Züri Velo Cup Winter Quest

The Winter Quest gets cyclists outdoors in the dark months instead of onto the indoor trainer. From 21 December to 21 March, participants collect nine checkpoints around Zurich, with three new ones opening every month. Rides are recorded automatically via Strava or Garmin. There is no timing: the Quest rewards those who keep at it, not the fastest up the hill.

LaceUp organises the Winter Quest together with antritt.ch, as the winter sequel to the Züri Velo Cup.

2025/26: nine municipalities

In the first season, the checkpoints were nine municipalities, from Hausen am Albis and Kilchberg via Erlenbach, Seegräben and Maur to Glattfelden, Kollbrunn and Brütten. A municipality counted as collected when a ride passed through it, started or finished there. A municipality missed in its month could not be made up later. Around 600 cyclists signed up.

2026/27: nine hills

For the second season, the municipalities became paved hills. The checkpoint is at the top, usually the crest of the road, and it doesn't matter which way riders climb. The season is told in three chapters, each with its own character, and a chapter's hills are only revealed on its first day:

• Chapter 1, "Low and short" (21 December to 20 January): Regensberg, Kyburg and Pfannenstiel, three short climbs to just over 700 m over the holidays.
• Chapter 2, "Mid-altitude" (21 January to 20 February): three climbs on well-cleared main roads, up to almost 800 m.
• Chapter 3, "Oberland" (21 February to 21 March): the queen stage, with three climbs in the Töss valley and the Zurich Oberland, up to over 1,000 m.

New this season:

• Check-in at the hill: riders without Strava or Garmin check in with their phone at the checkpoint. After five seconds in the zone, the hill is collected.
• Awards for consistency: besides the Gfrörli, Schneehas and Iisbär badges for 3, 6 and 9 hills, there is the Winterstreak for at least one ride in each of the 13 weeks, the Chapter badge for all three hills of a chapter in a single ride, and the Comeback badge for everyone who already took part in 2025/26.
• Route suggestions: 21 routes with elevation profiles and GPX downloads, plus one official group ride per chapter.
• A website of its own: wintervelocup.ch shows the start list and the participants live from LaceUp and, once logged in, each rider's own collection.

Partners

Everyone who collects all nine hills gets a discount code for the Giordana shop and picks up a finisher keepsake at Tempo Sport in Horgen, which is also the start or finish of the group rides. The Winter Quest is supported by the sports office and the sports fund of the Canton of Zurich.

In summer, it carries on with Les Cols de Zurich, the series with the big climbs. Participants will recognise some of the winter hills there as cols.

What the format shows

• A season instead of a race day: three months of event, with no infrastructure along the route.
• Staggered unlocking: every month brings a new reason to get on the bike, and rides spread across many places.
• Low threshold: no start time, no mass start and no ranking by speed. Road bike, gravel and e-bike count the same.
• Partners at the centre: the finisher prize and the group rides bring participants to Tempo Sport and Giordana.
• A community all year round: winter links the summer formats instead of being a break between them.