It’s the first weekend of a new month, meaning the Zwift Fondo is back! However, the Zwift community has also organized some pretty exciting events this weekend, including hill climbs, women-only races, and fun group rides!
🥇 Iceni Women’s Series
✅ Women-Only Option ✅ Popular Event
The Iceni Women’s Series is back! This race series is one of the most popular race series for women on Zwift, and this year it’s part of the March Women’s Celebration celebrating Women’s History Month. This is a points race, so be sure not to be caught sleeping on the sprint segment each lap! Full results from each race will be available on ZwiftPower.
The series embarks on the Sleepless City course in the Makuri Islands. This flat and fast course features one sprint each lap, where points will be up for grabs. Expect this to be an extremely tough race as some of the top women in cycling esports are signed up for this event!
Special settings: women-only, category enforced, power meter required, heart rate monitor required
Saturday, Mar 4 @ 3:30pm UTC/10:30am EST/7:30am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3517633
🥇 Chasing Tour | Chasing Bianche
✅ Innovative Format ✅ Popular Event
This race isn’t like most others you see on the event calendar, since it’s part of a year-long calendar of races mirroring the pro peloton tour (read all about the series here). The Chasing Bianche series is a replica of the Strade Bianche race that takes place on March 4th. The series features A, B, C, and D categories, which aren’t determined the standard way (see the CATEGORIES section of the Rules & Scoring page).
This series is sponsored by The Breakaway, who will provide prizes for the major tours throughout the cycling season. However, prizes are not available this weekend because the Chasing Bianche is only a one-day race.
The race will take place over one lap of the Dust in the Wind course in Watopia. The course features mostly tarmac, with a short excursion through the jungle—choose your bike wisely! This is a popular event, with over 250 riders signed up to race!
Saturday, Mar 4 @ 1pm UTC/8am EST/11am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3504067
Note: 3 additional time slots available on the Chasing Tour website.
🥇 Mt. Fuji HC Dojo 2023 – Time Trial – 1st JP
✅ Extra Tough
While there is no Mt. Fuji climb in Zwift yet, the Mt. Fuji Hill Climb Dojo club is hosting a workout series for riders to prepare for an iconic IRL event that takes place annually. All riders are welcome to join the series to improve their climbing. The series starts out with a time trial to give riders a baseline of where they stand fitness-wise.
Categories A and B take place on two separate courses: category A is on the Ven-top course in France and category B is on the Road to Sky course in Watopia.
Multiple time slots throughout the weekend
Browse all Mt. Fuji HC Dojo events on Zwift Hacks
🤝 PACK 1.5 Saturday Coffee
✅ Beginner Friendly
PACK is easily one of the most well-known event organizers on Zwift. They are known for their entertaining ride leaders, large blobs, and excellent sweeping crew. The PACK 1.5 Saturday Coffee is no exception. This group ride is geared towards beginners and riders who are looking for a more friendly pace. Throughout the ride, riders should expect to be averaging around 1.3-1.5 w/kg. The pace will not be faster than 20.5 mph (33kph) on the flats. Tip: stay near the middle of the group for the best draft effect.
Join PACK for this 60-minute social ride on the Sleepless City course in the Makuri Islands. This is a nice flat course—perfect for a ride like this!
Saturday, Mar 4 @ 9:30am UTC/4:30am EST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3564145
🤝 BMTR Short Adventure
✅ Beginner Friendly
Join a group of very experienced Zwifters for a fun, social group ride. Ride leaders will hold a steady pace of around 1.6-1.9 w/kg. Sweepers are also going to be in this event, so if you do find yourself off the back, send a message via chat to let them know that you would like assistance.
Over the course of 60 minutes on the rolling R.G.V. course in France, riders will likely complete ~1.5 laps.
Sunday, Mar 5 @ 1:35pm UTC/9:15am PST/6:15am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3566793
How We Make Our Picks
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!
Your Thoughts
Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!
Would be cool if this column included a “most covetable earnable kit of the weekend” entry.
That is a good suggestion! I’ll swap one of the events out to a “top jersey unlock” when there are special kits up for grabs!
FYI, the Chasing Tour announced a change by email overnight, adding a D category to all your races.
*tour races not your races
It seems like the Chasing Tour is now organising pens by ZwiftRacing ranking rather than FTP. Might be worth updating the information in the article.
Is it possible for events on the public calendar to be organized by ZwiftRacing.app rankings? I thought that that was only available through a special code when signing up on their website but I may be mistaken…