Route Overview: Neokyo
ZWIFT COMMUNITY

Route Overview: Neokyo

ON February 14, 2022 by Zwift

Welcome to Neokyo.

Same Island, after dark. Drop into the fast lane with Neokyo. The newest addition to Makuri Islands, this electrifying metropolis is the perfect flip side to Yumezi’s zen countryside, with a rush of after-hours energy for everyone to stake their claim in.

Step into Neokyo. A groundbreaking new destination in Zwift, Neokyo stands out. Pitch-black night sky and towering buildings. Rooftop paths and electric billboards. Not to mention all the tricked-out neon trucks.

With twelve thrilling new routes, there’s no better place for mile-a-minute adventures. Learn about these routes below, then log on and experience them firsthand!

 

Castle to Castle

Visit two Makuri Islands castles in a route combining urban Neokyo with the Yumezi countryside! 

Your voyage begins with a flat lead-in through Yumezi tunnel and flat farmlands before climbing up to the Castle area. Then it’s a twisty descent and flat tarmac taking you back through the Yumezi tunnel. You’re over halfway there. Are you ready for some sprints?

The Neokyo portion of the route takes you quickly through the Alley, Castle Park, and Tower sprint segments. Each sprint has a corresponding landmark: the Makuri Tree (Alley Sprint), then Castle Park, and finally the Makuri Tower.

 

Chasing the Sun

With more distance and climbing than any other Makuri Islands route, Chasing the Sun takes you on two climbs and four timed sprints. It’s a winding tour that contrasts Neokyo’s bustling streets with Yumezi’s peaceful countryside.

Begin on the far side of Neokyo at the Harbor, then wind it up as you chase a green jersey on the Alley and Railway sprints before climbing up to the rooftops for the first climb of the day! Get to the top, take in the Neokyo panorama from your high perch, then descend and pass through Yumezi Tunnel into sunny farmlands. 

The road will begin ramping up just after the Country Sprint, through Village Onsen and the Fishing Village, before the toughest climb of the day: the Temple KOM. Once you’ve conquered this dirty climb it’s just a descent and flat roads to the Tower Sprint with a finish at the Harbor.

 

Electric Loop

Beginning at the Harbor and traveling across Neokyo to the Arcade and back, the Electric Loop is flat, fast, and full of bright lights.

Start by weaving your way through pedestrians in the market as you contest the Alley Sprint, then catch your breath passing the Makuri Tree. You’ll pass under the Neokyo Railway on your way to the Neo Arcade, then return to the finish line by way of the Tower Sprint.

When you hit the slight inclines along the Canal you know the finish line is just up the road. Ready for another lap?

 

Neokyo All-Nighter

Looking for a tour of Neokyo’s roads? This is the route for you. It’s also a solid choice if you’re hunting for a sprint or KOM leader’s jersey since it covers four sprints and the K/QOM!

The route begins at the Arcade Paddocks, but you quickly make your way across town to the waters of Neokyo Bay. Along the way take in the sites, including the brightly-lit food trucks of The Overpass, Holo Avenue’s giant flying creatures, and Castle Park’s serene landscape.

Once you’ve taken on all four sprints it’s time to wind your way up the twisty Rooftop K/QOM. Then it’s a quick descent and a trip through the Neo Arcade before riding through the lap banner.

 

Neon Flats

If you’re looking for fast, flat roads with a few sprint segments to keep things spicy, Neon Flats is waiting for you.

The ride begins near the Arcade Paddocks and stays on Neokyo’s flat ground-level roads. Take in the bright lights of the big city’s tallest buildings as you pass Makuri Tower during the Tower Sprint segment and Makuri Tree during the Alley Sprint.

Then wind your way through the narrow brick road of Castle Park hitting the Castle Park Sprint twice before taking Holo Avenue back to the Neo Arcade and your finish line.

 

Railways and Rooftops

Looking to gain some altitude in Neokyo, with a sprint thrown in to make it interesting? Try Railways and Rooftops, which begins at the Neo Arcade with a short lead-in that quickly takes you up to the Neokyo Railway for the start of the lap.

Just after riding through the lap banner, you’ll hit the Railway Sprint segment, which is Neokyo’s longest sprint. Let that sprint serve as a warmup, because the big show is just down the road, where you’ll be twisting your way along the rooftops to the K/QOM banner before descending back to the Railway to start your second lap.

 

Rooftop Rendezvous

Neokyo may be known as flat and fast, but there’s plenty of climbing to be had if you know where to look.

Rooftop Rendezvous begins with a short lead-in from the Neo Arcade and up onto the tracks of the Neokyo Railway before crossing the start line of the actual circuit. Then you simply climb, descend, and repeat.

Just past the start banner, you’ll cross the Rooftop KOM start line. Now you’re on the clock! Can you set a PR, or even top the leaderboard and grab the KOM jersey?

If you miss it the first time, rest up and have another go. Enjoy the recovery as you hop across rooftops on the twisty descent, then pick up some speed and hit that start line fast. It’s time for another Rooftop Repeat!

 

Sleepless City

Neokyo’s flattest route begins at Neo Arcade then travels across town via Holo Avenue, where you can enjoy the bright lights and aerial sculptures before making your way through Neokyo Center and onto the narrow brick road of Castle Park.

Here you can choose to contest the sprint or just wind your way through the serene landscape. It’s your ride – you do you!

Then spin your way along the waters of beautiful Neokyo Bay and Neokyo Canal before heading back through Neokyo Center and past the Center Shrine. Wave at the food trucks under The Overpass (or stop for a bite to eat) then it’s a quick jaunt back to the Arcade for the finish line.

 

Sprinter’s Playground

As the only route which takes you through all four of Neokyo’s sprint arches, Sprinter’s Playground is the perfect choice when you’re looking to put in short, hard efforts. Maybe you can grab a sprint leader’s jersey along the way?

Leaving the Arcade Paddocks, you’ll get a short flat warmup before it’s time to sprint. The first two sprints on this route are shorter efforts: the Tower Sprint Reverse and the Castle Park Sprint Reverse. But these are just warmups for the final two, which are the longest sprints on the Makuri Island map!

Flying down Sprint Alley through the Shopping District and past Makuri Tree, it’s the long Alley Sprint. Then wind your way up onto the Neokyo Railway to take on the longest sprint of the day, the Railway Sprint. Catch your breath and spin out the legs through the Neo Arcade and lap banner. Are you ready to have another go?

 

Temples and Towers

How about a climbing tour of the full Makuri Islands map? Traverse all three K/QOM segments with this route, beginning with Neokyo’s Rooftop K/QOM.

Once you’ve finished that climb it’s time to head past the Clifftop Shrine and through the Yumezi Tunnel to the sunlight and rice paddies of Yumezi’s farmlands.

After enjoying a bit of rural flatland you’ll begin the Castle K/QOM, which is followed quickly by the dirt singletrack and mysterious spirits of the Temple K/QOM. You may want to swap to a gravel or mountain bike before you take on this trail!

Finish the Temple K/QOM at the giant Mystical Tree Temple, then enjoy the well-earned descent to the flat roads and lap banner in Neokyo.

 

Twilight Harbor

Similar to Electric Loop but in an opposite direction, Twilight Harbor is a flat and fast route perfect for multi-lap crit races.

Begin at the Harbor, traveling clockwise along the Canal onto the Tower Sprint segment. Wind it up… can you grab the green jersey?

Then make your way under The Overpass, past Park Plaza, to the Alley Sprint. Give it all you’ve got before sitting up and winding your way through the marketplace to the lap banner. Ready for another loop?

 

Wandering Flats

Looking for a flatter tour of the Makuri Islands? Wandering Flats begins in Yumezi, descending through Village Onsen and hitting the Country Sprint before heading through the Yumezi Tunnel and into the bright lights and permanight of bustling Neokyo.

Here you’ll smash the Tower Sprint Reverse, then ride along Neokyo Harbor before entering the Shopping District and its long Alley Sprint. The road remains flat past Park Plaza and through Neo Arcade, then it’s past the Clifftop Shrine once more and through the Yumezi Tunnel to the sunlit Yumezi farmlands.

Climb up through the Castle area and ride through the Fishing Village, and soon enough you’ll find yourself at the lap banner. Ride on!