“Douce France” Route Details (France)
Literally “sweet France”, this route covers the upper loop of Zwift’s France map which was created for the first-ever Virtual Tour de France. It runs in a counter-clockwise direction, which means it’s just a reverse version of the R.G.V. route.
Literally “sweet France”, this route covers the upper loop of Zwift’s France map which was created for the first-ever Virtual Tour de France. It runs in a counter-clockwise direction, which means it’s just a reverse version of the R.G.V. route.
Route Basics
Length: 24.1 km (15.0 miles)
Elevation: 108 m (354‘)
Lead-In: 0 km ( miles)
Map: France
Start & Finish
Ends at marina sprint banner. Begins from start pens, or just before pens if free-riding. Subsequent laps begin and end at the marina sprint banner.
Restriction:
Achievement Badge: 480 XP
Sprint & KQOM Segments |
Ballon Sprint (0.21km, 0%) |
Aqueduc KOM (0.42km, 0.9%) |
Pavé Sprint (0.33km, 0%) |
Marina Sprint (0.34km, 0%) |
Strava Segments
Bike Selection
This route is very flat overall. Your fastest times will come from an aero setup!
Route Description

Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
We begin by traveling west from the start pens, taking the first right onto the twisty river road toward the hot air balloon fields and the Ballon sprint. Then another left takes us through vineyards and over the short Aqueduc KOM and quickly through town onto the Pavé Sprint.
Then it’s past the sites of the Needle and Arch, Mont Saint-Michel, and the lighthouse, into the marina and onto the finishing Marina Sprint.
Note: this route is a little odd, in that it doesn’t appear to have a “lead-in” from the start pens, even though the start/finish lap banner is nearly a full lap from the start pens. (You will unlock the badge on your first go around, despite only traveling through the lap banner once at the finish.) So we created two Strava segments – one for your first lap, and another for subsequent laps.
If you’re racing, note that Zwiftpower apparently does not yet recognize the sprints and KOMs in France. So point races will not work as expected.
I attended a race yesterday where I was putting in an effort on 2 sprints and one KOM in Douce France, but I got no points since the race organizer did not manage to figure out how to make Zwiftpower understand that there were actually sprints and KOMs out there…
Can anyone tell me why the events page won’t load on Zwift, page is opening but its blank, works fine on companion ?
I had the same in Safari, worked in Chrome though
Eric, someone marked your Douce France official Zwift Insider segment as a hazardous segment on Strava (like when people say that the segment goes through a stop sign, dangerous condition, etc.). Either someone is trolling you guys or mad at you?
https://www.strava.com/segments/24676071?show_waiver=1
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve reached out to my contact at Strava to get this fixed.
The profile numbers are slightly off from what is posted for a Douce France race being held today…both distance and elevation so any lead In can’t account for the discrepancy…
Per my ride last evening, the elevation is greater than you have listed here, but it is a very nice rolling ride
Yes! 133 m for me, but nice ride
Hi Eric! 🙂 Will you be creating a Strava segment for the Ballon Sprint as well? Kind regards, Karl Wallevik
Always excellent information and up to date. Many thanks
I’ve completed this route half-a-dozen times but still no route badge. What’s up?
Had the same thing – no idea why
Exciting!
I plan to ride the pilgrim route from Bilbao to Santiago de Campostela in April. Who wants to join me? gus.
I plan to ride the pilgrim route from Bilbao to Santiago de Campostela in April. Who wants to join me? gus.