How accurate is Alpe du Zwift compared to the real Alpe d’Huez climb
In this video, I ride Alpe du Zwift and compare it directly to riding the real Alpe d’Huez in France at the exact same power.
Want to see me go for my personal best on the real climb
Or see how I rode a sub 40 minute Alpe du Zwift
Alpe du Zwift is one of the most popular climbs in Zwift and is often used by cyclists to train for long mountain efforts. But how realistic is Alpe du Zwift when compared to the real climb
Does it require the same pacing and sustained power
And does riding Alpe du Zwift actually prepare you for the real Alpe d’Huez
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Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:49 The Climb
11:11 Results
#alpedhuez #zwift #roadbike #roadcycling #tourdefrance
31 Comments
You should test it on rouvy
Virtual "climbs" are all BS in my opinion
Great video Tom, but I'd say a difference of 4 minutes is quite a margin and not insignificant. Think about how far you could ride in 4 minutes on the Alpe. My IRL ADH PB is 54:44 mins and my ADZ time PB 43:06. Zwift times are completely unrealistic. Even with bottles, heat etc
I would love a Mt. Lemmon route. 32.3km 1533m elevation. Probably the biggest climb in the US.
I wish I had your level of enthusiasm when starting the Alpe on zwift! That first hairpin can be such a trap.
Thanks for making the video!
There have really been world climbs called ROUVY 👍
how come its not a 1:1 of the real climb? I see sometimes you show a corner and it's going left in real life and right on zwift?
Indoor power and outdoor power are not the same
Caliber the smart trainer. Someone told to calibrate for the wind in the real world add 10-30 lbs to your body weight wow makes a huge difference for me.
I use two screens on my smart trainer, so I can be doing a workout and watch Netflix at the same time 🤷♂️. I only really don't do that during a race. Prevents boredom anyway
Adz 58mins, ADH 75mins after a morning on the mega, but irl there are so many distractions. Decent took about 3hrs just taking in the views 😊
I've never been to Alpe d'Huez, but – unpopular opinion – when I look at the incline degrees, I think on Zwift it is way easier than it must be in real life. I am using a Tacx Neo 2T
I love the Bologna TT and I love that it is GPS accurate – super cool if they did more of that.
If you just use a perf predictor on the virtual Strava segment, such as the one that comes with Sauce for Strava, it's obvious that zwift makes you way faster than reality. You have to assume the bike weighs literally nothing and you're in an optimized TT position the whole way up to make the numbers make sense.
I definitely would like a Mont Vontoux side-by-side ride.
tbh the Rouvy version is better as it goes up past the village and on to the gravel track to pass the megavalanche start line (18.74 Km & 1307m)
Fun test, thx!! One thing isn’t clear to me. What body weight did you enter in Zwift? Did you take into account that in real life you’re wearing clothes, shoes, carrying two (full) bottles, a helmet, etc.? Probably you ate and drank well before the cilmb. The weight shown on the scale when you’ve just woken up and gone to the bathroom (the body weight I use in Zwift) is not the same as the weight with which you actually ride uphill in the real world. That can easily make a difference of 3 to 5 kg. If you didn’t take that into account, that would partly explain the difference. I’m very curious!
I'd love to see this done with Mount Ventoux, too. Both are epic climbs.
Cafes in real life on ADZ have cakes and beer-not available in games😅
You want realism, then try Rouvy.
Looks like you are a Macc Wheeler Tom?
Zwift is never accurate because riding indoors is nothing like riding outdoors. It’s just a video game with a bike for a game controller.
Excellent video. You're absolutely right about varied conditions, like wind, pavement quality, and temperature. The variance you experienced is less than 5%, which is shows how close IRL and Zwift are. I've done both the Alpe De Zwift and the Ventoux, with the Ventoux seeming to be much harder. I'd love to see you do a side-by-side on that mountain, hopefully on a day with less wind than what is usual for the Ventoux.
"Trying to add in any more realism, I think, is going to add more problems than it solves." That's my issue with Rouvy as a platform, Zwift unrealistically allows me to continue to put out my z2 power on a descent, Rouvy every descent I'll just spin out and end up coasting.
Fulgaz Alpe is much harder than Zwift
Zwift doesn't account for weather, drag, power expended on upper body and balance, obstacles etc etc etc. Anyone can climb on zwift. You cannot stay on your bike on a 12% slope doing 100w. Not even comparable. I am 30 minutes slower IRL.
This video is stirring up the old debate if it’s easier to ride irl or on a trainer. And I think you did an awesome job of showing zwift has it pretty close to reality besides the obvious wind or traffic
Great video! Some of that difference could also be the path you take. Maybe not 4 minutes worth but definitely something.
The path in real life isn’t perfect (wider turns, going around obstacles, cars and other cyclists) vs zwift’s straight/constant path.
Would love to see another segment to see if it’s consistent.
Interested if ROUVY is any better check out this video:
https://youtu.be/Zt78SVF_sKc
Did you take into account the Trainer difficulty/reality setting.
Zwift: Trainer Difficulty –> Max = 100% (Default = 50%).
Rouvy: Reality Level (100%) (Default = 100%)
you re biased to a cartoon . its awful , whats wrong with you ? you re even adding awful music to gee it up .