Women’s Racing on Zwift: An Unfinished Journey Towards Equality

Zwift’s influence on women’s cycling “in real life” is undeniable. In 2016, Kate Veronneau was brought on board to lead Zwift Academy, a game-changing global virtual cycling competition. In its first year, this revolutionary challenge awarded Leah Thorvilson a pro cycling contract with Canyon/SRAM. Zwift Academy has completely transformed the landscape of women’s cycling, creating opportunities for talented athletes and proving the incredible potential of virtual cycling platforms.

As a former pro-cyclist Kate was determined to increase the visibility of women’s cycling. Now as Director of Women’s Strategy at Zwift, she was instrumental in launching the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022. The same year, Zwift’s sponsorship of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift played a significant role in elevating women’s cycling by increasing visibility, providing financial stability, and promoting parity with men’s events.

But a strange thing happens on the Zwift platform itself.
While Zwift offers tons of women-only races, they haven’t figured out how to make women actually want to race in them!

But a strange thing happens on the Zwift platform itself. While Zwift offers tons of women-only races, they haven’t figured out how to make women actually want to race in them!

I recently completed the 2025 Zwift Games, competing in women-only races for all 5 stages. It was epic, and I loved it! The stages were progressively harder, and each stage was well designed. Stage 5, the “Queen” stage, was no joke. It was raced on Zwift’s new ZG25 Queen route and it lived up to its name. It was the toughest, most prestigious, and most demanding stage of the whole event. With over 894 meters of elevation spread over 44.8 kilometers, it was a real challenge!

The Disconnect with Women’s Racing on Zwift

As much as I enjoyed the 2025 Zwift Games, the disconnect with women’s racing on Zwift was glaring. The current system rewards women who opt to race in mixed-gender races, making women-only races seem like a half-hearted attempt at “inclusiveness”. A quick glance at the Zwift Games leaderboards reveals a consistent trend: the women at the top of each division almost exclusively raced in combined men’s and women’s events.

Strange, isn’t it? We talk about wanting equality in cycling, but why aren’t women given the same chance to shine on Zwift?

Strange, isn’t it? We talk about wanting equality in cycling, but why aren’t women given the same chance to shine on Zwift?

The current system doesn’t adequately incentivize participation in women-only races, hindering opportunities for women to compete and shine in their own right.

The Anatomy of Competition: A Look Inside

Competition is a force that shapes our world. From the playground to the boardroom, we’re constantly striving to be the best.

At its core, competition is about pushing limits. It’s about individuals or groups going all out to outperform others, seeking to achieve a specific goal. The pressure to win can be a powerful motivator, driving us to innovate, improve, and grow. It can push us out of our comfort zones and help us achieve things we never thought possible.

However, the pressure to win can sometimes overshadow the importance of fairness and sportsmanship.

For women who chose to race in mixed-gender races on Zwift instead of women-only, it’s likely because they haven’t stopped to consider how Zwift’s current system isn’t advancing women’s esports racing.

It’s the system that’s broken.

The World of Zwift Racing

Let’s to a deep dive into the world of Zwift racing. I’ll break it down, using the recent Zwift Games as our guide.

Here’s how Zwift’s marketing team described the event:

Zwift Games 2025 is turning up the heat with five new routes and stages that ramp up in challenge as you go. This year’s racing is faster, fiercer, and more fun, thanks to new race categories for the fairest competition yet. And with fresh PowerUp strategies and a new GC tracking page, there is more excitement than ever. Throw in some epic partner unlocks, and you’ve got all the motivation you need to ride, race, and rise to the top. Let the Games begin!

These are the key takeaways for those wanting to compete:

• The new race categories will make it fair.
• The GC tracking page is where you want to shine.
• Your ultimate goal is the “rise to the top”.

Let’s explore how each of these work to better understand why the current system is not advancing women’s esports racing.

Zwift Racing Score (ZRS): Categories

The 2025 Zwift Games was my first stage race with Zwift’s new race categorization system, built around your Zwift Racing Score (ZRS). Let me tell you, I had a blast! The new system felt more accurate in women-only races, making racing way more exciting compared to the previous A-D categories.

The system groups riders into five categories based on their ZRS, matching you with similar competitors. While there’s definitely room for improvement, let’s save that discussion for a future article!

Your ZRS is a dynamic number that reflects your performance in every race, factoring in your finishing position, the strength of the competition, and a bonus boost for those coveted podium spots (1st-3rd). Think of these as “points” that help you climb the ranks. The higher your ZRS, the more you’ll dominate the virtual peloton and prove your cycling prowess.

Okay, so we’re all on the same page – the UCI Road Racing World Rankings are like the gold standard for cycling. Points decide who’s on top, simple. Not unlike Zwift, right?

USA Cycling’s (USAC) points ranking system actually makes Zwift Racing System (ZRS) a lot easier to grasp. USAC ranks take into account the race’s quality, how many people are competing, and where you finish – just like Zwift.

And, not unlike Zwift, the more competitors in a race, the bigger the rewards. Here’s how it breaks down:

• 5-10 Competitors:
  • 3 points for 1st place, 2 points for 2nd, and 1 point for 3rd.
• 11-20 Competitors:
  • 7 points for 1st place, decreasing incrementally to 1 point for 6th place.
• 21-49 Competitors:
  • 8 points for 1st place, decreasing to 1 point for 7th place.
• Larger fields with over 50 competitors, yield higher points.

USAC takes it a step further with race categories: Category 5 (Novice), Category 4 (Amateur), Category 3 (Experienced), Category 2 (Advanced) and Category 1 (Elite): The top amateur category before turning professional.

Your upgrade points stack up over a rolling 36 months, But riders can get automatically bumped up if they rack up enough points in a single year, or grab a podium spot in a race with a large field. 

Both UCI and USA Cycling break down categories even further by adding age groups. UCI’s categories include Junior (17/18), U23 (under 23), and Elite (17+). USA Cycling follows a similar pattern but adds Masters for athletes 30 and older, grouped in five-year chunks (like 30-34, 35-39, and so on). As a 65-year-old athlete, I’m a big fan of this!

But here’s the catch: Both UCI Rankings and USAC Rankings are based on gender! 

But here’s the catch: Both UCI Rankings and USAC Rankings are based on gender! The men’s and women’s rankings and leaderboards are completely separate from one another. Duh.

ZRS rankings on the other hand, are combined. Seriously?

GC Tracking Page: Your Chance to Shine!

…if you’re a male. For women? Not so much.

While the official 2025 Zwift Games finish line isn’t crossed until March 30th, this week – March 24-30 – is ‘make-up week’, your chance to complete any missed stages.

Let’s take a look at the Overall Leaderboard for the 2025 Zwift Games which combines results from all 5 stages. You’ll have to sift through 218 men who have ‘earned the chance to shine’ – before you reach the woman currently in first place. The woman who won the podium stands at a shocking 219th overall! The second-place finisher is 247th, and third is 282nd.

Sure – these incredible athletes shine…but only when you filter by “Women.” Why are these amazing women hidden behind a filter?

I often talk about women becoming invisible as we age. Studies show a staggering 70% of women feel invisible starting around 52. Now I wonder – are we programmed from a young age to accept being unseen?

Forget filters – we need real change! To truly boost women’s esports cycling on Zwift and create a level playing field, women need to race against each other, just like the pro women in the UCI World Tour – or amateur women in USAC. This is key to unlocking their full potential and pushing women’s esports cycling to the next level.

Endgame: Rise to the Top

The endgame? As Zwift states…

…you’ve got all the motivation you need to ride, race, and rise to the top.

Want to climb the Zwift leaderboard? For women, the easiest way to gain an edge is by competing in mixed-gender races instead of women-only events.
Here’s why:

First, the obvious: more riders, more points. There are substantially more riders competing in mixed-gender events. With the ZRS system, this ups the overall race ‘quality’, providing the opportunity for more points to be earned.

Second, the somewhat-obvious: watts. It’s all about how much power you can generate! The more watts you produce, the faster you go. And here’s the secret: weight plays a huge role. Think about it: fitness being equal (power-to-weight ratio), a heavier rider can churn out more watts. Pro male cyclists on the average are 18 to 35 pounds heavier than women, giving them a huge edge. And guess what? The weight difference is even bigger among Zwift riders, who are mostly recreational. This means mixed-gender races have a faster overall pace.

Third, the not-so-obvious: drafting. Zwift racing is all about finding the perfect balance between conserving energy and seizing opportunities. The best tactics? Simply stated: go as easy as possible – until you have to go hard! And when you do have to go hard, you must stay in the draft.

Think of it this way: losing the draft is essentially losing the race. It’s a huge energy saver – we’re talking a possible whopping 30%! If you let go of that advantage, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle for position.

The Results. Mixed-gender races have a ton more riders, which means more draft. And since the majority of riders are guys, the overall pace is higher. Put it all together and it’s a no brainer that women will get better race results and improve their ZRS if they compete in mixed-gender races.

Which brings me to the next point…

What’s the Incentive?

Let’s break down why women racing on Zwift aren’t rushing to join women-only races. Think about it: what’s the incentive?

I took on the challenge of racing all five stages of the 2025 Zwift Games in women-only races. As the founder of OWL.BiKe, an organization dedicated to empowering women over 55, I felt it was important to show my support for women’s cycling on Zwift. I rallied my teammates on Team OWL, our UCI 60+ Grandmasters team, to join me. We all hit the virtual tarmac together, making a statement about women’s strength and determination.

Since I mostly race TTT, I started out with a ZRS of 179, placing me in the 0-200 women-only group. The field was pretty packed at first with 56 women in Stage 1, then dwindled to 25 in Stage 2, 16 in Stage 3, and just 9 in Stage 4. By Stage 5, I’d climbed to the 200-300 ZRS category, racing against 10 women, five of us from Team OWL – age 65-72.

I polled a handful of the 500+ women in our OWL Club on Zwift Companion who were racing the Zwift Games. I was curious why they weren’t opting for the women-only races. The response? “My race score will go up faster if I compete in the mixed-gender races.” Yes. Even at UCI age 55+, women still have a competitive spirit!

Comparing race scores, Team OWL riders showed only slight improvement, while those who raced in mixed-gender categories saw more significant gains. This confirmed my suspicion: racing mixed-gender boosts your race score faster.

So, the question remains: what’s the real incentive to compete in women-only races?

So, the question remains: what’s the real incentive to compete in women-only races?

Zwift’s Greatest Strength: Critical Mass

I was scratching my head about this whole women’s racing thing on Zwift, so I decided to get a second opinion from a friend who’s an elite racer on the platform. Here’s what she had to say:

I foresee issues for elite female racers because if the only way to improve your racing score is to race women’s only fields, the strong riders would not have much of a race experience. They would just ride off the front and TT the race solo, which is not fun.

That experience sounds pretty similar to mine at the low end of the ZRS scale!

My friend’s concern and my race experience highlighted the same issue: not enough women in women-only races. Is this a real problem, or is it just a symptom of something bigger?

Time to explore the elephant in the room.

Here’s the thing: Zwift’s greatest strength over its competitors, is critical mass.

Zwift reigns supreme in the indoor cycling world, attracting a massive community of riders eager to connect, compete, and push their limits. Its high number of active users ensures that riders can always find others to ride with – and compete against!

As of today, a massive 5665 women took to the virtual roads to compete in the 2025 Zwift Games, proving that women’s racing on Zwift has critical mass! But before we get too excited, let’s break down those numbers by ZRS categories and see just how deep this wave of female riders goes.

ZRS Category	Riders
1-100	768 women
100-200	2051 women
200-300	1536 women
300-400	736 women
400-500	256 women
500-600	130 women
600-700	37 women
700-800	12 women
800-900	14 women
900-1000	4 women

It might be tough for elite women racers on Zwift. But let’s look at the bigger picture.

There were 67 women with a Zwift Racing Score (ZRS) of 600 or more who competed in the Zwift Games. We’ll classify them as elite. That’s a small number compared to the 5,477 women who could benefit from women-only races!

Isn’t the goal is to get more women of all levels racing on Zwift?

Additionally, the Zwift Games only had five categories for women-only races, so here’s how the numbers shift:

Zwift Games Women’s Category	Riders
0-200	2819 women
200-300	1536 women
300-400	736 women
400-500	256 women
500-1000	197 women

The numbers don’t lie – there’s a massive number of women ready to compete in women-only races. Unfortunately, there’s no incentive.

Why Zwift’s Women’s Racing Falls Short

The unintended consequence? Women of all levels, from beginners to highly competitive cyclists, are choosing combined races over women-only races. This is not just a theoretical issue, but one observed in the recent Zwift Games: women are more likely to race in combined events, despite the abundance of women-only races.

The reason is clear: the current system doesn’t adequately incentivize participation in women-only races, potentially hindering opportunities for women to compete and shine in their own right.

The reason is clear: the current system doesn’t adequately incentivize participation in women-only races, potentially hindering opportunities for women to compete and shine in their own right.

Until there’s a real reason to get excited, women’s racing on Zwift will struggle to gain traction.

There’s an easy fix! It’s simple, really.

Zwift has absolutely blown the doors off women’s cycling in the real world. But how can they bring that same energy to all levels of women riders on their own platform?

The current system is broken.

Fortunately, the solution is surprisingly straightforward: Zwift needs to implement separate ZRS for women and men.

Fortunately, the solution is surprisingly straightforward: Zwift needs to implement separate ZRS for women and men. Women would earn points by racing in women-only events, and men would do the same in men-only races. This would create a level playing field for women, and it would also mirror what happens in professional cycling and amateur racing. You see this with the UCI rankings, and amateur rankings like USAC. 

“But, Zwift is just a game! I want combined men’s and women races!” You’re right, it is a game – and a fun one at that! Zwift can easily deliver the mixed-gender races you want, without messing with anyone’s ZRS. Just don’t count the results towards rankings. 

Zwift has a golden opportunity! It can be the ultimate destination for cyclists of all stripes: casual riders who want to spice up their training and serious racers seeking esports glory.

The numbers are clear – there’s a huge group of women eager to compete and show their strength on Zwift!

By implementing separate ZRS for women competing in women-only races, Zwift can create a more equitable and rewarding experience for female riders. It’s a simple solution, but one with the potential to significantly increase participation in women-only races, ultimately bolstering the platform’s commitment to promoting women’s cycling.

It’s time Zwift got real and made separate ZRS rankings. Let’s celebrate the incredible athletes in both the men’s and women’s fields, not try to force them to compete on an uneven playing field – or even worse, become invisible.

Don’t you think?