Zwift have just announced that they will be hosting a series of events for AAPI Heritage Month(May). The events will last thru the whole month of May. The series will consists of rides with Zwift employees and are open to the community.
Dates
May 7th – Podcast rides/runs wth YC
May 14th – Group ride with Eric Min
May 21st – Group ride with Eric Chon
May 27th – Group ride with Alyssa Aoki
Unlock
If you complete any event in this series(ride or run), you will unlock AAPI Heritage month socks.
Zwift Insider, the most popular place for Zwift news, tips, and tricks has just announced that they will be hosting their very own race series. The race series will take place on the new rebel routes that were added in-game a few updates ago. Each week, there will be a rebel recon ride on the Thursday of the race, then a race on the Saturday.
Details
The race will have category enforcement enabled, no Zpower riders on Zwift Power results, HR required, and staggered starts. The races will take place at 12:10 am, 5:10 am, 10:10 am(times are in Pacific).
Unlocks
Complete any ride/race in the series to unlock the Zwift Insider in game kit!
Routes
May 7th – Downtown Titans
May 14th – Eastern Eight
May 21st – Seaside Sprint
May 28th – Three Little Sisters
June 4th – Triple Flat Loops
June 11th – Watopias Waistband
Upcoming events: https://www.zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftinsider. Something to note here is that this will likely attract some pretty well ranked riders(probably one of the better races to join as it is outdoor riding season in most of the world).
Zwift just announced their newest mission, the NewRules 100km mission. This mission is used to celebrate the partnership of Zwift and the Paris Roubaix Femmes. The Tour de France Femmes begins 100 days from April 15th, the start day of the mission. The Paris Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift also begins tomorrow!
In order to sign up for this mission, you can join in the top left corner of your home screen(if you are on the old home screen). On the new home screen you will see a tile for the mission at the top of the home screen.
The goal of the mission is to ride 100km total in the next month(challenge ends on the 15th of May). If you complete the challenge, you will be entered to win a bike tour in France. There will be both 50 minute podcast rides and 45 minute “Get to Know a Pro” ride where former professional cyclist chat with current pros. Complete any of these rides to get the #NEWRULES socks and cap! For more information and a list of upcoming events, head over to this link: https://www.zwift.com/watchthefemmes
Zwift has just announced a new series, the Garmin Unbound Gravel Series. This series starts on the 11th of April and ends on the 4th of June. The UNBOUND Gravel race takes place on June 4th, and Zwift is the official indoor training partner for this event.
Workouts
The series consists of 8 weeks of training, with three workouts every week(two shorter structured sessions, and an endurance ride on the weekend. These workouts will be added to the Garmin unbound training plan that will become available on the 11th.
Unlocks
If you complete any ride with Pro event to unlock both the Unbound kit and helmet!
This is a very short challenge by Shimano where you get to use the “new” Shimano Dura-Ace. One lucky rider who completes any of the rides will be entered to unlock the Pinarello Dogma F with Dura-Ace(Note: The Dura-Ace bug has been fixed so the speed is normal). This short series takes place from the 1st of April to the 3rd of April. Anyone who completes any stage will unlock the Shimano kit.
The Giant Gravel Grinders have just been announced, a series that consists of group workouts and two short crit gravel races.
Group workouts
There will be group workouts from the Giant Gravel Grinders workouts led by gravel riders. If you complete any group workout you will unlock the Giant kit(note that the kit is not new, it is the same as the previous year). Women will unlock the Liv kit(kit is from 2019). A full list of the workouts will be added shortly.
Races
Every week there will be two back to back gravel sprint races. Much like the Giant Crit Crushers, there will be one race with a second one around 30 minutes later. If you complete any of the races you will unlock the kit. You will also get the chance to ride the new Giant Revolt Advanced Pro(not in game yet, so keep your eyes peeled!), and the Liv Revolt Advanced Pro. Zwifters will also get the chance to unlock the Giant/Liv backwards cap!
Routes
Routes will be added shortly. Expect the races to be on some of the newer short gravel courses.
Here are some notable events/series that will be happening on Zwift in the next month. Note that these are not all the races that happen, these are just the series that are beginning or continuing this month. These were all the race series that I could find coming up, if you spot any, leave a note in the comments and I will be sure to add it.
Changes: 5/11, added Zwift Insider Rebel Race Series and FRR Wednesday race series, HERD climbers gambit. 4/25, updated positions of events(moved some to archived). 3/28 Added HERD Summer Racing League, Zwift NL Racing League, HERD Bullseye Points Race, Rhino Racing Safari Series, Sportsolid Women’s Tour. Added in progress and upcoming sectionsfor the special races/race series.
This race series is for the Toyota Cryo RDT team to find their new members! Community riders will be invited to race and compete for the top spot. Cryo RDT will be leading group rides open to the community, You will need to sign up in order to join the competitive race: https://ttge.co.za/tour-de-virtuale.
Sub 7/Sub 8
On the 5th of June, professional triathletes will gather from around the world to attempt to break the 7 and 8 hour barrier for the full distance triathlon(140.6). Zwift is also the indoor training partner of the event, so they will be hosting a series of time trials and drafting races(both riding and running) where you can unlock the sub 7 or sub 8 in game kit/shirt. Learn more about their mission here: https://www.sub7sub8.com/. For a list of sub 7 events: https://zwifthacks.com/app/events/?key=6240bcbf9562a. For a list of sub 8 events: https://zwifthacks.com/app/events/?key=6240bccdd5298.
Giant Gravel Crushers
This series is much like the Giant Crit Crushers that took place in 2020 and 2021, but this time on gravel. This event series will give riders the opportunity to use the new Giant Revolt Advanced Pro(not in game yet, so keep your eyes peeled!), and the Liv Revolt Advanced Pro. Zwifters will also get the chance to unlock the Giant/Liv backwards cap! This is once again a race series with back to back races(likely around 30 min apart). Full details are not out yet, but I suspect that Zwift will be using their new “gravel” surface. Learn more about Zwift’s new gravel here: https://pursuitcyclingforkids.com/2022/03/21/new-tour-of-watopia-gravel-surface-details/. Link with event details coming soon…
In progress
HERD Summer Racing League(HSRL)
The HERD Summer Racing League begins on the 1st of April and goes till the 19th of June. This series covers 12 different courses. This series features both points for finishing position and points for the fastest time on segments. Heart rate is not required and category enforcement will be used for this series. For more information on the series, head over to this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zHerdRacing. Zwift Power league link coming soon.
ELITE Pro Series
This monthly race series is a race for you to test yourself and see how long you can hang onto the lead group. Since it is a mass start race, everyone will be trying to keep up with the A cat riders. Based on past races, the A category riders will likely hold over 30 mph for the duration of the race. Expect a very high number of attendees and a few pros in the mix! In order to sign up for this race, head over to this link: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/2615515.
Zwift Insider Rebel Race Series
The Zwift Insider Rebel Race Series started on the 7th of May, and goes through mid-June. This will likely be one of the more compeitive race series for the next few months as most riders are riding outside because of the warmer weather. Complete any of these races to unlock the official Zwift Insider kit! More details are available here: https://pursuitcyclingforkids.com/2022/04/26/zwift-insider-rebel-race-series-announced/.
FRR Wednesday(Hump Day) Race Series
FRR have just announced their first solo race series, and their first race series that is available to all riders(available to sign up through companion app. This race series is a 6 event series with your best 4 results counting as your GC position. You will need a FRR account to count in the official results on the flammerougeracing website. For more information, head over to their website: https://flammerougeracing.com/?page=home.
The HERD “Climbers Gambit”
This is another race series put on by HERD. The race series uses category enforcement, and only your segment time for the timed segment counts(i,e: Volcano Climb After Party, only the Volcano KOM time would count). More details are available on the HERD facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zHerdRacing.
Sportsolid Womens Tour
This is a short 4 stage tour for women only. The categorization is normal with the standard A,B,C, and D. There is also a league where points can be earned each race that go towards the league. For more information, head over to this link: https://www.facebook.com/sportsolidzwiftteam. Zwift Power league: https://zwiftpower.com/league.php?id=1029.
Regular Race Series
Zwift NL Racing League
This is a 6 week series that takes place every Wednesday. The race is open to all Zwifters to join, and there will be a general classification for the series. For more information on the series, head over to this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zwiftnederland.
HERD Bullseye Points Race
The HERD Bullseye points race series is one of the most popular point based Zwift races. The top 50 riders at the end of each lap will get points(50,49,48, and so on). It is a series of 9 races and category enforcement is enabled. Zwift Power league: https://zwiftpower.com/league.php?id=1033
TFC Mad Monday
The TFC Mad Monday Series continues, I don’t think it is too late to sign up. They host a few different time zones and it’s one of the largest race series outside of Zwift Racing League. TFC also uses a different categorization system than most Zwift races, with an upper category and lower category(ex: C-, C+). Sign up and complete details are available here: https://teamtfc.com/mad-monday/.
Zwift Racing LeagueSeason 3 2022
Zwift Racing League also starts up again on the 5th of April. I’m not too familiar with this event anymore but it is known as the largest race series open to all members of the community(except rider under the age of 16 :|). Zwift Insider has a great article with more details: https://zwiftinsider.com/zrl/.
Electric Spirit Co. AperitiviSeries
This is a very popular race series for those who participate in Zwift Racing League. Each week this race series will be on the upcoming ZRL route, giving riders the chance to know the course. It is a 7 week series and your best 5 results count. Your results will be based off of your finishing place(there are no primes/segments). There are also typically good Zwift Power rank points up for grab as it is a mass start race. For full details head over to this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/teamelectricspirit.
Zwift running league is coming up soon! For those of you runners who are interested, head over to this link: https://www.wtrl.racing/zwift-running-league/#intro. I participated in this event last year, it was great and I would highly recommend it to other runners.
Zwift Duathlon League
Zwift Duathlon League returns on the 6th of June. The league is a 35 minute time trial(see how far you can get!) then a 10 minute transition followed by a 15 minute run. For complete details and sign up, head over to this link: https://www.wtrl.racing/zwift-duathlon-league/.
The HERD Stampede (iTT) Series
HERD runs a weekly series featuring Zwift’s iTT time trial module, where each rider gets a different start time(like a true IRL time trial). Points are awarded for each weeks race based upon your first result of the week. The series began on March 6th, and uses category enforcement. Complete details can be found here: https://www.wtrl.racing/herd-stampede/.
Group rides/workouts
Garmin Unbound GravelSeries
The Gamin Unbound Gravel series is starting up soon, featuring group workouts and recovery rides by Garmin. The series is eight weeks long to celebrate Zwift being the official online training partner of the UNBOUND gravel event. More details can be found here: https://pursuitcyclingforkids.com/2022/04/03/zwift-garmin-unbound-gravel-series/
The HERD Winter Racing league started back in September, and goes through the winter and into some of the spring. The series consists of 28 races that are mass start(category E). These races tend to also be a great opportunity for some Zwift Power points. Here is a link to the Zwift Power league: https://zwiftpower.com/league.php?id=826. For a list of the upcoming events, head over to this link: https://zwifthacks.com/app/events/?key=6240c71071829.
Rhino Racing Safari Series
This series started on the 15th of March and ends on the 4th of April. This is a similar series to the Zwift Racing Leagues in the sense that they both have team classficiations and use a points system. Rhino Racing has become pretty well known from their Rhino Crash Chase Race that takes place every Sunday, so expect a pretty big a competitive race. More information is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p30sco87gtbrimg/RhinoTeamSafari_Roadbook.pdf?dl=0.
HERD Racing is hosting a race series this weekend, this is meant to be a track event, but since Zwift does not have a track, it will take place on several events on some of Zwift Racings finest courses. Here are the details.
The event will have category enforcement on, and expect this to be a highly competitive race. The race series will not have power ups and does not require the use of a heart rate monitor. There will also be 4 different time zones, APAC, EMEA, America East, America West. There will also be a separate league for each of the time zones.
The series is made up of a total of 6 events. Here are the details from the event description:
Day 1 (March 26th/27th)
Event 1 – This is a sprint race with a single lap of the Watopia Hilly Route Reverse course. Score points for your finishing position, with the finishing line shortly after the peak of the KOM. Expect an extremely fast paced race with some hard attacks on the climb. Event 2 – The Hill Climb! Completed on the Casse-Pattes route in France, only your time up Petit KOM will count against those set by your competitors! Expect riders to go easy for the course as the only part that matters is the KOM Event 3 – We take on a 16.1km (10 mile) Individual Time Trial on the Neokyo All-Nighter route. This will use the Time Trial module, so offers a staggered start without draft. Steady is the best way to go for a time trial!
Day 2 (March 27th/28th)
Event 4 – Points Race – 10 laps of Downtown Dolphin with points scored each lap only for the time (vs competitors) on the uphill prime segment. Hard attacks will split the group each lap. Event 5 – A very simple 3km Time Trial. Set the best time, win all the points! This will test your 3-5 minute power! Event 6 – Scratch Race – A simple lap around the Figure 8 Route in Watopia. First over the line takes the points! Flat out race, expect lots of attacks on the climbs since this is the last race for points!
The first race of the Monthly Juniors Showdown will be starting on Saturday! This is my first time running a race using age based categories, so this is your chance to race against other kids your age! Complete details can be found here: https://pursuitcyclingforkids.com/2022/03/03/monthly-juniors-showdown-zwift/
I have gotten a lot of messages about Australian time zone, and I am thinking of adding a additional time zone for the next edition of Tour4kids(November ish).
Join some of the best racers on Zwift to race pros that race out in the real world! This is a mass start race, so all riders will try and stay with the A category riders. This is a monthly event and takes place on the same route every month, Magnificent 8.
Last month the A category riders had some extremely competitive riders with ranks in the high 60’s! The average speed was slightly over 30 mph, so the group was rolling at sub 2 minute miles. Last month Brian Diffy from TFC took with win with a very long sprint – watch TFC analyze the race in this YouTube video!