The 2026 ECRO World Tour is the biggest season in ECRO history. The platform has been rebuilt from the ground up, the race calendar has expanded, and new systems are in place to make competition fairer and more engaging than ever.
Here's everything that's changed.
A Completely Rebuilt Platform
The entire ECRO platform has been rebuilt for the 2026 season. Every page, every feature, and every backend system has been rewritten to be faster, more reliable, and easier to use. The new platform is designed to feel like a career simulation where riders manage their racing careers like pros and team managers build competitive squads.
77 Races Across 4 Seasonal Phases
The 2026 calendar features 77 races organized into 4 seasonal phases separated by 3 transfer windows. The calendar mirrors the structure of the UCI WorldTour, with equivalent races inspired by professional cycling's most iconic events.
Phase 1 (March)
The season opens on March 7th with Chasing Bianche, followed by the 6-stage Chasing d'Azur and the monument classic Chasing Sanremo.
Phase 1 continued + Phase 2 (April through June)
The Chasing Classics series brings 8 races inspired by cycling's legendary Spring Classics, including Chasing Vlaanderen, Chasing Roubaix, and Chasing Liege. The 18-stage Chasing Pink takes center stage in May, followed by the 5-stage Chasing Suisse in June.
Phase 3 (July)
The flagship event: Chasing Yellow, a 21-stage Grand Tour running through July. This is the crown jewel of the ECRO World Tour.
Phase 4 (August through October)
The 11-stage Chasing Red closes out the Grand Tour calendar, followed by Chasing Rainbows (the World Championship ITT and Road Race) and the season finale, Chasing Lombardia.
The Full Grand Tour Lineup
| Grand Tour | Stages | Dates | Inspired By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chasing Pink | 18 stages | May | Giro d'Italia |
| Chasing Yellow | 21 stages | July | Tour de France |
| Chasing Red | 11 stages | Aug/Sep | Vuelta a Espana |
Automated Race Integrity
Fair racing is the foundation everything else is built on. For 2026, the platform includes a fully automated race integrity system that analyzes every single result the moment it comes in. No manual review required for the initial detection pass.
What the system monitors:
- Sticky Watts Detection uses the FERA (Fair E-Racing Association) method to catch flat-top power patterns where power remains exactly constant for suspiciously long periods.
- Physiological Limits Monitoring compares rider power output against ZADA (Zwift Anti-Doping Agency) thresholds.
- Power Anomaly Detection looks for statistical red flags like unnaturally low power variance and impossible power spikes.
- Heart Rate Correlation checks whether a rider's heart rate responds appropriately to their power output.
- Cadence Correlation monitors the relationship between pedaling cadence and power output.
- Microbursting Detection identifies burst/coast pedaling patterns that exploit platform physics.
How results are handled:
Every result receives a verdict: Clean, Suspicious, or Flagged. Clean results count normally. Suspicious results count but notify admins. Flagged results are held from standings pending manual review.
AI-Powered Equipment Verification
The new verification system uses AI to review equipment photos and dual recording files submitted by riders. This makes the verification process faster and more consistent. When riders submit documentation, the system evaluates it automatically and provides results without waiting for manual admin review.
Team Contracts & Transfers
The team management system is fully integrated into the platform for 2026.
- Contracts: Team managers can send contract offers directly through the platform. Riders receive notifications and can accept or decline. Contract terms include a prize split percentage that determines how virtual prize money (ECRO$) is divided between rider and team.
- Transfer Market: Riders who aren't on a team are visible in the transfer market. Team managers can browse available riders, filter by category and performance metrics, and send offers.
- Transfer Windows: The season includes 3 transfer windows between the 4 racing phases. During transfer windows, no racing occurs, riders can freely change teams, and category locks reset.
- Team Locking: Once a rider races for a team in a phase, they're locked to that team for the remainder of that phase.
- Virtual Economics: Teams receive 12 free contract signings. After that, they pay the rider's market value in ECRO$ to sign new riders. Releasing a rider refunds their current market value.
Updated Category Thresholds
Category thresholds have been adjusted for the 2026 season to better reflect the competitive landscape:
| Category | 2025 Threshold | 2026 Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| A | 1900+ vELO | 2000+ vELO |
| B | 1450-1899 vELO | 1700-1999 vELO |
| C | 1150-1449 vELO | 1400-1699 vELO |
| D | 850-1149 vELO | 1100-1399 vELO |
| E | 0-849 vELO | 0-1099 vELO |
Categories are based on your ZwiftRacing.app 90-day vELO rating and follow a lock/unlock cycle tied to the phase structure. Categories are unlocked during transfer windows, then lock after your first race in each new phase for the remainder of that phase.
5 Daily Time Slots
Every race offers up to 5 time slots to accommodate riders across all global time zones. No matter where you are, there's a start time that works. All categories race together in a single pen, and results are segregated by category after the race. Only your first completed time slot for each race counts toward standings.
Team Scoring & Strategy
Teams compete for their own championship standings alongside individual rider competition.
- Roster: Up to 12 riders from any combination of the 5 categories.
- Scoring: The top 6 riders per category earn points for the team. All category points combine for overall team standings.
- Category Density: Teams with 6+ riders in a single category can score with all 6 riders. Teams spread thinly across categories are limited to 3 scoring riders per category. This creates strategic depth around whether to build a deep roster in one category or spread across multiple.
Scoring System
Points are awarded based on race tier and finishing position within each category. Higher tier races (like Grand Tour stages and monument classics) award more base points. All finishers receive minimum completion points. Points are the same for all categories — a 1st place finish earns the same points whether you're Cat A or Cat E.
ECRO$ Virtual Prize Money
ECRO$ prizes are derived from points but scaled by category to reflect competitive difficulty. The formula is:
ECRO$ = Points x $100 x Category Multiplier
| Category | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Category A | 1.000 (100%) |
| Category B | 0.825 (82.5%) |
| Category C | 0.650 (65%) |
| Category D | 0.475 (47.5%) |
| Category E | 0.300 (30%) |
ECRO$ feeds into the team economics system — contract prize splits divide earnings between rider and team based on contract terms.
Stage Races & Series
Stage races use a time gap system that normalizes results across different time slots. The rider with the lowest cumulative time gap across all stages wins the overall classification. Seasonal series use cumulative points, and riders must complete 75% of the series races to qualify for GC standings.
Discord Community
The ECRO Discord server is the hub for community discussion, team recruitment, race coordination, and support. The Discord bot provides an integrated support ticket system, role syncing for verified riders and team managers, and automated announcements.
How to Get Started
- Head to www.ecro.app and create your account
- Purchase your 2026 Rider License (or Team License if you want to manage a team)
- Join races, earn points, and compete for championship standings all season long
Anyone can participate in ECRO events on Zwift, but only licensed riders will have their results count toward the official ECRO World Tour standings. Licenses must be purchased before racing for results to count.
The 2026 season opens March 7th with Chasing Bianche.