A new map dropped on Zwift yesterday, with the release of the much anticipated 2018 UCI World Championships Course Innsbruck, Austria; the first completely new Zwift “world” in a long time.

It’s only the finishing circuit, but that’s still almost 25km of new roads (double that if you ride the course in both directions). It also includes the fairly hefty climb that the professionals will have to tackle several times! Rumour has it some pro riders have had early access to this map for some secret training and World Champs course recce.

Excited as always at any new Zwift feature, this morning I got up early to give it a blast on the AHDR Group Ride, which started at 5:50am.

I only rode laps of the “flat” course – Innsbruckring – but there was still a tough kicker of a virtual climb thrown in there, bucking up to 8% for a section. I think this flat route is going to make for some exciting Zwift racing as there are a couple of places to split the field or launch an attack.

The scenery and graphics are top notch with all the attention to detail you’d expect from Zwift’s hard working design team. Hats off to Zwift on this addition. It really is a cracker. Now I just need to ride the full hilly route. Not this weekend though, it may still be winter, but it’s looking like a great one for getting outside!