• Get Started
    • Get Started on Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Kit Unlock Codes
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Top Wheel-On Trainers
      • Top Direct-Drive <$900
      • Top Direct-Drive >$900
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List of Routes
      • Master List of KOMs
      • Master List of Sprints
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Rebel Routes
    • Speed Tests
  • News
    • Events
    • Game Updates
  • Shop
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Get Started
    • Get Started on Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Kit Unlock Codes
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Top Wheel-On Trainers
      • Top Direct-Drive <$900
      • Top Direct-Drive >$900
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List of Routes
      • Master List of KOMs
      • Master List of Sprints
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Rebel Routes
    • Speed Tests
  • News
    • Events
    • Game Updates
  • Shop
More
    Sign in
    Welcome! Log into your account
    Forgot your password? Get help
    Privacy Policy
    Password recovery
    Recover your password
    A password will be e-mailed to you.
    ReferenceSpeed Tests

    How Long Does It Take to Ride Up Alpe du Zwift?

    Eric Schlange
    By Eric Schlange
    May 18, 2020
    100

    Alpe du Zwift is by far the longest, hardest, most intimidating climb in game. Modeled as a GPS-accurate replica of the famous Alpe d’Huez, its 21 hairpin turns average 8.5%, and riders climb 1035 meters (3,396′) over 12.2 km (7.6 miles) to reach the summit.

    Many Zwifters who’ve never climbed Alpe du Zwift ask the same question: how long will it take me?

    Luckily, ZwiftPower has built up a history of Alpe du Zwift segment times, so you can see what sort of time you can expect.

    To get to the data, go to ZwiftPower.com and click Segments>Alpe du Zwift, then click Analysis. Or just click here. You be greeted with a chart like this:

    Mouse over each point in the graph to see the w/kg and time of each ZwiftPower user’s Alpe personal best!

    Using this data we can make some time estimates based on w/kg:

    • 2 w/kg: 90 minutes
    • 2.5 w/kg 75 minutes
    • 3 w/kg: 62 minutes
    • 3.5 w/kg: 55 minutes
    • 4 w/kg: 49 minutes
    • 4.5 w/kg: 44 minutes
    • 5 w/kg: 40 minutes
    • 5.5 w/kg: 37 minutes
    • 6 w/kg: 35 minutes
    • 6.5 w/kg: 32 minutes

    Pretty cool, huh? Keep in mind these are just estimates. Your time will vary based on frame/wheel choice, your height and weight, how much drafting you’re doing, and when you apply your power on the climb (hint: go hardest when the road is steepest). But the above estimates should be within a minute or two of your finishing time.

    Dig Deeper

    You can use the ZwiftPower tool to look up Power vs Time graphs for all timed segments in Zwift. This includes Box Hill, the Fuego Flats sprint, the Central Park loop, and much more! Just click “Segments” in the main menu to get started.

    Questions or Comments?

    Share below!

    Related Posts

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    ReddIt
      Eric Schlange
      Eric Schlangehttp://www.zwiftinsider.com
      Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. Follow on Strava

      100 COMMENTS

      Subscribe
      Connect with
      Notify of
      guest

      Connect with
      guest

      100 Comments
      Oldest
      Newest Most Voted
      Inline Feedbacks
      View all comments
      Jose pena
      Jose pena
      2 years ago

      I love that course, is very hard to do it. My best time is 54:12 🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🚴🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴

      25
      Reply
      Brian Rhoden
      Brian Rhoden
      2 years ago

      My best time is 43.11, I’ve just done my 300th Alpe Climb on Sunday .

      57
      Reply
      MATHEW M ROSE
      MATHEW M ROSE(@matrose617)
      2 years ago

      So my 43rd birthday is in a month and it will take about 4.6 w/kg for me to ride my age in minutes, all this says I need to do is ride my current best 20 minute power back-to-back-to-back. Seems doable, if there were a magic pause button to recover for two hours.

      14
      Reply
      Matt
      Matt
      2 years ago
      Reply to  MATHEW M ROSE

      Well at 4.6W/Kg that’s 45minutes on the graph. As your 20min max should be ~95% of your hour power, you have a month to find 3% (or lose a couple of kg). Should be easy 😉

      0
      Reply
      BRB
      BRB
      2 years ago

      Great article. It did inspire me to look up the record accent up Alpe D’Huez. Marco Pantani and Lance Armstrong in a very different era at 37’35” and 37’36” respectively. Strava KOM Romain Bardet 41’23”.

      Clearly there’s a lot of zwifters who have missed their calling and should be suiting up for the 2020 Tour de France in September. Either that, or there’s a lot of dodgy setups out there. 🤔

      58
      Reply
      Phil Parkes
      Phil Parkes
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      Are you doubting the validity of the 15m50s @ 14.17w/kg rider??

      49
      Reply
      BRB
      BRB
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Phil Parkes

      Yeah. Him, and the 30 odd riders around the 33 minute mark. More than 10% faster than a 1997 Pantani and a 2004 Armstrong, and we all know how thick their blood was. Around 20% faster than Cadel Evans.

      21
      Reply
      Henry Ashman
      Henry Ashman(@h_j_ashman)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      There’s a decent chance some of them will be current pros (e.g. Rohan Dennis winning the Ineos race up there). Also I believe the course is slightly shorter than the official TDF race climb, which has an extra bit at the top. Also seems that the pro approach to the Alpe is to just TT it up relatively fresh rather than coming to it at least 100km into a ride with at least one big climb already in the legs. And slightly more random one, I’d be interested to know how much having the crowd there (and in the way)… Read more »

      9
      Reply
      Jonas
      Jonas
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Henry Ashman

      Today I saw the 2004 Alpe TT with Lance A winning. He did it in 39:40(ca.) Ulrich 1 min. slower. In Zwift there are dopers.. obviously.

      5
      Reply
      Matt
      Matt
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Henry Ashman

      Re the crowd. If they are shouting for you, that’s worth a hell of a lot. If you haven’t experienced it, it’s the most unbelievable adrenaline hit you can get.

      1
      Reply
      Groupe Ostiguy
      Groupe Ostiguy
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Matt

      You’ve obviously never had to jump out of a second story window carrying all the clothes you could gather in 3 seconds.

      9
      Reply
      Tim
      Tim
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      I used to believe I was a pretty decent cyclist until I started using Zwift. Suddenly I see people who cannot hold my wheel IRL completely destroying me on Zwift …

      34
      Reply
      Paul Walker
      Paul Walker
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Tim

      My wife… riding next to me on the smart trainer. Destroys me on Zwift 100% of the time. IRL I’d take the chocolates 80% of the time.

      3
      Reply
      David Cooper
      David Cooper
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      It is not necessarily about a dodgy setup. I have just managed my fastest time up the Alpe of 57:20, which was around 3.2w/k. However, I am under no illusions that I could do that in the real world, given that my trainer can only simulate grades up 6-7%, which means that, as I set the trainer at 100% “difficulty” the climb basically feels exactly the same all the way up, bar a few points where the grade dips through the hairpin. That suits me, because I am at my strongest as a rider when I can just get into… Read more »

      3
      Reply
      Martin Deschenes
      Martin Deschenes
      2 years ago
      Reply to  David Cooper

      You know that doesn’t change your time right. Power is power and provided you swap the right cassette on your bike you could do the exact same effort and time on the real thing. The trainer difficulty is just like changing cassettes.

      7
      Reply
      Stu
      Stu
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Martin Deschenes

      Goodluck getting the same time with trainer difficulty at 100% . Go try it. So much changing gear, your power will be all over the place.

      3
      Reply
      Cameron
      Cameron
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Stu

      My fastest time up Alpe is with difficulty set to 100%. But most of the time it’s set to around 80%. I don’t change gear any less. It converts my 25t cassette into a 28t cassette and means I can spin a bit more rather than grinding it out on the steep bits. I could fit a 32t cassette and set difficulty to 125% if that were possible and could happily spin it out.

      0
      Reply
      cat
      cat
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      This should probably be some kind of skewed normal curve but I infer it is not, which is a sign of manipulation or screw-up. Whenever i use Zwift Power and look at the strava results of very high w/kg i always find oddities. It is like sitting in a crit without a power meter, seeing a very high Strava inferred power, and “calibrating” to that. Which is why so many cry when they get a tacx neo lol

      1
      Reply
      Omnikatowice
      Omnikatowice
      2 years ago
      Reply to  cat

      Thank you! I have a Tacx Neo and I was wondering how come I am so bad compare with these guys!?!?!? Now I see that not everybody gets the same 🙂

      0
      Reply
      Tou
      Tou
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      So true. So many strong zwift rider with crap setup thinking they are really that strong. Irl they get dropped right off the bat.

      2
      Reply
      Koen
      Koen
      2 years ago
      Reply to  BRB

      Speed/time on AdZ is also very optimistic compared to AdH.
      Afaik you’ll need appr. 4Wkg to break 1hr on the Alpe … on Zwift you’d already gain 11minutes according to above table…
      Still think that times in the 33-35 range can be legit for stronger riders! doesn’t seem to be an out of this world performance honestly

      1
      Reply
      BRB
      BRB
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Koen

      Yes, there are factors that would make AdZ easier than AdH (no wind, no altitude = no loss of oxygen, the ability to set trainer gradient realism to less than 100% = less/no gear changes, slightly shorter course, no bottles on bike = lighter setup etc). But this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaoqPzDtRbs) tends to suggest it’s maybe 5.5 minutes faster, rather than the 11 minutes you refer to. (And perhaps a little more reliable than AFAIK). Even giving them a 5.5 min head-start puts those times on par with EPO assisted 7-time TdF “winner” Lance Armstrong and a good few minutes faster than… Read more »

      3
      Reply
      David Jones
      David Jones(@david-jones150)
      2 years ago

      Could have done with this on Saturday Eric!!!
      Got my Avid Climber badge whilst getting Tour of Fire and Ice Badge, but when my ETA appeared near the end it said 60:20 😭
      I tried my best and got it down to 60:00 bang on, but if I had carried on I would have ended up having sick blown back in my face by my fan. So gutting. 😂😂😂.

      Will have to give it another go. Great article.

      14
      Reply
      milhouse
      milhouse
      2 years ago

      Took 5 minutes off my Alpe PR in the Tour for All race yesterday – 49m44s. Averaged 274W, which is 3.9 W/kg for me. Pretty much bang on the button!

      4
      Reply
      Phil Parkes
      Phil Parkes
      2 years ago

      Great article! I decided to go for it on the Tour For All ride yesterday and managed to get the Liftoff badge… damn near killed me however! (55m12s @ 280w / 3.3 w/kg av – totally tallies with that chart)

      6
      Reply
      JAMES MARTIN
      JAMES MARTIN
      2 years ago

      Yo!!!
      I did it in 1:28:36
      I’m 58 and weigh 112kg!!

      Only started cycling again after 37 years and four children!!

      Jimmy

      77
      Reply
      James Langford
      James Langford(@jamesdlangford)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  JAMES MARTIN

      Good job!
      I’m in the same time frame. I give the Ride Ons as people fly by. Its fun seeing them fall from the sky.
      RIDE ON!

      11
      Reply
      Aaron Doucett
      Active Member
      Aaron Doucett(@aaron)
      2 years ago

      Thanks for the data, this is very interesting. I am trying to come up for an explanation for the statistical gap between ~4.5 and ~5.5 w/kg – It looks like a bit of a dead zone in terms of finishers. Could it be everyone above this threshold is some kind of pro (versus the mere mortals on the left hand side of the distribution) or has a wonky power setup? The Coggan chart uses right around here as the breaking point between Cat 1 and International Class for FTP so there should in theory only be a handful of people… Read more »

      1
      Reply
      Aoi Niigaki
      Aoi Niigaki
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Aaron Doucett

      The obvious explanation is they weight dope. If you’re going to drop your weight then why stop at 55kg when you can go all the way down to 45kg? When team Ineos did their race they were doing 5w/kg. People doing 6-7w/kg are weight doping.

      6
      Reply
      Koen
      Koen
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Aaron Doucett

      I don’t understand either. Speaking for myself, I’m right in the middle (39.22 at 343W/69kg)
      last week did a race on AdZ (French and Italy fuzion) and definitely saw multiple riders around my time, so don’t understand this gap as a lot of stronger riders will be around 5Wkg?!? with the elite/pro riders a couple minutes faster as it should be!

      0
      Reply
      B B
      B B(@benbliz)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Aaron Doucett

      Yeah — I thought the “gap” was interesting… but as the best pros go up AdH in ~40 min, I think it’s due to people weight doping, and if they weight dope a little, well… why not weight dope a lot?

      0
      Reply
      Matt
      Matt
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Aaron Doucett

      “When an event finishes at the same point as a segment, (Alpe du Zwift) Zwift often fails to capture and send the data to ZwiftPower for said segment.” from the Zwiftpower forum. This probably explains why there are realatively few data points for such a popular climb.

      0
      Reply
      Rodney Whitlock
      Rodney Whitlock
      2 years ago

      And for you dedicated D riders who can steadily put out 1.68 watts like the Little Engine That Could, it will take you 1h49m. But you can do it.

      19
      Reply
      Darren
      Darren
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Rodney Whitlock

      That’s me, basically. Anybody can get up there if they’re willing to go slow enough.

      15
      Reply
      Darren
      Darren
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Darren

      A little depressing when my PB for the Alpe is so slow that it doesn’t even appear on the chart, but oh well.

      7
      Reply
      Barry A Wayne
      Barry A Wayne
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Rodney Whitlock

      Yup, I’m 70, 68 kg, and it took 1:45:00….pretty much jives with chart

      7
      Reply
      sarah
      sarah
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Rodney Whitlock

      ~1.6 got me 1:57 on my first try recently (and I was SO THRILLED because I realized I had a shot at sub-2 halfway up if I could basically hold the pace I was riding at at that point for another full hour and not let it drop off. It was deeply, deeply rough as I was basically going at 90-95% of FTP for two hours, and that hurts no matter what your FTP is.) It’s not on the zwiftpower chart because I was freeriding and zwiftpower only counts event results. I do wish Zwift had a few more badges… Read more »

      17
      Reply
      James Langford
      James Langford(@jamesdlangford)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Rodney Whitlock

      Sooner or later you will get the wheels regardless of how long it takes to get to the summit 💥

      4
      Reply
      Erik van Roode
      Erik van Roode
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Rodney Whitlock

      I may be at the 99.9th pctl going up, but I’m at 7% going down 😉

      11
      Reply
      Darren Ellis
      Darren Ellis
      2 years ago

      What’s the fastest time on a mountain bike

      1
      Reply
      Chan Stevens
      Chan Stevens(@chanstevens)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Darren Ellis

      LOL, MTB is miserable choice, but when there was a mission recent involving total climb on MTB, I just did two trips up Alpé as quickest path to achieve. I’m pretty steady at 50-55 minutes normal effort, MTB took about 65-70 I think.

      0
      Reply
      Olaf Dennison
      Olaf Dennison(@olafhd)
      2 years ago

      Did it on Saturday and I didn’t go for it, really found it a challenge off the back of riding and running for past 14 days (got my unemployment badge 👍) but got a PB time of 1:16. Was pretty happy with that, never gonna get under the hour, I’m 101kg so gotta do 350watts for the hour, that’s going to be a bit too much.
      On another note Eric, dunno how you manage to hand out all them ride ons! Everytime I’m Zwifting you give out one, pretty cool dude 👍

      10
      Reply
      Kristian
      Kristian
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Olaf Dennison

      1:16 is a great time, many ‘normal’ people would not have the determination to do this at all, and if they did, it would probably take +2 hours

      With that said, if you want to improve, i would try to get the weight down. Depending on how much of your bodyweight is muscle, it should be possible to drop 15 kg, which would take the required power from 350 to 300. 50 watts is a huge difference

      2
      Reply
      David Cooper
      David Cooper
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Kristian

      The weight thing is definitely the key. After a hypertension diagnosis last May, I totally revamped my diet and have dropped from 20st to around 15st (around 96 kg).

      Holding pretty much bang on my FTP of 317 allowed me to get up in 57:20 when my first ride in January 2019 was 1:44. If you can drop just a few kilos, it really does make a hell of a difference.

      2
      Reply
      Matthew Cervi
      Matthew Cervi
      2 years ago

      Hmm…for about a month now I’ve been making excuses that I’d never make it up the Alpe at 2.5w/kg for what I assumed would be close to two hours. I was going to do the Big Loop for stage 4 of the Tour for All, but I think I’ll give the AdZ a try.

      9
      Reply
      Matthew Cervi
      Matthew Cervi
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Matthew Cervi

      I did it! 77:52

      Thank you, Eric, for providing such an awesome site!

      16
      Reply
      Mark C
      Mark C(@rdcyclist)
      2 years ago

      On Saturday, I took on the Alpe for the second time in the Tour for All Stage Four event. The first time, three weeks ago, I rolled a 68:08 and could not see how I was going to take 8 minutes off and get the Lift-Off badge. On Saturday, I came out of the gate a little hard and started fading about half way up the hill as was evidenced by my dropping w/kg numbers. The hard start cost me though: 60:16. Dammit, 16 seconds. Obviously, I’m going to have give it another shot and do a better job of… Read more »

      6
      Reply
      Jhsvdm
      Jhsvdm
      2 years ago

      I’ve had the privilege to have ridden Alpe d Huez twice in the last 10 years. Took me 64 and 68 minutes. Four years apart. I haven’t managed under 70 on Zwift. I think it’s an excellent replica

      7
      Reply
      David Riley
      David Riley
      2 years ago

      You crashed the page Eric. LOL

      2
      Reply
      Jason W
      Jason W
      2 years ago

      This is very cool. Thanks for doing this! I’m so slow I set up a movie and settle in for a long haul!

      1
      Reply
      Jose Wuffis
      Jose Wuffis
      2 years ago

      Cliche I know but if you switch ur bike to a stiffer bottom bracket and a decent trainer like a kickr, you’ll smash your pr

      0
      Reply
      sven
      sven
      2 years ago

      Looks like 3.2 w/kg generally should get you up in less than 60 minutes

      2
      Reply
      Gord Croucher
      Gord Croucher
      2 years ago

      I chuckled at the watts/kilo starting at 2. I’d love to see the distribution of watts per kilo of all Zwifters. I would bet that there is a good many below 2 (e.g.: Moi). 🙂

      11
      Reply
      Mark
      Mark
      2 years ago

      I didn’t even make the chart! Must lose weight

      1
      Reply
      Mike McCartney
      Mike McCartney
      2 years ago

      Hard to trust any data about times needed to climb ADZ due to the many various suer provided variants in rider configurations for both personal and trainer setups. IMHO, race yourself, be honest, and just aim to set as many new PRs consistently as possible. Enjoy yourselves, ride on!

      6
      Reply
      Art Weeks
      Art Weeks
      2 years ago

      I’m told you can climb the Alp in workout/ERG mode. Never tested this all the way up. Might be good to set yourself up in manual workout, set a specific wattage and just go for it. Problem I have when climbing in normal mode is having wattage drop-off every time the climb flattens out a little. Kills the average and I’ll never get that sub 60 minute badge.

      0
      Reply
      Chan Stevens
      Chan Stevens(@chanstevens)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Art Weeks

      That’s one of my favorite legal hacks for light workload workouts. Pick or create a workout with mostly zone 1-2 stretches, load Road to Sky route AND the workout. You get big drops due to the climb plus decent XP based on workout minutes rather than the extremely low distance/min normal rate you’d get on free ride. Plus if you time the workout right and finish near but before the top, you can finish off the ride post-workout to get spin of prize wheel. WIN-WIN-WIN

      7
      Reply
      Alex
      Alex
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Art Weeks

      I’ll do that at least twice a week. Takes me roughly 70 minutes for a recovery workout, 56ish minutes at 75% FTP and 47 minutes at sweet spot. Never have tried a full out effort though.

      0
      Reply
      Space Kraft
      Space Kraft
      2 years ago

      First time coming up today as part of the TfA… shooting for better than 1:15.

      0
      Reply
      Theresa
      Theresa
      2 years ago

      Thank you for the awesome climb! You guys rock at Zwift!! You know it would be way cool to see the Stelvio too. Happy climbing.

      1
      Reply
      Simone Chiaretta
      Simone Chiaretta(@simone)
      2 years ago

      Did 60’07” at 3.2, so pretty good estimate

      1
      Reply
      Max
      Max
      2 years ago

      So, which level do I need to ride this course?

      0
      Reply
      John
      John
      4 months ago
      Reply to  Max

      Think it’s level 6. Good luck

      0
      Reply
      Jerome
      Jerome
      2 years ago

      That’s an interesting diminishing return at higher wattage, perhaps less people to draft when doing those numbers? Or going faster adds more wind resistance? Doesn’t really inspire me to go from 4.5 to 5.5w/kg.

      0
      Reply
      Garry Kirkland II
      Garry Kirkland II
      2 years ago

      I’m 41 yo, 5’10”, 95kgs, and an FTP of 247w. When I ride the alpe, its usually as a “fun run” trying to get the wheels, so my PB is 83 mins. After my current training program and main race for the year this June, I’ll try a full on effort up the mountain. I don’t think it will be anything close to the sub 60 min efforts folks are posting..

      0
      Reply
      alan macdougall
      alan macdougall
      2 years ago

      I’ve found i go up faster when I ignore the dig deeper rule because you don’t have that many matches to burn. If you do you are lying to yourself about your pace the rest of the time

      0
      Reply
      Darren Ellis
      Darren Ellis
      2 years ago

      Road to sky in done in 23.13 yesterday by zwifer
      Opinions??

      0
      Reply
      Darryl Jenks
      Darryl Jenks
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Darren Ellis

      Seems legit.

      2
      Reply
      Joel
      Joel
      2 years ago

      I find it interesting that the variability in times increases as you select for riders with less w/kg, which seems to imply that choice of bicycle/setup (and group size) makes a larger impact on your time. Do we see the same SEM if we are able to select only certain frames/wheels/groups? Is the data available to compare solo rides versus group rides up? What about the magic rubber-band effect when you create a group ride? Can you get under 1 hour badge with a group ride?

      0
      Reply
      Chris Reid
      Chris Reid(@chris_reid)
      2 years ago

      I take it ZwiftPower only shows data in this chart from event/races ?
      I have been up the Alpe a few times but only on solo rides and my data does not show.

      1
      Reply
      David Barndollar
      David Barndollar(@barnwani)
      2 years ago

      Can anyone share some more details on the intermediate powerup timers? I understand that when you see the thumbs-up icon painted on the road, that’s the start of one. But how far do you have to go for each in the allotted time? Honestly, I’m so tunnel-visioned just turning the pedals over that I can’t process the tiny data on the screen (and until reading about them in one of Eric’s posts, I didn’t even know these were a thing, since there’s almost nothing in-game to announce or explain them). So I’d love to be able to estimate how much… Read more »

      1
      Reply
      Renato Nardello
      Renato Nardello(@renato-nardello)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  David Barndollar

      I have the same question, not sure it has been answered. My own theory is that the power-ups are timed in a way that allows the rider to either To (i) score a PR, based on previous times or (ii) break the 60-minute mark if keeping the pace. Either way, they are fairly hard to get.
      @eric should know…

      0
      Reply
      Angus Burnett
      Angus Burnett
      2 years ago

      First time yesterday and did it in 1hr 34. I’m happy with that.

      1
      Reply
      Neil Garton
      Neil Garton
      2 years ago

      ADZ = Road to Sky and I think to ride it in an hour is 3.14wkg making it Pi in the Sky. Apologies if this has already been mentioned elsewhere 🙂

      5
      Reply
      ROB WATKINSON
      ROB WATKINSON
      2 years ago

      First time up today in Tour for all race. Managed a win😁. Only about 10 riders in in mind 🙄. I have a wheel on trainer (elite qubo fluid) with no resistance. So just sat in two gears all the way up. I use a Powertap rear wheel so data good.

      Im a shade under 70kg and managed 45.21. Average 306w so was about what expected with wpkg. As for pacing though was terrible. Hard first 10 min so blew a bit in middle. Guessing most make that mistake.

      0
      Reply
      Matt Ladd
      Matt Ladd
      2 years ago

      Great article! The chart shows that 4 w/kg is required for 49 min. I recently did 48:30 at 3.95 w/kg so that fits perfectly. I really like doing the climb as an alternative to a standard FTP test.

      0
      Reply
      James Metcalfe
      James Metcalfe
      2 years ago

      First attempt, took 62 minutes with 244w, for next attempt I set my target power for each sector as 250w, only one sector dropped below this and it was 249w, result 58m20s, nothing left for a sprint finish, but no deterioration towards the end either. Using the power per sector figure on the left for pacing certainly helped.
      Disappointed that average power for a 58 minute climb was 253w, but zwift then assessed my FTP as 244w. Also first attempt was on the time trial bike (D’oh) using the specialized tarmac probably helped as well.

      0
      Reply
      Eric Schlange
      Author
      Top Member
      Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  James Metcalfe

      Zwift’s FTP detection is very rudimentary – it’s just based on your best 20-minute average power. If you were able to do 253 for 58 minutes, though, it’s safe to say your FTP is at least 253!
       
      TT bikes are definitely slower than the Tarmac. Wheel choice matters as well–even more so, in fact.

      0
      Reply
      Chris
      Chris
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Eric Schlange

      Are you sure regarding wheel choice? I have calculated for a 75kg rider riding at 4w/kg (using your data) the difference between the fastest (Lightweights) and slowest (Shimano C60) is equal to 3 Watts (based on data above). Frames make more of a difference, the difference between the Tarmac Pro and the Zwift Carbon is 4.5 Watts.

      0
      Reply
      Troy Little
      Troy Little
      2 years ago
      Reply to  James Metcalfe

      I’ve just finished my first attempt at it tonight having in my head it was 8% average then being hit with continuous 10%+ climbs and wondering where the flatter bits were to average it out again. Had hoped to get under 60 mins but finished with 61m 49s. Should have researched a bit more to understand the W/kg needed for each sector but just rode it blind. Trying to do sums in my head nearing the last few sectors I think it’d have helped listing the distance from last hairpin to the finish? Getting up stairs tomorrow and riding IRL… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      Sean Williams
      Sean Williams
      2 years ago

      I seem to be able to hold a much higher power output up the alp, in fact it detected a new FTP of 323watts (4.13wkg for me) the other day and that third, similar, result in a week put me into cat A. On the flat events though I struggle to get near 3.9 w/kg (thats not including 95% calculation). So racing flat events in Cat A is seeing me dropped right from the start. Not fun. Thing is there is absolutely my FTP is 323 and i think its realistically around 290ish. Then again, I don’t have a real… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      Dan Connelly
      Dan Connelly
      2 years ago

      Robert Chung’s formula (easy to remember):
      approximately 3.5 minutes + 180 minutes kg/W.

      So if you do:
      2 W/kg, approximately 93.5 minutes
      3 W/kg, approximately 63.5 minutes
      4 W/kg, approximately 48.5 minutes
      5 W/kg, approximately 39.5 minutes

      0
      Reply
      Renato Nardello
      Renato Nardello(@renato-nardello)
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Dan Connelly

      Thanks Dan. Not sure who Robert Chung is, but it looks like a great formula. Another way to use it would to determine what power you need for a given time: 180/(ETA-3.5)=wkg.
      Example for 1 hour: 180/56.5 = 3.18, which is about what the curve and the experience say.

      0
      Reply
      GGLS
      GGLS
      2 years ago

      How much did height affect the scores in your test?

      0
      Reply
      Dalibor Skalnik
      Dalibor Skalnik
      2 years ago

      I try not to compare my efforts with other zwift users because you just never know (unless you know someone personally) what equipment they are using, how it is configured, or even if their stated weight is correct – and even about 20-40 watts actually can make a huge difference if you are going at the anaerobic threshold or full gas and try to keep up with someone. Zwift is great for comparing and analyzing your own efforts, and that’s what I use it for. BTW my best Alpe d’Huez time is IRL, it was during a local race from… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      Robert Munro
      Robert Munro
      2 years ago

      Just took me 79’16”. I was 56th out of 78 finishers. I am very happy with that. My weight is 76kg, height 182cm, age 592,361 hours when I did it. I am two hours older now.

      1
      Reply
      Nick brown
      Nick brown
      2 years ago

      For everesting on Zwift do you to have to complete the whole alp du Zwift segment each time I.e including the 30 seconds or so of the flat bit at the top before you turn round and go back down.

      0
      Reply
      Nicola
      Nicola
      2 years ago

      It took me 3 agonising hours 🥺😂

      5
      Reply
      Manfred Hacker
      Manfred Hacker
      2 years ago

      Come on, guys. Zwift is a game, after all. People use a wide variety of equipment and setups. Some of the times people are boasting here belong in the realm of fairy tales. I am an old man, but have been riding for many years. I have been on Zwift for several months now. Most of the “D” rides I have been on are advertised as beginner rides. They average 30 km/h ! That’s ridiculous. So much for reality. By the way, I have been up the REAL Alpe, on two consecutive days. With a hybrid bike and a road… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      Stuart James
      Stuart James
      2 years ago

      Useful article. First attempt and I got up just about in one piece! Some very quick riders out there. Absolutely loving Zwift.

      0
      Reply
      Katherine W
      Katherine W
      1 year ago

      Gutted to ride up it today pushing 3.5 but was in a meet up, so actually got my worst time. I could cry, I tried so hard!

      0
      Reply
      Andreas
      Andreas
      1 year ago

      I did 45:36 yesterday (69kg, 300W avg) – good fit with above curve. However I am using Assioma 2 pedals, meaning power measured at pedal axis and constant resistance not automatically set by the trainer. Furthermore I was standing not sitting for ~41 minutes out of the total. What time would that translate into under standard conditions?

      0
      Reply
      wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

      Free Zwift Trial

      Create Account

      Newest Featured Posts

      Zwift Racing League Week 5 Guide: France’s R.G.V. (TTT)

      Racing

      Zwift Course Calendar – Current Guest World Schedule

      Reference

      Tiny Race Series – Results and February 4 Routes

      Events

      Support This Site

      Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. See how you can support Zwift Insider!

      This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs.

      This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts.

      Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy

      Privacy Policy

      [email protected]

      Latest articles

      “Loch Loop” Route Details

      “City and the Sgurr” Route Details

      “Glasgow Crit Circuit” Route Details

      Popular Categories

      • Racing984
      • News738
      • Training & Nutrition581
      • Events507
      • Interviews440
      • Routes & Maps311
      100
      0
      Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
      ()
      x
      | Reply
      Comment Author Info
      :wpds_smile::wpds_grin::wpds_wink::wpds_mrgreen::wpds_neutral::wpds_twisted::wpds_arrow::wpds_shock::wpds_unamused::wpds_cool::wpds_evil::wpds_oops::wpds_razz::wpds_roll::wpds_cry::wpds_eek::wpds_lol::wpds_mad::wpds_sad::wpds_exclamation::wpds_question::wpds_idea::wpds_hmm::wpds_beg::wpds_whew::wpds_chuckle::wpds_silly::wpds_envy::wpds_shutmouth:
      ‹ Back to Categories
      You are going to send email to

      Move Comment


    • Related Posts