Zwift Camp: Build is underway: a 5-stage route-based workout series, with each stage lasting one week and focusing on developing power over a specific time interval.
My plan is to do each of the five workouts before their weeks begin, so I can write a post unpacking the workout and delivering some tips along the way. This post covers Stage 5’s workout on Watopia’s Road to Sky route, which takes you up the massive Alpe du Zwift KOM. Let’s roll!
Stage 5 Intro: Summit Challenge
The fifth and final stage of Zwift Camp: Build is focused on “One 60-minute showdown,” according to the event description. We’re climbing Alpe du Zwift, a 12.2km, 8.5% climb modeled after France’s infamous Alpe d’Huez.
This is by far the longest effort in Zwift Camp: Build. We began this Camp with short sprints in Stage 1, went to longer sprints in Stage 2, then (sort of) VO2 power in Stage 3, followed by 10-20 minute power in Stage 4. Stage 5, for many riders, will be around a 1-hour interval, making it a true threshold effort.
Apart from the mental and physical challenge of a long threshold effort, the only tricky part here is pacing. You’ll do best if you know the wattage you’re aiming to hold on the climb, and this will also let you pick a pace partner to ride with.
The RoboPacers each have their own pens, with the faster bots leaving first. While everyone is visible on course, chances are very few riders from the slower groups will catch the faster ones ahead.
Here are the RoboPacer options:
- A – 50 Minutes: 4 W/kg
- B – 60 Minutes: 3.3 W/kg
- C – 70 Minutes: 2.8 W/kg
- D – 90 Minutes: 2.1 W/kg
- E – 115 Minutes: 1.7 W/kg
The stage is built around Watopia’s Road to Sky route, which begins with an easy descent into the Mayan Jungle.
The bots go much slower during this warmup portion, so be sure to stay with your bot (it’ll be easy) if you want to start the Alpe climb next to them.
The route ends atop the Alpe, but you can keep pedaling and descend back to ground level afterward. You earned the distance!
Stage 5 Walkthrough
Once again, I was going into this ride with legs that were less than fresh. Luckily, Zwift had set up the RoboPacers in such a way that the B bot was perfect for what I could do in terms of a longer effort!
The B bot’s 60-minute climb pace, at 3.3 W/kg, seemed like it would pace me nicely on the early part of the climb. Then I figured I’d have a bit more left on the upper slopes, so I could push a bit harder, drop the bot, and negative split things overall.
After 9 minutes of easy warmup spining through the Jungle, we crossed the start line for Alpe du Zwift, the bot kicked up the effort, and we got to work:
I settled into my target pace, finding the best gear and staying close to the bot.
After climbing for several minutes, I realized that this setup was working out really nicely. While the Sector Stats HUD on the left let me easily see my average power for each of the 21 sectors, the green bot and its big ol’ beacon made it easy to see if I was holding my target pace.
A warning, though: these bots are relentless, and if you ease up, you’ll get dropped!
Hairpin Note
The spot where you’ll notice the relentless nature of the RoboPacers the most is on the flatter gradients that often occur on the hairpins at the end of some sectors. When the road flattens, your power will naturally drop as trainer resistance drops. But the RoboPacer won’t change its output!
I found myself losing several meters to the bot on each flat section, until I began to consciously increase my power when I felt resistance ease.
Doing the Work
I stayed just a few meters ahead of the B bot for the first 15 sectors. I also opted not to steer, as the pace I was holding felt good and I didn’t need to gain further advantage on the unsuspecting robot. (Note: steering can reduce the overall length by around 500 meters, so it’s no small thing!) If you’re struggling to keep up with the bot, though, a few cut corners may be just the trick you need.
My heart rate had risen steadily from 140 at the bottom of the Alpe to 160 with 6 sectors to go. That’s when I decided to bump up my effort, drop the green robot, and sail to victory!
I went from averaging ~270W to ~280-285W, and began putting time into the bot. I kept pushing, getting my heart rate up to 170bpm as I crossed the finish line. My final climb time was 58:21, and the bot finished about 40 seconds behind me. (So it’s worth mentioning that the bot climb times are estimates only, probably accurate within a minute or so.)
Watch My Video
Results!
I received an automated email after finishing this stage, which included a link to a web-based results dashboard: zwift.com/zwift-camp-build/dashboard
Good to see Zwift getting this launched, even if it came a bit late.
Suggestion Box
I’ve been offering improvement suggestions to Zwift for each of these stages, and my suggestions for stage 5 would be the same as stage 4: add messaging, and improve the event description (read those suggestions in more detail here).
Apart from that, I want to take a moment to talk about the overall Zwift Camp: Build experience now that I’ve finished the final stage.
Overall, I’d say Zwift Camp: Build offers some good sessions for riders looking to challenge themselves with maximal efforts across particular time intervals. Three stages do this well:
- Stage 1 with its 4 neuromuscular sprints on Glasgow’s Champion’s Sprint
- Stage 4 for a suprathreshold effort on The Grade KOM
- Stage 5 for a maximal threshold effort, assuming you can complete the Alpe in ~60 minutes or less
The other two stages fell short of what could have been. To be precise:
- Stage 2 talked about targeting 1-minute power, but since the on-screen instructions had you sprinting every sprint segment (9 of them!), your 1-minute efforts were blunted.
- Stage 3, on the cover, was about VO2 max efforts. But it had you do 3 back-to-back hard laps of the Volcano Circuit, which meant you couldn’t actually hold VO2 max power for more than perhaps 1 lap. It was actually more like a pacing exercise for stage 4.
Like I said in the intro to stage 1, this isn’t meant to be a workout program for an intermediate or experienced rider, and it won’t offer the periodized training of a true program.
It is, however, an easy way for beginners, or those new to structured training, to dip their toes into more structured approaches. Route-based workouts are a great way to do this, as they offer a welcome and needed alternative to the rigid structure of ERG workouts. So it’s good that Zwift is pushing in this direction.
As Zwift’s first serious foray into a route-based workout series, I’d say overall, Zwift Camp: Build feels like a step in the right direction.
But these workouts, and the overall program, could be much better. I’ve already written all my suggestions in previous posts, but I’ll summarize them by saying Zwift should:
- Find routes that dial in the interval lengths more precisely;
- Use the HUD effectively to aid the workout, and also;
- Communicate clearly what each workout is about through the event titles, description text, and other marketing comms.
There’s a lot more to be said about the potential of route-based workouts in Zwift, but I’ll save that for an upcoming Pondering the Possibilities post.
Sign Up For Stage 5
Sign up for stage 5 events in-game, in the Companion app, or go to zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftcampbuild2025wo5.
Questions or Comments?
Have you done this workout yet? Did you do the entire Camp? Share your thoughts below, or any questions you may have heading into the workout.
