ZRL Race 1: New Season, New Format, Same SISU Spirit
The 2026/27 Zwift Racing League season is underway, and Race 1 delivered just about everything we love about ZRL — hard racing, new faces, familiar teammates, personal bests and, naturally, just enough pre-race mayhem to light up Discord.
SISU Racing entered the new season with a record number of teams, making this our biggest ZRL campaign yet. It was fantastic to see hundreds of riders pulling on the blue and white jerseys across the globe as another season of team racing began.
The Race of Truth
ZRL threw something new at us for the season opener with the Race of Truth (ROT) — a time trial with First Across the Line (FAL) and Fastest Through Segment (FTS) points also up for grabs.
It added an interesting tactical dimension to the traditional race against the clock. This wasn't simply about settling into your favourite TT position and holding the watts. There were points to chase along the way, making pacing and knowing when to dig that little bit deeper part of the challenge.
And then there was the bike...
No TT bike. TT bike. Road bike. Wait... TT bike!
Nothing like a little opening-night confusion to get the season started. The changing information about whether TT bikes could be used had SISU Discord chats lighting up like the Griswolds' Christmas tree.
Captains scrambled. Riders swapped bikes. Messages flew around the world.
Welcome back to ZRL!
Old Friends and 150 New Ones
One of the great things about the start of a new season is seeing familiar names reappear on the team sheets.
We welcomed back teams with virtually unchanged rosters from previous seasons, including Haahka, Flamingo, Arctic Loon and Varis. Those long-standing combinations are a reminder that one of the best parts of ZRL isn't simply racing together — it's the friendships and connections built season after season.
It was particularly special to see JB back racing. As one of the four founding members of SISU Racing in 2021, there's something pretty cool about seeing him on the start line five years later as SISU begins its biggest ZRL season.
And a big welcome back to Jeff, returning to ZRL after taking a break last season.
At the other end of the spectrum, there were plenty of riders experiencing SISU and ZRL for the first time.
Thanks in no small part to the brilliant recruiting efforts of Jason and Katie, we've welcomed an incredible 150 new members ahead of the season.
That growth has helped us launch 15 new ZRL teams, with the majority taking flight for Race 1 with a full complement of five riders.
Fifteen new teams. New friendships. New Race Radio voices. And plenty more SISU stories waiting to be written.
New Grades, New Numbers and New PBs
Race 1 wasn't just about team results. There were some fantastic individual achievements scattered throughout the SISU ranks.
A huge congratulations to Larry, whose performance earned an upgrade to A Grade.
And Larry wasn't travelling alone — Dan also earned the call-up to A Grade, prompting the perfect response from skipper Alan:
“It was nice to race with you… for one week!”
Nothing says welcome to a new ZRL season quite like getting promoted out of your team after Race 1!
The watts were flowing elsewhere too. James kicked off his season by setting a new FTP, while Yann pushed his FTP into new territory with an impressive 11-watt jump. Niklas also joined the FTP PB club, adding another big performance to an already impressive opening night for SISU riders.
Then there was Derek, who recorded an eight-minute power PB — before adding that it was most likely his first eight-minute PB because he simply went all-out for eight minutes!
Sometimes the simplest race strategy is the best one.
Upgrades, new FTPs, new power PBs — and we're only one race into the season.
The legs have officially been warned.
One Race Down, Plenty of Adventure Ahead
Race 1 was a pretty good snapshot of what makes Zwift Racing League special.
We had established teams reunited, 15 new teams beginning their journey, 150 new SISU members joining the community, founding members returning to the start line and riders discovering they can push themselves harder than they thought.
There were upgrades and PBs.
There were FAL and FTS points.
There was some frantic bike swapping.
And there were Discord channels glowing brighter than a Griswold family Christmas.
Most importantly, we were racing together again.
A huge thank you to our Captains and everyone behind the scenes who helped get a record number of SISU teams onto the start line.
Race 1 done. The 2026/27 adventure has begun.
Let's go racing!