Watch the Femmes Zwift Classics // Casse Pattes

Overview

Week three of the Zwift classics takes riders around the Casse Pattes course in France. Since the race is in France, Zwift has decided to make this event Tour De France Femmes themed, as Zwift is the presenting sponsor.

The Course

On this course, riders will race 1 lap of the Casse Pattes course. It is a pretty straight forward course, but a 5-10 minute climb towards the end of the route will drain lots of energy from riders before the finishing stretch. Riders will first go through the banner arch where they will receive a power up. There will be a long flat portion of the course, and it is a pretty straight forward course.

Riders will then hit the Pave Sprint Reverse, a pretty short sprint. This is hardly impact the race as there are no points available for segments. It will, however, be an opportunity for riders to get a new power up. The ideal power up for this course is going to be drafting boost. It will be useful for hanging with the group when you head up the Aqueduct KOM.

After finishing the KOM and heading down the descent, riders will make a left hand turn to head towards the Petit KOM. The Petit KOM is the main segment of this course. The KOM is 1.66 miles long with an average gradient of 3.9%. The climb will take riders anywhere from 5-10 minutes to complete. After completing the climb, riders will head down part of Mt. Ven-top, making their way to the Marina. The race finishes at the Marina Sprint banner.

Bike Choice

The best bike choice for this route will be either the Tron or the Venge with the DT Swiss disc wheelset depending on your rider type. For the riders who are less confident about the climbs, an all-arounder set up will be best. For those who are worried about the flats, an aero set up will be best. There is not much difference between the two, and choosing a lightweight bike will not make much of a difference on the uphill finish, so Aero/All-arounder rules this course.