Virtual cycling eSports platforms like Zwift have been a tremendous space for gender parity in bike riding, racing, coverage, and generally great for getting more women on two wheels and into the sport of cycling! The indoor cycling scene is also a safe, friendly, and an empowering platform that can really boost your fitness too!
Here are a couple great tips & resources for finding women-specific teams, communities, races, and generally having more fun on your bike!
- ZWIFT COMPANION APP (TO FIND RIDES, WORKOUTS, and TTs!)
With the Zwift Companion App, click on the EVENTS menu and then FILTER. Select the Women’s gender icon under GROUP and it’ll filter all Zwift events to show you events that can also be filtered by group rides, time trials, workouts, and races that are women-specific.
And if you’ve never tried a group ride, group workout, or time trial consider experimenting and join one of each as your first week’s “homework project” to develop a great starting experience to explore what Zwifting is all about before you join an official race. Group rides and group workouts are very beginner-friendly places to start and will help you learn more about Zwift in general… but time trials are great for establishing your baseline fitness level too!
- ZWIFTPOWER.COM
If you’re really into data, with websites like ZwiftPower.com you can filter races and events by a wide variety of variables. Select FILTER and search for WOMEN events. If you select RANKING you can also see which races have the lowest (most competitive) race ranking scores, or simply look for the events with the most registered riders as this is where you’ll find more women!
- ZWIFTHACKS.COM
Similarly, ZwiftHacks.com Events page has a “FILTERS” section but if you click on the “MORE FILTERS…” button that’s where you can select “LADIES ONLY” to see womens rides:
- WOMEN’S e-RACING TEAMS!
There are many women-specific virtual cycling teams, groups, communities, and programs out there, but finding them can be tough! If you want to find the bigger teams and top teams, go to ZwiftPower.com and simply look for the top ranked teams! Go to RANKINGS->TEAMS and then click on “FEMALE” to see the top ranked teams. Click on any team name and then go to “ABOUT US” to find team information… most teams will post their websites and information on how to join here!
- RIDE WITH THE PROS & eRACERS!
Know of any famous women’s cyclists? If not, look up the UCI leaderboards or the ZwiftPower individual rankings and then search for some top female cyclists on the web or even within Zwift! You’ll likely find that many of the top female cyclists have great website resources, and many ride on Zwift!
Once you have a few top names in mind, simply click on FIND ZWIFTERS in the ZWIFT COMPANION app to find and follow them. Pro cyclists will have an ORANGE “PRO” jersey next to their name and Pro triathletes will have a GREEN “PRO” jersey if they have verified professional athlete status setup it Zwift to make them easier to find! You can click on the “+” icon to add them to your followed athletes list and click the star icon to mark them as a “favorite” if you want to track them when you’re Zwifting! You can then filter events by “ONLY ZWIFTERS I FOLLOW” to find what group rides and workouts they lead… or maybe even join them in a race!
6. JOIN A TEAM OR COMMUNITY!
Start with the “ZWIFT LADIES ONLY” facebook group and start exploring other women’s teams and programs, such as:
- USA CYCLING (league)
- FrenchyFuzion
- Bad Ass Moms (BAM)
- Team Fearless
- OdivaZ
- Velocity Vixen
- BRT Hellcatz
- Coeur
- Betty Designs
Have any other tips? We’d love to hear them! Email us at coach@4starendurance.com or visit our Chicago Virtual Cyclists (CVC) community on facebook!