Review: Zwift Mont Ventoux

(2020) Stop me if you heard this one before: The Simpsons predicted Zwift’s gradual unfolding of higher and higher mountains. Just when Alpe du Zwift looked to retain the hardest ascent on the app, the recent French boards, mimicking actual French countryside, dethroned the switchback beast. We took part in an early ascent and wondered how long it would take to climb. It took forever for us to find out.

Zwift has felt like The Simpson’s Mount Springfield episode where each mountain outside of town gets taller. That is, until Mount Springfield is gazed upon with its summit piercing the clouds. Like The Simpson’s, Zwift’s mountains continue to get taller. First there was KOM, Volcano, and 360 Bridge climbs in Watopia. Then came Epic KOM before Alpe du Zwift, the app’s turn-by-turn copy of Alpe d’Huez, settled it in mass. Here it looked like Alpe would remain supreme unless the app opened a Mars board and added the 60,000-foot-high Olympus Mons. It was time to - virtually - experience a pro route. 

All signs pointed to signing up for L’Etape du Tour’s stage 3 on Zwift. Mont Ventoux had been released to the public the day earlier, sweltering stagnant heat was outside, and occasional storms were predicted for the area (outside). While I do not find sustained climbs enjoyable, I was absolutely excited to try the biggest thing to land on Zwift since, well, since Alpe du Zwift. I was armed with two cycling caps, two water bottles, two towels, and a KIND Bar for a rare on-bike trainer nutrition. I was taking this rather seriously.

We joined L’Etape du Tour on stage 3. The behemoth that is Mont Ventoux, a monstrous climb in France with a lunar-like summit was the attraction. Like all the French boards in Zwift’s L’Etape, the route exists in real life, unlike the popular virtual reality island of Watopia. Zwift has added numerous real-life city and championship routes while slowly adding Watopia infrastructure. With the Tour de France rescheduled due to Covid-19, there was time for developers to create a new Zwift world. L’Etape is the amateur event preceding the Tour route, and today’s Mont Ventoux drew over 3,000 participants to the noontime (EST) platform. Much to Zwift’s credit, pro cyclists have been broadcasting their racing on the new French boards.

For starters stage three’s route was short with absurd density. The route covered a scant thirteen miles (21 km) while ascending more than 5,000 feet (1,525 meters). The KOM segment boasts officially twelve miles in length, 4,844 feet of climbing, and an average gradient of eight percent. The climb scoffs the metrics for Alpe du Zwift. While people tried to compare the climbs in the comments during L’Etape, the routes are anything but. It took all our effort to roll up roads frequently over 6% in gradient. And immediately out of the gate, the climbing started. It did not stop until we reached the top.

Mont Ventoux’s summit is complete with swirling winds and dust clouds while approaching the iconic weather station.

Overall the climb is hard, that much is known otherwise people wouldn’t have tried it. This isn’t a route someone stumbles into. The virtual roads try our climbing legs by never really giving the rider a break, there are nearly no flat sections. Furthermore there are virtually no switchbacks; the ascent is brute strength of straight roads. While there are several ramps of remarkable steepness, Mont Ventoux shows a bit of mercy by allowing riders to find a rhythm and stick with it. We established ourselves in a group and had many of the same people around us going up. The fastest ascent of the day was just over one hour; sixty-three minutes to be exact. 

Zwift’s developers have worked hard to bring the Tour de France to the application, and here it is obvious as a small number of virtual fans line certain portions of the climb. There are jumping spectators, pop-up tents, and parked cars in areas to give virtual riders a quick thrill throughout the suffering. We still hold out hope for just one corner of claustrophobic fan presence with flares, screaming onlookers, and several runners next to us. Why not? Something has to break up an hour-long climb. 

In the final couple of miles it was difficult to process that one thousand feet of climbing needed to be polished before the finish banner. The trees had disappeared long ago and the lunar landscape of the white summit with the weather station had us grinning at the detail. Maybe this is what it’s like for riders to come to the summit of the giant-of-the-valley knowing a rocket-like descent follows. One final insulting ramp struck out at us before the finish banner. The zenith was circled and the descent began. We didn’t struggle to the top to call the team car from up here. Descending, rarely did our avatar drop below 45 miles-per-hour on the descent. 

We did not finish with the lead group, but the ascent plus the descent put our outing around two hours. That is quite an effort for such a short distance. Mont Ventoux is opened up to all users now that L’Etape has concluded. Currently only event riders can go up it. What is refreshing is there were only two Strava segments on today’s ride: one going up Mont Ventoux and one coming down. It was a well-spent afternoon going up the Mount Springfield of Zwift, but one must wonder, will Zwift make something higher in the coming years? In the meantime, try your pedal power at the climb then compare it to pro times. By the time we saw the summit we had saturated the last towel, shed the last cycling cap due to precipitation, and looked for the final drops in the water bottles. It was a better experience than being in nearly 100-degree heat just beyond the basement window. At least I think it was.