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Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of June 7-8

Eric Schlange
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2
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of June 7-8

This weekend we’ve chosen two one-off race events as our top features. Additional picks include Pride On events, an extra-long group ride, and a banded ride up Alpe du Zwift. Ride on!

🤝 TRIBE RC Epic Chase Race

✅ Unique Event　✅ Popular

This is the first officially organized Chase Race from YouTube personality Ryan Condon, and it’s got more signups than any other event this weekend!

Chase Races are a unique experience, since you need to work together… until you don’t. Groups are released in order, starting with the slowest, then the packs work together to catch riders ahead without being caught by riders behind. Riders are grouped by FTP for this event, and they will take on The Big Ring (34.5km, 181m).

Saturday, June 7 @ 3pm UTC/11am EDT/8am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4988189

🥇 The Rhino Classic

✅ Mass Start 　✅ Popular

This one-time special race event is being held on 4 laps of New York’s Park Perimeter Reverse (39.2km, 504m), and it’s a mass start event with results separated by racing score band.

Saturday, June 7 @ 12:30pm UTC/8:30am EDT/5:30am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/5009835

🥇 LGBTQz Ride with Pride

✅ Pride Ons　✅ Cool Unlocks

Pride On 2025 is in full swing for the month of June, and leaders from the LGBTWz Club host each weekend’s events.

Read all about Pride On 2025 >

These are 60-minute rides at 1.6-1.8 W/kg, and you unlock the LGBTQ Zwifters club kit and new Pride On Wheels as a finishing prize.

Multiple events this weekend
See all upcoming Pride On events at zwift.com/events/tag/prideon

🤝 The BMTR Fundo

✅ Popular Ride　✅ Legacy Leader　✅ Endurance Challenge　✅ Kit Unlock

A regularly-featured event here on Zwift Insider, the BMTR Fundo consistently gets lots of joiners because it’s well-led and run consistently week after week, year after year.

This week’s ride is on Waisted 8. You have four distance groups to choose from, all the way up to 100 miles. Doubledraft is enabled to help the pack stay together.

Saturday, June 7 @ 12:10pm UTC/8:10am EDT/5:10am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/5007668

🤝 Phoenix Rising Tronathon (Banded) on Road to Sky

✅ Route Badge　 ✅ Beginner Friendly　 ✅ Keep Together

If you have yet to climb Alpe du Zwift, consider this event for your first attempt. This is a banded ride, so as long as you keep pedaling, you’ll stay in the pack, no matter how hard you push.

Sunday, June 8 @ 1:15pm UTC/9:15am ET/6:15am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/5008565

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 – June 7 Routes – Downhill Finishes

Eric Schlange
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0
Tiny Race Series – June 7 Routes – Downhill Finishes

Tiny Race Series – June 7 Routes – Downhill Finishes

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

Speed Tests: Gravel, MTB, and Road Frames on Zwift Dirt

Eric Schlange
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61
Speed Tests: Gravel, MTB, and Road Frames on Zwift Dirt

Speed Tests: Gravel, MTB, and Road Frames on Zwift Dirt

In March, Zwift adjusted the performance of bike frames and wheels in the game, aligning them more closely with real-world performance differences between various bikes and wheel types. At the same time, they released the bike upgrade feature, allowing riders to put in work to make their bikes marginally faster.

Learn more about the performance changes >
Learn more about bike upgrades >

While I’ve spent a lot of time unpacking these changes on the road bike/tarmac side of things, I really hadn’t tested bikes on Zwift’s dirt surfaces until recent days. And the results surprised me! Let’s dig into how various bike types perform on Zwift dirt today.

First, a Wheel Important Note

The 1-hour time gap data below is based on the speeds of our baseline bike, which is the Zwift Carbon with 32mm Carbon wheels.

In Zwift, you can’t put the 32mm Carbon wheels on a gravel bike. Instead, you must choose between several gravel-specific wheelsets. The nice thing is, Zwift keeps it simple: all the gravel wheels currently perform the same.

When it comes to mountain bikes, there is just one wheelset you can use, named “Zwift Mountain”.

Because of how wheels work, for the data below, we paired each frame type with a specific wheelset so the comparisons would be useful:

  • Gravel Bikes all used the Zwift Gravel wheels
  • MTB all used the Zwift Mountain wheels
  • Road bikes all used the ENVE 8.9 wheels (we tested a few top-performing wheelsets, and these turned in the fastest lap times)
  • Zwift Concept Z1 (Tron bike) used the Zwift Concept wheels

Time Savings Over 1 Hour at 300W (Stage 0 vs Stage 5 Frames)

Let’s begin with a simple chart that clearly illustrates the performance delta between gravel, mountain, and road bikes on Zwift dirt. This chart illustrates the time difference between each bike and our baseline bike (Zwift Carbon with 32mm Carbon wheels) over 1 hour of riding on the Jungle Circuit at 300W (4 W/kg).

Use the toggle to switch between viewing the un-upgraded versions of each bike and the full-upgraded (stage 5) version.

Show Chart For:

Stage 0
Stage 5

Takeaways

First things first: there is a big performance gap between gravel bikes and MTB+road bikes on the dirt. This gap is bigger than it’s ever been, thanks to changes Zwift made in their March update.

In fact, the gap between gravel and road bike performance in the dirt is approximately twice what it used to be. (After Zwift made road bikes roll faster in the dirt in November 2023, road bikes were around 1 minute slower than gravel bikes across an hour of riding. Now that gap is more like 2 minutes.)

The performance gap between the fastest and slowest gravel bikes has also widened. Formerly, the difference between the fastest and slowest bikes was ~20 seconds. Now it is ~38 seconds. (This lines up with the changes Zwift made to road bikes, where they stretched out the bell curve of performance so there was a larger delta between the fastest and slowest bikes.)

Toggling between stage 0 and stage 5, we can see that fully upgrading a frame doesn’t change its performance relative to other frames of the same type (the fastest gravel bike remains the fastest gravel bike, etc.). But a few of the road bikes do overtake some mountain bikes, as the delta between MTB and road shrinks at stage 5.

Lastly, this data shows that mountain bikes are never the smart choice if you’re looking for the fastest setup in a Zwift ride. In the Jungle, mountain bikes are just barely faster than the road bikes (at stage 0 at least). But mountain bikes are significantly slower than road bikes on all other surfaces, and gravel bikes clearly outperform them on dirt. So the mountain bike has no home in Zwift currently, unless you’re looking to ride with a group and make the effort more challenging.

Time Savings Over 1 Hour at 150W (Stage 0 vs Stage 5 Frames)

This chart uses the same bikes as the first chart, but the tests were run at just 150W (2 W/kg) to see how performance deltas change at lower speeds.

Use the toggle to switch between viewing the un-upgraded versions of each bike and the full-upgraded (stage 5) version.

Show Chart For:

Stage 0
Stage 5

Takeaways

Wow! The performance deltas between each type of frame are much larger at 150W vs 300W. ~249 seconds separate the Cervelo Aspero from the S-Works Tarmac, almost twice the gap (~128 seconds) we saw at 300W.

The mountain bikes clearly outperform the road bikes at this power level as well, with the Scott Spark RC World Cup besting the S-Works Tarmac by ~83 seconds at 150W vs ~10 seconds at 300W.

If you weren’t sure about the advantage of a gravel setup on Zwift dirt, this chart makes it clear.

Overall Conclusions

The changes Zwift made to bike performance on dirt surfaces are quite substantial. And I think they’re good changes:

  • Road bikes didn’t really get slower on the Jungle dirt, and that’s good – because nobody likes going slow on Zwift
  • Gravel bikes got faster, making them a viable option in more scenarios. This adds a strategic bike choice element to certain Zwift races/rides.

Racers will want to consider the implications of Zwift’s updated dirt performance and polish up their mid-race bike swapping technique for courses that include significant dirt stretches.

What’s Next

Given the impressive performance of gravel bikes on dirt, I will conduct additional tests on key dirt sections to determine where using a gravel bike (or swapping mid-ride) makes sense. We’ll especially take a look at Makuri Island’s Temple KOM, which is a mostly dirt climb that forces key selections in races on that map.

I’ll also test how gravel bikes now perform on the gravel surface type, which currently only exists on the Sgurr Summit North in Scotland.

Stay tuned for results…

Your Thoughts

Do you have comments or questions about how Zwift bikes perform on dirt? Share below!

All About Pride On 2025 on Zwift

Eric Schlange
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13
All About Pride On 2025 on Zwift

All About Pride On 2025 on Zwift

Zwift has announced a series of Pride events for June, including colorful Pride Ons, new unlocks, and a series of races! Why all the special events? The Pride On FAQ says, “When we say we’re on a mission to make more people more active more often—we mean it! We want to work towards making Watopia, and all of Zwift, more inclusive.”

Daily Schedule

Here is the schedule of Pride On events during the month of June:

  • Mondays: Pride On Rides
  • Tuesdays: Pride On Rides
  • Wednesdays: Rainbow Races
  • Thursdays: Throwback Thursday Rides & Runs
  • Fridays: Pride On Rides
  • Saturdays: LGBTQ Zwifters Club Rides and Runs
  • Sundays: LGBTQ Zwifters Club Rides and Runs

See the Pride On events schedule at zwift.com/events/tag/prideon

Social Rides and Runs

Zwift hosts Pride On events throughout the year, but they will be especially prominent on the calendar during the month of June, with Pride On Rides and Runs scheduled throughout the week.

Most rides are open-paced and 45 minutes long, while runs are open-paced and 30 minutes long. Events will rotate between several different routes throughout the month.

Note that Thursday and weekend events are a bit different than the other days – see below for details…

Throwback Thursdays

The Thursday Pride On Rides and Runs are “Throwback Thursday” rides which will unlock past Pride On kits:

  • Week 1 (June 5): 2021 Ride kit, 2019 Run kit
  • Week 2 (June 12): 2022 Ride kit, 2020 Run kit
  • Week 3 (June 19): 2023 Ride kit, 2021 Run kit
  • Week 4 (June 26): 2024 Ride kit, 2022 Run kit

Weekend LGBTQ Zwifters Club Rides

The weekend Pride On rides are hosted by the LGBTQ Zwifters Club, with experienced leaders pacing the 60-minute events at 1.6-1.8 W/kg.

Rainbow Races

This year, for the first time, Zwift is hosting special crit-style Pride Month races each Wednesday. Dubbed “Rainbow Races”, they happen in five time slots each week:

  • Wednesday 12:30am UTC/Tuesday 8:30pm ET Tuesday/5:30pm PT
  • Wednesday 6:30am UTC/2:30am ET/ Tuesday 11:30pm PT
  • Wednesday 10:45am UTC/6:45am ET/3:45am PT
  • Wednesday 1:30pm UTC/9:30am ET/6:30am PT
  • Wednesday 6:50pm UTC/2:50pm ET/11:50am PT

Races will be held on the following routes:

Kit and Wheel Unlocks

Every Pride On event unlocks something – a kit, the new 2025 Pride On Wheels, or both. To be precise:

  • Weekday Pride On Rides unlock the LGBTQ Zwifters club kit and Pride On Wheels
  • Throwback Thursday rides unlock a different kit each week and Pride On Wheels
  • Rainbow Races unlock only the Pride On Wheels
  • Weekend LGBTQ Zwifters Club events unlock the LGBTQ Zwifters club kit

Wondering how the new Pride On Wheels perform? They’re not particularly fast, although they look fun. They turn in the same test performance as the 2025 Big Spin prize wheels (named the Zwift Groovy Time Trial wheels). See their performance details on our wheel charts page.

Catching Up with Training API Integrations: Final Surge and Wahoo SYSTM Added

Eric Schlange
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4
Catching Up with Training API Integrations: Final Surge and Wahoo SYSTM Added

Catching Up with Training API Integrations: Final Surge and Wahoo SYSTM Added

It’s been a while since we’ve announced a new integration with Zwift’s Training API… but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening. In March, Final Surge announced their integration. Then last week, Wahoo SYSTM announced theirs.

As a reminder, these integrations make it super simple to see and complete workouts from third-party providers within Zwift. Specifically, Zwift’s Training API integration allows for the following:

  • Workouts scheduled on the partner’s side (eg, Final Surge or Wahoo) are automatically pushed to Zwift for you to execute on a given day (you may also manually push a workout from the partner’s app to your Zwift session)
  • Your completed activity is automatically pushed to the partner so it can be processed accordingly in their systems

Connecting the Training API

Learn how to connect Final Surge to Zwift >

Learn how to connect Wahoo SYSTM to Zwift >

Complete List of Training API Partners

Final Surge and Wahoo SYSTM are just the latest to be added to the growing list of Training API partners at Zwift. Here’s the current list:

Questions or Comments?

Got questions or comments about Zwift’s Training API integration? Share them below…

Top 5 Zwift Videos: New Splits Feature, Zwift Review, and Winning Races

Oli Chi
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2
Top 5 Zwift Videos: New Splits Feature, Zwift Review, and Winning Races

As one of the community’s most popular feature requests, the splits feature unveiled in a recent update was a very welcome addition to Zwift. In this week’s top video, learn all about the new feature from Shane Miller!

We’ve also decided to feature an in-depth review of Zwift, a guide to winning Zwift races, a long-term review of the Zwift Ride, and one Zwifter’s first time trial experience.

Zwift Splits: New In-Game Lap Tracking Tool!

Learn all about Zwift’s new splits/lap feature in Shane’s latest video.

Should You Try Zwift in 2025? My Honest Review!

Over the last 9 months, Chad Rides has been riding on Zwift. Now he’s ready to share his honest review on whether it actually lives up to the hype.

This is How to Win Zwift Races… a Lot!

Markus Harford has been walking away with incredible wins and podium finishes throughout the After Party ZRacing series. In this video, Markus shares why he has been able to do this and how you can train yourself to race in a similar fashion.

Zwift Ride Frame Long-Term Review: The Smartest Indoor Bike Setup

After over 6 months of riding with the Zwift Ride, Lake District Cyclist shares his thoughts and provides a long-term review of the smart bike.

I Tried My First Zwift Time Trial and It Was Insane!

Road to A tries his first-ever time trial on Zwift. Watch as he shares his experience and learnings from the race.

Got a Great Zwift Video?

Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!

Rhino Racing 2upTT Announced: On-Demand 2-Person TTT Racing

Eric Schlange
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1
Rhino Racing 2upTT Announced: On-Demand 2-Person TTT Racing

Rhino Racing 2upTT Announced: On-Demand 2-Person TTT Racing

Following a first edition that welcomed only select Zwift teams, Rhino Racing is now opening its 2upTT gates to all riders for a second edition! Last time, over 80 pairs battled it out across all categories, and this time, the competition is set to be even bigger, better, and bolder.

In Partnership with CommuniTTTy On-Demand Races

Rhino Racing is proud to collaborate with CommuniTTTy On-Demand Races, the masterminds behind the popular Club Ladder 5v5 racing. CommuniTTTy runs weekly Team Time Trials (TTTs) on a fresh course each week, allowing teams of up to 10 riders to compete for victory in their category. Like the Club Ladder Series, the event follows the ZR.app Velo categorization system, ensuring competitive balance.

How CommuniTTTy Works

  • Simple Registration: Just log in via Google or Discord to create a unique account and secure your place on the start line.
  • Race at Your Convenience: Events are auto-generated via the registration page, allowing riders to race any time during the race week (fulfilling my on-demand TT dream, in a TTT format). Be sure to pick a fast TT frame!
  • Comprehensive Results: Filtered categories include Mixed/Female teams, no-drop squads, team sizes, and neutralised vs. free bike choice, all displayed on the website.

Rhino Racing 2upTT: The Ultimate Test of Speed & Strategy

Built on the solid foundations of CommuniTTTy’s format, the Rhino Racing 2upTT strips racing down to its purest form – just you and your partner working together to get across the finish line as fast as possible.

  • Events run every two months, forming an ongoing league, so consistency matters!
  • Riders can enter multiple times to improve their result.
  • The course selection will push every team’s power and strategy to the limit.
  • All participants must have an active ZR.app profile with a current rank.
  • Teams will be categorized as Mixed or Female, with the highest-ranked rider at race start determining the team ranking.

Find Your Partner and Get Ready to Race!

Rhino Racing says, “Don’t miss this opportunity to prove your speed, endurance, and teamwork on the virtual tarmac. Find your perfect partner, start strategizing, and get ready to push the limits.”

Round 1 will commence at midday on June 21 and end at midday on June 28. Two laps of Makuri’s Island Outskirts will be the challenge for the first outing.

In the meantime, head to the CommuniTTTy website and test your skills in this week’s TTT or IT race – because every second counts.

Learn more at the Rhino Racing 2upTT homepage.

Rethinking Fairness in Cycling Esports: A Closer Look at Categorization

Beccah Niesen
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56
Rethinking Fairness in Cycling Esports: A Closer Look at Categorization

Rethinking Fairness in Cycling Esports: A Closer Look at Categorization

In May 2025, the FemmeCycle Collab (FCC) partnered with Zwift to launch a four-week women’s race series that grouped participants by age. There were five age brackets, with racers under 30 placed in one group and those over 60 in another. While this categorization was welcomed by some, many others remained skeptical. Interestingly, a portion of the feedback questioned the fairness of using age as a basis for categorization. These women referenced the previous Zwift model, which categorized racers using performance metrics like zFTP (~40 min power max) and zMAP (4-6 min power output), as a fairer system.

This feedback, particularly the reactions to this Zwift Insider article, got my wheels turning. Why do we, as women racers, consider a model based on medium- and long-term watts-per-kilogram (w/kg) output “fair”? And does this perception align with how athletes are categorized in outdoor cycling or other sports?

Let’s examine how categorization works in professional cycling, amateur events, and other sports to gain a better understanding of what might be applicable in the esports context.

“Real” Outdoor Professional Bike Racing

In professional cycling, which is often (perhaps unfairly) compared to community-level esports racing, categorization is rarely rigid. Instead, there are varied points systems that reward different elements: overall finishing position, stage wins, sprint points, mountain points, and even subjective recognitions like “most combative rider” or “best young rider.”

Although racers in mountain bike, gravel, or road events aren’t explicitly categorized in novel ways, these formats are largely self-selecting. Riders choose races that suit their strengths, whether that’s climbing, sprinting, or endurance.

Outdoor Amateur Cycling

At the amateur level, race formats and categorization vary globally. In the USA, criterium races dominate, while in the UK, time trials are more common. Again, there’s a self-selecting dynamic: riders choose the races that align with their abilities and preferences.

Some events include special categories, such as the “Clydesdale” class in mountain races for heavier riders, which reflects an effort to tailor competition based on rider phenotype.  However, most outdoor amateur racing disciplines employ a categorization system that starts everyone at the bottom, with progression based on both experience and performance. This has practical justifications (e.g., bike handling skills at high speeds).

Other Sports

As a former rower in high school and college, I saw firsthand how diverse categorization can be. Rowing classifications vary by boat type (single, double, quad, or eight), rowing style (sweep or scull), weight class (lightweight or heavyweight), and even team composition (men’s, women’s, or mixed). Events are further divided by age group and skill level.

Track and field provides another strong model for categorization by athlete type. You have sprinters, distance runners, hurdlers – all with distinct strengths and race types. Athletes specialize early and select events that match their capabilities. In contrast, community-level esports cycling allows anyone to enter any race, regardless of phenotype. This can lead to mismatches and a feeling of disconnection between racer and race.

Why shouldn’t esports racing be just as versatile? We already have points races and climbing races. Why not a climbing event organized by weight class? Or a mixed-ability team time trial where the team’s result is based on the finish time of the lowest-ranked member?

So, What Makes a Race Feel “Good” or “Fair”?

A healthy pen size is important—it keeps things competitive and engaging. But beyond that, what truly matters is the sense that every racer belongs and that their unique strengths contribute to the dynamic of the race. If everyone has a superpower, why not create races using categorization systems that allow athletes to showcase theirs? 

There are multiple platforms launching in 2025 which will allow race organizers to showcase the performance in race fields, including ECRO and Lead Out.  These services could make community-level racing more exciting on every platform for both racers and spectators.  Now is the time to explore what racers want, so the right tools can be built.

Share Your Thoughts

I’d love to hear from others in the community – what kinds of racer categorizations feel fair to you? What formats have made you feel seen and valued as a racer?

Let’s keep the conversation going and explore how we can build more inclusive, creative, and exciting race experiences together.

Woman Racer Spotlight: Heather L Johnston

Karla Williams
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Woman Racer Spotlight: Heather L Johnston

Woman Racer Spotlight: Heather L Johnston

Name: Heather L Johnston (I use my middle initial even though it sounds a little formal because there are a couple of us here in Vancouver.)

Hometown: Miscellaneous, USA. Some combination of New York, Cleveland, and Seattle — though I have lived in Horseshoe Bay, BC for longer than I did in any of those other places, at this point. I lived in New Jersey when I was little and mostly grew up in Cleveland, but went back East the minute I graduated from high school.

How did you get into cycling? I’ve been a bike rider for my whole life, commuting to school or work, and riding for fun — but I guess it really started getting more focused in high school. My friend Lindsay and I would go on epic rides through northwestern Ohio, and we did some century rides together. The terrain is short steep rollers and forest/ farmland — just wonderful riding.

In 1986, I did a six-week tour through New England, with Cannondale panniers on a Miyata Six Ten. In 1996, I walked into a bike shop in Seattle and asked, “Do people race bikes?” I was on a club ride the next morning, and the rest is history. I raced road and off-road pretty seriously for four or five seasons, did a ton of organizing, some coaching, moved to Vancouver, took a break, couldn’t stay away, and got back through a spin class in 2015. That led to training on The Sufferfest and the Tour of Sufferlandria and then Zwift; in October 2024, I finally got to do another big ride, in France and Spain. There will be more.

How many years have you been racing on Zwift? 4

Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes! Westcoast Coalition, based in Vancouver BC.

What do you love most about racing? Oh that’s a tough question. The team energy and the opportunity to really push my own limits. I love the effort and the way it makes me feel, and sharing that with friends is just the best thing ever. As a leader, I also love helping other women discover their power — seeing those lights go on never gets old.

What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? TTT without a doubt. Just a great format. I’d also love to see something like velodrome racing on Zwift — 3000m pursuits and things like that. Wouldn’t a virtual Madison be wild?

What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? WTRL Tuesday Night Racing.

What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Outside. 1998. Getting up to the top of, and subsequently dropped on, Galena Pass in Idaho. I’d put together a composite team to go race the HP Women’s Challenge, and I had managed, somehow, to hang with a small group of riders up to the top of Galena. It’s around 8000’. It was so exciting to make it there, that I looked up at the summit sign for a split second, and they got a 100m gap on me.

I spent the rest of the day chasing six riders into Ketchum. Learning opportunity.

It was an absolutely beautiful race though, end to end. Another day, after the race we were at some tiny restaurant in someone’s house eating pie and watching foxes cross the yard. Race organizer Jim Rabdau told us he thought God lives in Stanley, Idaho. I’m not sure, but he certainly could have been right.

What is your favourite food to eat post-race? A small steak, veg, and an Athletic zero-proof beer. OR my other favourite post-ride food — a messy scramble and toast. The best recovery food ever.

What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? First, just go try it and have fun, there’s so little risk. No crashing, you can still talk to / watch your friends even if you’re off the back… go see what you can do and don’t worry if it’s not what you might have expected. THEN…

The most valuable thing I’ve been told is to get in the pens early so you’re near the front at the start. This is a great strategy IRL and it works on Zwift too. A good start gets you into a place in the race where you can hang for as long as you can, but there’s room to drift back through the peloton, too. Be sure you have snacks, a fan, all the tech set up right well before start time so you don’t have to worry about details close to start time. Do some activation and get a decent warmup. On course, find some people close to your pace and ride with them! It’s much more fun and less work to draft and share the pulls than to slug it out alone. You can work with people even without talking — just get there, take your turn, give the people you’re riding with some Ride Ons, it’s pretty cool how that all works.

Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? At the moment I am just enjoying the Tuesday night series. There are some big women’s races on the calendar in the fall that are pretty cool — Fearless and the Iceni stage race come to mind — but I’m happy doing Tuesdays and then getting outside in springtime, though I will say I am one of those riders who’s on Zwift year-round. I love that I can get some miles in even if it’s late in the day or I need to be home for other reasons, or I just feel like exploring the game worlds on my own. I’m not afraid of doing a trainer workout on a sunny day if that’s what fits that day.

Where can people follow your racing adventures? I’m @H.L.Johnston on Instagram, that’s the best place I think.

Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 31-June 1

Eric Schlange
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1
Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 31-June 1

We’ve got another fine mix of popular events this weekend, starting with two charity rides (including a vEveresting kickoff!) followed by two group rides celebrating anniversaries and special guests. Finally, we wrap up our picks with the last race of the popular SISU Pinkki series. See details below!

🤝 Cycle Nation Charity vEveresting for I Love Boobies Breast Cancer Screening

✅ Good Cause 　✅ Popular 　✅ Endurance Challenge

Join the Cycle Nation team and many others as they begin their vEveresting for charity event! Due to Zwift limitations, the actual event just covers the Road to Sky route, which means you’ll climb Alpe du Zwift once. Those attempting a vEverest will be doing repeats of Alpe du Zwift, completing it ~8.5 times for a total elevation of 8,848 meters.

Cycle Nation says, “Support us by joining us for one climb or more at your own pace and donating at iloveboobies.co.za. Everyone who completes the first ascent will unlock the Cycle Nation Zwift kit.”

Saturday, May 31 at 8:30am UTC/4:30am ET/1:30am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4944322

🤝 Sir Chris Hoy’s | Tour de 4

✅ Good Cause 　✅ Popular 　✅ Special Guests 　✅ Kit Unlock

Once again, one of the most popular rides this weekend is the open-paced Tour de 4 ride with Sir Chris Hoy (11x world champion and 6x Olympic champion). Tour de 4 is an initiative to change the perception of people living with stage 4 cancer and raise vital funds for cancer charities across the UK.

Read all about Tour de 4 series >

Rides are 45 minutes long and now held once a month on Saturdays. This week’s ride is on The Muckle Yin.

Saturday, June 1 @ 9am UTC/5am ET/2am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4818032

🤝OTR Snap Crackle Pop Punch Time (3-Year Anniversary)

✅ Intervals 　✅ Unique Event 　✅ Route Badge

Steve Fish from team OTR has been organizing the Snap Crackle Pop events since the beginning, and this weekend is their 3-year anniversary, so we wanted to give them a shout-out!

This is a group ride, race, and interval training all rolled into one fun challenging event. ZwiftPower is used to score the ride based on the sum of segment times on a route with punchy climbs and/or sprints (this week is Innsbruckring, so you’ll have the Leg Snapper KOM and Innsbruck Sprint as segments.) The group rides together at ~2wkg and the ride leader provides guidance and lead-outs to smash a segment. Then regroup, rinse, and repeat.

Multiple timeslots this weekend
See events at zwift.com/events/tag/snapcracklepop

🤝 Shimano Super Cycling Sunday

✅ Route Badge　 ✅ Popular　 ✅ Guest Leader　 ✅ Kit Unlock

This series from Shimano is proving popular! These are open-paced group rides on newer Zwift routes that include a #SuperCyclingSunday kit unlock, special guest riders, and more.

Read all about the Shimano Super Cycling Sunday series >

This week’s ride is on Watopia’s Waisted 8 (30.9km, 144m), with guest leader FDJ-Suez rider Eglantine Rayer Girault.

Sunday, June 1 @ 2pm UTC/10am EDT/7am PDT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4998839

🥇 2025 SISU Pinkki – Stage 7

✅ Stage Race 　✅ Unique Race 　✅ Popular

The final stage of SISU Racing’s Pinkki grand tour happens on Saturday, and it’s the queen stage,on Watopia’s ZG25 Queen (44.8km, 896m).

Read all about the SISU Pinkki series >

This is a mass-start event using Zwift Racing Score with separate results for Men and Women.

Saturday in several timeslots
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/sisu

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!

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