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Zwift Workout of the Week Schedule

Eric Schlange
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Zwift Workout of the Week Schedule

Zwift began featuring a Workout of the Week in August 2025, giving Zwifters the chance to earn an XP bonus by completing a particular workout. They stopped scheduling Workouts of the Week on November 10, 2025.

Here’s the past schedule of featured workouts, including the bonus XP you’ll earn for completing each. (Click workout for details.)

< March 2026 >
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
            1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31          
Categories
 Workout of the Week

Featured workouts switch at 9am Pacific each Monday (noon Eastern, 4pm UTC).

To access the Workout of the Week, begin by clicking the challenge card on the homescreen. Click the workout, click Start Ride, choose your route, and click Start Workout.

Finish the full workout and you’ll get a completion banner across your screen:

Double Up

Workouts of the Week can be stacked with the Route or Climb of the Week to earn bonus XP extra fast.

To do this, you must first click the Workout of the Week challenge card, which brings you to the orange screen shown above. This “registers” you for the week’s workout challenge.

Next, go through either the Route of the Week or Climb of the Week challenge cards to select a challenge and enter the game. Once you’re in the game, pull up the list of workouts (use the “E” keyboard shortcut or access it by clicking Menu>Workouts).

Find this week’s featured workout in the workout archive. (If you aren’t sure where to find it, click the workout on the calendar above to learn where it’s stored.) Load the workout and complete it while completing the Route or Climb of the Week. Double the fun!

Questions or Comments

Questions or comments about the Workout of the Week? Share below!

Zwift Racing Etiquette: The Unofficial Code of Conduct for Indoor Cycling Racing

Quint Hoekstra
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Zwift Racing Etiquette: The Unofficial Code of Conduct for Indoor Cycling Racing

Zwift Racing Etiquette: The Unofficial Code of Conduct for Indoor Cycling Racing

Every cyclist knows the Velominati—keepers of the sacred outdoor road cycling commandments. But once you clip in on a smart trainer and enter the pixelated world of Watopia, those rules start to fall apart. Sock height still matters, sure, but what about your fan placement? Your avatar name? Your squirrel?

Enter Zwift Racing Etiquette: the ultimate guide to proper behavior in the virtual peloton. These rules are designed for Zwift racers who want to ride hard, race fair, and keep the vibe fun—even when chasing a breakaway at 180 bpm in a garage that smells faintly of chain lube and long lost ambition.

The Golden Principle of Zwift racing etiquette is simple: Be a Good Sport. Zwift racing is highly competitive, but it’s also a shared experience. Whether you’re chasing a podium or just trying not to get dropped, the goal is to race with integrity, respect your fellow riders, and contribute to the community. That means no sandbagging, no tantrums, and no ghosting. It means giving Ride-Ons, pulling your weight in a break, and finishing even when it hurts.

If everyone follows this one principle, the rules almost take care of themselves.

The Rules

Rule #1: Keep it fun.
Zwift is serious business—until you remember you’re sweating in your attic pretending to climb a volcano. Lighten up.

Rule #2: Wear a jersey.
Indoor riding gets hot. We get it. But Zwift is not OnlyFans. So wear a shirt when filming your ride. Your YouTube viewers will thank you.

Rule #3: Ditch the “pain cave.”
The term is cringey and overused. Whatever you call it, it should feel like a place where legends are made. Hang some Tour swag to make it feel legit.

Rule #4: Don’t forget the essentials.
You can have the perfect warm-up, the perfect playlist, and the perfect race plan—but if you forget your towel, bottle, or to switch on your fan, you’re toast. Prep your setup like it’s a space launch: checklist, power, hydration, airflow. Forget one, and you’ll be sweating into regret.

Rule #5: The fan cools you. The software cools your mic.
Strategic airflow is non-negotiable. But if your teammates can’t hear your tactical brilliance over the roar of your industrial-grade fan, it’s time to let noise suppression do its job. Balance is everything.

Rule #6: Charge your devices.
Nothing says “pro” like a mid-race voice dropout because your AirPods died during your attack. Keep your gear juiced. Better yet, plug it in.

Rule #7: Calibrate your trainer.
Your trainer isn’t magic. It needs calibration. Regularly. If your watts are suspiciously heroic, it’s either your legs or your laziness. Don’t let it be the latter. Calibrate, verify, and race clean.

Rule #8: Drop watts, not connections.
Your setup should be race-ready. That means no Bluetooth dropouts, no sensor drama, no “why did my avatar stop?” moments. Keep interference low, test with Zwiftalizer, and choose your connection method wisely. Companion App bridge can help, but it’s not for everyone. If your signal’s sketchy, your race is too.

Rule #9: Identify yourself.
If your name is “Mr. Fast” and your avatar is a Bugatti, we assume you’re compensating for something. Just be you.

Rule #10: State your true height.
Yes, shaving centimeters makes you faster in Zwift. But unless you’ve actually shrunk, set your real height. Cheating the system is easy—earning respect isn’t.

Rule #11: Weigh-in with integrity.
Morning weigh-ins (sans gear) are fine. Don’t film it—you’re naked, remember. Enter your weight with one decimal and update it every couple of weeks. It’s not just about numbers—it’s about showing you care enough to keep it fair.

Rule #12: Your age doesn’t earn you watts.
Zwift doesn’t care how old you are—and neither should your race name. If you’re 70 and dropping 20-year-olds, that’s genuinely impressive. But don’t fish for compliments by adding your age to your username. Performance speaks louder than birthdays.

Rule #13: Only state your FTP when asked.
Power is silent. Ego is loud. Be the former. Dropping your FTP into casual chat is like flexing your salary at a dinner party—no one asked, and now it’s awkward.

Rule #14: Sock height is sacred.
There is a correct sock height. You don’t know what it is, but you’ll know when someone gets it wrong.

Rule #15: Respect the Tron.
If someone’s riding the Tron bike, they’ve earned it. Don’t ask how. Just admire the glow and get in their draft.

Rule #16: Respect the burrito.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not sexy. It’s not even edible. But the burrito power-up cancels your draft and scrambles your chasers. Laugh at it, and you’ll get dropped. Use it right, and you’ll ride off into the distance before the opponents even know you’re attacking.

Rule #17: Sprint into descents.
The gravity may be virtual, but the glory is real. Always start a downhill with a watt bomb—you’ll carry extra speed and drop your rivals. And yes, in the virtual world, the supertuck is still a thing. Use it wisely. Abuse it, and you’ll be dropped like a bad Wi-Fi connection.

Rule #18: No distractions.
Zwift is not background noise. If you’re watching Netflix during a race, you’re not really here. Save the binge-watching for rest days. When it’s go-time, be present. Your watts deserve your full attention.

Rule #19: Know your racing category.
If ZRS, CE, and vELO just look like alphabet soup to you, you’re not ready to race. These acronyms determine who you race and how fair it all feels. So learn the system, check your numbers, and race where you belong. Confusion is forgivable. Ignorance is not.

Rule #20: E-racing has a capital Z.
Other platforms are just pixel cosplay.

Rule #21: Don’t compare Zwift to IRL.
Zwift isn’t outdoor riding—and that’s the point. There’s no wind, no potholes, and no chance of getting dropped because you missed a turn while reaching for a gel. It’s a different sport. Zwift has volcanoes, power-ups, and glowing bikes. Embrace the weird. Respect the platform.

Rule #22: Non-Zwifters won’t get it.
Your sub-6 hour vCinglés du Ven-Top means nothing to non-Zwifters. They won’t care about your zMAP boost or your Epic KOM reverse PR. Save it for fellow Zwifters.

Rule #23: Keep the bike clean and lubricated.
Just because no one sees your bike doesn’t mean it should look like a biology experiment. Clean your drivetrain, no sweat puddles, and bin those wrappers.

Rule #24: Wear the team kit.
Wear your club jersey (virtually) and display your team name. Otherwise, no one knows if you’re a rival or just vibing.

Rule #25: Take your turn.
In a breakaway or chase group, do your share. It doesn’t have to be heroic, but it has to be something. Riders who merely freeload are to be dropped at the earliest opportunity.

Rule #26: Always race to your max.
Race like your Twitch stream actually has viewers. If you’re looking for a training ride, do a workout instead. See also Rule #28.

Rule #27: Empty your weebles.
Intervals.icu shows how deep you went above FTP. If your w’balance didn’t reach zero, you just didn’t go hard enough. See Rule #27.

Rule #28: No sandbagging.
Don’t limit your power to stay in a lower category. Big fish belong in big ponds. Race like it’s the Tour de France and let the pens sort themselves out.

Rule #29: No tanking.
Purposely racing poorly to lower your ZRS or vELO rating is just sad. Wear your category with pride.

Rule #30: Finish the race.
Got dropped and don’t want your poor result to show on ZwiftPower? Tough luck. Take your defeat on the chin and complete the full distance.

Rule #31: Sauce is allowed (mostly).
Sauce 4 Zwift is fine—if the HUD is on. If the organiser switches it off for a data-free experience, don’t bypass it. That’s just shady.

Rule #32: Keep the chat clean.
“Have fun!” is great. “How long is this race?”—not so much. Race chat isn’t your personal FAQ or therapy session. Don’t complain about the course or ask what’s for dinner, and save the sarcastic coaching for Discord. Say thanks, be nice, and if you’ve got nothing helpful to say—pedal harder.

Rule #33: No public shaming.
Suspicious power, weight, or height? Don’t call it out in chat. Send a private message to the organiser. Keep the vibe positive.

Rule #34: Big watts? Dual record.
If you can do more than 5 w/kg for 5 minutes, invest in some power pedals. They’re not that expensive anymore, and they prove your numbers are legit.

Rule #35: Ride-Ons galore.
That rider who clawed their way back after getting dropped? Ride-On. The one who led the chase to reel in a breakaway? Ride-On. The teammate who gave up their sprint to lead you out? Definitely Ride-On. We’re all suffering in our own way—sometimes, a well-timed Ride-On makes it bearable. Use them generously, but meaningfully.

Rule #36: No moaning about steering.
Yes, Zwift Play isn’t sold everywhere. But if you want it, find a forwarding address. Complaining won’t make your avatar steer better.

Rule #37: Do not ghost the race.
If you signed up, show up. Be the wheel someone else needs.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of the list? Got rules to add or changes to recommend? Share below…

Review: Zwift x H2O Audio “100% Sweatproof” Headphones

Eric Schlange
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34
Review: Zwift x H2O Audio “100% Sweatproof” Headphones

Review: Zwift x H2O Audio “100% Sweatproof” Headphones

Back in July, the Zwifty social blew up when Mathieu van der Poel donned Zwift-branded headphones for his TdF TT warmup. The headphones basically match the in-game headphones originally available via the Big Spin 2024 prize spinner, and Zwift sleuths soon figured out they were a collab between Zwift and H2O Audio, who are headquartered in San Diego, California, just a bit south of Zwift’s Long Beach headquarters.

Opinion was immediately split: were these the coolest Zwift accessory yet, or a terribly sweaty idea? Was Zwift wasting time making headphones when they should be laying more virtual tarmac?

In my post announcing the headphones, I promised to thoroughly test their “100% sweatproof design”… for science. And that’s exactly what I’ve done for the past ~7 weeks. Here’s my full review.

First, Where To Buy

Interested in purchasing the Zwift + H2O Audio headphones? Shop through this link and use the coupon code ZWIFTINSIDER for 20% off! Your purchase helps support this site.

Buy Now

Next, the Basics

These headphones are a co-branded version of H2O Audio’s flagship “RIPT ULTRA” headphones. So for anyone concerned that Zwift is diverting much-needed resources into headphone development… well, these are more of a small marketing team project than anything else.

A few key specs:

  • Wireless
  • Bluetooth
  • Active noise cancellation of 30dB and transparency mode
  • Built-in microphone for seamless calls (and Discord!)
  • “100% sweatproof design” with patent-pending removable and washable silicone ear cushions
  • Black leather ear cushions also included, and a carrying case
  • Charge via USB
  • Powered by custom-developed 45mm drivers
  • 50-hour battery life
  • Price: $249.99 Buy Now > (see below for coupon code)
They come in a fancy Zwift-branded box
Package contents

Sound Quality

First, I’m no audiophile. So if you’re expecting that sort of review, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

I am a musician, though. So I care a lot about sound quality, and I notice things others may not. (Then again, I play the banjo, so can I really be trusted with anything?)

After hours of listening, I found these headphones to be on par with others I’ve used in a similar budget range, including Beats Studio3. Sure, they won’t be as pristine as audiophile-level $2000 headphones, but they sound good, with clear articulation and an even frequency response that isn’t too bass-heavy.

Over-the-ear (OTE) headphones typically deliver a rounder, fuller bass response than earbuds because their larger size can support much larger drivers. Noise cancelling is often better too, since the over-the-ear nature of the headphones keeps out more sound than an earbud. Both of these expectations were met with the H2O headphones. I’d describe the active noise cancelling (ANC) of the H2O headphones as not quite as good as the Beats Studio3, but close, and noticeably better than my Apple Airpods Pro. I kept it engaged for most of my Zwift sessions, and it nicely muted the noise of my fan and drivetrain.

A few more sound-tech details, if you’re interested:

  • Audio codec: APTX (Qualcomm aptX Audio, Qualcomm aptX HD)
  • Audio Sampling frequency: 48KHz
  • Speaker Frequency: 20Hz~15KHz
  • Sound pressure level 114±3dB
  • Impedance 32Ωohm
  • Diameter Φ45 mm
  • Bluetooth chipset Qualcomm QCC3034
  • Includes AUX audio jack (3.5mm) and wire for external audio source

Let’s Talk About Sweat

A man with a surprised expression wearing a white hooded suit, possibly designed for training or exercise, with a blurred background.
Yes, I wore these for multiple heat training sessions. The things I do for science!

Like many of you, I’ve never worn OTE headphones while Zwifting. (The only headphones I owned had nice leather or cloth ear cushions, and I didn’t want to find out what would happen after those got repeatedly sweat-soaked.) But I have spent hundreds of hours wearing earbuds while riding. In recent years it’s been my trusty Apple Airpods Pro, but I’ve spent many Zwifty hours wearing buds from JBL, Sennheiser, and others.

So I was curious how comfortable full OTE headphones would be while riding. Apart from the sound quality differences (discussed above), how would they actually feel? Here’s what I noticed:

  • They felt surprisingly non-sweaty, even after very sweaty heat training sessions. I suppose my ears and a small part of the side of my head were a bit more sweaty than usual, being nearly sealed inside the rubber ear cushion. But it wasn’t particularly noticeable or irritating to me.
  • They stayed put, even when I moved my head around quickly while racing or doing intense workouts.
  • I did notice the headphones when I needed to adjust or swap out my head sweatband. Being bald, a sweatband is a must, and on long rides, I often bring two! Swapping a sweatband while wearing these headphones, though, requires removing the headphones, putting on the new band, then placing the headphones back on. A minor inconvenience, but one nonetheless. (Rotating the headband, which I sometimes do mid-ride, is also a bit of a faff.)
  • If you wear glasses while Zwifting (I do not), these could prove problematic. The arms on your glasses will break the seal of the ear cushions, which will probably allow more sweat inside, which may pool. And the cushions will push your glasses’ arms against your head, which will probably be uncomfortable.

I wore these for multiple ~3-hour sessions (Thursday 100km Pizza Burner, anyone?), as well as super sweaty heat training sessions that lasted an hour or more. Here’s what they look like after one such heat training:

In these pics, a bit of sweat is pooled inside the ear cup, but nothing significant. The cool thing about H2O’s design is that these silicone ear cups can be easily removed from the headset, rinsed, and dried. The headphones also include nice black leather cushions, if you’d rather use those for non-sweaty listening.

Wrapping this section up: for me, a bald guy with a sweaty head doing very sweaty Zwift sessions, I found these headphones surprisingly comfortable. (There was one issue I experienced, which may or may not have been sweat-related, which I explain below.)

What Makes Them Special

Apart from their sweatproof/washable nature (which is no small thing), there are a few nice extras on these headphones that are worth mentioning:

  • They’re Zwifty in color, and even have “Ride On” printed inside the headband
  • When you power them on and off, Matt Stephen’s cheerful voice is the first thing you’ll hear. What a way to start and end a ride! “Power off. Catch you next time.”
  • That battery life! 50 hours of battery life is impressive, and around double what many headphones in this range claim. It’s not just marketing, either – I have yet to charge mine, and they still say “Battery level high” when I power them on after using them for at least 30 hours of Zwifting.

Just One Issue

There’s just one problem I’ve had with these headphones, though. And it’s not a minor thing.

Three different times, when I was 90 minutes or more into a Zwift session, one or both sides of the headphones began to crackle intermittently. It was very noticeable and loud, but it was also unpredictable and far from constant. I soon discovered that tapping the left ear button to swap to “noise cancelling off” mode made the crackling disappear, while setting them to “noise cancelling on” or “transparency mode” would bring the crackling back.

I reported this to H2O Audio, and they said it wasn’t a known issue. They asked me to send the first pair back for investigation, and sent a replacement set. But that replacement set did the same thing the first time I used it for a long ride.

Trying to figure out the root cause, I wore the headphones while working at my desk (not sweating), but could never get them to crackle. It does seem to happen quite regularly when riding over 90 minutes, though, so my hunch is it has to do with moisture getting into the electronics. The headphones feature a special hydrophobic mesh on the inside (not attached to the removable ear cushion) to prevent water from entering the speaker assembly. However, I wonder if the humid air that builds up over long sessions inside the sealed ear cup is somehow affecting the internals.

Most Zwift sessions are an hour or less, and if the crackling begins, it’s really easy to tap the button on the left ear cup to turn off active noise canceling and thus any crackling. So I don’t consider this a deal breaker, but it certainly seems like something H2O will want to get fixed.

Buy Now

Interested in purchasing the Zwift + H2O Audio headphones? Shop through this link and use the coupon code ZWIFTINSIDER for 20% off! Your purchase helps support this site.

Buy Now

Questions or Comments

Did you purchase the Zwift x H2O Audio headphones? Any particular features you like, or issues you’ve had? Post your comments below!

Considering a purchase and have further questions? Share those below too, and I’m happy to answer any I can.

How the Race Lost: Broken By the Brae (Rolling Highlands)

Eric Schlange
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7
How the Race Lost: Broken By the Brae (Rolling Highlands)

How the Race Lost: Broken By the Brae (Rolling Highlands)

This week, the final race of August’s Kick ‘N’ Sprint series was held on Scotland’s Rolling Highlands route. I was looking forward to it, because it’s a fun race course: hard enough to keep things interesting, but not so hard (read: climby) that I would get dropped.

Read below to see how my race unfolded…

The Warmup

I got on the bike with plenty of time before the 12:10pm PT race, giving me a full half hour to wake up the ol’ ticker and spin up the legs. I was already one dirty chai and a few pieces of Neuro caffeine gum into my warmup by the time I got on the bike, so I was nicely caffeinated. I had also rubbed PR Lotion into my legs to keep the burning at bay.

My Warmup “Stack”

Chai Latte
Neuro Energy Gum
Amp Human PR Lotion - Bicarbonate Lotion

I rode my Cadex Tri bike during the warmup, since I’m working on upgrading it as we head into ZRL. Just upgraded to stage 3, working on stage 4, which requires 480 minutes!

Lead-In + Lap 1

Rolling Highlands has a long lead-in, but it’s an easy one: 5.1km, starting with a nice little descent and ending with a kick up the Breakaway Brae. In a two-lap race like today’s, you’ll hit the Brae three times: once at the end of the lead-in, once at the end of lap 1, and once at the finish.

I was holding onto a feather powerup, which I used at the bottom of the Brae. 412W for 58s got me through that segment. At the finishing arch I grabbed a draft boost powerup, then settled in for a bit of recovery as we looped past Nessie’s pond and headed back toward the lap banner. Lap 1 had begun.

The next challenge is the climb up through “The Cliffs”. It’s 2.2km long, and not steep at all – a very draftable climb. I held onto my van until we neared the top, where the riders always push the hardest. Then I used it, so I could more easily surf the wheels as we headed toward the lap banner and another powerup.

I grabbed another draft boost through the lap banner, then sat in and recovered to prepare for the Corkscrew Castle climb just up the road. This steep little kicker requires close to an all-out sprint for 15 seconds or so in order to stay in touch. The pack always stretches across the top, but tends to come together before hitting the Brae just 90 seconds up the road.

And that’s what happened: 549W for 31s got me up and over the Corkscrew Castle climb, then it was another go at the Brae, using my draft boost over the flat top to ease my effort as I sat in the wheels. Lap 1 done.

Lap 2 + Finish

After a bit of recovery, we hit the Cliffs climb again. M. Rogozinski went off the front and was soon joined by E.VP, but I just sat in, using my feather to ease the effort near the top. As we went through the lap arch I got a feather as my final powerup, Rogozinki got reeled in, and E.VP was 5s off the front.

We hit the Corkscrew Castle climb with 2km left in the race, and I knew these final 2000 meters would be hellish. I put out some big watts to stay near the front over this climb, figuring the pack might break up and I didn’t want to get gapped. 618W for 28s put me into a good position… but had I dug too deep? I spun my legs past Nessie’s place as our front pack of 24 proceeded toward the final Breakaway Brae.

One rider, S. Leary, went long as we crossed the segment start line. Others followed, and I boosted my power to try to hold their wheels. But seconds later, Leary was too far ahead for me to draft, and I was in the wind, so I eased a bit to let riders around me come around as we hit the uphill hairpin with 400 meters to go. Feather engaged. It all comes down to this!

The orange numbers were everywhere! A. Adams passed me, then T. E1000. 300 meters to go and I was hurting in 4th position. I steered left to get more draft, but my legs were done. More riders passed mein the final 100m, and I rolled across in 8th.

T. E1000 took the win with a powerful, perfectly-timed final kick that pipped S. Leary.

See ride on Strava >
See results on ZwiftPower >

Watch the Video:

Takeaways

Rolling Highlands is a fun race course for me. The three climbs – Breakaway Brae, The Cliffs, and Corkscrew Castle – make it interesting without forcing me out the back.

It’s just that the Breakaway Brae finish always seems to eat my lunch. I do well climbing through the left hairpin, but seem to run out of fuel on the long hall to the line that follows. Pre-race I tell myself I should wait longer before going all in, but somehow I never manage to do it. Because there’s always someone just a little off the front, dangling a tantalizing wheel. If I could just grab that wheel…

My “weebles” (W’bal) chart from intervals.icu is pretty telling when it comes to that final effort over the Corkscrew Castle and Breakaway Brae. W’ is the amount of work you can do over critical power – that is, how big of a bucket you have to draw from when it comes to hard efforts (read more about W’ and Critical Power here.) Ride above your critical power (which is close to, but not the same, as FTP) and you’ll be emptying your bucket. Ride below critical power long enough, and the bucket will refill.

You can see in the chart below that my W’bal began at 25 kilojoules, and dipped to -3.9 as I crossed the finish line. That’s truly emptying the bucket! It’s the lowest I’ve seen my weebles in at least a few months…

If I were to do this race again, I would go easier up the final Corkscrew Castle climb, gambling that it would all come back together before the start of the Breakaway Brae. This would have left me more weebles to play with, and hopefully a bit more kick left in those final meters.

I began this race with a score of 569, just barely sneaking into the 450-570 group. My 8th-place result boosted my score by 5 points, which means I’ll have to race against the big boys next week. Wish me luck!

Your Thoughts

Did you race Rolling Highlands this week? How did it go? Share your thoughts below…

Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of August 30-31

Eric Schlange
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1
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of August 30-31

This week’s picks are all community-organized events, and they rotate between innovative races and challenging longer group rides. So whether you’re looking to go fast or go long, we’ve got you covered!

🥇 Team Evolve’s August Omnium

✅ Unique Event 　✅ Neutralized Bikes

The new Team Evolve is holding a three-race omnium on Sunday consisting of a 16km individual time trial (iTT), a one-lap short route under 10km, and a 4-lap crit race to cap it off.

You earn points based on your finishing position in each race, and the rider with the most points wins.

Along with its unique format, the event includes some unique rules: riders are categorized based on FTP, and bikes are neutralized to level the playing field.

First event is Sunday, August 31 @ 5pm UTC/1pm ET/10am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/evolveomnium

🤝 Beth’s Banded Badge Hunt

✅ Banded Ride 　✅ Beginner-Friendly 　✅ Endurance Challenge

Beth’s Badge Hunt is a series of monthly rides taking on big Zwift routes. Led by Wobble Cycling Club’s Beth Phillips, these are banded rides, so everyone can ride at whatever effort level they’d like.

This weekend’s ride is on London’s PRL Half route (69.6km, 1014m).

Saturday, August 30 @ 7am UTC/3am ET/12am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/5077335

🥇 La Roja Tour (TNP): Stage 1 and 2

✅ Stage Race 　✅ Multiple Classifications

TNP (Team Not Pogi) has organized a 6-stage race series held on Saturdays and Sundays, and this weekend it kicks off with stages 1 and 2. In this series, riders compete across each stage for GC, Sprint, and Climbing overall podiums.

Stage 1 is on Watopia’s Hilly Route with a custom finish line, while stage 2 is on 1 lap of Watopia’s Waistband.

Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31 @ 5:15pm UTC/1:15pm ET/10:15am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/tnp

🤝 Bikealicious Rubberband Joy Ride

✅ Banded 　✅ Beginner-Friendly 　✅ Endurance Challenge

Which ride had more signups than any other when we were putting this post together? This one!

The friendly Bikealicious crew is leading a “keep together” group ride on Watopia’s Zwift Games 2024 Epic route (81.7km, 878m). Grab this challenging route badge if you haven’t done so yet, which comes with a whopping 1594 XP!

Saturday, August 30 @ 7am UTC/3am ET/12am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/5089213

🥇Tour de HISP 2025 Stages 12 and 13

✅ Popular Race

The most popular race this weekend is the Tour de Hisp, which wraps up on Sunday. Racers are nearing the end of this grueling 14-day tour featuring 13 stages, but even if you haven’t been joining in the fun, you can hop into the race!

Saturday’s stage 12 is held on Innsbruck’s Lutscher CCW route (22.6km, 828m), while Sunday’s stage 13 wraps up the series in Paris with 2 laps of Champs-Élysées (16.4km, 91m).

Four timeslots each day
See events on ZwiftHacks

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!

Tiny Race Series – August 30 Routes – Be Kind, Rewind

Eric Schlange
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0
Tiny Race Series – August 30 Routes – Be Kind, Rewind

Tiny Race Series – August 30 Routes – Be Kind, Rewind

See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

Join the Team Velos: Pretzels, Epics and Afterparties Ride this Saturday

Holly Brown-Williams
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3
Join the Team Velos: Pretzels, Epics and Afterparties Ride this Saturday

Join the Team Velos: Pretzels, Epics and Afterparties Ride this Saturday

Team Velos is a longstanding Zwift club and racing team that aims to help riders of all abilities improve their fitness while having fun and competing in a supportive environment.

The club hosts nine group rides weekly, including beginner-friendly events that engage riders in entertaining ways, a competitive sprint training event with monthly winners and prizes, a climbing-focused event to develop “Grimpeurs” (cycling’s climbing specialists), and Poursuite de la Lanterne Rouge: a C-paced ride that includes optional challenges including a chase of the red beacon and featured as one of the Great Group Rides on Zwift.

Team Velos also hosts three weekly races: an individual time trial, a chase-style race, and the Monuments Race inspired by pro cycling’s Spring Classics and stage races.

To learn more about Team Velos, go to: teamvelos.co.uk

Introducing the Pretzel Endurance Group Ride

Velos launched the Pretzelfest on 2 November 2024 as a weekly 2-hour group ride with an ‘After Party’ to encourage those wanting to complete all the Pretzel routes on Zwift. The event soon evolved to encompass all of Zwift’s epic routes, and now features a rotating monthly schedule of increasingly difficult routes to keep the event varied and interesting for its many regulars. Although the Pretzel ride officially ends after two hours, many riders stay on to support one another in completing the longer routes.

Each week, two pace groups start together, with the yellow beacon averaging 2.5 W/kg, and the red beacon 2.0 W/kg. The mass start enables everyone to participate in the ride chat and move between the two pace groups. A rider might start wanting to push a harder pace, then ease back to the red beacon group and finish at a gentler pace; or set off easier, then push higher watts to reach the faster group. A single field promotes camaraderie between the two pace groups, and others in the red beacon crew function as traditional sweeps supporting struggling riders.

During each Pretzel ride, the Yellow Beacon messages on a wide range of performance issues including cycling endurance training, nutrition, strength training, and related topics. This is interspersed with plenty of entertaining chat, including joke contests and quizzes to help the time fly with lots of laughs.

About the Ride Leaders

The Pretzel endurance ride was conceived by longtime Velos teammate and Yorkshire resident David Pickles, General Manager of The Gym Group — one of the largest fitness centers in England. David is also a certified personal trainer and owner of OnelifePt Coaching. David leads the Yellow Beacon group, and started the event with teammate Alicia Caron who leads the Red Beacon group. Alicia is a long-time cyclist in Massachusetts, working as a physical therapy aide trained in injury prevention, recovery, and performance. A lifelong athlete, she has extensive experience in strength and conditioning.

Says David Pickles: “Helping people collect hard-to-reach route badges is part of what we do, which sometimes results in our team riding 5+ hours because someone needed to complete The PRL Full. This event was designed to attract riders who want endurance training and enjoy an element of cycling that many avoid due to boredom. While the ride was founded with the idea of enjoyable zone 2 training, it has created a lively following that helped us grow together. Beyond our two pacing groups, there are bad jokes, silly quizzes, practical tips to improve training, and a team who loves helping others. Not only has the ride evolved, but so has the team. This has been the first Velos event for some riders, many of whom became regulars and so comfortable they joined our lead/sweep crew. Our two sweep teams never give up, since helping others is sewn into the fabric of Velos. We simply try to extend that to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hour of your training rides.”

Velos owner Stephen Whitcombe adds: “Velos launched its first endurance ride, the Routebagger Challenge, in February 2022, and it immediately gained a following since ticking off the tougher badges is so much more fun with company. But we were able to support that ride only once a month, so the Pretzel event was a perfect evolution since it offers something for everyone: two pace options, a great endurance session for those with limited time, and fantastic support to the end for those wishing to complete extremely tough routes like the Four Horseman, PRL Full, 25 Volcano laps, and Uber Pretzel. Feedback has been tremendous, and many Zwifters make this a must-ride event on their weekly schedule.”

The last week of every month is always the toughest route, and August features one of the most challenging in Zwift: the Uber Pretzel (128.8km, 2335m of elevation)!

The ride is on Saturday, August 30 at 11am UTC/7am ET/4am PT. Sign up here:

All About the New ENVE SES 4.5 PRO Wheels in Zwift

Eric Schlange
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30
All About the New ENVE SES 4.5 PRO Wheels in Zwift

All About the New ENVE SES 4.5 PRO Wheels in Zwift

This week, Zwift releases a new wheelset from ENVE: the SES 4.5 PRO. The real-life ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels were announced in July of this year, and ENVE shared that the wheels were developed with direct input from Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates XRG over two seasons. When the wheels were announced, they had amassed 25+ victories this season alone … before Tadej won the Tour de France!

Here’s what the Drop Shop says about them: “Designed for the cyclists seeking the ultimate wheelset, where low weight, aerodynamics, and rolling efficiency meet.”

The wheels are now available in the Drop Shop, accessible at level 29 and above, for a price of 675,000 Drops. This is the only wheelset in the Drop Shop with a 4-star rating for both aero and weight, so we expected them to be both fast on the flats, and light on the climbs! Since Zwift’s 4-star rating system isn’t precise enough for our taste, we ran these wheels through our standard battery of tests to determine exactly how they perform in Zwift and stack up against other wheelsets in game. (Spoiler alert: they’re fast.)

Let’s dive in and learn all about the performance of this new wheelset from ENVE…

Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance

The ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is definitely in the upper echelon of aero performance in Zwift, with our tests showing that it is bested by only three non-disc wheelsets: the ENVE SES 8.9, ENVE SES 7.8, and DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65.

The ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is 5 seconds slower than the ENVE SES 8.9 wheelset (the most aero non-disc wheelset) across an hour of flat riding. If you include disc wheels in the picture, the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is 10.8s slower than the fastest disc wheels in game, the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc.

Climb Performance

The climbs are where this wheelset really shines. It turns in a time that puts it within a half second of the top climbing wheels (Zipp 353 NSW, Lightweight Meilenstein, and Roval Alpinist CLX) across an hour of climbing. All of these wheelsets trim 9+ seconds off of our stock Zwift Carbon wheels’ times in our tests.

So the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is essentially tied with the best climbing wheels in game, while delivering much better aero performance than the other top climbing wheelsets.

Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using the Zwift Carbon frame.

Conclusions

These wheels show exceptional performance as climb-focused all-arounders. Perhaps the best way to see this clearly is to compare them to the best aero all-arounders in game, the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65. Consider this:

  • The ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels save 9.4 seconds across an hour of climbing compared to our stock Zwift Carbon wheels. The DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 saves just 2.7 seconds. A 6.7s difference.
  • The ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels save 41.7 seconds across an hour of flat riding compared to our stock Zwift Carbon wheels. The DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 saves 46.2 seconds. A 4.5s difference.

So if you swap from the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 to the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO, you’re essentially trading seconds gained on the flats for seconds gained on the climbs.

Another way to see it clearly: check out the Tron vs Top Performers chart, which we’ve just updated by swapping out the Zipp 454 wheels with these new ENVE SES 4.5 PROs, since the new ENVE wheels effectively replace the 454s as climb-focused all-arounders, beating them in our flat and climbing tests.

These wheelsets have been, or will soon be, added to the following posts:

Questions or Comments?

Share below!

Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.

“Rolling with ENVE” ZRacing Series Details (September 2025)

Eric Schlange
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27
“Rolling with ENVE” ZRacing Series Details (September 2025)

“Rolling with ENVE” ZRacing Series Details (September 2025)

Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series, and in September, the series teams up with ENVE for a wheelset worthy of the spotlight!

Read about this month’s race routes below, along with more on the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels, including the real-life giveaway.

September’s Routes

Here are the routes we’ll be racing in September:

See upcoming Range 1 events >
See upcoming Range 2 events >
See upcoming Advanced events >
See ALL upcoming events >

New ENVE Wheels

The new ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheelset makes its in-game debut in September’s races, with every rider automatically placed on these wheels for each event. Word is these wheels are fast, and Zwift says this month’s courses were chosen “to showcase their all-round dominance.”

It’s not just marketing hype, either: the IRL wheels were developed with direct input from Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates XRG over two seasons, and this year they amassed 25+ victories before Tadej won the Tour de France! They’re lighter and more refined than the standard ENVE 4.5, including new hub and bearing technologies.

Learn how these wheels perform on Zwift >

You can test the new wheels for free in September’s ZRacing, then head to the Drop Shop whenever you’d like to buy them:

Complete any stage for a shot at winning a real-life set of the new 4.5 PROs in ENVE’s official prize draw! (Zwift will send an email with an entry link…)

GC Leaderboards

Zwift’s web-based leaderboards are used for tracking the monthly GC competition for the ZRacing series. No ZwiftPower registration or use is necessary.

Access the ZRacing leaderboards at zwift.com/racing/zracing >

Your GC ranking is based on your best finishing time for each stage, and you can race each stage more than once to try for a better time.

Category Options

Zwift schedules three different flavors of ZRacing events in order to encourage “Fairer, more competitive racing for everyone.” They each use different racing score ranges for categorization and are titled Advanced, Range 1, and Range 2. Click banners below to see upcoming events for each:

Extras

Get the Badge

Each month’s ZRacing series has a unique achievement badge, which you can unlock by finishing every stage for the month. There are no makeup events, so if you miss a stage, you miss out on the badge and competing in the GC.

One and Done

Zwift has planned these events to deliver a solid 1-hour workout, so each race should only take around 1 hour to complete, including your warmup and cooldown.

Questions or Comments?

Post below! 

New Climb and Workout of the Week Challenges Released

Eric Schlange
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31
New Climb and Workout of the Week Challenges Released

New Climb and Workout of the Week Challenges Released

Back in May, Zwift introduced a “Route of the Week” challenge, where a different route is featured each week, and completing it earns a 500XP bonus. Learn more here >

Yesterday, two new weekly challenges have launched: a “Workout of the Week” featuring an ERG workout from Zwift’s library and a “Climb of the Week” featuring a climb portal. In simple terms, these work like the Route of the Week: simply complete the featured workout or climb to earn an XP bonus. But let’s take a closer look…

Workout of the Week

Click the Workout of the Week card on your homescreen to see the details of this week’s featured workout. Kicking it off? “Emily’s Short Mix”, a popular OG Zwift workout named after Emily Mullen, an early leader on the Zwift’s marketing team.

Finish the workout (I’m not sure what constitutes “finishing” the workout, as you definitely don’t have to earn all the stars), and you’ll see a banner on your screen:

Once you finish the workout, clicking the homepage card initiates a confetti party and a popup telling how much much bonus XP you earned:

How Much Bonus XP?

Until this week, completing the Route of the Week would earn you a 500XP bonus. But Zwift has changed their XP bonus formula, giving different bonuses based on the difficulty/length of the featured route/workout/climb. On the weekly challenge forum thread, Zwift staffer Alex says, “The XP reward does vary based on the difficulty of the ride, though we’re still fine-tuning the reward for these.”

So Zwift isn’t sharing the exact formula yet, but you can see above that we get a 250XP bonus for the 30-minute Emily’s Short Mix workout, and a 750XP bonus for the longer Tourmalet climb. Alex also says, “We agree that the reward needs to be clear on the UI. We’re looking at some options.”

Climb of the Week

Click the Workout of the Week card on your homescreen to see the details of this week’s featured climb portal. Our first featured climb? The mighty Col du Tourmalet, with 1213 meters of elevation gain across 17.2km of riding.

Finish the climb (yes, finishing it at 50% scaling counts), and you’ll see a banner on your screen:

Once you finish the climb, click the homepage card for a confetti party and a popup telling how much bonus XP you earned. (The Tourmalet earned my test bot 750XP.)

Double Dipping

Keen XP farmers will, of course, want to know how to maximize their earnings in these challenges. And there are certainly ways to do so! The trick is to figure out how to complete more than one of the three challenges (route, workout, and climb) in one go.

There really is no way to knock all three out at once, because you can’t do the Route of the Week and Climb of the Week at the same time. But you can certainly layer the Workout of the Week on top of a Route or Climb of the Week ride.

Alex from Zwift confirms, saying, “Yes, you can double dip! You just need to make sure you’re registered for both ahead of time until we update that.”

To register for a challenge, just click the challenge card on your homescreen. That signs you up for the challenge, and now, if you complete the route/workout/climb via another official pathway, it will still count.

(Note that it won’t always be this way. Alex also says, “You currently need to view each challenge to get credit for the ride, though you don’t have to start the route/workout/climb from the Challenge screen. We will soon change it so that you’re automatically registered for them on log in.”)

Two examples of double dipping (there are other ways to do this, but hopefully this illustrates how it works):

  • Click the Workout of the Week challenge card, then return to your homescreen. (Now you’re registered for this week’s WotW Challenge). Click the Route of the Week card, and click the route to enter the map and begin your ride. Now go to Menu>Workouts (“E” keyboard shortcut) and choose this week’s featured workout from the library. (Emily’s Short Mix is under the “30 minutes to burn” category). Complete the workout and finish the route, and you’ll finish both challenges and get both bonuses.
  • Click the Workout of the Week challenge card, then return to your homescreen. (Now you’re registered for this week’s WotW Challenge). Click the Climb of the Week card, and click the climb to enter the map and begin your ride. Now go to Menu>Workouts (“E” keyboard shortcut) and choose this week’s featured workout from the library. (Emily’s Short Mix is under the “30 minutes to burn” category). Complete the workout and finish the climb, and you’ll finish both challenges and get both bonuses.

Schedule of Upcoming Challenges

I don’t yet have the schedule of upcoming Workouts and Climbs of the Week, but I’ll share that ASAP in a separate post here on Zwift Insider. The Route of the Week schedule is available here.

Questions or Comments?

Share below!

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