THE TROPICAL CYCLING QUEST • 24—31 DEC
ONE HERD.
ONE ISLAND.
NO EXCUSES.
8 DAYS. 500 KM.
ZEBRA FESTIVE 500, MAURITIAN STYLE.
Push your limits, discover hidden gems and share unforgettable moments with one wild herd.
RIDE • FEAST
☀
REPEAT
♣
8 STAGES
⌁
500 KM TOTAL DISTANCE
▣
24 - 31 DEC FESTIVE WEEK
◷
— TO GO
RIDE OUT THE YEAR
THE
INITIATIVE
A Mauritian community adaptation of cycling’s great year-end ritual.
Rapha’s original Festive 500 began in 2010 with a simple challenge: ride 500 kilometres across the eight days from 24–31 December. Riders can take it on solo, with friends or as part of organised community rides—building endurance, consistency and festive spirit one ride at a time.
Zebra Festive 500 carries that spirit into the Mauritian summer. We add a 50-kilometre recording buffer and organise the week into eight playing-card stages, with a shorter King day, a bonus Christmas Day spin, a recovery ride and a shared Royal Flush finale.
2010ORIGINAL CHALLENGE BEGAN8 STAGES24—31 DECEMBER+50 KMTHE MAURITIAN TWIST
Inspired by the global Festive 500 tradition. Zebra Festive 500 is an independent community initiative and is not presented as an official Rapha event.
Read the Festive 500 story ↗RIDERS WHO HAVE COMMITTED
MEET THE HERD.
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COMMITTED
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CHOOSE YOUR HERD AVATAR
By continuing you agree that this is a self-supported social challenge and that you will ride responsibly.
THE ADVENTURE
THE STAGES
Eight cards. Eight rides. One royal finish.
Select a stage to preview its route ↓
THE JOKER
THU 24 DEC 51KMTHE LUCKY SEVEN
SPIN
FRI 25 DEC
84KM
THE QUEEN
STAGE
SAT 26 DEC
112KM
THE KING
STAGE
SUN 27 DEC
106KM
ACE OF HEARTS
RECOVERY
MON 28 DEC
32KM
THE WILD CARD
STAGE
TUE 29 DEC
39KM
THE JACK
STAGE
WED 30 DEC
70KM
ROYAL FLUSH
FINALE
THU 31 DEC
47KM
STAGE 01 • ROUTE PREVIEW
THE JOKER PROLOGUE
ILLUSTRATIVE ROUTE
An easy card to open with: south along the Black River coast road through Case Noyale and La Gaulette, around the foot of Le Morne to Bel Ombre, then the same blue water back the other way. Nothing above 75 m — just legs, salt air and the herd gathering.
DISTANCE51 KM
ELEVATION369 M
!
ROUTE MAP UNAVAILABLEThis route could not be loaded just now. Please refresh in a moment.
SUN. SALT. SUFFERING.
WILD
BY NATURE.
Jungle shade, volcanic silhouettes and lagoon-blue horizons. Mauritius supplies the scenery—the herd supplies the energy.
MOUNTAINS
LAGOONS
GOOD VIBES
QUICK ANSWERS
Do I need to complete every stage?
The end goal is to achieve 500 km. How you do it is up to you!
Is this a race?
No. It is a spirited, self-supported social challenge with regroup points.
What should I bring?
A roadworthy bike, helmet, lights, repair kit, hydration and sun protection.
What does it cost?
Blood, sweat and tears!
How fast will the herd go?
At a steady pace of 2.73 W/kg.
Why do the stages not add up to 500 km?
To account for the Strava taxA cyclist’s nickname for distance that can disappear between a planned route and the recorded activity because of GPS drift, device sampling, auto-pause or slight route differences. It is not an official Strava fee.—the extra 50 km provides a buffer so riders can still record at least 500 km.