CyclingNews broke the story today that a virtual men’s and women’s Tour de France is set to happen on Zwift in July.
Is it true? Well, something significant is definitely happening. At the very least, the ASO is clearly in serious talks with Zwift about hosting a virtual TdF. As CyclingNews says, “proposals from ASO, seen by Cyclingnews, set out plans for a men’s and women’s race…”
We don’t know if those are final documents, and Zwift has told us “we cannot confirm or comment at this time.” So let’s talk about what CyclingNews posted, and what the Tour de France coming to Zwift might mean for our favorite virtual cycling platform.
Schedule
The racing will be held across three weekends during the dates when the IRL Tour is typically held, beginning on Saturday, July 4, and ending Sunday, July 19 according to CyclingNews. There will be a total of six stages, so presumably one on Saturday and one on Sunday, for three weekends.
Stages will last around an hour and include a marquee mountain stage.
(It’s worth noting that the Tour has been rescheduled to August 29-September 20. There are still questions about whether it will actually happen, of course.)
Teams
CyclingNews says 15 teams are signed up for the event at this time, which would indicate that Zwift is well past the “proposal” stage with ASO. The field will be composed of four-rider teams.
Typically 20-22 teams participate in the Tour. Looking at this year’s list of teams for the IRL race, the following already have a strong presence on Zwift, especially after a few months of COVID-19 restrictions:
- Mitchelton-Scott
- Movistar
- NTT Pro Cycling
- Team Ineos
- Jumbo-Visma
- UAE Team Emirates
- Arkea-Samsic
- Lotta Soudal
- Israel Start-Up Nation
- EF Pro Cycling
- Deceuninck – Quick-Step
- Cofidis
- Bora-Hansgrohe
- Bahrain-McLaren
- Astana
Our guess is these teams are the ones already signed up, with more to come. Pure conjecture, of course.
New Routes
The article from CyclingNews says, “Zwift is set to build new race routes, including one in Nice for the opening stage and another in Paris to mimic the traditional finale of the Tour de France on the cobbled circuit of the Champs Elysées.”
New tarmac is always welcome news to Zwifters. It’s been 6 months since Crit City was released, and we haven’t seen any new routes since then. (Of course, we would have had the Tokyo Olympics course by now, but that got pushed off.) Zwifters are hungry for new roads to ride, and something iconic would be quite special!
Broadcasting/Live Streaming
According to CyclingNews, “10 television channels covering 130 countries have signed up to broadcast the event.” That’s huge, of course. If it happens, Zwift will be exhibited on a stage that is orders of magnitude beyond anything previous.
An ASO First
If this is true, it will be the first time the ASO has collaborated with Zwift to organize an event on the platform. ASO also organizes Vuelta a España, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastone-Liege, La Flèche Wallonne, Paris–Nice, and other top races. So this could be the first of other high-level virtual event collaborations to come.
What Does It Mean?
If Zwift is able to host a virtual Tour de France in July, what would that mean for the Zwift community? Here are a few thoughts:
- More Zwifters: with the platform getting in front of more eyeballs, we’ll surely see more cyclists coming on board. This move could legitimize Zwift in the eyes of many cyclists who have kept Zwift at arm’s length.
- More Game Development: surely Zwift will be making some improvements to game play, or at least the racing portion of it, for an event as high-level as Le Tour. These changes will trickle down to the community-level races as well.
- Improved Broadcasting/Spectating: if the major broadcasters who typically support the IRL Tour carry the virtual race, Zwift’s current broadcasting software will surely be improved to provide a better viewing experience. (Some Zwifters have been wondering why the pace of game development has been a little slow lately… this may explain it.)
- Further Development of eRacing Rules and Enforcement: Zwift already has a fairly robust ruleset in place for its high-level races, but surely a race of this caliber will force all parties to take a closer look at these rules, and the ways they are enforced, in order to ensure competition is fair. How will teams verify rider weight and power meter accuracy? It can be handled by independent parties, and that may very well be necessary for a race of this caliber. No significant hardware development can be made by July, but strict hardware requirements will certainly be in place (verified calibration, a narrow list of acceptable power meters, etc). All of this will filter down to everyday Zwift races in various ways over time.
- Watching Amazing Races: we like to watch top Zwift races… but watching the TdF on Zwift? That would be next-level, and we won’t miss a single event.
- More Pros on Zwift: if this happens, the pros won’t be messing around. The TdF is the biggest thing on cycling’s annual calendar, and with the IRL version still in question, this could turn out to be the biggest cycling event of the year. The pros will be out in force on Zwift, training to get the feel and fitness required for top results.
- Parity Progress: cycling has been talking about gender parity for a long time, but it really hasn’t happened in IRL road racing like it has on Zwift. If Zwift holds a men’s and women’s TdF, we’re guessing women will get just as much airtime and prize money as the guys. And that’s big news for women’s cycling.
Of course, this is all unconfirmed at this point. But if it does happen, if the Tour de France is hosted on Zwift, it will be a very big deal. It will be Zwift’s breakout moment. It will signal a sea change in the world of cycling. And it will further the development of a platform we Zwifters use day after day, week after week.
It will be big news. The biggest bit of Zwift news since Zwift began, back in 2014!
We hope it happens, and we’ll be here to share more on this story as it develops. We think we’ll be hearing more very soon…
Your Comments
Would love to hear your thoughts on this development. Share below!
Definitely exciting! I hope your predictions are accurate, and the reasons for a slow few months are due to an ‘all-in’ focus on landing this – not just for the marketing impact, but for the game improvements for all.
It might be a bit of a novelty factor, and fun in a voyeuristic way, but I’d be really pissed if Zwift haven’t at least announced some expansion to Watopia beforehand.
Just my opinion, but Watopia has enough routes with tons of variety already. Seeing routes in Nice France, and at the Champs-Élysées would be AMAZING!
Holy moly! The idea of riding on a Virtual Champs-Élysées sounds incredible! WOW!
This would be a awesome game changer for all of us. Plus we already Have the most Iconic course on the planet. Two new courses as well. Would love to ride The tours most Iconic finishing circuit. Still though let’s see If ASO says yes soon cause July is almost here. Can’t do July without any kind of TDF watching.
It looks like Zwift is going pro,what about the riders who are just trying to stay in shape,are we just going to be riding the same the old courses I see my self going somewhere else .
You do realize that if Zwift is creating a new map or two, that you will be able to ride them too, correct?
I agree with Larry Brown. Having Zifted for years now I feel that they have completely lost touch with the very base of riders who support them. Very few moves show that they are interested in riders who really just want to ride on their platform and enjoy themselves without jumping into the forray of racing. Furthermore, the recent updates over the last year have been an utter disappointment and their lack of communication with subscribers is continually making other upstart platforms (Road Grand Tours) look more and more enticing by the day. More to the point, Zwift should really… Read more »
I completely agree. I’m a huge fan and have promoted Zwift to numerous folks over the past four years that I’ve been using it. However, I’ve been very disappointed with the lack of a new UI and the pace of route development over the past 12 months. Risking heresy here, but I also find myself coming to this website less often because it is so racing focused. ZI is still the best site for us fans, but its content has been less and less enticing to us non-racers.
HERESY!!! 🙂
Thanks for the feedback. And I see your point.
What sort of content would you like to see more of, Brownout? Any ideas?
I love writing about non racing-centric stuff like Zwift Game updates and new tarmac, but there just hasn’t been lots to write about, as you know.
Perhaps more training-related content? Weight loss? Group rides? Community interviews? Hmmm…
I’d love to see more and smaller group rides! I find many of the group rides get too big and fall apart over the course of the ride. They state they’re going to hold a specific watts per kg target, but half of the group goes off the front and the entire group fragments into smaller groups. It ends up turning into an impromptu race for some. Would love to see the ability to form smaller ad hoc group rides. Giving the option for someone, like myself, to post a group ride meet up on the events listing for anyone… Read more »
100% this. Either start listening to your subscribers or risk losing us to alternate platforms. They are there and they’re becoming better and relevant. Ignore them at your own peril, Zwift
I’ve already left Zwift. I just come back here once in a whle to see if the pace of development is still stuck at “zero”.
I ride the same 6-8 routes IRL most of the times and find that ZWIFT has more than enough routes already. I still remember when a ride on the trainer for 30 minutes was mind numbing. Regardless, I’m still trying to complete all the route badges and adding a few more routes to the list will just add more incentive to me.
Being able to do the same stages at the same time, albeit separately from the pros, would really make it fully inclusive rather than it being another spectator event.
I’m all for Zwift getting involved in the TDF however I fear what it means is that those of us who are paying and have been waiting for a decent GUI, Decent Leader controls, customisable graphics as well as the many many bug fixes will be delayed in order that Zwift promote itself… These mass events have a detrimental impact on community rides and All while paying customers wait and wait… The alternative platforms develop and beckon and I find myself spending less time. In Zwift as they fail to listen.
Short-term pain for long term gain, possibly? Yes you are right, things will have been delayed for this. But (assuming it happens of course) with the cycling world spotlight firmly focused on Zwift surely it will focus them more than ever to deliver a polished performance with little room for complacency (eg. the fact that a bug has been around for months and “we’ll get round to fixing it at some point” will no longer cut it). A lot of things developed specially for the TDF will be almost immediately available to trickle down to regular users – it… Read more »
ride in Paris, see the arc de triomph, Sprint on the world most famous Sprint-finish.. How cool if true
I guess. But I am kind of tired of all these city maps. They all start looking like London. Watopia is really the only non-city world out there.
Maybe opt for a dirty kanza/strade bianche kind of world since gravel is booming
If there’s a hidden yellow jersey TdF achievement badge, I’m screwed
Sounds awesome.
Would be good if they could split the race into two parts so the rest of us could participate. Like let the pros go off first and we stay in the pen for a while. It would have to be about 10 minutes though to give the pros a chance 😂😂.
🤣🤣🤣 That’s an amazing idea!
Sounds great. I hope they keep Paris and Nice as part of the same “world” and have a way to ride between them. Something like the underground tunnels in London. Would allow for lots of new routes rather than just a map with one main loop.
And maybe a tunnel to a new mountain? The marquee mountain stage that isnt AdZ?
Good idea… Mt Ventoux is conveniently between Paris and Nice 😉
It would be amazing to have cycling back, summer is not the same without tdf or similar.
A few thoughts Eric: 1. I agree the trickle down effect is the most exciting. If we were to get some new routes/features that would be great 2. I’d love to think that the reason for lack of new roads, new UI, slow implementation of racing cat sanctions etc is because of this, but I fear the real reason was keeping the platform up during lockdown (for which I don’t think Zwift got enough credit) and avoiding anything new during that period. 3.If this turns out to be true, it might also explain the regular rides of Ineos. I know… Read more »
Agree with point 4. Try as I might, I just can’t get excited watching Zwift racing. If this virtual TDF results in a Haute Route style series of events/races for us non pros, then that would be cool. Especially if this is on some new routes which remain ride-able beyond the events.
Fairly new to Zwift so still really enjoying it and generally don’t agree with much of the Zwift-bashing dished out by posters above .
New bucket list item: Take the yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées. That’s definitely going to be a screenshot moment 🙂
Or the green sprint jersey in that finish line!
This sounds awesome!!
There’s been a bit of virtual motor racing on TV recently. I actually switched over to a channel showing some and it took me half a minute to realise it was virtual and not a replay of a real race as the graphics were that good. Zwift on the other hand, with it’s PS2 graphics, the blob of churning riders that makes it impossible to tell who is who, the wonky race results, etc etc. Zwift really needs to step up their game if this is going to work on TV. New roads are always nice though (get it, nice,… Read more »
The graphics are inexcusable for 2020. I read that they developed their own engine, but they need to really look at getting this into unreal or glacier or something if they can’t do it themselves. Ultra looks like good graphics from 2007. Crysis still looks better and that’s getting a modern remaster.
I think it helps them more not making the game graphics intensive since more folks get to access the game with mediocre equipment. I’d appreciate more if they add new routes and climbs
That’s very true… but Zwift has to choose: they can be a game with cutting edge graphics such that people would actually want to watch as a spectator event, or they can have a game with simpler graphics that will run on any platform.
I think they’ll have a hard time being both.
Why=one. Autocorrect
Let me try that again. My message got butchered by autocorrect and i didn’t catch it: Eric if you can delete the other one feel free…
This sounds amazing but why just 1hr races? Mix it up. Have one day each weekend be a 3-4 hr stage!
I agree. 1 hr is more like a TT for these guys. 3-4 hr stages would be a different race.
Would love to see a Mt Ventoux segment like Alpe d’huez
RGT has Mt. Ventoux.
RGT requires Windows Store. Dealbreaker.
For Windows, I guess so. Is there an issue? Hasn’t been a problem for me. Also works on iOS, OSX, Apple TV.
And it’s super boring
Fulgaz has *two* Mt. Ventoux segments (from the two towns).
Mind blowing news!!! Super excited!!!
VR headset (air cooled) would be good!
As a Zwifter, I’m (sort of) excited about this, but the public will not likely be interested. I don’t even think most cycling enthusiasts or fans will care. Watching Zwift races on YouTube, yawn. But I suppose it’s. better than nothing this summer (here’s hoping the August IRL race goes
Please god have the cyclists do hard loops. One can only watch so many races around the volcano flats course.
excited for this and I hope we can see all the worlds courses in zwift get utilized, along with the hardest loops in watopia and London.
for this to work though the broadcasting game really needs to step up.
I ride bikes not play games.
Kudos to you, sir!
Wow I want to be just Iike awesome you when I grow up!
And yet you cannot do a Very simple save and continue, you can still not access the routes and events without exiting and starting over. To compound this crap UI it is by far the slow west loading app I have ever seen.
If this happens, and its a success – for everybody, what’s next…? A Giro and Vuelta version, a Roubaix…? Plus will this mean more competitors with online cycling games, an international body to support/monitor/control events? Yes, you’re right Eric, this IS huge. I hope sensibility prevails and fairness for all involved, and of course more Zwift Worlds to ride and race on.
Wouldn’t it be cool Zwift launched 21 stages of the Tour de France to run concurrently with the IRLTour de France, cyclist could do the event on the same 24 hour period as the IRL Tour. That would be amazing.
TDF on GTA mod would be dope
Racing, Racers, reality and Virtuality. In reality Cheating is easy fairly regulated and cough. In virtual world not so. Even Age, weight, and Equipment could be detected as real. A cheater is a cheater and ways to cheat are hundreds, Electronic balance for weight took it apart and mess with the Mechanics, and electronics. and you can cheat easily 10 pounds or more. At the time of Racing. With your trainer must of them electromagnetic controlled. even the mechanics internally can be altered. That way even having a cam to see your riding. See how easy it could be done?… Read more »
I hope they add more mountains to climb. The Epic KOM and Alpe is really starting to get repetitive and boring.
Psst… Fulgaz. You will probably never run out of mountains to climb on that platform.
Given that Zwift recently laid off a substantial number of employees in order to “develop new hardware”, perhaps we’ll see everyone in the virtual TdF riding a Zwift bike.
Ha! Can you imagine the ensuing chaos with dozens of pro riders racing on prototype smart bikes? Could be entertaining…….
Haha. It is a bit of a wild thought, but if they maybe have some form of collaboration going with an existing company, and if the “Zwift” bike is currently not much more than an existing model with a new badge, who knows?
I think that one hour races, mountain, hilly or flat, will be in favor of TT specialist as they can push the highest watts in that single hour. Climbers and sprinters will not make a chance in my opinion. My guess is that making stages longer will create more diversity in potential winners. And maybe one TT stage.
I wouldn’t be the least bit interested in a “Tour de France” with power-ups. That’s why I can’t get interested in Zwift racing. The actual athlete is what fascinates and interest me in the TDF.
Organizer can put power ups on or off, i dont think this is the problem.
Great point! I suspect that if it is actually a serious consideration for something as high profile as the TDF then many of the “game” features will be removed. I also think that teams will likely want to have team bikes. Although I really like my “Tron” bike, there was some crazy issue with a rider cheating to get one 6-12 months (?) ago. I think that issue should be avoided by just making sure that riders either all use the same bike. This would level the playing (riding field?); however I’m sure someone will argue that teams do ride… Read more »
Waiting for the release of sticky bottle, midnight EPO delivery and team car drafting power-ups…
Yeah, I want that team car drafting power up…
Uh, that one exists already, albeit it’s limited to a measly 30 seconds…
The ASO partnership is exciting, as was last Etape du Tour training plan. What a virtual platform should do in partnership is to create that years course for the training purposes. Until Covid I was training for this years Etape, and was thinking how amazing it would be to have a virtual course to train on? At least a condensed version with the full climbs. Zwift has the potential to be such a powerful tool,
i think they should let one zwift pro team race, with top ranked guys like boniface, brannlund, bevan etc….. chance of a lifetime!
My 2 cents: I’m not an hardcore racer i use 95% of my time on zwift for workouts and solo rides according to my schedule so ‘maps’ like bologna or crit city are not my favourite ones. If something for the TdF is coming i hope it will be an entire new world, i don’t pretend something bigger than watopia obviously but not another Bologna (i write this from Italy..). Another point (looking at Rouvy Ironman virtual races during this lockdown) is the improvement of the HUD on zwift. Values like TSS (that is avaiable at the end… Read more »
Stages that would be awesome to include: Stage 9 154 km Pau > Laruns https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-9 Stage 13 191 km Châtel-Guyon > Puy Mary Cantal Journey through the Massif Central will for the first time finish at the Puy Mary and will feature the biggest elevation gain of the 2020 Tour with a total 4400 meters of climbing. Before taking on the final climb riders will have to deal with the Col de Ceyssat and the Col de Neronne. Be at your best! https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-13 Stage 15 175 km Lyon > Grand Colombier https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-15 … Read more »
It would be great but i really don’t know if zwift has had enough time to build hundred of km for new routes.. Usually their new routes updates are a lot shorter ..like 10/20 km (desert, alpe).
I know this time is different they have more people involved in the process and, due to the lockdown, they ve had more time to create new routes…but i stil don0t think we ll see something like the examples u ve listed.
Very true on the hud and ui still are meh for zwift. I usually loom at tss in TP free app.
Hopefully the races are longer than 30-45 mins
test
Whoohoo!!!!
I’d love to see a France World, with all the classic routes in some way connected. I think just riding up and down the Champs Elysee would get dull after the initial excitement, but build rides that, say, take you over Col d’Eze to finish on the Champs would be AMAZING!!!
Can I start the Tourmalet campaign now, please.
I would like to see more ‘big’ mountains in Zwift. Tour de Zwift is nice, Mont Ventoux , Col de Tourmalet, Passo dello Stelvio, Mount Etna are just some sugestions. With TdF in mind the first two might become reality. But UI development is more needed if you look to other platforms who are developping fast (but lack the gamification apect).
Exciting news, I think it would be like no other previous event ever held by Zwift before. I just hope it helps future enhancement of the fair competition and e-racing rules enforcement for the rest of us zwifters.
I don’t get the negativity. This is amazing for Zwift and will do a lot to ensure that it stays in business and continues to expand.
Sure, I’d like a better interface. But please, imagine going through COVID or any Canadian winter without Zwift?
They are definitely going to need to refine drafting. Pack drafting should be felt to a greater degree. Also you should feel it in the pedals. Steering would be awesome. I wish there was a draft indicator in terms of percentage 100% draft and down as you drift back (or wattage saved) but I’d prefer percentage. Zwift better watch its back when Veloton comes out. Much more realistic.
Now confirmed on CyclingNews… new tracks etc
Now confirmed….. 😉
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/zwift-build-new-mont-ventoux-and-champs-elysees-worlds-for-virtual-tour-de-france/
Well, still not confirmed by Zwift. Everyone seems to be talking about it except for them. I’d say it’s definitely happening though!
It’s Official. France & Paris included in Tonight’s Zwift App update. (9 new routes but for now Event Only. 9 new empty badges waiting. Tried to hack into them to get a glimpse but didn’t work.