From Zwiftpower to vELO – Everything you need to know!
Zwift — so many scores, numbers, leagues, tiers, levels, categories, but how do they work? It may seem like witchcraft but it’s mainly just math, algorithms and people smarter than me figuring it out. Why do the different scores matter? Because they’re used to find (hopefully) the best pen for you to enter races and events! As you do different races and gain an understanding of the scores, you will see that the different levels are needed for all the diverse racing happening on and around Zwift. Let’s dive into some of them to create a bit of clarity.
Levels and Drops
At the most basic level, Levels and Drops are available to all Zwift riders and are earned as you gain experience via routes, events, streaks and all sorts of activities. While Levels and Drops are both accumulated as you ride, they are actually two distinct things: Levels unlock kit options and specific shop options over time. Drops are the currency that you use to purchase your shop options.
Zwift Racing Score
The Zwift Racing Score (ZRS) is used for general population races. Before you start racing, you’ll see that this score is very low! This allows you to enter the easier pens in most races. Your ZRS rises as you accumulate racing experience and results. Note that you can always enter higher racing score pens but never lower ones, as you would make the competition even harder for them!
As you enter different types of races, your ZRS becomes less relevant. Racing events like Zwift Racing League (ZRL), Ladder racing, Flame Rouge Racing (FRR), Team Time Trials (TTT), E-Cycling Race Organization races (ECRO), and Individual Time Trials (iTTs) don't use ZRS since it is not quite as reliable for those purposes. Most of these races will also not count towards ZRS as they are not open to the “general population”.
Read more about the Zwift Racing Score
Pace Categories A/B/C/D/E
Zwift Pace Categories are sometimes used as an enforcement tool on general population races instead of ZRS, as they create a much broader field while still maintaining a certain power level. Pace Categories are also used for ZRL and TTTs. As with ZRS, you can always race up in Cats but not down.
Your Pace Category is formulated as you ride on Zwift, whether free rides, events or races. Zwift uses your most recent data (90 days) to calculate your zFTP and zMAP. zFTP is an estimate of your strongest power for 40+ minutes; zMAP is an estimate of your max effort over 4-6 minutes. These calculations are divided by your weight to put you in one of 5 categories:
| Open | zFTP | zMAP | zFTP Watt Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | ≥4.2w/kg | ≥5.1w/kg | ≥250W |
| B | ≥3.36w/kg | ≥4.1w/kg | ≥200W |
| C | ≥2.625w/kg | ≥3.2w/kg | ≥150W |
| D | <2.625w/kg | <3.2w/kg | <150W |
| E | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Womens | zFTP | zMAP | zFTP Watt Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | ≥3.88w/kg | ≥4.8w/kg | N/A |
| B | ≥3.36w/kg | ≥4.1w/kg | N/A |
| C | ≥2.62w/kg | ≥3.2w/kg | N/A |
| D | <2.62w/kg | <3.2w/kg | N/A |
| E | N/A | N/A | N/A |
As shown in the beautiful tables above, the cutoff points here are different for Open and Womens races. Note that ZRL also includes some Development groups with lower cut-off points for racers who are not as strong in their category (short Cat).
Your pacing category can go down if you have not been doing either longer efforts or short and intense efforts. This does not mean anything other than that the system is filtering out data, as it cannot discern if you just have been on vacation, focusing on other things or recovering!
Read more about Pace Categories
Pace Categories and Robo Pacers
A short note here on Robo Pacers: Every one of the robots weighs 75kg, but if your weight varies, you most likely will not be able to keep the same w/kg. To find which Robo Pacer would be the best fit for the watts you are looking for, check out this resource.
ZP Ranking Points & ZPoints
How ZP Ranking Points and ZPoints are created is mainly a mystery to me! While ZP delivers some information that includes “the lower the better”, I have never seen it used for any determination of grouping for races or other events.
ZPoints combine Power data, Segment Points and Race data into a score that is better the higher it is. There is most likely a formula behind it, but as it is in its own little bubble it may just be relevant for people who care about it! :)
ZwiftRacing (vELO)
Last but definitely the opposite of least when it comes to complexity, ZwiftRacing score or vELO! This system has different scoring for women and general racing, and it includes both a score as well as categories. An individual's score will determine their category. For example, riders with a vELO of 0-650 Open or Women’s 0-400 are in the Copper Category. vELO is constructed to not have many boundaries so racers can very easily improve (or tank) their ratings, unlike ZRS, which has some floors set to protect riders from gaining or losing too fast.
ZwiftRacing Score is used for Ladder League, FRR and ECRO. While it includes two sections for Open and Women’s, some race types like Ladder use Open vELO even for the women only ladder teams. Most races (except Chase races, TTTs, ZRL and Zwift Grand Prix) are eligible for racers to gain or lose vELO, and this shift in vELO will be determined by the vELO of the overall pool of racers as well as the finishing position among them. Ladder and other formats then set category boundaries for which categories will be able to participate in specific races.
Next up in ZwiftRacing we have Ranking Points. These are also earned in relation to the field and are mainly used to compare several riders in the same category as they would show a higher rating. Ranking Points are not widely used other than for riders to compare themselves to category peers.
Read more info on all the above (Login required)
vELO2
The newest addition on ZwiftRacing is vELO2, which currently is still in beta and is being heavily experimented with. The aim for this score is to break down the score into specialized areas with individual scoring for these areas that also give an overall number. This system mainly looks to address the fact that some races may have a very big advantage for a certain racer type, and how that would skew scoring. Currently it is built on six categories: Sprint, Punch, Climb, Endurance, Pursuit & Time Trial Speed. As this is actively being worked on and changed over time, edits may be needed.
Read more info on vELO2 (Login required)
ZwiftRacing is one of the most comprehensive platforms for analyzing a racer’s profile and condensing this data. ZwiftPower, on the other hand, excels in displaying broader data including overall activity, especially with additions like the ZwiftPower ZRS browser add-in.
In Conclusion
In the end, what scores/numbers/points you personally care about may vary greatly depending on what you prefer to race. But a gentle reminder that progress is progress, and it may not always show in some magic numbers online. The important thing is to race fair, have fun and enjoy the unique challenge of racing.
Written by Stefanie Olofsson