Zwift’s annual fondo series is a popular tradition where thousands of riders push themselves to finish long rides. The series began in December, when (according to ZwiftPower) over 9000 riders finished their fondos!
January’s rides are this weekend, which is perfect if you’re looking to polish off your Festive 500. Here are all the details about this weekend’s events…
January Fondo Schedule
The weekend kicks off at midnight December 30 GMT, which is 7pm EST/4pm PST.
Events repeat every 3 hours until midnight January 1 GMT.
Series Schedule
Fondo weekends are the first weekend of each month thru April 2, 2023:
- December 30, 2022 – January 1, 2023
- February 3, 2023 – February 5, 2023
- March 3, 2023 – March 5, 2023
- March 31, 2023 – April 2, 2023
Fondo Routes
Zwift has two sets of fondo routes. First, their original three routes:
Then another set rolled out in 2022:
Each month of this year’s series rotates between these two sets of routes. January will use the 2022 routes, while February will use the original routes, and so on.
Kit Unlocks
New this year, each fondo length has its own unique kit unlock. Here’s a shot of all three kits:
These kits are exclusive, meaning they will never be available anywhere else. A true badge of honor, even the “salmon and chocolate” Bambino kit.
You have four months left to unlock all three, but if you are up for the challenge, see if you can ride all three distances in one weekend.
Is this a race?
Officially, no. But thousands of riders will turn out for each of these popular “fun race” events, and the front of each category will certainly be filled with strong riders going all out.
How the Categories Work
Unlike other Zwift events, the A, B, and C groups don’t refer to rider strength or fitness. Instead, they correspond to route and distance options:
- A Group (~90 km Gran Fondo)
- B Group (~80 km Medio fondo)
- C Group (~50 km Bambino fondo)
Fondo Friday Workouts
Looking for a fondo-focused workout? “Fondo Friday” group workouts are available on Fridays of all non-fondo weekends.
Zwift says: “Fondo Fridays include a selection of workouts from the Gran Fondo Training Plan, designed to take you from couch to gran fondo distance before the series ends. Fondo Friday weekly workouts are around one hour and occur every three hours, beginning December 9 and concluding on March 24. Workouts are also available on-demand in the workouts training plan folder.”
See upcoming Fondo Friday events >
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
Do I have to do one of the group rides to unlock the kit? I’m planning to do a 100km ride with my club Dec 31, which is a fondo weekend. If we just do a fondo on that course in a meetup, will we unlock?
You have to do one of the events. You can’t do a Meetup on a fondo route, anyway…they aren’t available for meetups.
Every 3 hours is not often enough, need every 1hr or at least every 2 hours so more people can be part of this.