I am a level 53 (60 is the highest level) rider on the popular cycling game called Zwift. During my experience over the past couple of years, I have learned some small things that can help you level up on Zwift much faster.
How Does Leveling up On Zwift Work?
Leveling up on Zwift is quite a simple formula. Zwift rewards you with XP (experience points) points for each mile or kilometer. For every mile you ride you get 30 XP. For every kilometer you ride you get 20 XP. Doesn’t seem like much but there are also other ways to pile on the XP’s and level your way up the levels at a quicker pace.
So here are some ways to ride your way up the levels of Zwift:
Just Keep Riding
The first method is another simple one. Just jump on your bike and ride to get in those miles or kilometers. Turn on your favorite music, movie, or TV show and just keep riding.
Round Up To The Next Mile
This is a mistake I made as a beginner. I would just simply quit riding and and the game once I felt like it. But you should always keep riding until you get to the next mile and get those XP’s. Otherwise, you’re leaving a potentially lot of experience points on the table and unclaimed. So instead of ending your ride at 20.6 miles, keep going for that .40 miles until you reach 21.0 miles. That way you always get the maximum XP points each session.
This might not seem like a big deal. But let’s say if you ride 100 sessions and end up short changing yourself each one this gives you can unclaimed 3,000 XP’s in just 100 riding sessions. The unclaimed points add up quickly.
Route Badges
Don’t keep riding the same route all the time. This is because Zwift will reward you with a route badge and XP’s for every route you complete for the first time. The XP’s can range from 100 up to over 1,000 XP for each completed route. You can only get the bonus XP’s once per route so after you complete one move onto the next. Zwift even gives you a great tool in the game. Visit your menu to find the “Badges” section. Here it will show you what routes you completed and the ones you haven’t yet. Of course, the longer and harder the route the more XP bonus points you will be rewarded.
Switch To A Time Trial Bike
For each banner you pass through on Zwift you get a bonus called power-ups. Those are cool and all but do not help you in anyway to move up the Zwift levels any quicker. Personally, I can care less if another Zwift rider sees me, drafts me, or whatever super power the power up can give you. The feather weight power up only lasts for like 10 seconds. I’d rather get the 10xp bonus points you can get for each banner you ride through. This helps gain more XP’s quicker, therefore, raising you up the Zwift levels a little quicker.
To get the bonus 10XP’s for each banner you ride through, change your bike to a Time Trial bike. Doing so will change you from getting the power ups to getting more XP points. Of course, as you rise through the levels you can upgrade your TT bike to better ones.
Ride The Sand And Sequoia Route
This is the flattest route on Zwift. So this means you can cruise on it pretty fast and rack up the XP’s quickly. Another great thing about this route is the Fuego Flats Forward Sprint segment. It’s a very short segment at the distance of only 0.30 miles. You will get rewarded a 10 XP bonus for completing such a short segment. But it doesn’t end there. You can actually bust a u-turn after you ride through the banner. Get back to the starting point of the segment and bust another u-turn and go through the sprint segment again to earn another 10 XP’s.
You can keep turning around and earning the bonus banner 10 XP’s an unlimited amount of times. Doing this method can give you up to 50 XP’s per mile. That’s an extra 20 XP’s per mile. So those XP points can add up very quickly.
Change From Miles To Kilometers
I don’t really care for this method. But it’s just a personal preference of mine. There’s nothing wrong with it. What some people do is go into there profile and change their settings to kilometers, instead of miles, for their distance setting. Then after they reach level 50 they change it back to miles. In kilometers, Zwift gives you the XP’s for just a little shorter distance than in miles.
Ride The Downhills
If you’re route takes you up a hill then don’t just stop at the top because your route is completed. Why not continue on and coast down the hill to rack up that distance and get those XP points? Again, more things that add up the XP’s quickly. For example, the Alpe Du Zwift route is a huge climb. When you reach the top you get a bonus of 380 XP when you reach the top. But don’t end the game when you hit the top. You can pretty much just coast back down the mountain for around 7 miles. That is an additional 210 XP points that you would leave behind if you ended the game when you reached the top. These are points you can earn just from cooling down.
Got More Tips On How To Level Up On Zwift?
Know of more ways to earn more XP points faster on Zwift? Leave a comment and let us know about it. We look forward to hearing from you and learning about your ideas.
50+ year old cat dad that loves cycling, fitness, and trying to eat right. I’ve been riding bicycles since I got my very first bike, a gift from my Grandfather, on my 8th birthday on March 28, 1979. Just because you have reached the 50 year old mark it doesn’t mean that you have to slow down or quit. I started this blog so that other 50+ (or even younger) can learn from me and be motivated in their own health endeavors.
To great health and well-being.
Feel free to connect with me on the below social media platforms:
Strava | Zwift | TikTok | Facebook
