature on this route. In a scratch race, it’s where the pack breaks up as riders with high w/kg drop the sprinters whose wheels they’ve been borrowing thus far.

In a TTT, though, the Petit KOM requires a different kind of strategy. While it’s a sub 5-minute climb for A riders, and sub 6 minutes for B, it’s not just about the best effort you can put in. Because at only 3.9%, this is a very draftable climb, particularly in the flatter bits. (This climb zig-zags its way to the top, and the “zig” portions, when you’re traveling roughly toward the start pens, are much flatter than the “zags”.)

You may also want to sacrifice a rider or two, particularly on the flatter portions of the climb, since your time is taken based on the fourth rider to finish.

Read more about the Hell of the North route >

Powerups (?!)

A few years ago, powerups were announced for a ZRL TTT… but as I recall, it never actually happened.

I always thought that would be a fun addition, though. And it sounds like it’s going to happen for this stage! WTRL says we’ll get a draft boost (van) powerup in the start pens, and at every arch. See notes above under “Looking at the Route” for arch locations.

Reminder: the draft boost increases the draft effect you are experiencing for 40 seconds. It’s best used at high speeds (flats and descents), and only helpful when you’re drafting!

Teams would be wise to discuss how to best use these powerups, as you will receive a total of 5 during the race. I see “offensive” and “defensive” approaches to powerup use in this race:

• One smart “offensive” approach would be to trigger the powerup ~45 seconds before you’re slated to take a pull on the front, making it easier to sit on the wheel(s) near the front so your legs are as fresh as possible when it’s time to take your pull. This may allow you to take a slightly harder pull than usual, and if everyone on the team does this, it could trim valuable seconds off your time.
• Alternatively, if a rider is struggling to stay in the wheels, they could use the powerup to ease their effort wherever they’re at in the pull order. This is the “defensive” approach. It’s also sort of the default/bailout approach, because some sprint arches come within a minute or two of each other, so you’ll want to trigger the powerup regardless of where you’re at in the pull order, just so it’s not wasted.

Bike Frame + Wheel Choice

Bike choice here is simple, assuming you have access to everything: go aero.

The math is straightforward: a lighter frame like the Scott Plasma RC Ultimate only saves half a second on the Petit KOM at 5 W/kg. And the fastest lightweight wheels (ENVE SES 4.5) don’t save any time over the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc on the climb, given how aero the disc is.

That scant savings from a lighter frame will be wiped out on the flats, where the disc wheel drastically outperforms climbing wheels. So full aero it is.

If you don’t have access to this setup, check out “Fastest TT Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level” and use the fastest TT frame and wheelset available at your level.

One more note on bike choice: upgrading your frame makes a big difference. A fully upgraded frame saves around 13 watts, or ~48 seconds per hour of riding. Read all about the performance improvements you receive from upgrades here.

More Route Recons

Many recon rides are planned each week on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and familiarize yourself with the route! Find a list of upcoming ZRL recon rides at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.

Additionally, riders in the Zwift community do a great job every week creating recon videos that preview the courses and offer tips to help you perform your best on the day. I’ll add recons below as I find them, but please comment if you find a useful one that isn’t yet listed!

TTTips

Successful team time trialing on Zwift requires a challenging combination of physical strength, proper pacing, and Zwift minutiae like picking the fastest bike, understanding drafting in a TTT context, and getting your frame fully upgraded.

Mixed courses like this week give valuable seconds to “balanced” teams with two strengths:

• Big pure-power riders who can keep their watts high on the front while staying in single-file formation to conserve in the draft behind
• A set of four riders who have a high W/kg in that 4-6 minute VO2max window, to deliver the final punch up the Petit KOM.

On a course like this week’s, I recommend all team members set their Trainer Difficulty to the same value, and make sure that value is at least 75%, so you feel slight gradient changes and increase power to compensate. This will help you automatically punch on the uphills, keeping your overall speed high.

Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on each rider’s abilities. I highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.

Lastly, if you want to go further down the TTT rabbit hole, I highly recommend Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.

Questions or Comments?

Share below!

MB Wear is the brainchild of former pro riders Tiziano Dall’Antonia and Marco Bandiera, and it has the largest range of cycling-specific socks I’ve seen in many years.

The newly launched brand’s range includes a mix of fabrics, designs, weights and shapes to cover everything from aero-optimised time trialling to all-weather off-roading.

The socks are made using materials including graphene-infused cotton, polyamide with silver ions and ceramic-infused yarns. Each sock is designed for its specific purpose, and MB still finds space to include some funky designs.

• Read more: Best cycling socks | 9 pairs of stylish socks and buyer’s guide

Pro Specialis

The Pro Specialis sock is priced at £16.99 / €19.50 and designed as MB’s all-year round option.

The Q-Skin Polyamide fabric is claimed to offer UV-A and UV-B absorption, and abrasion resistance. Along with the internal construction and design, it’s said to help circulation by emitting FIR – beneficial electromagnetic waves that help increase blood circulation.

These are big claims for £17 socks. Personally, I just like the neon pink colourway.

Aero-optimised socks

The Aero Fast and Aero Dry socks are MB Wear’s most expensive offerings at £29.99 / €34.90. The foot of the socks mirrors the construction of the Pro socks. This seamlessly joins a Lycra 3.0 upper section that’s ribbed for aerodynamic efficiency, according to MB Wear, and extends 19cm above the ankle.

The Aero Dry follows the same design and size, but is made from an ultra-light, highly vented material for fast rides on hot days.

Graphene-infused

The Pro Graphene combines Q-Skin fabric with a graphene yarn. This makes for a hard-wearing yet lightweight second-skin fit that offers more protection than the classic Pro Specialis for £19.99 / €22.

MB Wear’s Fun and Smile socks (£19.99 / €22) are made using Q-Skin’s lightweight breathable fabric that’s ideal for warmer days. With a myriad of colours and designs, these look likely to become my go-to summer option.

The Comfort sock (£16.99 / €18.90) uses a heavier-weight fabric on the sole, with a 3D-weave pattern that’s claimed to help cushion and support the plantar area and heel. MB says the Comfort is the ideal sock for off-road and gravel riding.

MB Wear also offers a Night sock with reflective yarns and fluro colours, a Sahara sock for the hottest conditions and the Siberia for – you guessed it – the coldest.

This is our 12th April Fools’ Day on Zwift, and each year ZHQ has come up with something fun for the community.

A Quick Review

In 2025 we all got a Pocket Scotty, which became an ongoing feature the next day. In 2024 we ironically wore VR Goggles, and before that it was two years of special April Fools’ Day events. 2021 saw us big wheeling, 2020 saw us transported to 1989, and 2019 we smelled burning rubber. The year before that it was Paperboy. In 2017 we had big heads, 2016 gave us the old-timey effect, and in 2015 we rode big wheels on Jarvis.

This year Zwift has a new surprise – they’ve swapped out the supertuck rider position for the superman! (Apologies for the low-quality images… I’m traveling and trying to get shots from a low-powered laptop…)

How To Be Super(wo)man

To get into the new Superman position on Zwift, five conditions must be met:

1. You must be on a standard road pr gravel bike frame (no Tron, TT, or MTB)
2. You must be traveling at least ~36MPH (~58km/hr)
3. The gradient’s decline must be at least -3%
4. Your power output must be below 11 watts
5. You must be out of the draft and not riding in a pack (safety first!)
6. It has to be April 1st (local time)

Zwift will automatically place your avatar in the superman position if all these conditions are true. You come back out of the superman once any of these conditions is not met – for example, if the road flattens out to a -2% decline.

While I can’t recommend attempting this position in real life, I can promise you it’s possible:

There’s even a tutorial video. But don’t blame me if you try this and it doesn’t go well for you:

Your Thoughts

Based on this April 1st fun and recent images from the Pas Racing Series, it appears Zwift has worked up some new avatar poses/positions. What other avatar postures would you like to see? (I want a victory wheelie.) Share your thoughts below!