Official Zwift fondo events are always a blast, with thousands of riders taking part. Like an outdoor fondo, they feature challenging routes with varying length options. Riders can race the event, or just push to do their best and finish a challenging effort.
The second fondo of Zwift’s 5-month northern hemisphere 20/21 series has just been posted for this weekend!
Looking for Zwift fondo event times? See the list of upcoming fondos in this series
Routes
Zwift Fondo events have three categories (A, B, and C) which are open to all riders. These categories don’t refer to rider strength or speed–they refer to route length.
For December the routes are (click for details):
On a related note, we would really like to see Zwift expand the fondo routes to something that hasn’t been used for all past fondos. Maybe it’s time for an Uber Pretzel fondo option? Or better yet, a brand-new fondo route that includes the newer roads not covered in the three fondo routes? Perhaps the KOMonster…
(Even the promo image used for the fondos shows riders in an area of Watopia that has never been used for a fondo event.)
Kit Unlocks
This is a 5-month series, and each month’s fondo has its own unique kit unlock. These kits are exclusive, meaning they will never be available anywhere else in game. A true badge of honor! Here’s a shot of December’s kit:
Upcoming Dates
This monthly series runs through March. Here are the upcoming fondo dates:
- December 13
- January 3
- February 7
- March 7
Is this a Race?
Yes. But a fondo is a “fun race”, meaning it’s more about the personal challenge of finishing a tough course and doing your best. For some riders, the goal is simply to finish the ride. If that’s you, there’s good news: with so many Zwifters taking part in these events, you’ll always have company regardless of your abilities!
That said, thousands of riders turn out for these popular events, and the front of each category is always filled with superfit riders going all out. If you’re feeling strong and looking for an extended race challenge, find a fondo.
Note: efondo events don’t give out ZwiftPower ranking points, so in that sense, this event is not a race.
Questions or Comments
Share below!
Thank You Zwift for the Saturday afternoon time slot! Great Job, by the way, Eric on this fun site.
I agree! Would be nice to have different courses instead of the same ones every single time.
agree new course required
Maybe one that doesn’t include the jungle? 🙂
or DOES include any of the new roads (literally ANY of them) from the Sand & Sequoias side of the island!
The jungle is faster if you switch to a mountain bike. Of course if you’re following wheels you’ll lose the wheels (unless enough people agree to stop). But I agree the course should be changed — there seems to be growing perception Zwift has been effectively dialing it in during 2020, grabbing profits instead of re-investing in the platform. Maybe something really big is coming we just don’t know about.
I tried to organize a bike swap going into the jungle but only two others from our largish group did it. We nevertheless went on to pass the large group on road bikes and after swapping back had a 30 second lead. Our group grew to 6 by catching stragglers from the group ahead but eventually they caught us again. If I’d had more takers that wouldn’t have happened: we held off that group for a long time but eventually our pulls got weaker.
That’s not the jersey we got: it’s an old recycled one. I’m not surprised.
I’ve never ridden a fondo before. Do folks usually switch bikes for the jungle? An MTB might save a minute but two swaps and two accelerations would be at least 30 seconds.
Hi Eric, as you know from riding with us this past Sunday, BMTR (Bear Mountaineers) has a Fundo (a Fondo but obviously more fun 🙂 every Sunday at 8:10 am EST. As we do have the option of varying the route, we have had the Fundo on many different ones including The Mega and Uber Pretzels and the Four Horsemen. We intend to do the same this winter as well, but are starting off with some that are a little easier, like the Big Foot Hills you were just on. By choosing the route, we also have the choice of varying the distances which as you pointed out is not done on the Zwift Fondo’s. We also always offer 4 distances to choose from normally ranging from 25 to 75 miles (40 to 121 km), which is one more than Zwift offers. And, as we normally have from 500 to 1200 participants – depending on the time of year and what other special events may be scheduled around us – there are always plenty of people to group up with at everyone’s respective chosen pace. So, in summary, clearly the advantage goes to the BMTR Fundo vs the Zwift ones!😉😀
In the question “Is this a race” i think the answer is no, because ZP mark that as ride, so no ranking points assigned of course.
Well, it’s defined as an “efondo”, which is different than a group ride or race as far as I can tell. But you’re right, no ranking points! I’ll update that.
I would love to see a feature added to zwiftpower to do “fondo scoring” for these events. This would just mean scoring by ride segments rather than overall time, just like many IRL fondos do.
A new course would be much appreciated!!!!
Another vote for the fondos to use a different course.
I swore after the last one I would never ride this route again. Love the fondos, hate hate hate this route. But I guess we’ll see what Sunday’s weather dictates. :/
Eric, december kit should be green according to the image at https://www.zwift.com/events/series/zwift-fondo-series-2020-21?__znl=en-eu
The one in your article maybe will come from January, according to the file name 🙂
Correct! They changed the image after I created this post. Grrrr…
Wasn’t the green one either 🙂
They do have the green one in the event that is running at the moment. This morning was a shirt with horizontal stripes… The green one looks way more awesome! 🙁
Can I do a Fondo as the free ride in a training plan?….
No, because the fondo routes are event-only.
glad I’m not the only one who’s a bit disappointed we didn’t get the cool looking kit that was pictured.
Very bummed that this ride seemed to be plagued with tech issues. I was booted on my first attempt. Then got back on today, fully charged as I thought it might be my fault, and when warming up and reading the chat it looked like many others had been kicked earlier. Then again once it started I was kicked off again. I guess its good to kicked at the start rather than halfway through but it won’t let someone jump back in and as its only available for 24 hours it’s a drag to prepare for your first FONDO and then not get to participate. I appreciate Zwift is growing quickly but this is no good.