Hi all,
I wanted to raise something that I only became aware of after carefully reviewing the official Tour de Zwift 2026 Prize Rules on Zwift’s website.
Like many riders, I’m participating in Tour de Zwift 2026 and aiming to complete all 18 routes, based on the general messaging that completing all stages qualifies you for the lucky draw to win a bike. However, according to the prize rules, some Scandinavian countries and other EU countries are excluded from eligibility, while Norway, Germany and Belgium for instance is included.
This raised a few questions for me:
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The exclusion is not clearly highlighted in the main promotional messaging; you only really notice it if you read the detailed prize rules carefully
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Norway is included, while Denmark and Sweden - countries with large and active cycling and Zwift communities - are excluded
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From a participant perspective, this feels inconsistent and easy to miss when deciding to commit time to completing all stages
Zwift Support has explained this as being due to local legal and regulatory requirements. While I understand that regulations differ by country, this still feels difficult to reconcile with everyday experience in Denmark.
In Denmark, there are many competitions / lucky draws run by both Danish and international brands on Instagram and other platforms that:
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involve a qualification step (answering a question, tagging, participation, etc.)
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select winners via random draw
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offer prizes of comparable value to a Zwift bike
From the outside, it’s not obvious how the Tour de Zwift prize draw differs materially from these types of promotions, particularly when participation is free and the draw is random among qualified participants.
So I’m genuinely curious to hear from others:
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Has anyone else from Denmark, Sweden, or other excluded countries noticed this restriction?
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Did you notice it before starting Tour de Zwift, or only after reading the prize rules?
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Does this feel like a strict legal necessity, or more like a conservative compliance choice that could have been communicated more clearly upfront?
This isn’t about demanding prizes. It is about transparency and expectation-setting. Tour de Zwift is a flagship event, and many riders invest significant time to complete it. Clear, prominent communication around eligibility would help avoid frustration.
Interested to hear others’s view and experiences.
Ride on,
Dennis Kronborg Alexandersen (Denmark)
you don’t even have to ride to enter the contest:
You may also enter via mail by hand printing your name, complete address, ZIP/Postal Code, country of residence, daytime phone number and date of birth on a plain 3"X 5" card and mailing in a hand addressed envelope with sufficient postage affixed (to mail to the U.S.) to: 2026 Tour de Zwift Promotion Entry, c/o Zwift, Inc., P.O. Box 2753, Long Beach, CA 90801 USA. All mail-in Entries must be handwritten and mail-in Entries must be postmarked by February 23, 2026 and received by March 2, 2026 to be eligible.
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I’m simply curious because similar prizes have been publicized but I’m not aware of any winners being announced
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WINNER LIST: For the name of the winner, available after March 6, 2026 (for a period of at least 90 days), visit https://zwift.com/p/winner/.
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Didn’t even know there were prizes available.
Just one ride to go on the Tour for me, saved the worst till last…..the Alpe Du Zwift.
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Today is supposed to be the day but I feel a load of excuses coming on…..
Prize or no prize doesn’t really matter, doing for the huge bonus XP’s.
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Yep. The rewards are massive. Plus the wheel at the top too.
Enjoy
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Finish on an entry level bike that’s fully upgraded for an extra 550 BONUS XP in addition to the 11,000 XP for all 18 stages!
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True!! I noticed that as well, and it is quite ironic that you don’t actually have to ride to enter the draw 
Any way, I still intend to complete the 18 routes and build my bicycling skills and stamina.
That said, it doesn’t change the main issue: country eligibility is still very restricted. The prize rules limit entry to the US, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, and the UK. Riders from countries like Denmark and Sweden are excluded entirely, whether they ride all stages or use the mail-in option.
So the mail-in entry doesn’t address the core concern. It just underlines that this is about country restrictions, which still feel more like a compliance decision than a hard legal necessity. Something that should have been communicated much more clearly upfront.
I don’t exactly know where, but I read about it in some of the first announcements, before the TdZ started.
Can these countries buy a zwift ride from zwift shop, or are they unable to purchase them already? Wondering if those same limitations apply to the contest?
Residents of all EU member states can buy the Ride frame
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Good question…as @Paul_Southworth points out you can make purchases from the Zwift webshop from any EU member state including Denmark. I’ve done this recently, so not a reason to exclude.
On the main Tour de Zwift 2026 webpage, I now see that it states “Individuals 18+ in select countries”. Further details provided in the “official rules”.
From what I can see on a quick search online, Denmark’s regulations for free prize draws would require Zwift to pay some tax on the prize awarded. So it would cosr Zwift extra money if someone from Denmark won (unlike in the UK, for example, where nothing extra would be payable).
I’m sure that Zwift haven’t introduced geographic these restrictions on this draw just to annoy people in certain countries, and that it’s because of additional complications running such a draw in those countries.
I’m sure Zwift could afford that 
More importantly, I don’t really see tax or administrative cost as a convincing reason on its own.
In Denmark, there are numerous competitions and lucky draws run by Danish and international brands, especially on Instagram, with prizes of similar or higher value. These clearly still go ahead despite any tax or reporting obligations.
Also worth noting: §10 of the Danish Gambling Act (Spilleloven) explicitly permits companies to run prize draws. Yes, there may be notification or compliance requirements with the regulator, but that’s very different from a legal prohibition. It would have been an option if Zwift wanted the competition to be broad and inclusive, as it is marketed.
So this still feels less like “Denmark doesn’t allow it” and more like a commercial or compliance decision by Zwift to avoid additional complexity, which is fair enough, but then it really should have been communicated much more clearly upfront.
That’s the core issue for me.
I never said that Denmark doesn’t allow prize draws like this, and I haven’t seen Zwift saying that either.
I imagine that Zwift have decided that extra administrative hassle and expense in certain countries simply isn’t worth it for them.
Zwift have also clearly said from the beginning that there are certain terms and conditions for the draw.
I do totally understand the frustration though, and I’m sure I’d feel a bit annoyed if I was in a country where the prize wasn’t being made available.
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Yet, another instragram post where Zwift is NOT pointing out that it is a restricted competition for only selected eligible countries.
Completing all 18 routes does not give everyone “a chance to win.” This really should be mentioned here for transparency.
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Google translate: Zwift is definitely Pro-trump
Seriously?
FYI - excluded are the most countries worldwide (only USA, Columbia, Canada, Australia and Japan listed).
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and the UK are just 8 from (at least, definition differ) 44 countries in Europe. The population in these countries is about 36% of European population.
You can play EuroMillions (and win a little bit more 
than a Zwift Ride) in 9 official participating countries.
