What is a good time for Alpe du Zwift?

Roughly an hour is the benchmark most riders chase. Sub-60 minutes generally needs about 3.5 w/kg held for the whole climb. Times scale steeply with power-to-weight: 3.0 w/kg comes in around 63 minutes, 4.0 w/kg around 49 minutes, and 5.0 w/kg around 40 minutes.

What w/kg do I need to climb Alpe du Zwift in under 60 minutes?

About 3.5 w/kg, held for the full 12.2 km, gets you up in roughly 55 minutes — just inside the hour. Note that is sustained power-to-weight for the whole climb, not a number you can only hit for a few minutes.

How long does Alpe du Zwift take at 3.2 w/kg?

Around 60 minutes at a steady 3.2 w/kg. See the full chart on this page for every figure from 2.0 to 6.0 w/kg.

Should I pace Alpe du Zwift at even power or even speed?

Even power. The gradient varies from roughly 8% to 14%, so holding a constant speed would mean surging and easing your effort all the way up — the slowest way to ride a steady climb. Lock onto a target w/kg and let your speed rise and fall with the gradient.

Is it better to start hard or start steady on the Alpe?

Start steady. The climb is steepest at the bottom, so an over-eager start burns the most matches when you can least afford it. Settle onto your target w/kg in the first minute, hold it, and save any extra for the final three hairpins where the gradient eases.

Alpe du Zwift Time by w/kg: Full Chart + How to Pace It

Every Alpe du Zwift time from 2.0 to 6.0 w/kg, straight from the calculator's maths — plus how to actually pace the climb so you hit your number.

Here is the unromantic truth about Alpe du Zwift: your time is set almost entirely by one number — the power-to-weight ratio (w/kg) you can hold for the whole climb. Not your sprint, not your best minute. The steady number. Get that honest, pace to it, and the climb becomes a maths problem with a known answer. Lie to yourself about it and the climb will find out, somewhere around hairpin 9, and it will not be gentle about telling you.

The full w/kg → time chart

This table is generated straight from the same formula behind the time calculator — every row is the calculator's answer at that w/kg, nothing hand-typed. Find your honest, hold-it-for-an-hour power-to-weight in the left column and read your estimated time on the right. Each row has its own link, so you can bookmark exactly your number.

Estimated time to ride up Alpe du Zwift by power-to-weight (w/kg). Same maths as the calculator above — no rounding fudges, no vibes.
Power-to-weight (w/kg)	Estimated time
2.00 w/kg	90 minutes
2.25 w/kg	81 minutes
2.50 w/kg	74 minutes
2.75 w/kg	68 minutes
3.00 w/kg	63 minutes
3.25 w/kg	59 minutes
3.50 w/kg	55 minutes
3.75 w/kg	52 minutes
4.00 w/kg	49 minutes
4.25 w/kg	46 minutes
4.50 w/kg	44 minutes
4.75 w/kg	42 minutes
5.00 w/kg	40 minutes
5.25 w/kg	39 minutes
5.50 w/kg	37 minutes
5.75 w/kg	36 minutes
6.00 w/kg	34 minutes

These are estimates built from the historic times of real riders, so treat them as the middle of the pack: half of riders at your w/kg went faster, half went slower. Use the figure as a target, then go and disprove the slower half.

Pace even effort, not even speed

The single biggest mistake on a steady climb is chasing a constant speed. Alpe du Zwift averages 8.5% across 12.2 km and 1036 m of climbing, but the gradient is never actually that — it rolls between roughly 8% and 14%. If you ride to hold a fixed speed, you will hammer the steep ramps and freewheel the shallow ones, which is exactly backwards.

Ride to hold a fixed power instead. Pick the target w/kg from the chart and keep your watts pinned there the whole way up. On the shallower pitches your speed will climb for the same effort — that is free time, take it — and on the 14% ramps it will fall. Even watts up a 8.5% average climb is, almost without exception, the fastest way to the top.

How to pace it: the five-step version

Pick a realistic w/kg, not a fantasy one. Your time on Alpe du Zwift is set almost entirely by your power-to-weight ratio held for the duration of the climb. Find the w/kg you can actually sustain for the better part of an hour — not your best 5-minute number — and read your target time off the chart below.
Start at your number, not above it. The climb opens at its steepest. The first ramp through the lower hairpins touches 14% and the temptation is to attack it. Resist. Settle onto your target w/kg in the first minute and hold it — going 10% too hard up the bottom costs you far more on the back end than you gained.
Hold even effort, not even speed. Alpe du Zwift averages 8.5% over 12.2 km and 1036 m of climbing, but the gradient rolls between roughly 8% and 14%. Chase constant power, not constant speed. On the shallower ramps your speed will rise for the same watts — that is free, take it — and on the steep pitches it will drop. Even watts beats even pace every time on a climb this steady.
Use the hairpins as checkpoints. There are 21 numbered hairpins, counting down from 21 at the foot to 1 at the summit. Glance at your average power at each one. If it has crept above target you have spent matches you will want back near the top; if it is under, you have a little in hand to spend on the final third.
Spend what is left in the last three hairpins. The gradient eases slightly toward the top. That is where any reserve you have should go — lift the effort through hairpins 3, 2 and 1 rather than emptying the tank at the bottom and surviving the rest. Negative-split the climb if you can; it is almost always the fastest way up.

w/kg targets for common time goals

If you have a time in your head, work backwards. These are the headline numbers most people anchor to — all read straight off the chart above, so they agree with it to the minute:

Sub-60 minutes: about 3.5 w/kg, which the model puts at roughly 55 minutes — just inside the hour. This is the line most riders are really chasing.
3.2 w/kg: roughly 60 minutes. A strong, very achievable amateur number and a sensible first target if the hour is still out of reach.
4.0 w/kg: roughly 49 minutes. Now you are into seriously fit territory and well under the hour.
5.0 w/kg: roughly 40 minutes. Pointy-end-of-the-race-results fast. If this is you, you probably did not need a pacing guide.

Want a figure for a w/kg that is not on this list? Every quarter-step from 2.0 to 6.0 is in the full chart, and you can plug your exact weight and power into the calculator for a number that is yours rather than rounded.

Read the climb: the 21 hairpins

Alpe du Zwift is 21 hairpins, numbered down from 21 at the foot to 1 at the summit, so the bends conveniently count you toward the top. They make excellent checkpoints. Glance at your average power as you swing through each one: if it has crept above your target by the early hairpins, you have borrowed energy you will badly want back near the summit; if it is sitting just under, you have a little in the bank to spend on the final third.

The gradient eases slightly toward the top, so the smart play is to keep a sliver in reserve and lift through hairpins 3, 2 and 1 — finish the climb, do not merely survive it. A gentle negative split, where the second half is ridden a touch harder than the first, is almost always the quickest way up and feels far better than blowing apart at the bottom and grovelling the rest.

Pacing FAQ

What is a good time for Alpe du Zwift?: Roughly an hour is the benchmark most riders chase. Sub-60 minutes generally needs about 3.5 w/kg held for the whole climb. Times scale steeply with power-to-weight: 3.0 w/kg comes in around 63 minutes, 4.0 w/kg around 49 minutes, and 5.0 w/kg around 40 minutes.
What w/kg do I need to climb Alpe du Zwift in under 60 minutes?: About 3.5 w/kg, held for the full 12.2 km, gets you up in roughly 55 minutes — just inside the hour. Note that is sustained power-to-weight for the whole climb, not a number you can only hit for a few minutes.
How long does Alpe du Zwift take at 3.2 w/kg?: Around 60 minutes at a steady 3.2 w/kg. See the full chart on this page for every figure from 2.0 to 6.0 w/kg.
Should I pace Alpe du Zwift at even power or even speed?: Even power. The gradient varies from roughly 8% to 14%, so holding a constant speed would mean surging and easing your effort all the way up — the slowest way to ride a steady climb. Lock onto a target w/kg and let your speed rise and fall with the gradient.
Is it better to start hard or start steady on the Alpe?: Start steady. The climb is steepest at the bottom, so an over-eager start burns the most matches when you can least afford it. Settle onto your target w/kg in the first minute, hold it, and save any extra for the final three hairpins where the gradient eases.