Zwift is the Official Training Software Provider of the Tour de France, and they’re going big with a series of Tour Fever events in July.
Zwifters can join to conquer virtual versions of the same mountains the pros race, take on a virtual L’Étape du Tour fondo, unlock the brand new Didi the Devil and Tour Fever kits, and more. See details below!
Climb Portal Challenge
Four different climbs will be featured on the same day they feature in the Tour, with events held across three days:
| Climb (click for details) | TdF Stage | Dates |
| Mûr de Bretagne (1.96km, 129m) | 7 | July 10-12 |
| Col de la Croix Saint-Robert (5.7km, 346m) | 10 | July 13-15 |
| Hautacam (12.7km, 1029m) | 12 | July 16-18 |
| Col de la Madeleine (14.3km, 1118m) | 18 | July 23-25 |
Ride all four climbs (solo or in an event) to complete the challenge. You will receive rewards as you progress through the challenge:
- Complete 1/4 climbs = Tour Fever Kit (see images below)
- Complete 2/4 climbs = 1000XP Bonus
- Complete 3/4 climbs = Didi Kit (see images below)
- Complete 4/4 climbs = Didi Cap (see images below)
If you tackle the climbs solo – that is, outside of an event – you can choose which difficulty percentage you’d like to use (50%, 75%, 100%, 125%). Finishing the climb in any difficulty will count as a completion.
Accessing the climbs and events is easy. It’s hard to miss the Climb Portal Challenge Zwift has just rolled out for the TdF! Click the homepage banner, register for the challenge, then you have access to all of the climbs above whenever you’d like.
The Climb Portal events are technically group rides, not races. But you can still chase leaderboard placings and try to set your fastest time on each climb! Be sure to use a lightweight bike and wheels. Here’s a guide that tells you the lightest bike frame and wheelsets available at each Zwift level.
A fully-upgraded Specialized S-Works Aethos paired with Zipp 353 NSW wheels is the fastest climbing bike in game. If you’re looking at non upgraded bikes, the Specialized S-Works Tarmc SL8 with Zipp 353 NSW wheels it the best climber.
Didi the Devil Kit Unlock
Zwifters will unlock the new, exclusive Didi the Devil kit and cap by completing the Climb Portal Challenge:
L’Étape Virtual July 18-20
L’Étape Virtual returns 18-20 July, recreating L’Étape du Tour de France, the world’s most famous amateur cycling event. These are mass-start, fondo-style events held every two hours on the Zwift Bambino Fondo route (53.3 kilometers with 398 meters of climbing).
With five different Tour-themed RoboPacers joining in, you can pick your own pace. Group riding too fast? Drop back to the pacer behind. Legs feeling fresh? Power to the group ahead!
- Constance @4.2 W/kg
- Jacques @3.2 W/kg
- Coco @2.6 W/kg
- Miguel @1.8 W/kg
- Bernie @1.5 W/kg
See L’Étape Virtual events at zwift.com/events/tag/tourfeverletape
Tour Fever Kit Unlock
Completing a L’Etape Virtual ride will unlock the new, exclusive Tour Fever Kit:
Ventoux Group Rides July 22
On July 22, the pro men will race up Mount Ventoux as the finishing climb of stage 16. On the same day, Zwift is hosting group rides on the Ven-Top route so Zwifters can climb the virtual Beast of Provence along with the pros!
More Tour Fever
Throughout July, the Workout of the Week will feature athlete-inspired workouts designed by Alpecin-Deceunick riders.
Finish any of these workouts to unlock the in-game H2O headphones. You’ll also receive a 20% discount code on the IRL Zwifty headphones when you complete the workout!
See Tour Fever Workouts of the Week at zwift.com/events/tag/tourfeverwotw
The ZRacing series will be Tour-themed as well (Allez Allez Allez!) – watch for a Zwift Insider post this week with details.
Zwift will also get the full Tour de France treatment, with road art, yellow confetti bursts, Tour Fever RoboPacers, and much more. Come join the party!
More information on Tour Fever can be found here.
Questions or Comments?
Zwift has a lot happening to celebrate Le Tour 2025. What interests you most? Got any questions? Share below!
@Eric Schlange no Maria pace partner?
🤷♂️ The list above is what Zwift told me…
Didi is back. I hope the big balloon on Ventoux returns as well.
Do you need to do the climb portals at 100% to complete the challenge?
Or, in a related question, will one be able to select all four gradient options on those three days, if so inclined? My personal pet project is to log my PR times for each of the four % gradient options for all of the climbs available on the portal. So far, I’ve ridden each climb at least once at each of the % options.
You can complete the challenge by doing the climbs at ANY difficulty % (just confirmed this with Zwift). And you WILL be able to choose your difficulty % (in answer to Mathew’s question…)
Thanks. When I saw the calendar I thought each climb was only on for three days at a time, but a full 32 days, starting early on the last day in June! I just did all four versions of Mur de Bretagne this morning and I’m going to do all of the rest this week.
The zwift website https://www.zwift.com/uk/tour-de-france only says it goes until July 25, so not sure that you will get 32 days. Plan accordingly.
Thanks for the warning. I’ve done all four climbs with 12 of the 16 possible gradient options checked off so far. Zwift choosing to put the four climbs on for the duration of the tour instead of three days was greatly appreciated from my side because my travel schedule for work is about to throw a seven day rest week (except for Zwift running with a pod and cellphone) into the plans.
Didi kit!
Didi hell as like!
So, only 3 days to do each climb? Or is that just the days when events are held?
Sounds like all 4 will be available via the challenge card on the home screen for the full month.
From the article: “Accessing the climbs and events is easy. It’s hard to miss the Climb Portal Challenge Zwift has just rolled out for the TdF! Click the homepage banner, register for the challenge, then you have access to all of the climbs above whenever you’d like.”
In which case, I believe this is the first time different cimb portal climbs have been available at the same time on demand – hopefully that’s something that can be brought into play more often 🤞🏼 😁
Hey Ronald – last year’s TdF stuff included the ability to ride any of the 8 featured climbs whenever you’d like (https://zwiftinsider.com/tdf-climb-portal-events/) so this isn’t a first. But I agree, being able to access climbs on demand would be nice!
It would’ve been nice if l’Etape was a bit of a longer route especially since we don’t seem to have the Zwift Fondo Series anymore. Or a route with a bit more climbing. I thought the ZG25 Queen was a lot of fun. I guess it’s about being inclusive though, so it makes total sense.
Climb Portal challenge sounds interesting and it’ll be nice to have a group ride up Ventoux as I find it a mentally exhausting climb solo.
I agree, I would have liked the L’Etape event to be more epic, like the IRL one!
It might be nice if they offered a long and longer route option, like in Tour de Zwift, but I imagine they want to maximize participation in each ride to make them feel more alive.
In all honesty though, this route isn’t that much shorter than ZG25 Queen, and I really don’t enjoy being on the trainer for longer than 90 minutes.
Maybe it’s just because I’m early, but I don’t see the banner to sign up yet.
The dates shown on the Climb Portal Challenge banner shown here don’t seem to align with the actual Portal routes for July
The banner shows the challenge ending 21 July but the portal schedule shows the Col la Madeleine not being available until 23 July ?
It also shows the Challenge starting June 28 but no sign of it in Zwift as yet
That looks like a previous years banner.
Not sure we will se a sign up banner until the challenge starts
Yeah, the screenshot here looks to have incorrect dates, probably a mock up or early version?
If look at the page on zwift’s website at https://www.zwift.com/uk/tour-de-france it says June 30 to July 25. So hopefully the banner shows up by June 30.
I don’t think there is any need for the climb portal calendar schedule to line up with the challenge, from the explanation they sound like distinct things.
Yeah, I’m gonna need that Didi the Devil kit IRL.
Eric those mass ZI rides were best ever. I was one and done with PRL with your ride I did all of them the timing snd my personal build clicked well. Thr Fondo reminded me and peoples philosophical takes on the distance and all.the PRL full ZI ride was amazing.
I’M NOT READY NOW (lol) but maybe another ‘round’ of similar events on the longest hardest new routes since then?. The ‘every road in Zwift France in both directions THEN UP and DOWN Ventop … first half of sorts before Ventop) tons of blobbing group potential. Those were … up there in being both the hardest AND most fulfilling rides ever.
Yeah, if Zwift doesn’t do a big series of long rides I may just have to organize them starting in the fall.
One question “apart”. I am seeing a lot of banner photos on this Tour Fever with the avatar using Oakley Sutros… Where to get it? It was in an zwift event before this?
Are you sure it’s not the Oakley Katos you’re seeing? I see those in some of the Tour Fever images, like the Didi kit above. These were a Zwift Games unlock: https://zwiftinsider.com/games-2025/
In last banner is Sutro, not kato watch close here
How long will be this Climb Portal Challenge available?
Total disaster today! Was riding Hautacam for the Tour Fever challenge, and was in sight of the 90% banner, when the trainer (JetBlack Victory) dropped out and power output dropped to zero. Tried to re-pair to no avail- had to get off the bike to unplug/replug the trainer. Finally got re-paired and stomped on the pedals, only to find I had somehow U-turned and was heading downhill! I turned as quickly as I could and toughed it out to the summit, but I could see that my ETA and other data had dropped off the screen. Sure enough, that brief U-turn had invalidated my entire attempt! Hautacam and the Madeleine were never going to be easy for me, but this might have broken my spirit.
Never give up, never surrender!
There is definitely a bug in the climb portal where if you experience connectivity issues then when you reconnect zwift will automatically pull a u-turn. Maybe that has something to do with what happened to you.
I’ve done the first two climbs over the past two days in the Zwift organised events but when I checked my climb portal progress on the home page it still has me at 0%. Has this happened to anyone else?
I think we’re supposed to “sign up” first but email zwift support and ask for credit