Stage 6 of the Tour de Zwift went live this morning. I signed up for the 12:03 PM event in Group C bike ride. The route moved to France on the R.G.V. course. R.G.V. is short for route grand vitesse, or “high speed road” according to ZwiftInsider.com. This was my first time on this course. The ride was hilly but not overly so with 437 feet of climbing spread along the 15.83 miles I biked. Since the bike ride went through France the roadside included many sunflower plants in bloom. My 20.6 mph average speed reflected to the high speed road description. I found myself watching the feet climbed more than the miles biked because I am a flatlander and climbing is a challenge. Today’s miles put my month total at 605 miles combining road and Zwift miles. I more than met my Zwift goal of 150 miles but I need 7 more miles to reach my road miles goal of 300. Two more days left and Saturday’s weather looks favorable.

After the start I managed to stay with the large front group for about 10 minutes before they rode away. Not long after that I found another group to ride with to keep the draft factor in play. Then I drifted between groups and riding with 3 or 4 other riders until the finish. Going up the hills I gained on some people and going down they moved ahead of me. As I approached the finish I stood at 579th out of 747 “nearby” Zwifters. At the same point the Marina Sprint Reverse standings board put me at 238th out of 343. Over in ZwiftPower.com of the 409 people with a profile I was in 372nd position.

The first place finisher took 15:39 to complete the course versus my 45:13. I was happy to stay with other Zwifters for most of the bike ride.

Strava listed over 87 other people biking the same course so far.