Today, Zwift launched an eight-climb challenge featuring legendary climbs of the Spring Classics. The series runs from March 9 to May 1, and features three new Climb Portals. Read on for details!
Challenge Requirements
The Challenge features eight climbs, including three that are brand-new:
Finish all eight climbs to complete the Challenge!
Joining the Challenge
Everyone is automatically signed up for this challenge. As long as you’ve got version 1.108 or higher installed, you’ll see a progress bar in the challenge card on your homescreen.
Click that card to access the climbs and see reward details.
Challenge Rewards
You will earn 500 XP for every two climbs you complete in the challenge, which means you will earn a total of 2000 XP if you complete the full Challenge.
This challenge goes live at 9:00 PT on March 9, 2026, and ends May 1, 2026, at 23:59 PT.
(I recommend finishing before the final day, though, as some past Challenges have ended earlier than expected, and you don’t want to be caught out if that happens.)
Surviving a Terrorist Attack – Stephen and Cara Lockwood
It was March 2017, and Cara and Stephen Lockwood had been married six months. Stephen’s 40th birthday was coming up on the 22nd, and Cara wanted to do something special for him. “I wanted to plan something fun to do.”
What could be more fun than swimming with sharks at the London Aquarium? “You basically get into a shark cage made of string and have sharks swim at you,” she says. Stephen quickly corrects her, “Rope! Not string. It was something we always wanted to do.”
They both laugh. It’s a subdued laugh, though, because that special day would turn into a nightmare.
After swimming with sharks, they planned to go to The Berkeley, a high-end hotel with an amazing restaurant. Cara, who has always been a bit sociophobic, was nervous about taking the London Tube because of all the people. Plus, there had been terrorist scares recently, so the city was on high alert, which really ramped up her anxiety. They decided to take a stroll across Westminster Bridge and get a taxi on the Big Ben side.
She remembers walking with Stephen up the steps onto the bridge, feeling a bit off. It was a fairly nice day, and there were a few other people farther across the bridge, and four or five behind them. She and Stephen were halfway across the bridge when she heard a vehicle accelerating behind her. At first, she thought it was one of the smaller maintenance vehicles that buzz across the bridge occasionally. But why was it accelerating?
Suddenly, both she and Stephen were hit from behind by an SUV. She flew up into the air and fell to the ground. She was stunned, but realized she was okay; she could still walk and run. But where was Stephen? She scanned the bridge. He was lying in the road, not moving. She ran to him.
Stephen has no memory of what happened.
From news reports, Stephen was scooped up onto the hood of an SUV that was barreling down the bridge, flew into the air, thrown into the back end of a bus, and was dumped onto the road, hitting his head, fracturing his skull, neck, back, ribs, puncturing his lung – and shattering bones in his left leg, ripping part of his calf open.
This was the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack. The aftermath of the attack is well-documented in a BBC series called Hospital as the victims, including Stephen and Cara, arrive at St. Mary’s Hospital. You can watch it here.
Recovery: “It was heartbreaking.”
Recovery was long and slow, taking years of physical therapy for Stephen to be able to walk again. He had seven operations on his leg. They had to keep repeating the surgery in order to get the bone to grow properly. A skin flap had to be taken from his right thigh to reconstruct his calf, which was completely ripped open.“The repetition was heartbreaking,” says Stephen. “We’d get our hopes up and then have to go back into surgery over and over again.”
That was just the physical side. “The mental side was torture,” says Cara. “We were completely unprepared for this, both individually and as a couple. Trying to move back to normalcy. You feel different in the world. How do you reconnect?”
“Watching people pass away and your husband nearly dying,” says Cara. “Steve would sometimes say that he had it better than me. All he’s got to do is lie there, medicated, and get operated on.”
Husband and wife became Patient and Nurse. Cara had to lift, carry, and wash Stephen during his long recovery. She had no background in this. To add to the immense pressure, within a few months of the attack, Cara’s father was diagnosed with cancer and was slowly dying. He sadly lost his battle in February 2018.
“We lost our identity. We went to therapy to help deal with the ordeal. To understand this new normal. And to try to realize there is a future.”
Finding Zwift
In September of 2021, after Stephen’s last operation and recovery, they decided to move to the French countryside.
One day in France, Stephen was watching YouTube and Zwift popped up. Because of the incident, they both struggled to be in crowded places. They had tried running, but with the high impact on Stephen’s leg and the increasing anxiety of hearing vehicles coming from behind, they felt it wasn’t the right fit. But Zwift looked interesting to him. He investigated it a bit more and thought it looked safe. He started watching Zwift streamers. He asked Cara if it was okay for him to invest some money into it. Cara checked it out and said, “Only if I can do it too!” So, in January 2024, they went to the local bike shop, got the cheapest bikes they could afford, and started Zwifting.
“Zwift is a big part of our lives now,” says Stephen.
They Zwift together five to six times a week. “We love it! Especially the epic races. It feels so good to work your butt off and finish – and maybe have a bit of a cry when you achieve a big goal.”
Over Christmas 2025, Cara joined Christoffer Wikman’s charity ride for cancer and helped raise funds by riding 100 km a day. The ride was also a personal connection for Cara to remember her father who had passed away from cancer.
They love racing and doing the long rides and challenges, like riding Zwift’s 30 longest routes in 30 days.
“It’s helped build up strength in my legs,” says Stephen. “It gives me a mental lift – a sense of fulfillment. I’ve lost weight and I’m eating right. We haven’t had a drink of alcohol in over a year.”
They have dark days. “Zwift and the wonderful community give you a sense of goodness, camaraderie. If I drop out of a group, people come back and help me get back in. That’s kindness. It’s encouraging,” says Cara.
“We can’t tell you how important Zwift is to us. We are so grateful. So full of gratitude. It has helped us reconnect and have hope again.”
Ride on, Stephen and Cara! We are grateful for you two as well.
NGNM United We Are: Empowering & Emancipating Women Through Cycling
As part of Women’s History Month, we’re featuring four different women’s clubs with a strong presence on Zwift. We start with Milly De Mori giving us insight into the cycling brand/club she founded, No Gods No Masters (NGNM).
No Gods No Masters as a cycling apparel brand was founded in 2017, our first collection hit the market in 2018. Soon after we started running women-only local rides in Europe supported by a network of ambassadors. Moving our rides onto Zwift felt like the most natural step, as I’ve been a long term advocate of indoor cycling and training. The Women Crush Wednesdays group ride on Zwift was born in early 2019.
The NGNM United We Are Zwift club followed as soon as clubs became a feature on Zwift, I believe it was 2020-21.
How did your club come to exist?
NGNM was founded combining two core ideas: offering high-end apparel for women (rather than entry level products, which were the norm back then), and building an empowering international community of women cyclists. These were, and still are, the pillars of the brand. Cycling offers a powerful space to grow physically, mentally and even spiritually, having the support of an encouraging, like-minded community makes this journey stronger and more meaningful.
Have any/all your club members ever met up IRL? If so, please tell us about it!
It’s a mix. Some members first met through our Zwift rides and later connected in real life by joining our United We Are cycling events in Italy. Others discovered the community through our IRL rides or UWA events and then continued to train and ride with us online throughout the year. I met my co-ride leaders Mim Taylor and Nan Deardorff McLain via Zwift. All of these United We Are activities wouldn’t be possible without them, I’m very grateful to have them by my side in this journey!
I also love this cross-pollination between RL and Zwift and vice versa. Zwift makes it easy to keep the community connected year-round and to offer multiple ways to ride and train together. This is what I love about Zwift: it enables my vision of a truly borderless community of women, united by a shared love of cycling.
That’s also why we named both our events and our Zwift Club United We Are.
It’s also the opening line of one of our brand mantras: United We Are, Lifting as We Climb.
Do most/many/any of your members also ride outdoors?
Most of our community rides outdoors as well. I would say that just a minority is strictly riding indoors on Zwift.
What do you see as the biggest hurdle for women to start cycling?
There are many hurdles to starting cycling, including the investment of time and money, and concerns around safety.
But in my opinion, the biggest barrier is the lack of other women to ride with. Especially at the beginning, riding alone, or only with men, can feel intimidating rather than enjoyable. There’s a lot to learn, and without the right support and role models, it’s easy to feel out of place, talked down to, or simply left behind.
This is something I care deeply about, and it’s one of the reasons behind the name No Gods No Masters, a mantra about becoming our own masters and pursuing our goals within a loving, supportive environment.
A strong female community is the best way to start and progress in this sport. It helps remove many of the other hurdles mentioned above and replaces them with confidence, belonging, and shared motivation.
That’s why, after offering local group rides, challenges, and structured workouts on Zwift, the natural next step was to create our IRL cycling events, United We Are. They allow women to experience this supportive mindset firsthand, while adding a sense of discovery and adventure. Italy, where I’m originally from, is a particularly powerful setting for that.
Is the answer the same for women starting cycling on Zwift?
Not entirely. Zwift makes the introduction to cycling much easier. Today, there are many women-only rides, teams, and communities that make it simpler to get started, feel welcomed, and learn the basics quickly.
For women who live in places with few cyclists, or where winter or summer conditions are extreme, Zwift is the perfect platform to bridge that gap. It offers choice, structure, and a genuinely rewarding experience, regardless of geography or season.
That’s why I love it so much: it lowers the barrier to entry while making cycling feel accessible, social, and fun from day one.
Do you have thoughts/ideas/dreams for how we (we as a collective humanity, not necessarily Zwift – but it can include Zwift if you want) get more women riding?
I believe it starts when we, as women, place a little less pressure on ourselves to be the perfect everything, and begin to unlearn the conditioning that tells us to always put others first, to multitask endlessly, and to serve before honoring ourselves.
Being a woman today can feel like a complex game of Tetris, constantly trying to make everything fit, and I truly believe we’re capable of it. What matters is allowing ourselves to also honor our own needs, and to consciously carve out time that is just for us. That’s often the first step toward finding the space to ride.
From there, one of the strongest activators is word of mouth. Seeing other women ride, hearing their stories, and feeling personally invited into the experience makes cycling feel accessible rather than intimidating. Community grows through shared experiences, not perfection.
Cycling can feel time-consuming, but once invested in the right setup at home, most of us can find one hour to jump on an indoor trainer and join a Zwift group ride or workout, often more easily than fitting in a trip to the gym.
Outdoor cycling adds another dimension: discovery, presence, and a kind of meditation in motion. Even a short one- or two-hour ride on the weekend can become a powerful way to disconnect, reset, and tap into that flow state that comes from being outside and close to nature.
What is a fun fact you’d like to share about your club?
Two fun facts:
No Gods No Masters traces back to a motto used by women activists in the early 1900s, particularly in the United States, as a call for equal rights both at work and at home. Funny enough, and perhaps telling, more than a century later, we’re still fighting for many of the same forms of recognition.
It felt like the perfect name for a women-first brand in a traditionally male-dominated industry. That said, the progress we’ve seen in recent years has been incredible, across many fronts. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is just one powerful and very visible example of how things are changing.
The Zwift racing team CrushPod was born out of NGNM’s weekly group ride, Women Crush Wednesdays. The founding members met through these rides and quickly went on to create a fantastic women’s team that truly rips on Zwift races. Many of the CrushPod racers still ride with us every week, and it’s a pleasure to host them at our United We Are cycling holidays in Italy.
If you had a magic wand to change one thing about the Zwift product OR the Zwift community, what would you wish for?
If I had a magic wand, I’d love to see full control functionality built into the Companion App, so it truly works as a remote control. For example, if I forget to pair my Zwift controllers, I currently have to do it directly on my Mac rather than through the Companion App.
In my setup, the computer is far from my bike, which means stopping, losing the group I’m riding with, walking over to the computer, pairing the device, and then jumping back on the bike. Having these basic actions available directly from the phone would make the experience much smoother and more rider-friendly.
On the community side, for the Clubs feature, I’d also love the option to upload a custom club image instead of using a generic one 🙂.
This week’s top events are rides celebrating International Women’s Day. But we’ve also got a Bike MS new kit unlock ride and two very different races featured. See the details of our picks below!
Rapha and Zwift are collaborating to host four different rides on Sunday, celebrating International Women’s Day! (Men are also welcome to join.) The rides are hosted by big names in the cycling space:
Fran Millar & Kate Veronneau
Danni Shrosbree, Nicole Frain & Klara Hansen
Kate Courtney
Dominique Powers & Lael Wilcox
Rides are 45 minutes long and open-paced on a variety of routes. See link below for time and route options.
Femme Cycle Collab is holding a special race on Sunday to celebrate International Women’s Day. It’s a race inspired by the legendary Paris-Roubaix—a professional race notorious for its brutal, mud-caked 19th-century cobblestones that demand extreme endurance, technical skill, and a bit of luck.
The race is on France’s Knights of the Roundabout, with riders categorized by Zwift Racing Score. A and B riders will race the full lap (54.4km, 359m) while C/D/E riders will race a shortened version (40.4km, 266m). All riders will start together.
There are two events – one just for women, and the other an open “Ally” event for all!
Join the Bike MS club on Saturday for a ride that unlocks their new in-game kit! This is a celebration ride that honors the MS Warriors the club raises funds and awareness for on a daily basis. Just like the many Bike MS Events across the US, there is something for everyone in these Zwift events. Whether you have a connection to multiple sclerosis or are just along for the XP or new kit, Bike MS is excited to have you along for the journey.
The ride is open-paced on Watopia’s Figure 8 Reverse route (29.9km, 254m), but there are three different length options: 50km, 40km, and 30km.
Thanks to a big response in opening rounds, Rhino Racing’s 2upTT is now a monthly event which begins on the first Saturday of the month and runs for 1 week. That means it kicks off this Saturday!
Strade Bianchi happens on Saturday, and Team Not Pogi have organized a race to go along with it!
Inspired by the iconic Strade Bianche, this race isn’t just about raw power—it’s about positioning, bike handling, and the mental toughness to conquer the “Sterrato.” Expect rolling hills, punchy climbs, and treacherous sectors of dirt and gravel. We’ve selected a route that mimics the relentless undulations of the Sienese countryside. Whether you’re a mountain goat or a powerhouse puncheur, this race will test every watt you’ve got.
The race is held on 3 laps of Makuri Islands’ Two Village Loop, for a total length of 38.6km with 264m of elevation gain.
We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:
Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
Is it for a good cause?
Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?
In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!
In a previous article on Zwift Insider, the structure of the Women’s Ladder League was explained in detail — how the rankings work, how teams are formed, and how scoring is calculated. If you’re looking for a technical breakdown of the mechanics, that article remains the best place to start.
What it cannot fully capture, however, is what the league feels like once you’re inside it — how it evolves over a season, where its current strengths lie, and where it could grow if more clubs chose to step in.
It is such a supportive yet competitive racing platform, there’s nothing quite like it!
Sarah, Hooligals
The Women’s Ladder League was never meant to be a seasonal filler or a substitute for another competition. It stands on its own, with its own rhythm, its own competitive logic, and its own identity within women’s esports racing.
…The evolution of the ladies teams was an answer to my prayers! Ladder racing is my favorite activity on Zwift hands down! I love the teamwork and collaboration in planning and executing a strategy – and this can really be done in ladder races since it’s just two teams competing (compared to ZRL and other racing formats). I’ve become closer to all of the ladies on my various teams as a result of our communications around planning … and everyone is so very supportive, including the ladies from the other teams. It’s both competitive and collaborative…
Pam T, Coalition Ostaryn
Where the League Stands Today
The league now includes 21 teams, six of them newly registered, with additional teams ready to come on board! That is enough to create meaningful competition. It is also few enough that certain patterns begin to repeat.
Because only a small number of teams currently field multiple Platinum or higher-ranked riders, the sharp end of the racing often brings together familiar matchups. The battles are still epic, but similar combinations tend to surface again and again.
…With outstanding support from an experienced coach leading on rider development, DS training as well as sharpening tactical skills, ladder racing has quickly become a firm favourite amongst Galaxy CC women. We have been warmly welcomed in to a fantastic community. The tactics honed there are feeding directly into success in ZRL, TTT and other race series, helping to establish a strong, cohesive team culture built on strategy, progression, and collaboration. Galaxy CC look forward to continuing to grow women’s ladder racing and we are immensely proud to be part of this community!
Natalia, Galaxy teams
With just a few additional teams (particularly those bringing depth in the higher ranking brackets), the entire dynamic would shift. Different team rosters, different tactical decisions, different outcomes.
Why the Format Feels Different
The Ladder uses ranking-based seeding rather than legacy pace categories. That may sound technical, but in practice, it changes how races unfold. The field tends to stratify in layers. Moves don’t always explode the group in predictable ways. Tactics surface earlier.
Riders who might otherwise see themselves as mid-pack often discover they are tactically essential. A steady engine can neutralize attacks. A rider who reads wheels well can protect a sprinter. A consistent climber can soften the field before a decisive move. And even dropped riders can still contribute meaningfully to the outcome of the race. Sometimes it’s the sprint for ninth place that decides the race!
Love the strategic side of ladder races, and how teammates work together – sometimes 9th vs 10th place can determines the team win, giving everyone something to compete for. Also, riders from other teams always show great sportswomanship while being competitve, which makes Women’s Ladder such a fun racing experience.
JackCat, Hooligals
Timezone and Growth Potential
Currently, most racing takes place in the EMEA evening time slot. That concentration works well for European teams, but it leaves a noticeable absence in the AMER timezone. More North and South American participation would not simply expand scheduling — it would alter the competitive picture entirely.
21 teams provide a solid base. But even modest growth would change the texture of the league. Three or four additional squads in higher-ranking brackets would immediately diversify the front of the race. At the same time, teams across all ranking levels remain equally important. Broader representation increases unpredictability throughout the field.
For Clubs Considering Joining
Clubs need at least five committed riders to register. Closer to ten makes participation stable and less stressful. Beyond that, it is less about perfect rosters and more about willingness to build something.
Mock Ladder races can be organised through FCC as club events in collaboration with established teams to introduce the format. Experienced captains are available to mentor new ones. A comprehensive guide outlines scoring, registration, and race logistics. No club has to step in without guidance.
The team loves the strategising — figuring out how to outsmart our competition and deciding the perfect time and route to race. It’s become a real highlight of the week. The wider women’s ladder community is wonderfully supportive too; riders happily help each other out, even jumping into 1-on-1 races to stop teams turning into zombies, and the friendly banter along the way always keeps things fun.
Berdien, AEO teams
Women’s team racing does not expand automatically. It grows when clubs choose to invest in it, in roster lists, coordination, and showing up on the start line.
The structure is already there. The experience is already meaningful. For clubs wondering whether they “have enough riders” or whether they would “fit in” … the only way to know is to try!
The Ladder is open. And it becomes stronger every time a new team joins.
Getting Started
Want to try out the Women’s Ladder League for the first time? If you’re already part of a larger team on Zwift, reach out to team leaders to see if there is a squad you can join. You can also captain your own team! Read and understand the rule book first, then register as a captain here.
Contact Sonja Weber (s.w.r4cf.) or Berdien (birdisnoop) the FCC Discord server (https://discord.gg/rU8TUtGbfD) if you have questions.
Looking for some inspiration to help you reach your goals? In this week’s top video, hear how one Zwifter plans to reach an ambitious goal of having a 400-watt 20-minute power.
March is Women’s History Month, so you may notice an extra focus on women Zwifters in the coming weeks. We’re kicking it off today with a post summarizing key women’s clubs on Zwift.
Cycling is a social sport, and getting plugged into a rider community can be a real game-changer for your motivation, fitness, and overall quality of life! Most of the teams below host regular social rides, some race together, but most importantly all are open to any woman who just wants a place to call home. (Special thanks to Leah Thorvilson at ZHQ for pulling this info together!)
Ruckus Racing is a Canadian women’s bike racing team that came to be when, back in 2022, a few local racers caused a ruckus when an iconic local event neglected to offer an amateur women’s category. Our founding members rallied the local community and drove a change, and as such, Ruckus Racing was born. Now, we are a race team and development ground run for women, by women. Female-identifying athletes are often dichotomized. We’re either there “just for fun” OR there to compete at our highest level. But what we know is that competing and pushing our limits is fun. Hence, our motto “having fun, taken seriously”. We’re here toeing start lines, welcoming new racers and building stoke to show that women can be playful and still bring our all to a race.
The QueenBees are an inclusive collective of women united by a shared love of cycling. Much like a hive, we believe in working together to bring out the best in every member of our community. Our mission is to support, empower, and encourage women to live their best lives; wherever they may be on their life, cycling, or fitness journey.
Founded by four Australian women who first connected on Zwift, QueenBees has grown into a global community offering 11 weekly women’s only rides led by experienced ride leaders across all time zones. Our sessions range from 30 to 90 minutes and include a mix of social banded rides, unbanded rides, and structured workouts, ensuring there is something for everyone.
At QueenBees, we believe every woman has a story and a unique value to contribute. Together, these stories strengthen our hive and create a global sisterhood: one that every member can be proud to belong to.
NGNM United We Are Club is an international Zwift club for women who value structured training, shared motivation, and riding together. Riders worldwide share the same virtual roads, connected as a close-knit community.
No Gods No Masters® – a women’s cycling apparel brand – has been active on Zwift since 2019, using the platform to bring women together through regular rides and workouts. The club reflects the brand’s ethos: inclusive, supportive, and focused on helping women grow as cyclists with confidence and consistency.
All NGNM Zwift events live in the club, including the weekly NGNM Women Crush Wednesdays group ride and the NGNM United We Are Women’s Workout Series, designed to build endurance, strength, and overall fitness – whether training for a United We Are real event in Italy or personal goals.
Rocacorba Collective is an inclusive indoor cycling community founded in 2021 by professional cyclist Ashleigh Moolman Pasio. Created to empower women through connection, competition, and shared purpose, the Collective welcomes riders of all levels, while remaining open to men who actively support and champion women’s cycling.
At our core, we are about more than watts and results. We believe confidence is built together. From first-time racers to elite athletes, members are supported through structured Zwift racing, expert coaching from Helen Bridgman, and a deeply collaborative team environment where everyone is encouraged to progress, whatever their goals. Our culture is rooted in mentorship, teamwork, and showing up for one another on and off the bike.
Women should join Rocacorba Collective because this is a space designed for them to grow, feel seen, and truly belong. It’s a sisterhood that values ambition and kindness equally, where learning is celebrated and every contribution counts. Beyond training and racing, we ride with purpose. A portion of every membership supports young girls from the Khaltsha Academy in Khayelitsha, helping fund education and access to indoor cycling in South Africa.
Founded in 2019, The Warrior Games began with a simple idea: to create women’s events that are fun, inclusive, and run with fairness and care. We wanted to offer a space where women could come together, enjoy themselves, and celebrate what we can achieve united.
Since then, TWG has grown into a welcoming community, organising beloved events such as the Iceni Women’s Series, the Tour de Boudicca, a three-day stage race, and the Tour de Andrasta. We take pride in collaborating with other communities and organisers to create enjoyable, well-run events, and we’re always happy to support other women-focused activities wherever we can.
Most recently, TWG has partnered with Femme Cycle Collab, as both organisations share the same values. Keeping everything within a single club ensures this new partnership runs smoothly and aligns with our vision of community, fun, and empowerment.
At its heart, TWG is about bringing women together, whether through sport, adventure, or shared experiences and encouraging a spirit of friendship, fun, and mutual support. We warmly invite anyone who shares our values to join us, take part, and enjoy the camaraderie that comes from celebrating strength, determination, and the joy of women united.
Catrina’s Ladies Social ride started as the CIS Ladies Recovery group ride as I was a part of the CIS training program in 2016. Myself as the leader along with Karen Russell, Louise Joubert, Courtnee Swaim, Dean Bryson, Teatte Louderback-Smith and Pam Abbot were the core of this amazing ladies ride, and our mutual support got us through the challenges and changes that came with each of these rides. We wanted to support the ladies’ community as I had just started training in 2014 on Zwift, learning from trial and error. In 2019 I left CIS to pursue other goals, so now the ride is Catrina’s Ladies Social ride.
I also have an Endurance 100k Ladies ride, which has been going since 2019. And I have started my own coaching business, CW Fitness, focusing more towards ladies’ individual needs. Because I truly believe that us ladies have to support one another and lift each other up always!
We are a global community of women who race with purpose, passion, and pride. Whether you’re a first time endurance athlete or a seasoned competitor, we believe in showing up for ourselves and each other in sport and in life.
Founded by professional triathlete Angela Neath, I Race Like a Girl and Girls Get Gritty is more than just a team – it’s a movement. We support, challenge, and celebrate one another every step of the way.
OWL.BiKe isn’t just a cycling community—it’s a flock of unstoppable women in Lycra rewriting the rules on what power looks like past 50. We’re Older Women in Lycra (OWLs), and we’ve decided blending in is overrated.
For us, showing up beats showing off every time. Some of us chase watts in Tuesday ZRL races, others roll into our Grey Zone Empowerment rides—think trivia, laughter, and light pedaling while learning what real empowerment feels like. Whether you’re spinning easy or pushing hard, every ride is a win because you showed up and had fun doing it.
OWL.BiKe is where friendship meets grit. We lift each other up with genuine gratitude and a good dose of humor, reminding one another that we still get to do this—and that’s worth celebrating. There’s no talk of slowing down here, only building strength, confidence, and joy.
In our flock, age isn’t a limit—it’s an edge. We ride together, laugh together, and rise together. Because when OWLs take flight, the world can’t help but notice.
The FCC wants to get women to race bikes, on Zwift mostly. We want to encourage more women to race against women, and encourage and uplift them to keep them racing. This isn’t about elite racing, this is about keeping women motivated through:
Providing convenient forums and race formats that specifically showcase different women’s strengths,
Creating team-oriented race formats where each rider matters,
Talking across women’s teams to gather support for the women-only format.
AHDR stands for Aussie Hump Day Ride, with “Hump Day” being an Aussie the term for the middle of the week. AHDR Ladies formed in 2017 off the back of the main Hump Day Ride, when it became clear that the ladies wanted a space, ride, and race to call their own. From that, the Cake Ride was born – and Tuesday officially became ladies day at AHDR.
AHDR Ladies is an inclusive, safe, supported, and fun team. What started as a ride has grown into something much bigger, leading to real life friendships, connections and catch-ups.
Established in October 2024, Club PUMP is a Zwift community built for women who live for the incline. We don’t just ride; we ascend. From the legendary hairpins of the Alpe to the relentless rollers of Watopia, our sessions are designed to be grit-testing, rewarding, and unapologetically steep.
Feel the PUMP. Whether you’re pushing your watts on a power climb or digging deep during our banded sessions, you’re never climbing alone. We are a community of women who show up for one another, cheering through every summit and celebrating every personal best.
Founded in Munich, Germany, Female Cycling Force (FCF) now operates in both Munich and Stuttgart, with our headquarters and clubhouse located in Munich. Our community was created to empower more women to ride bikes and feel at home in cycling. Our mission is to build a vibrant and supportive space where women can connect, share experiences, and grow – on and off the bike.
What started as a local initiative has become a strong network of riders of all levels. During the outdoor season we host weekly group rides in both Munich and Stuttgart with different pace groups, making it easy for every woman to join, progress, and have fun. Beyond riding, we create opportunities to learn and connect through mechanical workshops, talks, and events at our clubhouse in Munich, as well as community trips to destinations like Mallorca and South Tyrol.
In winter, our weekly Zwift rides keep the community spirit alive and bring women together from everywhere.
FCF stands for inclusivity, empowerment, and real friendships through cycling. Whether you are new to the sport or an experienced rider – you belong in our peloton.
Fietsvrouwen is a Dutch Cycling Company founded by Kirsten Boerrigter. It’s all about inspiring, motivating and connecting woman on bikes. We do this with online and offline events, cycling tours, our cycling club, lifestyle coaching, our webshop, and much more. We are there for women on bikes, it doesn’t matter how fit or skilled you are. Everyone is welcome!
Asiina Cycling Team is a Salt Lake City, Utah based women’s cycling non-profit. The mission of Asiina Cycling Team is to empower and elevate women cyclists through fostering a community of growth and excellence, providing dedicated support, and promoting inclusivity. Founded by a group of friends with the goal of providing opportunities for training, competition, and mentorship, we aim to inspire and develop athletes to their fullest potential. Our commitment extends beyond the podium. By promoting inclusivity, equity, and sustainability within the sport we are creating a legacy of strength and achievement for future generations of women in cycling. We ride together IRL in all disciplines (road, MTB, gravel, CX) and on Zwift and welcome any women looking for a supportive community to join.
A High-Wattage Zwift Love Story – Nathan and Gabi Guerra
If you race or train on Zwift, you’ve probably seen Nathan and Gabriela “Gabi” Guerra doing their thing – Nathan anchoring many of the Zwift races and Gabi killing it racing in all of the top events.
But do you know the story of how this loving “power” couple (pun intended) met on Zwift, fell in love, and got married? It’s quite a story of virtual attraction becoming IRL love, and all the challenges associated with a modern-day romance.
Long Distance Longing
In October of 2021, Gabi, who was living in Germany and had just started virtual riding and racing on Zwift, was racing in one of the elite races and saw Nathan anchoring one of the broadcasts. Nathan, who lives in Wisconsin, is an OG of Zwift racing, both as a rider and as a commentator. He’s one of the most knowledgeable esports racers in the world and freely educates others (like me) via his race streams.
Gabi liked what she was seeing and tagged him on one of his videos – making the first connection. She wrote “Nice Job” on his stream, thinking nothing of it.
To her surprise, he responded.
And they started chatting.
Zwift Badge Hunting: “What is going on here?”
For the next 4 months, they would go on badge-hunting rides with each other on Zwift, getting to know each other better. Nathan had been divorced for 5 years, and says, “I was starting to ask myself ‘What is going on here?’”
One night, as they were hunting for a badge in the Makuri Islands, he could feel the attachment happening. They had common goals, and he was wondering if this could be more than a friendship.
“She straight up rejected me!” he recalls, laughing a bit.
Gabi wasn’t looking for a relationship. She was 28, had some bad experiences in the past, and was looking for more of a buddy. She wasn’t sure she was ready to go further. “I started crying. It was very emotional to me. So it took me a while.”
Gabi always dreamed of getting married. As a kid, she even created a checklist of what she wanted in a husband. Was Nathan the one? She worried that she might never get the marriage badge (the two jokingly suggested Zwift add a marriage badge).
“Okay, we have to meet. But where? Zwift Insider’s house, of course!”
Finally, after nailing most of the badges in Zwift, in January 2022, Nathan and Gabi decided they had to meet. In. Real. Life. But where? Gabi lived in Germany, and Nathan lived in Wisconsin.
So the most obvious choice was… Northern California!?
Well, yes! You see, Nathan had asked a bunch of his friends for help in deciding where to meet, and Eric Schlange, Mr. Zwift Insider, invited them to his home. Gabi would fly into San Francisco, and Nathan would drive across the country with his mom. “I would walk 500 miles for you,” Nathan says, quoting The Proclaimers.
So, in April of 2022, they both set out for California. As a sign that they were meant to be, just as Nathan and his mom were driving up to the pickup location at the airport, Gabi walked out of the door. Synchronicity!
First Date IRL
They both hung out at Eric’s house with Eric and his wife. They rode together and had a great time. But Gabi was having a hard time convincing herself it was okay to date Nathan. To believe, after believing it was not possible anymore. She was trying hard to give herself permission.
On one of the rides, deep into the redwoods, they got lost. To Gabi, this was a good test to see if she could feel safe with him. Nathan passed that test of manhood by getting them safely back to Eric’s house.
By the end of the week, they decided that they were, in fact, now dating – and they held hands for the very first time. They decided to take the next, gulp, step: meet the parents (and the kids!).
Since Gabi was from two cultures, Brazil and Germany, Nathan was about to perform a worldwide tour de force. And since Nathan had five children from his first marriage, Gabi would have to meet them, plus his mom.
The question was: could Nathan and Gabi pass the family test, and could Gabi be comfortable with American culture as they decided they would live together in the United States?
Nathan Goes To Germany
So, Nathan goes to Germany in June 2022 to meet Gabi’s mom and stepfather. While there, Gabi decides to challenge Nathan a bit to test him – again. One of the challenges is hiking up a mountain to see if they can make it and if he will keep her safe. He passes that test. But does he pass the parents test (who have been skeptical of this whole thing from the beginning)? Yes, he does! Victory for Nathan.
Now it’s Gabi’s turn.
Gabi Goes To Wisconsin
For Gabi, this was also a chance to see if she could fit into the American lifestyle. She wasn’t sure. Could she live with Nathan and 5 kids from a previous marriage? It was hard for her to imagine that life. She digs deep into her emotions. It would be a big leap for her. She wants more than a 2- or 3-year-long-distance relationship. She loves the kids (even though they could be messy at times). But the whole thing is starting to stress her out, and this was a very important decision.
She needs space to think, so she decides to remove herself from the situation and get a different perspective.
Gabi Goes To Brazil, Alone
To get away from the pressure, Gabi goes home to Brazil to stay with her grandparents, sister, and extended family to get their thoughts on all that was going on with her and Nathan.
“They really rejected him right away. They didn’t even want to meet with him. They thought it was a terrible idea,” says Gabi.
Gabi is in a bind. While her stepdad in Germany gave her the green light, her family in Brazil was sending a hard red.
She calls Nathan, crying.
Nathan Goes To Brazil (With A Ring)
Upon hearing what happened and sensing her sadness amid the confusion, Nathan decides to buy a ticket right away to meet them. And, unbeknownst to Gabi, he buys a ring.
He arrives to a dinner with her extended family who mostly don’t speak English. They discuss everything – divorce, marriage, life, faith. It is tense for a bit. But then, suddenly out of the blue, her grandma stops, looks at Nathan, and says: “I understand. I get it. I trust you.” And at that moment, everything changed. A huge weight was taken off Gabi’s shoulders as her family accepted Nathan into their world.
Later on, Gabi takes Nathan on a ride she loves. To a place where she used to pray. Nathan is full of jitters. He’s about to propose to her. She doesn’t know this. He wonders if she will say yes. He’s hesitant but decides now is the time to make the move.
And she says, “Yes.”
And then she breaks her hip.
Broken Hip
Nathan returns to Wisconsin with a smile since Gabi said ‘yes’ to getting married. Gabi stays in Brazil, and while out on a training ride, crashes and breaks her hip. After stabilizing the break, she packs up and heads to Wisconsin to begin her new life together with Nathan, on crutches.
Getting Married, the Honeymoon, And Beyond!
On December 27, 2022, the two tie the knot at a private ceremony and head out for a honeymoon at a beautiful cabin in the middle of the woods. Nathan remembers that they had a delicious wine at Eric’s house, so he orders it to be there when Gabi arrives. Since Gabi can’t ride outside as she is still recovering, they do some zwifting in the cabin.
Nathan realizes that Gabi is an amazing athlete: “I’ve never seen an athlete like you.” With Nathan as her coach, Gabi starts to excel in virtual cycling. Gabi is now racing full-time and coaching five women. Nathan continues his development of virtual cycling with the creation of Leadout Esports.
Gabi is starting to get used to living with kids and being a parent – she tries to stay calm when the house is a mess and will occasionally toss a dirty cereal bowl down the hall. But she loves the kids, and they love her.
The Value of Distance, First
They both agree that the way they got to know each other from a distance made their IRL relationship better because they started with communication. They had a chance to discuss things like bringing together mixed families and attachment styles before they met, so that they could be more sure that they were a good match.
Ride on, Gabi and Nathan! You’ve definitely earned your marriage badge!
The ECRO World Tour is back for 2026 with a 77-race season kicking off Saturday, March 7 with Chasing Bianche. If you missed the original announcement last March, ECRO is a comprehensive racing platform built on top of Zwift that brings the structure, strategy, and integrity of professional cycling to virtual racing.
If you’ve followed the journey from the original Chasing Yellow in 2022 through Chasing Tour 2023 and Chasing Yellow 2024, you know the trajectory. Each year brought more structure, more competition, and more riders. But what ECRO has built over the past year goes well beyond a bigger race calendar. The entire platform has been rebuilt from the ground up, and the list of new features heading into the 2026 season is significant!
Let’s take a look at what’s new…
The Pro Sports Experience
What makes ECRO unique starts with making virtual cycling feel like a real sport with real stakes.
Team Divisions and Competition
ECRO’s team system goes beyond simple clubs. Teams can consist of up to 12 riders across the five categories, and the top 6 finishers per category contribute to team standings. This creates genuine strategic decisions about roster construction: do you stack one category or spread talent across the board?
The platform tracks team standings throughout the season, with points accumulating across all 77 races on the calendar, organized into four seasonal phases separated by transfer windows.
The Transfer Market
This is where ECRO starts to feel less like a race series and more like a sports league. The platform features a live transfer market where team managers can scout available riders, review their race history and power profiles, and extend contract offers.
Each rider has a virtual market value based on their performance and category. When teams sign riders, contract terms include a prize split percentage that determines how virtual earnings are divided between rider and team. Competitive riders command higher percentages, while developing riders might accept lower splits for the exposure and team support.
Free agents are visible on the market with detailed scouting information. When a rider signs, gets released, or sees a market value change, it shows up in a real-time activity feed that the whole community can follow.
And covering it all is Nigel Cadence, ECRO’s AI-generated transfer market correspondent. Every day, Nigel delivers a sportscaster-style audio recap of the latest signings, releases, and market moves, complete with a British accent and the energy of Sky Sports News on deadline day. Think of it as your daily transfer briefing: who signed where, what they’re worth, and what it means for the teams involved. The audio clips are posted to Discord and available on the platform’s transfer market page. Listen to the Tuesday, March 3 update:
ECRO$ and Team Economics
Teams manage virtual wallets funded by their share of rider earnings. The first 12 contract signings are free, but after that, teams need sufficient ECRO$ to cover new signings. When riders leave, teams recoup their market value. It’s a closed economic system that rewards smart roster management and long-term thinking.
Team Tactics
New for the 2026 season, team managers can publish race tactics for their riders before events. Managers can set team-wide strategies as well as individual instructions for specific riders, adding another layer of coordination to race day.
Making Racing Fair
Fair racing has always been the elephant in the virtual cycling room. Without physical proximity, how do you know someone’s power numbers are legitimate? ECRO has attacked this problem from multiple angles, building what may be the most comprehensive verification system in e-cycling.
Equipment Registration and Verification
Every ECRO rider must now register their equipment on the platform, including the make, model, and serial number of their smart trainer or power meter. The process works like two-factor authentication: riders photograph their equipment with a unique verification code displayed on screen, and the platform’s AI (powered by Google Gemini) cross-references the serial number in the image against what the rider submitted. If both match with high confidence, the equipment is auto-approved. If something doesn’t add up, it goes to manual review.
Serial numbers are unique to each rider. If someone tries to register a serial number that’s already tied to another account, the system flags it. It’s a simple concept borrowed from real-world equipment tracking, but it’s the first time anything like this has been implemented at scale in virtual cycling.
Dual Recording Validation
For top-category riders, ECRO requires dual recording, a practice pulled straight from UCI regulations. Riders record the same effort on two independent devices (typically a smart trainer and a separate power meter), and the platform compares the data. Discrepancies between the two recordings raise flags for further review.
The Performance Analysis Engine
This is where things get technical. ECRO has built a multi-detector integrity analysis system that runs automatically on every race result. The engine currently includes six detection modules:
Sticky Watts Detection identifies flat-top power patterns, where a rider’s power output remains suspiciously constant for extended periods. This follows the methodology established by the Fair E-Racing Association (FERA) and is one of the strongest indicators of manipulated data.
Power Anomaly Detection performs statistical analysis on power output, flagging impossibly sudden jumps (like zero to 400 watts instantly) or unnaturally stable power output that doesn’t match normal human physiology.
Heart Rate Correlation checks whether a rider’s heart rate patterns align with their power output. High-power efforts with flat heart rates, or missing heart rate data at critical moments, both raise flags.
Cadence Correlation looks for similar mismatches between pedaling cadence and power, including the suspicious scenario of producing significant power with zero cadence.
Microbursting Detection identifies burst-and-coast pedaling patterns that can exploit Zwift’s physics engine, where riders alternate between extreme sprints and coasting in rapid cycles.
Physiological Limits (ZADA) compares power output against known human physiological limits across different durations, flagging results that exceed what’s physically possible.
Each detector assigns flags at three severity levels (info, warning, or critical), and results flagged as suspicious are held from standings until reviewed. Riders can also flag results through a community-driven VAR (Verification Adjusted Results) system, similar to video review in professional sports.
Season Phase Locking
To address sandbagging (riders intentionally underperforming to race in a lower category), ECRO locks riders into their category after their first race in each season phase. Categories are based on ZwiftRacing.app‘s vELO rating system, with five tiers ranging from E (entry-level) through A (elite). Once you race in a phase, your category is locked until the next transfer window opens.
Platform and Tools
The Organizer Platform
One of ECRO’s less visible but most significant developments is its multi-tenant organizer platform. Race organizers beyond ECRO can use the platform to run their own competitions, inheriting ECRO’s categorization engine, results processing, and integrity detection without building any of it themselves. Organizers manage their own branding, calendars, scoring rules, and standings, while riders maintain a single account that works across all competitions.
Race Intelligence
Before each event, riders can access AI-powered race intelligence that includes predicted finishes based on vELO ratings, course suitability scores (analyzing whether you’re a better fit for a flat sprint stage or a mountain climb), and head-to-head records against other signed-up riders. The platform classifies courses as sprint, climbing, rolling, or mixed, then matches them against individual power profiles to identify who has the advantage.
Route Database
ECRO has catalogued 305+ Zwift routes with detailed visual profiles. Each race on the calendar includes elevation data, distance, and course characteristics, so riders know exactly what they’re getting into before they sign up.
Mobile App
The full ECRO platform is available as a mobile app, giving riders access to their dashboard, race calendar, results, transfer market, and equipment verification from their phone. Team managers can scout riders, send contract offers, and publish race tactics on the go.
Discord Integration
The ECRO Discord bot connects directly to the platform, offering slash commands for checking profiles, viewing results, pulling standings, and finding upcoming races. A built-in support system lets riders create tickets directly from Discord, with an AI-powered agent that can answer common questions and escalate to human admins when needed.
The 2026 Season
The ECRO World Tour 2026 features a 77-race calendar organized into four phases, with transfer windows between each phase where categories unlock and teams can restructure their rosters. The season opens March 7 with Chasing Bianche and includes single-day races, multi-stage tours, and seasonal series that span the full year.
Category thresholds have been updated for 2026: A (2000+ vELO), B (1700-1999), C (1400-1699), D (1100-1399), and E (0-1099). Each race offers five time slots to accommodate riders across different time zones.
Registration and Pricing
Rider License: $12.99 for the 2026 season
Team License: $19.99 for the 2026 season
Anyone can participate in ECRO events on Zwift, but only licensed riders have their results counted toward official standings. Licenses must be registered before event participation for results to count.
