Riding Alpe du Zwift - Is it like the real Alpe d'Huez?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มี.ค. 2018
- Zwift has just added Alpe du Zwift to Watopia, so I went for a ride up this mountain ascent. Is it anything like the real Alpe d'Huez that it is based on?
The Alpe Du Zwift segment
Segment Length: 7.5mi /12km
Segment elevation gain: 3400ft /1036m
Average gradient: 8.5%
Alpe Du Zwift is part of the Watopia Island course and can be accessed via the Mayan Jungle
Alpe Du Zwift is only open to Zwifters at Level 12 or higher
The Level 12 Alpe Gate is marked Red when locked, and Green when available
Zwifters who become level 12 mid-session will immediately be allowed access - กีฬา
Thanks for sharing you did fantastic ! it was great to see the new addition to zwift .
Great video. Did the ride earlier this evening so was amazed that you managed to talk all the way up: must have been tough. The course is amazing in that cycle masochistic way.
Fabulous graphics, relentless gradient.
Thanks for the video Dave really enjoyed it 👍 im planning on getting a tacx neo soon and can't wait to get to be zwifting.
You're a beast man! Climbing the whole alpe at 100 rpm and doing it so effortlessly. Congrats!
Really cool watching you jam on zwift David. I wanna try that route this week. Solid
The Vegan Cyborg (
So I went up the Alpe again, and managed a 51.30 - pretty happy with that, but want to go sub-50 if I can. It's definitely a great workout
Great review of the course, subscribed!
I think it’s all mental mind games on that climb on the turbo. I’ve done it about 10 times and it still has me wanting to stop at around switch back 10 but I push on to the end. It certainly gives the legs a cracking work out that’s for sure👍
Nice video. I rode it the other day and was pleased to make it without stopping, a relentless beast.
Top work David!
Thanks for the video and the feedback on this new Zwift loop.
Brad DeMarco thanks!
Nice ride -- too bad no cafe at the summit. I just tried it earlier today -- fun ride! I also unlocked the same helmet. :)
Imagine those Dutch fans already encamped will come out to play come July - must have one hell of a beer supply! Really enjoyed doing this climb. For all the pleasing visuals probably the key for me is the star system for each hairpin - as you say it breaks down the climb really well and also fits with the feel of the real life counterpart. When I rode it hard the other day I was never more than 2-3 minutes from the next hairpin so you can tell yourself “just 3 minutes more threshold...” next hairpin “just 3 minutes more threshold...” etc all the way up! Works really well, especially with the odd corner at a mere sweet spot effort to “recover”. Took a good 2 minutes off my best that way.
If they raised the saddles on the avatars we'd all be a lot more efficient.
thanks bro now i just see that
Rode for the first time yesterday. I'm new to Zwift and only just unlocked Level 10, but you can still ride it if there's a group ride going up there.
It took me half way to level 11, so soon I should be able to ride when I want ;-)
Nice one!
As far as going back down, if you’re lucky enough to have a trainer with downhill simulation a la Tacx Neo, you can literally get off the bike while the trainer freewheels the whole way down at nearly 50mph. I figure, you earned it.
Also, my time was about 1:45. I’m fairly new to cycling and I’m just thrilled I made it up at all.
I have a wheel on Kickr Snap and you can do the same thing.
just completing it if you are new is a great achievement. well done
Hi David, regarding a more comfortable seated climbing saddle. I have bought myself 5 Selle SMP medium TRK saddles that I ride on all my bikes. The most comfortable cushion to treat yourself for hours on end with zero perennial numbness. They have brought out a new lighter version called the F30 that im keen to try out next on my racing bike.
Nice first ride. As for the soreness, i try to get out of the saddle just after i take a drink - every 15 minutes. Usually works for me and i'm a fair bit heavier than you. You're right though, i never have the same problem when riding outside.
Anybody know what the record of consecutive climbs is? I have done it 10 times in 17hrs 10mins
Did the Four Horsemen course yesterday which includes the new Alpe du Zwift, loved it but was pretty cooked by the end, 7k ft ciimbing. Good video thanks.
That's a lot of climbing! How long did that ride take you? I've not tried it yet
david arthur hi David, it was 3hrs 23 minutes for me. Four drinks bottles and I had to put my phone on charge towards the end as it nearly died. Tough but I enjoyed it.! 👍🏼
Big Mitch sounds tough! Awesome effort. I did a 100km Zwift earlier this year and it broke me
Strong ride and to be able to talk like that, well done!
Haha thanks!!
I forget the name of the climb but this really happened in a professional road race. There was a climb that had a 39.5% gradaint starting at 3 kilometers to go to the finish and it ended at only 800 meters to go that all the cycle had to get of and walk their bikes up to start on a 14% to finish the race. It was the tour of Spain
Hi Dave I'm fairly new to Zwift might sound like a stupid question but I did this climb on Saturday really enjoyed it good work out but I did it on my TT bike with a 42/28 dose this make a difference when using ERG or should I put the road bike on with a 36/28 keep up the good work cheers
The gearing choice shouldn't make too much difference when in ERG mode so you should be okay on your TT bike
Good review/video. I took 63 or so minutes but I’ll happily admit my hr was way higher 😉 good ride but a bit of a slog on zwift
I just unlocked this so have been watching some videos on it. Looking forward to trying it. I only have a 36X28 low gear on my bike, so I'll probably be sliding the trainer difficulty down a bit. Easier than buying a new cassette.
Awesome! You’ll love it’s a solid workout effort and very rewarding. Definitely make use of the trainer difficulty if you need, does prevent having to use the gears as much
I know it's been months, but I do hope you've tackled it on your setup! My setup has a 42/28 low gear, and setting the difficulty of the trainer to max gives the most hellish workout in the history of ever. But that let me really put down what power I could manage, and beat 60 minutes. :)
@@WendsH I did do it shortly after I posted that comment. I turned the trainer difficulty down to about 70%. Still very tough. If you did it with that setup, you're at a whole different level than me. It took me about 1:20. I know I could do it a little quicker than that but NOT with the TD set at 100%. I have since turned mine down to 50%, after I asked a couple of regular TH-camrs what settings they used. They said the default. You see most of these guys like Ed Laverack that crush these climbs doing at such a high cadence, I knew they were likely running either bigger gears or lower TD.
@@WendsH Well, you're at a different level than me. I managed about 1:20 with the trainer difficulty at about 70%. I've since turned it back to 50%. I follow Ed Laverack on YT and watch videos of him crushing climb after climb. I asked him what difficulty setting he used and he said default. I have to think most of the guys that you see cranking out 300-400 watts consistently and 80-90 rpms either have lower gearing on their bike or are running at the default setting. Or they're PROS!!
Better place to start is on the Jungle circuit then just turn right at the Alpe.
Get yourself Apple tv 4k bud, I used the mac and put it on my big tv, Apple tv just makes it alot easier and the picture runs much smoother. Love the video's
Gaz Mck thanks! Need to take your advice for sure
can you connect via ANT+ to Apple TV?
Ryan McLean not sure bud. I use a kickr so just connects with Bluetooth I think. Not had any dropouts or problems doing spindowns etc.
"can you connect via ANT+ to Apple TV?".
No you can't. Pros, cons and general info here www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/11/zwift-releases-apple-tv-4k.html
And don't forget about the Agliru. It's may be the hardest climb in Europe. It has 3 kilometers at 20%+ and it is continuous too.
It's a pretty good way to train for Alpe D'Huez if you switch 'trainer difficulty' on full. It is still 20% faster than the real thing though. They dumbed it down a bit, like Ven-Top. I did 51min on the Alpe on Zwift, 61min on the real thing, both at 300W average with almost identical weight. Both to the tourist finish (Zwift stops there). People will get a bit of a shock when they try it for real and expect to match the Zwift time
Fun climb. 1 hour 10 in real life a couple of years ago. Similar power and HR on Zwift 52 minutes so I'd day 15% easier on Zwift. Great training though for this years French trip :)
Hey, you have two first names. Nice video.
heh thanks! Arthur is a popular surname here in the UK though
44'01" @ 4.47w/kg (81kg)
devanaf tot rapid!
You should try it with your front wheel elevated the average grade. Otherwise you are just riding flat roads into a headwind. Climbing muscles use more hamstring/glutes which is tougher. It should be mandatory that the pro Zwift races use a Kickr Climb. I think you could see different results representing more all around riders. Just a thought.
I am level 10 Zwifter, just started zwifting in January. What does it take to get to level 12? Thnaks
Paul Fischer I think you get 2000 XP points for every 100km of distance
Think you'll get the fastest progress by doing workouts and get all the badges
Paul Fischer join an Event that has this climb on the agenda if you want to ride routes that are otherwise closed to your Level.
Thanks for the responses everyone!
Well done. I did it in 62 min but I also weigh 90kg.
What did you maintain for power. Thanks
In Zwift how do you tell how much you have left to ride on a course?
On a climb like the Alpe it tells you how many other segments there are which is very helpful
What I am wondering, it's takes roughly an hour to climb? How is the decent in all fairness I do not like the idea of a 8.5% decent for half an hour
Mark de Jong apparently it’s about 20mins, but I haven’t tried it yet. Reckon I’ll be finishing my rides at the summit personally rather than coming back down to sea level
10 minutes freewheel. A great opportunity to get off and refill your bottles, etc.
A bit of a boring descent and very unrealistic flying around hairpins at 50mph.
david arthur dude you arent level 25 yet thats a free 10kms worth of xp you are missing by stopping at the top!!
Yeah got a few more levels yet to go! Maybe I won't stop at the top next time
Does riding on a trainer feel harder to any of you? Also does tire pressure matter on a trainer? Cheers
Tricky question. Nothing beats riding outside, but what I find with indoor cycling is that you never stop pedalling and the effort is more concentrated. Like any cycling, it's as hard as you want it to be. Tyre pressure matters with a wheel on trainer so inflate the tyre to at least 100psi
@@davidarthur thanks for the info about tire pressure I appreciate it! I should have been more specific relating to difficulty. On my rides outside with a power meter i can sustain 240 to 300 watts on 15 min climbs but, on the trainer it says I'm pushing 160 to 200. Is my trainers power meter off or do you think it's easier to push higher power outside? Cheers
@@dw-kf5fd Interesting, in theory you should be able to ride the same power outside as inside, so maybe it's worth checking both power meters are calibrated correctly?
@@davidarthur will do! Thanks again for the advice and your time. Great video!
Is your sensitivity set to 100%?
I have it set to the default setting
What trainer are you on and what's your gearing?
Dustin Meador I’m using a Wahoo Kickr with a compact and 11-30t cassette
What trainer setting percent are you using?
If you enjoy zwift Alp D'Huez, try Rouvy. It takes the experience to a whole different level. Real footage in HD and you get to race other people.
Good shout, not tried that one but keen to sample some of the other platforms out there next year
@@davidarthur rouvy is on all platforms including android, which is a bonus. Once people start noticing rouvy I think zwift will make some big changes as rouvy is certainly taking indoor cycling to another level (in my limited, amateur level 😉).
are the watts accurate? i feel like they look low but i dont know any better. Nice work nontheless
matthew furlotte yes. I wasn’t pedalling very hard so I could commentate as I was riding
I'll be sprinting on zwift and it will say 350 watts. Don't think it too too accurate
What was your trainer difficulty set at for this ride?
I had set it a bit lower for the purposes of this video. Otherwise I leave it on the default setting
david arthur So 50% difficulty?
@@chrisblanchard4938 Default is 50%
You don't use a fan?
Oh yes! I didn't have one on at the beginning of the video because I didn't want to disrupt the audio, but had it on for the rest of the ride
About Alp Du Huez the record time is 36:50(1995) by the one and only Marco Pantani ! Dont give me wrong no matter how much drugs you use you cant do this period !
do you always ride with such a high cadence?
J T usually between 90-100 but I wasn’t giving it the full beans as trying to film! What’s your cadence preference?
david arthur I tend to be below where I think I should be. My natural cadence is probably high 70s to mid 80s and based on some things I’ve read I should be aiming for mid 80s to mid 90s....but then on the one GCN video they say whatever your body finds natural and comfortable is what’s best for you...so I guess I’m ok....but high cadence...like up around 100, I find quite hard to sustain.
Like you say cadence is a pretty personal thing really, everyone has their preference to what feels good and right. But cadence is really important, and there's some good reading here if you're interested in learning more about www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218268/
I made the mistake and did an 11/23 for Tour of watopia Stage 3. Avg climbing rpm was 50 lol
david arthur Now that I have actually (finally!) reached level 12 and unlocked Alpe du Zwift I have realize there is absolutely no way that I can sustain any kind of high cadence as I’m on my last gear the entire time, which is 36-30 I believe....when (if) I finally do the whole thing in one go, I know I am going to hate my life. By the way, do you ride with your trainer on full 100% gradient/resistance? Or do you bump it down?
I have climbed the Alpe Du Zwift except I'm a kid so I was not close to as fast as you
what cassette are you using?
I've got an 11-30t cassette combined with a 50/34t chainset. Hope that helps
cool thx. I tried the climb last week with an 11-28 and it seemed a bit too hard....need to change to a 11-32 or something.
@@Aramis7 you can just adjust the difficulty in the zwift setting. It's going to be the same effect as switching cassettes. I was using a 39x30 on the tacx flux 2 and it was too much of a grind!
I enjoyed this video. Not currently a subscriber but I might join for a month to do this climb.
John Hallas you need to be level 12 to do this, which means you need to at least put down 1000km first
Nice One I have been a subscriber and I am at a high enough level at the moment. Use TR and Sufferfest more at the moment.
did that twice over 2hr each time
great fun isn't it :)
@@davidarthur -yeah, at 61 not bad, I guess. It's really scary when I see my bpm go up to 175, but the legs still there, but the bpm I have to watch, so I gotta go back to aerobic again, but overall it's challenging and the same time, as you said, it's really fun.
Eugh. No socks!
Paul Robertson y’know never noticed that, will address ASAP!
46.59
Philip Cook wow that’s very quick! Nice work
i use a stages power meter with a dumb trainer, with a cadence around 80. I've ridden Alpe d'huez twice and zwift is far easier than in the real world.
Agree, nothing compares to riding it for real!
1hr 17mins @97kgs with a hangover. That'll do :)
Going to try again without a hangover?
First go 46.52 👍
Impressive!
First go 38.01
51 minutes
LedCessna awesome effort
one guy did it 34 minutes
2:25 faster than pantani
Yeah I saw that, and all the angry comments as well!
Having done the real Alpe, the cartoon is a valid attempt, but there are too many random 13% pitches that are not in the real climb.. I also did the climb faster by 9 minutes than the real deal.. if you want to do the next best thing to the real deal.. get a Tacx Neo, put it at 100% difficulty, enter your REAL WEIGHT...and get Tacx video of the Alpe, or Veloreality... Zwift tried... and we'll leave it at that.. they tried....
I can't take anything anyone wearing those cycling caps says seriously
oh well