The Zwift Crew Takes on Iceland’s WOW Cyclothon

A group of us at Zwift recently set a six-week training goal for ourselves: to compete in the WOW Cyclothon. The Cyclothon (June 20-23) is a 1,358-kilometer (842-mile) relay race that largely traces the perimeter of Iceland. We’re lucky to get our shot at this—as we were last year, when our gang of mostly Cyclothon rookies finished third out of about one hundred teams, crossing the line in 38 hours.

The game plan? Regularly rotate our nine-person squad. That way we keep the pace high, and make the most of our Zwift training. Some details:

The Course:

Nearly 850 windy miles, with cool temperatures (30s-60s F; 0-20 C) and close to 30,000 feet (8,900 meters) of climbing. Plus: 21 hours of daylight!

The Zwift Training:

Hourlong sessions—often effortful and/or intense: VO2 max work, low-cadence intervals near threshold, and sustained tempo riding. We prepared for a long chain of relatively short efforts, not one continuous ultra-endurance event.

The Support:

Drivers keep the vans running, while resting team members catnap (in kit) and eat (Icelandic meat soup). Follow our race progress on WOW Cyclothon’s site!