(haunting music)
- Zwift have recently released their brand new
Innsbruck/Tirol World based, of course,
on the 2018 Road World Championships.
We couldn't wait to check it out.
- [James] So we get to check out the loop
that makes up the bulk of this year's World Championships.
And it is said to be the hardest for years,
so can Pete Sagan make it over all these climbs
and make it a fourth World Championship win?
But the real question is,
how much is Emma gonna beat me by?
- Oh come on James, you're too kind.
I think I'm gonna struggle to keep up.
In fact, I almost had a caffeine gel for breakfast,
but then I realized that that was disgusting
and it wouldn't help anyway.
So, let's get riding.
- So this is GCN's first look at Zwift Innsbruck.
(light techno music)
- This course is based on the so-called Olympic Lap,
and the men have to tackle this seven times
and the women four.
- With Inn River on one side and the imposing
Nordkette mountain range on the other,
Innsbruck really does have a character all of it's own
and it's quite different from previous Zwift World.
So you find yourself riding through
beautiful alpine valleys,
and mountains, and past Tirolean homes,
and imperial palaces, and landmarks actually from
all over Austria.
Plus, it seems to be, quite a lot of uphill.
Thought we were just going for an easy spin.
- Zwift actually sent out riders to recon this loop
and they did it with video equipment
attached to their heads to give a 360 degree angle
to basically chart the climb's altitude.
(light techno music)
- Now Zwift's UCI lap is 23.7 kilometers long,
features a flat section through Innsbruck city center,
and then, of course, the mountain section
with a 7.9 kilometer climb up to Igls,
which averages at 5.7%.
Although, it's definitely got some steeper ramps in it.
- This course however,
does not feature the climb up to Gradenborden,
Gramartborden, sorry,
as this is a whopping steep climb,
that the men have to tackle on their very last lap,
and it goes up to a whopping 25%.
(light techno music)
- The essential Zwift Innsbruck route is a figure of eight,
which means that the flat city center loop
and the mountain loop,
actually intersect at the base of the climb
and that gives you loads of options
for route variation.
- Now, the Innsbruck ring loop is the fast
city center loop around Innsbruck.
Now this is a sprinter's paradise.
At just 8.8 kilometers
and 77 meters of elevation,
it's something the sprinters can really tackle.
To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to that.
(light techno music)
- James is just making sure he drops me
at the top of the climb there.
- No, you dropped me, I'm, I'm catching you up.
(laughing)
- We're up to nearly the top.
I can see the archway
and it is quite a long tough climb.
Oh, there he goes.
(laughing)
- No!
- That's the green giant from the Swarvoski theme park
which is in Austria,
but actually not in Innsbruck.
It's actually, like 70 kilometers away,
but they built this amazing green giant
which is like a, a fa-, sort of,
vegetation covered hill
and underneath there are palaces of crystals
which is the Swarovski theme park.
It looks amazing.
It's right at the top of the climb.
- [James] I didn't realize you were into crystals, Emma?
- I'm not, but it just is a quite a pretty impressive
- It is pretty cool, though to be fair.
- Crystals, not so much my thing.
(laughing)
- Now, I've literally just gone past
the iconic Innsbruck ski jump.
Now this is incredible,
as you can see it from really right down
at the bottom of the city
and it looks above the whole city,
which is actually pretty incredible.
One day, I'd love to do it,
but it has actually been used in two Winter Olympics.
(light techno music)
- [Emma] Hope you've enjoyed this first look
at the Innsbruck course.
I certainly have.
It is beautiful.
Give us a thumbs up and why not log into Zwift
and see if you can beat James's time up the climb?
- So if you do wanna look as good as Emma and I,
then be sure to check out the online shop
and you can actually purchase all this kit for yourself.
- And the towels, which have come in very useful today.
Anyway, let us know in the comments what you think
and if this has inspired you to get training on Zwift,
then you can check out our video down here
on Zwift for beginners.