Having trouble staying motivated? In this week’s top video, hear from one athlete as she discusses keeping herself motivated.
Also featured: Alpe du Zwift attempts, a farewell to Zwift, and tough Zwift races.
I need a big factory reset!
Jessica Strange shares how she plans to stay motivated for the next 6 months and explains the different things she is doing to accomplish her goals.
Three Years On Zwift, So I React To… My First Time Climbing Alpe du Zwift
To celebrate 3 years on Zwift, Ryan Condon takes a look at how far he has come and reacts to his first-ever Alpe du Zwift ascent.
Goodbye Zwift
Erik, aka Don’t Get Dropped Cycling, tackles stage 6 of Tour de Zwift before he shifts priorities and takes a break from Zwift.
Can I Climb Alpe du Zwift In Under An Hour?
After recently achieving an FTP increase, Dead Last Cycling decides to put that fitness to the test and attempt to climb Alpe du Zwift in under an hour.
After 60 Zwift Races, This Was My Best One
Liam Shaw tackles stage 4 of the Four by Four series and ends up achieving one of his best results yet. Can he battle his way onto the podium?
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below, and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
SISU Racing Launches the SISU World Cup Beginning June 9
The world will come together for football’s greatest spectacle this year — and now the world of cycling esports has its own global showdown: the first-ever SISU World Cup.
Inspired by the spirit, passion, and national pride of the FIFA World Cup, SISU Racing has announced a brand-new international racing concept where every pedal stroke counts for your country. Riders won’t just race for individual glory — they’ll race for national pride across four action-packed “Games”. It’s a unique twist, with the fastest three riders in each game counting towards their country’s GC.
United Kingdom Riders – to race for your country, please change the country listed on your profile in the Companion app from the United Kingdom to England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
The Games
And in true SISU fashion, the routes have been selected to test every type of rider — punchers, climbers, diesel engines, technical racers, and tactical masterminds.
The SISU World Game begins on the punchy cobbles of Richmond. Short climbs, rolling terrain, and technical rhythm changes will demand explosive power and sharp race IQ. Positioning will be everything as nations battle for the first jersey and first bragging rights of the series.
A nod to one of cycling’s most iconic World Championship venues. Innsbruck delivers relentless climbing pressure and rewards riders who can suffer deep and keep pushing. Pure climbers and punchy all-rounders will smell opportunity here.
Fast. Aggressive. Unpredictable. New York’s futuristic roads bring high-speed racing with constant elevation changes and no room to hide. Expect attacks, counterattacks, and nations fighting desperately for every second as the SISU World Game reaches its critical phase.
The final Game promises fireworks. Green to Screen is one of Zwift’s most demanding modern routes — beginning with fast-flowing terrain before rising into a brutal uphill finale. This is where legends will be made, GC battles settled, and one nation crowned champion of the SISU World Game.
Today, Zwift launched a four-climb challenge centered around the 2026 L’Étape du Tour event. This may be a “mini challenge”, but that doesn’t mean the climbs are small! Read on for details…
Challenge Requirements
The Challenge features four iconic French climbs, listed in the order riders will encounter them in the IRL L’Etape du Tour event held on the Queen Stage (stage 20) of this year’s Tour de France.
You can complete them in any order you’d like, though, or even join a group for extra motivation! Here’s the list, along with dates group rides will be held on each climb:
Everyone is automatically signed up for this challenge. As long as you’ve got version 1.114 or higher installed, and you’re within the challenge date window, you can ride the four climbs above in any way you’d like (in an event, as a free ride, for a structured workout, etc) and get credit for completion.
Click that challenge card to access the climbs and see reward details.
Pro tip: Want to double up on bonus XP? Tackle one of the new Quickfire 30 Challenge workouts on a weekend in June when one of the climbs above is scheduled (see June portal schedule). To do this, you’ll need to pick the workout first, from your homescreen. Then choose any route in Watopia (Volcano Circuit CCW is a good one, as it gets you close to the climb portal). You’ll get credit for completing the workout as well as the climb!
Challenge Rewards
You will earn an XP bonus for each climb you complete in the challenge, with a total of 2250 XP available. You will also unlock the L’Etape 2026 Kit if you complete all 4 climbs!
1 climb: 500 XP
2 climbs: 750 XP
3 climbs: 1000 XP
4 climbs: L’Etape 2026 Kit
Deadline
This challenge goes live on June 1, 2026 at 09:00 PT, and ends July 5, 2026 at 23:59 PT.
(I recommend finishing before the final day, though, as some past Challenges have ended earlier than expected, and you don’t want to be caught out if that happens.)
Zwift Ride and KICKR CORE 2 Sale Announced for Australia/New Zealand
Today, Zwift x Wahoo kick off a weeklong hardware promotion for riders in Australia and New Zealand. It features two key pieces of Zwift hardware: the full Zwift Ride setup and the Wahoo KICKR CORE 2 trainer! See details below…
Zwift Ride
Typically priced at AU$2,299.95, the Zwift Ride setup (frame + trainer) is available from Wahoo for $1899.95. This is a $400 savings, or 17.4% off.
Note: the Zwift Ride discount is only available in Australia.
The Zwift Ride delivers a high-quality Zwift riding experience in a complete, full-featured package. That includes smooth reliability of virtual shifting, the reliable connectivity of the KICKR CORE 2, and an easily adjustable frame so you can dial in your fit.
Wahoo KICKR CORE 2
The KICKR CORE 2, typically priced at AU$899.95, is available from Wahoo for $749.95. This is a $150 savings, or 16.7% off. (It also includes 1 free month of Zwift, for new subscribers only.)
Already have a bike, but want a reliable and affordable smart trainer? Wahoo’s latest CORE smart trainer builds on the reliable and well-regarded original CORE, adding integrated WiFi, more stability, and race mode for ultra-fast power data.
Questions or comments?
While many of Zwift’s hardware promos in the past have “missed” Australia and New Zealand, this deal applies only to these countries. Good on ya, Zwift x Wahoo. Hopefully, this helps some Zwifters down under upgrade their setups while “Zwift weather” is in effect. Discount pricing above is good through 12:01 AM AEST, June 9.
VO2sday Micro Races, Week 5: 5×4-Minute Mass Start Time Trials in NYC
For the fifth week of our new VO2sday race series, we’re heading to New York for five tough, back-to-back races. Everything this week is the same as last week, except we’re on new roads. Read on for details!
Until we decide to change it, all VO2sday events will be 4 minutes long, regardless of your category or how hard you ride. The goal? Ride further than your competitors by holding the highest steady power you can muster across all 5 events.
Important note: Because these are time-based races, the only meaningful race results you’ll see this week are on the finishing screen that pops up at the end of each race, and the race results in Companion or at zwift.com. ZwiftPower will not display results properly.
(We won’t have a 5-race GC competition this week, because we don’t have a way to combine rider distances from each race and show them on a leaderboard since ZwiftPower doesn’t support this. Additionally, Zwift has a hard time handling races under 5 minutes in length, so that’s making a GC even more challenging. The good news is, I’m working with Nathan Guerra and his brilliant team over at Leadout Sports to make it happen. Stay tuned for news on this front!)
Compound Score Categories
Race categories are based on Zwift’s Compound Score, which factors in your 5-minute power and bodyweight. Compound Score categories for these events are set to:
A: 1600+
B: 1200-1600
C: 900-1200
D: 900 and below
Structured Workout Racing
The VO2sday Micro Races are nothing like your typical Zwift scratch race. Here’s how these races are distinctly structured to be engaging and fun while delivering a proper VO2 max session:
5 races in less than an hour – that’s 5 hard VO2 max intervals.
Very short efforts: Each race is very short, only 4 minutes, just like a good VO2 max interval.
Recovery time: Races are 10 minutes apart, so a 4-minute race leaves you with 6 minutes of recovery before the next interval.
Mix of courses: Each week’s race courses feature a mix of flat, climb, rolling, and even downhill parcours. Riders with lots of pure watts have the advantage in some races, while riders with strong w/kg have the advantage in others.
Compound Score categories: Since results will be driven by your power numbers, riders will be categorized based on compound score, not Zwift Racing Score. This takes into account your 5-minute power and body weight.
Mass start: While riders are broken into categories for results, these are mass-start events with all categories starting together, so everyone has riders ahead to chase. (Remember, the goal is to push as hard as you can for the duration of the race, not to sit in the pack and conserve so you can sprint to victory in the last 15 seconds!)
Drafting is disabled, so these are effectively time trials. (Yes, you’ll want a fast TT setup.) Hopefully this forces you out of the “sit in then sprint” mindset, and into “hold steady high power for the duration” mode.
Questions or comments?
I’d love to hear your feedback after you’ve completed the latest set of VO2sday races. Share it below, along with any questions or comments you’ve got beforehand!
Between Efforts, Episode 2: What Makes Zwift Good, Frustrating, and Still Worth Riding?
In this episode of Between Efforts, I talk with Eric Schlange, the founder of Zwift Insider, about the platform, the community and the future of virtual cycling.
We dig into how Zwift Insider grew from a useful side project into the most trusted resource in the Zwift world, what it takes to keep up with constant platform changes, and where Zwift might be heading in 2026 and beyond.
We also talk about racing, the Rouvy acquisition, MyWhoosh, AI summaries affecting creators, Zwift Community Live in Mallorca, and why virtual cycling has become much more than just riding indoors.
This weekend’s notable events include training rides for the annual Mt. Fuji Hill Climb event, plus some popular races/group rides and a running kit unlock event! See our picks below…
Once again, we’re featuring a popular ride from the newish ZABI squad. It’s a 120-minute banded ride on London’s The PRL Half route, which is 69.7km long with 1013m of elevation. The banded group may not quite finish the route in 2 hours, but you can continue on to finish on the Classique and earn the route badge if you’d like!
SISU’s 7-stage Pinkki race series runs across the 3 weeks of the men’s Giro d’Italia, and riders are taking on Stage 7 this Saturday! This stage is on Watopia’s Dust in the Wind (52.5km, 583m), and there are several event times to accommodate everyone’s schedules.
The Hercules Running & Tri club is finally getting their kit in game, and this weekend they’re hosting 3 kit unlock run events of differing lengths: 15, 30, and 45 minutes. Hercules says the virtual pink and black running club vest is “a symbol of power, unity, and fearless spirit.” See the IRL version here.
Want to accumulate lots of miles quickly? Join this popular group ride, which puts everyone on the fastest TT bike in game (Cadex Tri with DT Swiss disc wheels) with drafting enabled. It’s 100km, but it’ll be a fast 100km!
Riders are on Tempus Fugit – the flattest route on Zwift! Four different pace groups are offered, released so the faster groups catch the slower groups over time.
Bike upgrading hack: on rides with forced bikes, whatever bike you’re on when you join the event is the bike that accumulates the distance/elevation/time. So, for example, you could accumulate lots of distance toward a gravel bike upgrade while riding the Cadex Tri in this event.
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!
For the first time in a while, the Zwift Play controllers have received a new feature update. In this week’s top video, learn all about what this firmware update delivers!
We’ve also selected videos about one rider’s first Zwift race, a comparison of Zwift and Rouvy’s Alpe d’Huez, the Quick Fire 30 challenge, and heat training.
Zwift PLAY Controller Firmware 2.0.1 // Now With Bonded Bluetooth!
Shane Miller, GPLama, explains the latest firmware update for the Zwift Play controllers and shares why this update is important.
Nearly last?! – My first ever Zwift Race
Sub-elite runner Cole Running tackles his first-ever Zwift race. Watch as he documents this grueling experience!
Zwift vs Rouvy | Which Platform Nails Alpe d’Huez?
Both Rouvy and Zwift offer a version of the iconic Alpe d’Huez. In this video, Lake District Cyclist compares the two offerings.
Fastest Zwift XP Method? Quick Fire 30 Explained
Titanium Ben shares tips and tricks on how to optimize XP earnings with the new “Quick Fire 30” challenge.
I Tried Heat Training for 10 Days, Did My FTP Explode?
Liam Shaw shares how heat training has changed his training and performance on the bike.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
This week, Zwift released a firmware update for their Play controllers – the original Zwift controllers, which were launched in June 2023 and discontinued in September 2025.
The update will be welcome to Apple TV users in particular, as it combines the two controllers into a single Bluetooth connection. The update essentially brings the Play controllers in line with the latest Click v2 and Zwift Ride controllers’ capabilities, meaning the Play should soon be able to work with KICKR CORE v2 and JetBlack Victory sensor bridging, and should soon be supported in Rouvy.
Shane covers it all in his excellent video:
Updating Your Firmware
Updating your Play firmware is easy. First, make sure they aren’t connected to a Zwift game session, since Companion can’t connect and update them if they’re active in game.
Then, from the Companion app, tap the homescreen firmware update notice or go to More>Equipment. The steps then look like this:
