First launched in 2019, Tour de Zwift has become the biggest annual tour on the platform – a celebration of discovery across all Zwift worlds.
This year’s tour has just been announced. Beginning January 10, it consists of eight stages, and each stage has multiple route options for cyclists.
So grab a friend and join the biggest party of the year! Here’s everything riders need to know about this year’s TdZ.
Ride Categories
TdZ events are group rides, not official races*. The ride category you join determines which route you will ride:
- A: Long Ride
- B: Standard Ride
- C: Short Ride
- D: Women-Only Ride (uses the Standard route)
*Some riders will race the stages, while others will treat them social rides. Events do not count for ranking points on ZwiftPower, but everyone is free to go as easy or push as hard as they’d like. Just have fun!
Stage Schedule and Route Details
Stage 1 (Jan 10-13): Flat is Fast
- Short Ride: Makuri Islands Two Village Loop, 1 lap
- Standard Ride: Watopia’s Waistband, 1 lap
- Long Ride: France R.G.V., 2 laps
Stage 2 (Jan 14-16): Mountain Madness
- Short Ride: London Loop, 1 lap
- Standard Ride: Innsbruck 2018 UCI Worlds Short Course, 1 lap
- Long Ride: Watopia Tour of Fire and Ice, 1 lap
Stage 3 (Jan 17-20): Round and Round
- Short Ride: Neokyo Crit Course, 3 laps
- Standard Ride: New York The 6 Train, 4 laps
- Long Ride: Makuri Islands Farmland Loop, 5 laps
Stage 4 (Jan 21-23): Let’s Get Dirty
- Short Ride: Watopia The Jungle Circuit, 1 lap
- Standard Ride: Makuri Islands Chain Chomper, 1 lap
- Long Ride: Watopia Serpentine 8, 1 lap
Stage 5 (Jan 24-27): Urban Delight
- Short Ride: Paris Champs-Élysées, 2 laps
- Standard Ride: Greater London Flat, 2 laps
- Long Ride: Richmond 2015 UCI Worlds Course, 2 laps
Stage 6 (Jan 28-30): Go Long
- Short Ride: Douce France, 1 lap
- Standard Ride: Watopia Out and Back Again, 1 lap
- Long Ride: The London Pretzel, 1 lap
Stage 7 (Jan 31-Feb 3): Escalator
This stage is noteworthy in that it utilizes a new route for the standard ride: “Castle to Castle” in Makuri Islands. This route does not yet exist in game, but we assume it will be released in Zwift’s January update. Our sources in ZwiftHQ tell us this route is 13.9 miles/22.4km long, with 458.3’/139.7m of elevation gain.
- Short Ride: Watopia Hilly Route Reverse, 1 lap
- Standard Ride: Makuri Islands Castle to Castle, 1 lap
- Long Ride: Yorkshire Royal Pump Room 8, 1 lap
Stage 8 (Feb 4-6): Big City Champs
Another noteworthy stage, because it’s the first time Zwifters will have the opportunity to ride the very same course the world’s best will be racing on February 26, 2022 for the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships!
- Short Ride: New York Knickerbocker, less than 1 lap (ends atop KOM)
- Standard Ride: New York Knickerbocker, 1 lap
- Long Ride: New York 2022 Cycling Esports World Championships Route, 1 lap
Make-Up Week: Feb 7-13
If you missed any stages, they will all be available to ride during the make-up week.
Registration
Registration for TdZ is now open online and in game, closing February 12.
Warmup Events
New to Zwift, or group rides? Jump into one of the warmup events scheduled for January 3-9. These will be mild 20-minute workouts which walk you through the basics of Tour de Zwift, answering common questions like what ride categories mean, what are tour dates, what will I unlock, etc.
Unlocks
Riders will unlock items progressively as they complete TdZ stages:
- Sunglasses: 25%*
- Socks: 50%
- Cap: 75%
- Kit: 100%
*Note: the same sunglasses are unlocked for both riders and runners. If you are planning to do both the rides and the runs, you will only unlock the sunglasses once.
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
I’m new to this, do you sign up for certain times of day for the start of each stage or do you just ride the route whenever you are able between the stage dates?
Specific times.
in big events like this, every stage will be offered several times a day, sometimes even every hour
just signed up and it is every hour
I am signed up but only shows one start time for both the cycling and run event, and both right in the middle of my work day.
Just make sure you include ‘E’ if you’re filtering the group rides. I only had D selected and nearly missed the Neokyo badge hunter series.
E? seems to be greyed out and not selectable, just as d is not selectable (presumably because I’m male
Check your filters in the companion app and make sure you have group rides ticked as well. Events are every hour
do we know if this will offer double XP points?
My thoughts exactly!
normally, only the “Tour of Watopia” around April has double XPs
🤪 XP points is redundant 🤪
Looks like the official page for stage 7 has the castle to castle route drawn out: https://www.zwift.com/uk/tour-de-zwift/ride/stage7
Yay for Tour de Zwift. The 2021 Edition got me reintroduced to Zwift and I enjoyed it so much I ended up purchasing the kit by Le Col. No regrets, it looks awesome!
I also became an obsessed Zwifter, although that might more due to ZRL and racing in general.
Hi, Thanks for another Tour de Zwift. Looking forward to it.
FYI Stage 2, London Loop has wrong link. Takes one to 2Village Loop.
Just signed up for the available stages and I am really excited. haven’t been able to do big zwift events besides off the MAAP and Zwift academy and this definitely seems like it is one of those big events.
Will we get badges for routes we ride as part of ToZ that we had not previously? Any extra badges or XP for participating??
Do you need to ‘commit’ to a certain kind of ride at each stage to unlock the rewards? E.g. if you do the long ride during the first stage, you need to do the long ride at every stage?
Mix and match as you want I think last year
Yeah, mix and match is fine.
Is le col releasing a Tour de swift kit again this year ? Or another brand ?
Not as far as we know.
But what if you’ve outgrown the old one during Christmas festivities! Oh ho ho no! Thanks 😀
then tour de zwift will help you get back to your previous size, just do all the options for each stage
I registered for tdz but I cannot see any of the warm up rides on my companion app to register for them. What am I missing??
They’re workouts – my guess if you’re filtering out workouts in your events list.
See list here: https://zwifthacks.com/app/events/?key=61d331f533200
Tour de Zwift 2021 gave double XP points, assume that’s not happening this year?
You are mistaken, TdZ 2021 did not do double XP… https://zwiftinsider.com/tour-de-zwift-2021/
Tour of Watopia, which happens in the spring is where there is double xp.
I 100% definitely got double XP in TDZ 2021. OP is not mistaken
Nice article, would love to see it enhanced by giving guidance on recommendations re what bike to use for each ride: road bike, mountain bike, gravel bike, aero wheels, climbing wheels? Thanks.
If you follow the links behind the names of the routes in this article, you are taken to the more detailed route descriptions, which include bike recommendations.
I managed to complete in 2021 but at over 68 with most of R lung lost to Cancer I would perhaps be better in a Cat D but don’t want to identify as female. It’s not so inclusive really when you think just how many ‘challenged or injured’ people there are using Zwift to improve on health issues these days.
@Dammers First, best of luck with your continued recovery. Ride On! The Categories for these tours are not the same as the categories for normal events / races, etc. All these categories mean is the event distance. They aren’t races, so no matter what event distance you choose, there will be a mix of rider paces on the course, and there will be plenty of people to go at whatever pace you want to go at. It would be nice if Zwift used a different way to differentiate these distance categories than they use to differentiate their race / workout… Read more »
Error in Stage 2 Short Ride London Loop hyperlink: directs to Stage 1 Two Village Loop.
Also, it would be really helpful to have the total distance-elevation of each rides, if you can! Thanks.
Fixed, thanks!
No trip up Alpe 🙁 (NVM, Stage 2)
I don’t get it. I registered. I signed up for B. My calendar counted down. It says to join. How do I join???
You need to be in game (like seeing your avatar in a Zwift world). Then you’ll see a “Join Event” button within 30 min of the event start time. Click that to go to the start pens.
So, you need to in-game and select a route to be able to see the “Join Event” button? I signed up for Stg 1 today, was on the route selection page (cycling) and looked for the button to join and there was none. Tried the current events list at the top right of the page which showed Stg 1 starting in 8 mins and that I was “going” but it did not respond when I clicked on it Should that have got me to the start area?
Gotta be in the game, not just on the homescreen. I agree it’s not intuitive, but once you’ve learned it it’s easy enough!
Zwift had a problem with event joining yesterday evening (GMT). The “Let’s Go” button didn’t appear and many riders could not join events (not just TdZ).
is zwiftpower showing the results for the TdZ Stage 1: Long Ride?
seemingly not. I missed my results as well. But the article above reads: … Events do not count for ranking points on ZwiftPower,… :-(.
On the last stage, it seems the links for NY Knickerbocker route are pointing to Watopia Hilly Route.
Does the Tour de Zwift work with a controllable smart trainer? When I do workouts it automatically adjusts resistance but when I joined a previous tour it just had me spinning out a really high cadence at relatively low watts and spat me out the back of the group immediately presumably based on the gear my chain was in rather than the smart trainer doing what it normally does?
This sounds like a smart trainer issue. What model are you using
Stage 8 Knickerbocker links lead to hilly route, instead of knickerbocker 😉
ni ranking on companion every stages?
Where can I find my result for stage 1 please? Zwiftpower only goes up to 1hr 09. Cheers
My wife and I both rode the short ride in stage one, but my short ride was 7 miles and hers was 4.8 miles. Is there anything that impacts ride length?
Hello, who is the special guest in Stage 2 Sunday 17 at 05:00 pm (European time)?
THX
So I have done 2 stages now and I am wondering why I have a hat and socks that I can’t change? I can’t find info on it anywhere. Thanks.
It was like that for the big Zwift Maruki events too. shrug
its a random assignment. ie You are stuck with it.
Hi, I have completed the first three stages and it feels like I am riding with erg on, however, there is no button to turn it on/off… Is this a glitch? Anybody else have this problem?
Are the start times Pacific Standard Time? I live in California. I wouldn’t want to sign up for a 9:02 start time only to find out the event started at 6:02.
Are the stages running as long as they did last year?
finding it difficult to fit some of them in when they cross over a weekend riding while the weather is fit to ride outside. Accidentally missed stage 3 as I thought it finished on Monday evening, and stage 6 looking like it’ll be during catch-up week as well unless I have any legs left to ride it on Sunday evening, long stages too 🙁