{"id":419078,"date":"2026-02-11T02:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/419078\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T02:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:09:23","slug":"zwift-games-returns-for-2026-with-drills-to-improve-your-racing-and-plenty-of-xp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/419078\/","title":{"rendered":"Zwift Games returns for 2026 with drills to improve your racing\u00a0and plenty of XP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Zwift Games will return for 2026 with an additional sixth stage, drills to teach newcomers the basics of how to race on the platform and lots of XP (experience points) up for grabs. <\/p>\n<p>Running from 16 February to 29 March, the online-racing competition will feature five main stages with brand new routes across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/features\/zwift-your-complete-guide\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zwift<\/a>\u2019s worlds \u201cto test the skills of every type of rider\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>You will have a week to complete each stage and the races will be categorised using Zwift\u2019s Racing Score system with open, advanced and women\u2019s only categories.<\/p>\n<p>There will also be a bonus sixth stage for this year\u2019s Zwift Games. This is divided into an A or B option, with a total of seven routes across the platform\u2019s seven worlds:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Stage 1: Kaze Kicker, Makuri \u2013 16.8km, 134m<br \/>\nStage 2: Hudson Hustle, New York \u2013 20.3km, 216m\u00a0<br \/>\nStage 3: Cobbled Crown, Richmond \u2013 24km, 288m<br \/>\nStage 4: Peaky Pav\u00e9, France \u2013 30.6km, 368m\u00a0<br \/>\nStage 5: Three Step Sisters, Watopia \u2013 37.8km, 587m\u00a0<br \/>\nBonus stage 6a: Epiloch TT, Scotland \u2013 11.1km, 94m<br \/>\nBonus stage 6b: Crit Cade, Crit City \u2013 15.7km, 136m<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll be able to track your progress on the Zwift Games website as well as your ranking in the General Classification for stage 1-5, alongside individual stage results, including for the bonus stages.<\/p>\n<p>Zwift says the two bonus stages provide you with an opportunity to try two styles of racing. The Epiloch TT is a race against the clock, whereas the Crit Cade provides a \u2018gamified\u2019 experience with PowerUPs, boosts, hazard pads and steering. The pressure is off for these bonus stages too, with neither counting towards your GC ranking.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/644945-Zwift-Games_feb-2026_PR-7-6b4ab3-original-1770291839.png\" alt=\"Graphic showing the six Zwift Games 2026 stages.\" class=\"wp-image-959276\"\/>Stage 6 is divided into an A and a B option. Zwift<\/p>\n<p>Despite there being one race a week for the Games, Zwift says for the first time this year you\u2019ll be able to ride all the new routes on demand from 13 February, giving you the option to recce the routes, and earn badges, unlocks or XP.<\/p>\n<p>Another change for the 2026 Zwift Games is the Zwift Games Road to Glory. This is a guided group ride that runs from 9 February to 20 February and teaches you the fundamentals of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/advice\/fitness-and-training\/zwift-racing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zwift racing<\/a> via drills \u2013 from when to use PowerUps to when to sprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While the racing ends on 29 March, Zwift says there will be a &#8216;make-up&#8217; week from 30 March to 5 April to complete any you\u2019ve missed or want to improve your time on.<\/p>\n<p>The Games are also an opportunity to unlock virtual kit. This includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/reviews\/clothing\/sunglasses-and-goggles\/sunglasses\/oakley-sphaera-sunglasses-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Oakley Sphaera sunglasses<\/a> after stage 1, Zwift Games 2026 kits after stage three, and the Oakley Velo Stelvio helmet after you\u2019ve ridden any five stages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you finish all six stages, you\u2019ll earn 6,000 XP points, up from 1,000 XP points for completing last year\u2019s five stages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Zwift Games will return for 2026 with an additional sixth stage, drills to teach newcomers the basics&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-419078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}