Alpe du Zwift: The Complete Guide

So you’ve met Alpe du Zwift. Maybe the calculator told you a number you didn’t like. Maybe you’ve already ground your way up it more times than is strictly healthy and you’re now eyeing that Tron bike like a magpie eyes a teaspoon. Either way, this is the hub: 12.2 km, 1,036 m of climbing, 21 hairpins, and everything you could possibly want to obsess over — split into proper pages so you can pretend you’re doing research instead of avoiding your warm-up.

The whole site is built around one idea: the Alpe is the same climb for everyone, but it is a very different ride depending on whether you weigh 60 kilograms or, let’s say, considerably more than that. Power and weight do the talking. The pages below break that down from every angle — what the road actually does, how long it’ll take you, how to pace it, and the long, glorious slog to the Tron unlock.

Read the lot, or just jump to the one that’s currently keeping you up at night. I’m not your coach. I’m barely your friend. But the numbers are honest, which is more than I can say for that finish-line photo where you’re pretending the effort was easy.

In this guide

• How to Unlock the Tron Bike

  The big one. Roughly 48 trips up the Alpe to bank 50,000 m of climbing and unlock Zwift's only bike that makes a noise when you accelerate. Worth every metre.

• Alpe du Zwift Time by w/kg + Pacing

  The whole w/kg-to-finish-time chart, generated from the same engine the calculator uses, plus how to actually pace the thing so you don’t blow up at hairpin 18.

• Route Facts: Distance, Gradient, Hairpins

  12.2 km, 1,036 m of climbing, 8.5% on average and 14% where it bites — all 21 numbered hairpins, laid out plainly.

• Is 60 Minutes a Good Time?

  You finished, you saw the number, and now you need a stranger on the internet to tell you whether to be proud or ashamed. Here you go.

Where to start

No idea where to begin? Start with the route facts so you know what you’re up against, then run your numbers through the calculator and bring the result over to the pacing guide. After that, the Tron grind is waiting whenever your legs forgive you.