Zwift has just announced that the miles you put in on its training app will now count towards challenges on Strava with select partners.
Strava already accepts virtual rides, but despite containing real GPS and time data, your rides haven’t counted towards challenges so far — though they do add to your overall profile stats.
Le Col — the British performance clothing company — will be the first to accept your Zwift miles on its ‘10 Hour Season Starter Challenge’. Le Col is even offering a £50 reward (which we assume will be a credit or discount) if you complete 10 hours of riding (or Zwifting) between 1 and 14 February.
Though it may split opinion, Zwift riders are putting in the miles and now their efforts will be recognised — more and more people are using indoor riding as a viable tool for training, socialising or just avoiding the glum winter weather.
With on average 1-million miles covered per day this January that’s a lot of distance going unrewarded, and with 75 percent of Zwift users also members of Strava, implementing this functionality makes a lot of sense.
Strava hopes that opening up challenges to virtual rides “can help even more athletes benefit from the motivation [their] challenges and Zwift provide.”
What do you think of letting Zwifters join Strava challenges? Will you be logging your indoor miles?