Happy New Year, Zwifters! Our first weekend of the year finds us right in the middle of peak Zwift season, with lots of interesting events to choose from. Here are my favorites for the weekend…
✅ Popular Event ✅ Kit Unlock ✅ Highly Competitive
Tour de Zwift 2024 kicked off this week, and the group rides so far have been packed! This weekend we have the first TdZ “Epic” races, which are a fresh addition to the standard TdZ group ride format. Choose from stage 1’s race on London’s Triple Loops (41.3km, 567m elevation), or stage 2 on two laps of Scotland’s The Muckle Yin (47.1km, 562m elevation).
If you don’t want to race or are just looking for a shorter TdZ route, check out the TdZ group rides happening this weekend. You can choose from three length options.
Multiple time slots all weekend
Tour de Zwift: Ride details and event signup at zwift.com/tour-de-zwift/ride
🤝 Scott’s 100,000km ZSUN Base Builder 2
✅ Popular Event ✅ Legacy Leader
Scott McVeigh has been organizing ZSUN’s popular multi-category 100km Base Builder 2 ride for years. But this week is a special one! Scott will be hitting the 100,000 kilometer mark on Zwift during the ride, and he wants everyone to come celebrate with him!
(Scott tells us, “In that time, I have also climbed 610,000m, the equivalent of 69 times up Mt. Everest.” Wow!)
Scott will be leading the B category, but A, C, and D category groups are also available. All categories will be riding the Douce France route. Be sure to read the event description for details, including a link to the active Discord voice chat used during the ride.
Saturday, January 6 @ 2pm UTC/9am EST/6am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4028749
🤝 Team ZTO World Record Challenge Fuego Flats
✅ Max Effort ✅ Unique Event
Team ZTO (Zwift Tri Oz) are making an attempt to set a new world record on the Fuego Flats Reverse segment. Six different events have been organized, so riders around the world can give it a go.
This will require riders working together in a sort of mass TTT fashion. The events are set up for maximum speed: the fastest bike in game (Cadex Tri) is automatically assigned to all riders, drafting is enabled, and fast powerups as well. Can anyone break the 7:39 mark set on ZwiftPower last year?
Multiple events this weekend
See events at zwift.com/events/tag/zto
🤝 Innovation Cycling Fights Bowel Cancer
✅ Good Cause
Innovation Cycling team member Glenn Utteridge was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in early 2023 and by June 2023 had had 5 fractures to back, neck, and jaw plus two major surgeries. Still, he is back on his bike and back on Zwift!
This is a 60-minute event on Watopia’s Waistband at 1-3W/kg. During this ride, leaders will share information about the disease and raise awareness about prevention. After the ride, some INC riders will continue for an additional 23 hours to gather donations for Glenn’s overseas treatments.
Friday, January 5 @ 7pm UTC/2pm EST/11am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4059877
🥇 E-Fondo Florida
✅ Endurance Challenge ✅ Unique Event
We’re highlighting this event because it’s interesting on several levels. This is the first of eight e-fondos organized by the Suarez Gran Fondo National Series, and riders can qualify for the USA Gran Fondo National Championships through these Zwift events!
This weekend’s event is on Watopia’s The Big Ring (51.1km, 273m). You earn points based on your segment times on sprints and KOMs, as well as your finishing position, and those points are what qualify you for the IRL Gran Fondo Nats. Read more about the series >
Sunday, January 7th @ 2pm UTC/9am EST/6am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3936918
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
Do other events stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!