Zwift has a pile of secret “extra credit” achievement badges, and one of my favorites is the 100KPH badge earned by (you guessed it) hitting 100kph in game.
How do you reach 100kph (~62mph) in Zwift? By planning ahead and riding smart. While the 40 and 50mph achievement badges can be unlocked by most riders on any substantial downhill, getting up to 100kph is much tougher!
But it can be done. In fact, it can be done quite easily, if you know where to go and what to do once you get there.
100KPH Videos
Shane Miller may have been the first to post a video showing how to get it done on the Radio Tower:
But since then, people have hit 100kph on that same descent in various ways. For example, Erik Lee did it while coasting in a race (this works because the supertuck is faster in races):
Scott from KOMHunt.tv just did it during the Tour of Watopia on a big wheel:
Mark Lewis gutted it out on a TT bike, solo:
You can hit 100kph outside of the Radio Tower descent. Many riders have done it on the descent of the Bologna Time Trial course, while I hit 103kph in a Yorkshire race supertucking the super-steep Pot Bank descent:
There are plenty of 100kph attempts that failed miserably, too. Being a lightweight rider doesn’t help, and neither does being tall! Here’s one lighter rider’s failed attempt:
Fernwee and the Ride Beyond Crew tried to grab it, but failed miserably despite supertucking in their pain caves:
Top Speed Tips
If you’re looking to grab that 100kph badge, follow these tips:
- There are just two descents in Zwift where 100kph is possible for most riders: the descent from the Bologna Time Trial climb, and descending from Watopia’s Radio Tower. Both of these descents are long and steep enough to get you some serious speed, although Watopia’s is more accessible since Watopia is always open. (Choose the Mountain Route to get routed up to the top of the Radio Tower. But you’ll need to climb the Epic KOM first!)
- Doing this with a group in a race is the “easiest” way. Why? Because you can supertuck in the group draft, and supertucking in a race event is much faster than supertucking solo. If you’re not in a race, supertucking won’t get you to 100kph… you’ll need to pedal hard!
- Go with a TT frame and fast wheels if you’re not in a race. TT setups are heavier and more aero than road bike setups, which is good when you’re trying to go downhill fast! (See Fastest TT Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level to figure out which TT setup you can use for the most speed.)
- Use powerups. While this isn’t required in some situations, it certainly doesn’t hurt! The aero boost is commonly used, but the anvil powerup will really help, especially if you’re a lighter rider.
- Don’t wait. Sprint at the start. This will help you pick up speed quickly, giving you lots of runway to continue speeding up to that magic 100kph barrier.
- Lower your trainer difficulty setting if you find yourself spinning out. This will give you more gearing to push against.
Questions or Comments?
Have you hit 100kph in Zwift? How’d you do it?
What about outside – ever hit 100kph? Now that is an experience.
Share below!
Do we need to have our game switched from mph to kph when we do it or will it still give us the badge as long as we hit 62.2 mph?
You’ll still hit it in MPH.
I find it a lot easier to hit 100 kph (especially solo) going down Bologna than Radio Tower. Probably because I’m usually on a more aero bike (or a TT bike) in Bologna and lots of races end at the top, so I can sit up their for a few minutes and get my lungs back before really attacking the descent. On the top of the radio tower, I’m usually on the Tron or a climbing bike, it’s often mid-race (I don’t usually do that climb by choice) so there’s no rest before attacking the descent, and I’ve spent a… Read more »
I got that badge on the Innsbruck KOM descent. Just found a group for the descent, used an aero PU and sprinted a bit.
Hit it on the Tower descent, peddle like mad on the Canyon Aeroad with aero power up.
Notice, to get the aero PU, you cannot be on a TT bike, and the TT bikes are heavy for the ascents. So, just ride some easy laps downtown or in the Volcano area until you have collected the PU you want, then pick a lightweight bike and aim for a steady/easy climb to the Radio tower (save your max power). Near the peak, swap to a heavy and aero TT bike and get ready for a hard 30-35s sprint. Make sure that your TD is small enough: a small TD makes it possible to push hard even in a… Read more »
There was time i climb epic and tower on lightweight bike, got aero power up at kom, change to TT bike then use aero power up down tower radio. Sound like a little loophole in the game but it worked back then. Not sure about now
I did exactly the same. Didn’t have the badge yet, got aero at the top of Epic and decided to go see if I could use it after switching to a TT bike. And it worked, didn’t even have to pedal that hard and blew past 100 to somewhere around 108kph.
Excuse my ignorance but what is TD?
Trainer Difficulty https://zwiftinsider.com/using-the-trainer-difficulty-setting-in-zwift/
NVM I found it
I did it on the radio tower but swapped to tt bike for the down hill.
The closest outside was 92 km/h, on the long straight part of the descent from Passo Fedaia in the Dolomites. No traffic, road freshly paved for the Giro stage a few weeks earlier. I didn’t pedal at all, but it didn’t matter anyway, I’d have to turn some crazy cadence with a compact chainring.
funnily enough I clocked my highest speed in the Fedaia too… 95kph.
We did a VenTop downhill afterparty with 7 handbikes after last week’s TTT, easily went above 100 kph. 2400% draft according to Sauce 😉
This is the way I did it solo. On Radio Tower, I stopped the bike when I hit the flat part on top of the mountain behind the tower. I changed bikes to my TT bike and put my ZIPPs on. Then I got OFF the bike for a few minutes, walked around, stretched and got my mind in the proper place. Then I got back on the bike, took a couple of deep breaths and jumped on the pedals. Go for full power from the first pedal stroke and keep pedaling all the way down the mountain. You will… Read more »
Got it in Innsbruck doing an Achterbahn badge hunt. The ride leaders very kindly did lead out and told when to use PU. Thanks LEQP Provence!
I did not have a problem to get that badge,in fact I do not remember where I got it. I’m alomos sure it wasn’t in a long descent, but I play with advantage. 130 Kg of animal, helped a lot. The problem was going up.
Although I tried to reach 110 kmh in de radio tower descend, and I failed miserably.
Eric, you forgot to mention de anvil powerup, quite handy on the descend.Obviously is not always available in all the events, so maybe that is the reason why you did not mention it.
Ah, that’s a good callout. Yeah, it’s pretty rare to see the anvil (you’ll only find it in races with custom powerup configs) but I’ll add a reference to it above!
Descending Ven top in a group is easier than trying the radio tower
“Easier” except you have to climb for 90 minutes or more to get there. 🙂
Got mine on Tour de Zwift last year during a descent from the Innsbruck KoM in a big pack.
I did it on Ventoux. I went about halfway up doing a workout, then when the workout ended I switched to the handbike (less air resistance), turned to go downhill, and pedaled pretty hard to hit 100kph.
I had tried a few times on the radio tower descent but was never able to make it work.
Yeah I got it on the Bologna decent with 1other aka fanny craddock (LEAD OUT), no super tuck tron bike just peddled it out no power ups just pure power ‼️👊🏻
Do you have an article detailing the other ‘secret’ credits available?
Here ya go: https://zwiftinsider.com/extra-credit-badges/
Don’t you mean INCREASE you trainer difficulty?
Nope. Increasing it will make you more likely to spin out on descents. You want to decrease it if you need more resistance on downhills.
I followed the instructions from Shane Miller’s video to earn the badge on the Radio Tower descent- it worked like a charm! IRL, there are several descents in Colorado where it is possible to exceed 60 mph. I believe my record is 66 mph; I don’t plan to try to break it!
Carnage from my first attempt blasting down Radio Tower: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEnHiVdlgSC/
Success on the second attempt — also Radio Tower, but the crank stayed attached.
Excellent!
who likes it easy, radiotower down with the handbike
Radio Tower, + big watts as early as possible 😁
My 44 kg son got it on the radio tower descent with no power up using the hand bike.
I did radio tower, 700-800 watts and Aero before hand bike existed -> 90+kg rider.
I got to 99 km/h on AdZ on the last section with Aero prior to that. Failed to squeak out that last little bit. Radio tower was way less effort.
ive done it on radio tower, but i also did it in event/race on innsbruck, the whole group rolled at over 100 coming down the back side from ski ramp area.
I am equally gripped by the fascination of this particular badge. I got it myself at the classic KQOM Radio Station down years ago. I was also involved when a friend grabbed it at the radio station. Since I don’t sprint that much, attempts don’t happen regularly. My friend’s last attempt was on 06.01.23 on the Innbruck KOM Reverse descent. My friend failed big. Here is the video again. https://youtu.be/-5UoTNwD30E Yes, I know, boring…no SFX…my first ever uploaded YTvideo 😉 But I like our slightly different camera perspective. Your question about the right results “IRL”. Outdoors. The fastest “only” 90… Read more »
I did it a while back on the Insbruk decent. I was about 84kilos and started sprinting after the Zwavorski Giant.
100+km/h down Innsbruck UCI World Short Lap with Vikings Valhalla Tuesday Climb 6am CET every week, last week we got 2 times 100+km/h
I picked mine up on the steep decent of the Insbruck map in one of the badge hunter rides last year from Zwift Insider!
Descent 🙁 oops
Done it on RT descent half a dozen times – always on TT bike/disc wheels. I can’t do it on the Tron. I weigh 80kg and have to exceed 900W to be successful. Shane Miller’s tip is excellent; the Aero PU seems to reduce effort to about 750W. I’d love to try the drafting down Innsbruck technique, but never found the right group!
After reading the comments here, I tried the handcycle off radio tower. No powerups, my in-game weight is 69.5kg, a moderate sprint for a minute (like, 350W?) did the trick. Pretty much no-muss + no-fuss with the handcycle.
Kudos to the commenters that suggested it!
Thanks for these Eric. I would love to see some thoughts on how to get the power based extra achievements!
No thoughts except for “pedal hard”! 🙂
First time exceded 100klh was on Innsbruck descent in a group ride, no speci setup or PUs. Got to 103kph. Much easier was Bologna descent in group ride at 7w/kg reached 116 kph.
Everytime I ride on Zwift I get to 100 kph and most of the times within 10 seconds from the start. Current PB is 4.2 sec. Which terrain I’m on is not very relevant, last time was going up Mt Ventoux. Waiting for Zwift to make the 100 mph badge available in the near future.
Imagine if you were on a bike!
I have found another “easy” method of achieving the badge which is the Alpe. I noticed previously that when rolling down in super tuck I would max out at about 85kph (Aeroad/808) past turn 21, so close to the bottom. When I got an aero upgrade on the last (invisible) upgrade arch before the summit I thought I’d give it a go. Starting pedalling up before turn 20 and really putting it down after turn 21. I activated the upgrade when I was at about 92kph. In Zwift it said that I maxed out at 100kph and the badge popped,… Read more »
Radio Tower then swap to handcycle it’s the perfect combo – aero and heavy. 100 no problem.