Want to ride this year's UCI Road World Championship course in Yorkshire? A new virtual course replicating the Harrogate finishing circuit will soon be added to Zwift.
So, if you’re not able to get there to ride the roads yourself, you’ll soon have another option (though, sadly, virtual flat caps and tea rooms are yet to be confirmed).
The game team at Zwift has used both GPX and outdoor ride data to track the route and gradients of the Harrogate finishing circuit, and accurately bring these into the virtual cycling world.
As with the 2018 Innsbruck-Tirol World Championship course, Zwift’s creative teams have taken inspiration not just from Harrogate, but the “surrounding areas of cycling crazy Yorkshire”. Zwift also says that some local landmarks have been pulled in closer to the circuit.
Here are the full details of the new course, scheduled to go live this month.
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“It’s fantastic to see how Zwift are able to bring people from all over the world closer to the championships in an entirely virtual way,” says UCI president David Lappartient. “Not only that, but their course will provide an opportunity for competing riders to familiarise themselves with what looks to be a very selective finishing circuit this year.”
As we pointed out last year, when Zwift recreated the 24km ‘Olympic Lap’ from the 2018 Innsbruck-Tirol World Championship course, testing out circuits in a simulator is a routine practice in sports such as Formula 1, so there’s no doubt this Zwift course will be used by some riders and nations looking to gain an advantage over their rivals.
Starting from 9 September, Zwift will also be hosting three different virtual ride series on the course:
- Recon rides: These are easy group rides designed for exploring the course at a more leisurely pace
- Power Up: This series focuses on different cycling specialities, with a different set of in-game Power Ups for each one
- Yorkshire World Champs Week: A series of rides that aims to replicate the action taking place day-to-day, across the week
Zwift Yorkshire UCI Road World Championships course details
2019 UCI World Harrogate Circuit
The official circuit of the 2019 UCI World Championships.
- Distance: 13.8 km / 8.6 mi
- Elevation: 245 m / 804 ft
Duchy
A clockwise trip around the northern, flatter part of the Harrogate Circuit. This route hits the shorter, faster sprint portion.
- Distance: 10.7 km / 6.6 mi
- Elevation: 204 m / 669.3 ft
Queen’s Highway
An anti-clockwise trip around the northern, flatter part of the Harrogate Circuit. This is where you put the hammer down and hit the sprints.
- Distance: 5.7 km / 3.5 mi
- Elevation: 82 m / 269 ft
Tour of Tewit Well
Ride the southern part of the Harrogate Circuit in reverse. Lots of hills await you here. You may need some of the Tewit Well's famed restorative waters after tackling this route.
- Distance: 10.7 km / 6.6 mi
- Elevation: 204 m / 669.3 ft
Royal Pump Room 8
Tackle every challenging section of the undulating Harrogate Circuit in both directions. It will take more than a sip of Yorkshire's chalybeate waters to refresh your legs after this.
- Distance: 27.5 km / 17.1 mi
- Elevation: 490 m / 1,607.6 ft
Harrogate Circuit Reverse — events only
Take the official circuit of the 2019 UCI World Championships. Now put it in reverse.
- Distance: 13.7 km / 8.5 mi
- Elevation: 245 m / 803.8 ft
The Zwift Draft House
For those who can make it to Yorkshire in person, Zwift is also taking over Cold Bath Brewery, in the centre of Harrogate from the 22 to 29 September.
At what it's calling The Zwift Draft House, you’ll be able to find like-minded people, coffee, food and beer, as well as a number of activities and events the company is hosting throughout the week.
“I’m delighted to be continuing our long-standing history with the UCI Road World Championships,” says Zwift co-founder and CEO, Eric Min.
“We hope to bring more people closer to the action by being able to experience the Yorkshire course from the comfort of their own home. For those closer to the action, I hope to see many at our Zwift Draft House.”
Will you be riding the new Yorkshire course on Zwift when it launches? Is it time for a virtual World Championships to be run alongside the traditional road events? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
