Rapha’s Festive 500 began in 2010 as a simple challenge: brave the winter elements and ride 500 kilometers between December 24-31. Since then, riders have covered over 290 million Festive kilometers, including many virtual kilometers after Covid lockdowns opened the Festive 500 challenge to virtual rides.
This year, as in years past, Zwift is working with Rapha to host events and give unlocks to finishers. Here are all the details!
The Challenge
Your task is to ride 500 kilometers (310.7 miles) in eight days, from December 24-31, 2023. Outdoor bike and handcycle rides count toward the total, and so do virtual rides, as long as you upload them to Strava.
This is all tracked through Strava, so you’ll need to sign up for the Strava Challenge and upload your rides to Strava if you want to be considered an official finisher.
RoboPacer-Led Festive 500 Events
Any miles you do on Zwift count toward the Festive 500 challenge, but Zwift is spinning up RoboPacer-led events to encourage riders to go the distance. Events are scheduled every two hours, and each event includes five category options, each led by a pace partner:
- A: 3.2 w/kg Pace Partner
- B: 2.6 w/kg Pace Partner
- C: 2.2 w/kg Pace Partner
- D: 1.8 w/kg Pace Partner
- E 2.2 w/kg Pace Partner (Women Only)
Events will be held on one lap of the following routes on the following dates:
- Dec 24-25: Watopia’s Waistband (27.7km, 101m elevation)
- Dec 26-27: The Magnificent 8 (29.1km, 155m elevation)
- Dec 28-29: Greatest London Flat (31km, 223m elevation)
- Dec 30-31: Coast Crusher (42.7km, 210m elevation)
See all of Zwift’s Festive 500 Group Rides at zwift.com/events/tag/f500
Kit Unlock
Complete any of the official Zwift Festive 500 rides above and unlock the Rapha Festive 500 2023 kit, which mirrors the IRL kit available from Rapha:
Prize Drawing
Details of the Strava challenge say those who finish will earn the following:
- Entry into the prize draw to win a brand new Cannondale road bike (pictured below, specs not provided) and a US$1,000 Rapha voucher
- A digital roundel for your Strava Trophy Case
- A 20% off code to spend at Rapha
- The chance to win more prizes in the Rapha Spirit of the Festive 500 awards
More Events from the Community
Community teams always create special events (group rides and even races) to help riders hit the Festive 500km goal. In fact, at least one crazy group has done the entire 500km in one event!
Check out the ride calendar in Zwift Companion to find more fun Festive 500 rides.
Questions or Comments?
Are you up for the challenge? I know I’m in, just like last year. Share below!
Great, more easy unlocks! Now we just have to cycle 27.7km to get a kit that should be earned after 500km. We are all winners!
Yeah… same as past years on Zwift. It’s because the challenge can be done (all or partially) outdoors, too, so the only way Zwift could ensure you’ve done it would be some sort of Strava integration (seeing your outdoor activities) which Zwift doesn’t have.
Zwift should do some sort of extra kit for a “Zwifty 500″… 😀
A Zwift-only 500km challenge that doesn’t require signing up through Strava would actually be pretty cool.
Right now people can obviously create a dummy Strava account to link if they don’t want to use Strava or don’t want to have it liked with their regular account but that’s not really worth the effort.
I recall a year (2019 or more likely 2020) where you would unlock the kit with an email from rapha. That counted both indoors and outdoors distance and you would get the kit at the end. Probably, it does not scale well and it was a bit unreliable.
People need to realize that cycling is also a team sport. Hats off to all managing the 500, but i would assume that less than 1% of this giant pace partner blob will make it. So handing out an event kit is a nice incentive to motivate the 99% helping the 1% having a nice time and draft.
I was getting ready for this challenge as I wanted a kit that’s somewhat hard to get, one that you need to work for.
This, to be honest, kills any desire to do that as the reward is meaningless.
Your only motivation for completing a fitness challenge is a virtual cycling jersey that literally no one will recognize in the future? Ask yourself how much time do you spend in zwift spotting other people’s kit and recognizing what they did to get that jersey…
Eleven of us at Friends of Herne Hill Velodrome are doing F500 in a single ride on the track on 27/28 December. Might have to unlock the Zwift kit first as I won’t be in any state to do so afterwards.
All of you are wlecome to this event Rapha Festive 500 by TugaZ https://www.zwift.com/events/view/4029774
😉
I wish Bernie (Robo Pace 1.5) would be part of this. I can try to do at least one of the 4 Rapha Zwift rides
I would still suggest giving it a go because if there’s a big group then there should be a big draft…
Thank you for the suggestion Ian as I appreciate it! Today, I tried to ride with Miguel’s 1.8 w/kg Flat Route, and it worked out well that I was able to keep up with him and the 175+ riders (there was a section that I was a tad too fast for him (on the rolling hill section). I wanted to see if I was ready for the 1.8 w/kg avg, and it felt great to go beyond my comfort zone (of Bernie’s 1.5 w/kg). It was so much fun to ride with Miguel and the group that I am going to give it another go this coming Sunday as that’s the first day of the Rapha 500. If you are planning to ride the Rapha 500, I wish you all the best with the event/ Ride On!!! 🚲🙌😀
Anyone got an idea, if my plan would work, if I try to do the 500 in 2 or 3 sessions and jump from event to event? So basically starting at 7am on the 25th with the first session and first event, doing 1:59h and then jumping to the 9am event but without ending the first session, so keeping everything in one data set and having at the end of the day lets say ridden 5 events + the time inbetween and 250km ?
It could work in terms of staying occupied doing one long ride, sure. I’ve done exactly this.
But each time you start a new event Zwift will start a new fit file. So you won’t have one single long session this way…
So the only way to get one „long“ file would be to combine this .fit with an external tool afterwards, right?
Or you can concurrently record your ride data on a separate head unit. Downside there is you don’t get elevation or speed data.
Yeah, but that could be messy since you’d be bouncing from one GPS coord to another.
indeed, this is why this seems to be not a really good option. Probably I will simply start with one of the rides for example 7am and will do a kind of 5h turn, 1h break and will than start with the 1pm event again for 5h 2 of this days an everything is done in 4 files.
I did the 500 a few years ago (maybe Dec 2020) entirely on Zwift, happy to have completed it but it was just a grind that I don’t think I’ll be repeating any time soon! There definitely needs to be an in game jersey for those who complete the entire 500km
Still miss the woven roundels that Rapha used to send upon completion 🙁
There is a group that will be doing Rapha 500 in one ride on 27/12/2023!
Do you feel capable of following along on this adventure?
Everyone is welcome, to do as many kilometers as you want, to give a wheel throughout the day!
Rapha Festive 500 by TugaZ https://www.zwift.com/events/view/4029774
We are excited about the challenge and are looking forward to ride with you!
Awesome mate! Will join for a few Km!
Eric, How do we track our progress in the Rapha Festive 500? Does our position and do the leader boards automatically appear on Strava and/or on ZWIFT?
Thank you!
Kim Wrinkle
Silverton, CO
Best place is probably the Strava challenge page: https://www.strava.com/challenges/4131
If I ride the Zwift R500 event, say one lap of 30 kms, at the end of the lap will I be able to keep going on that circuit to clock up the daily total required? will there still be a pacer?
Yes, you can stay on the route and keep doing laps. But once the event ends, the RoboPacer will disappear (I think).
rather than using only the events, will the pacers be rolling a traditional schedule so I don’t have to worry about joining multiple events on one ride?
Yes, normal pacers will be active as far as I know.
Was thinking about doing this but I’m not on Strava and have no intention of joining it so I guess that rules me out. Pity Zwift can’t run it without you having to join Strava!
Where are the 100k challenges this year ? Missing them to achieve the 500 goal. HNY in advanced.
I’ve completed one of the group rides but haven’t received the kit. Having looked online, others have had the same issue but there isn’t a clear answer as to how to fix it.
Does anyone know how to get the kit? Thanks
Showed up in my garage after my first ride. Also got an email saying it was unlocked.
Then I did a second ride (today)… and got another email! Ha.
Anyway, not sure what to tell ya. Contact Zwift support? I can lend you mine…
Haha!
Maybe I’ll try another ride and contact them if nothing again.
Thanks for the quick reply.
The last day to do a ride to reach your 500km is on the day of the 31th of December, right? Not today 30th dec.
Correct.