Bon chance! It’s certainly addictive. I can’t believe how irritated I was by not finding results! I’ve done at least 200 “real” races over the years, but was in a right grump!

I know, I’m still waiting for KISS to finalise the results from Tuesday, un upgrade me and recognise my win!!!

I want my pixelated gold cup godammit!!!!

LOL it’s daft isn’t it… it’s just a sodding video game with Add ons and we’re like big kids who never got their pudding !

61 entrants at 10am today, so i’m going to jump in for a race, i’ll be on the Parkwood as the Isaac is going back today to it’s owner, so Parkwood full time now. It does mean i’m not as quick as i was, not sure if it’s rolling resistance, body position, etc, but i can’t hold quite the speed/power i can on the Isaac, but i’m sure i’ll find someone to battle with, which is good enough for me.

I’ve just signed up for the 10.00 show as well.
Day off and CBA riding in the rain. Going to be a big field for a mass start (do I not like that – not too keen on powerups either but beggars can’t be choosers; I’m off out shopping later). See you at 10 weeksy 🙂

It’s a power circuit, yeah? I think you may disappear into the distance

(I have a biggish road frame and some bits in the garage that I’d earmarked for giving/loaning to someone on thread on here who “needed” a bike – OP never contacted to arrange delivery. Going to see if I can find the thread and what came of it all but if you want more clutter in the house you’d be welcome to have it on another permaloan. It’s a PX superlight which some say is flexy shite but I got on OK with it – XL size, currently near Southampton)

Going to do the MGCC ride at 9.50, those Kiss races are way too busy.

Thanks for the offer mate, i could keep the Isaac, he’s not asked for it back. But my training isn’t road bike specific now, so space in the garage plays a factor. Mrs Weeksy was using the Isaac too, but the other day she tried the Parkwood for it and prefers the riding position of it, so i’ve now swapped the pedals onto it from the road bike.

As for today, you’re quicker than me buddy, simple as that. But yes, i admit if any circuit suits my traits as a rider then Volcano CCW is about the best for me. I’ll do all i can to keep you in sight… but i fear it may be a futile attempt.

Anyone doing the eFondo on Saturday?

Sorry mate, i had nothing. Did 2 laps with my bunch and decided to bail as i’ve got a long one outdoors tomorrow and Sat. I did manage a 5:58 which is pretty quick for me …. but prehaps too quick.

Aha – there you are ! I did wonder. All kicked off quite hard too; I did one race where I hadn’t warmed up and pretty much just eaten my tea – that was nearly very messy. Mind, you had nearly 3 minutes to warm up, so can’t have been that. lol

Thought I was onto a good thing at first; lap and a bit with the big lead group, only doing about 250-275w
Then I got that thing where everyone else disappears so leant over & jiggled my USB port*
Looked up and they were all 50 yards ahead. THAT is impossible – I’d have needed a team car and very sticky bottle to get that back
Second group swept me up and I rode the rest with them (the Llama fella – celebrity?) pulled away from us all, and then one or two later on but happy enough with my finish second in what was left of our bunch

Good work scaredypants,that looked like a quick race.

Looks like i have now progressed to being a Cat B rider. Had some results lately that bordered but smashed it today on Mgcc ride,finished down the order in a big group but ended up with a result of 3.48 w/kg.

Wow…. 3.48 that’s impressive budddy. !

Well done Scaredy, you did better than me by a long way fella… I did think as the group behind came towards me whether i should jump on and continue, we had a 45s lead when i dropped off, but TBH by that stage i’d already given up in my head. I do have a problem where if i get dropped by a group, i end up quitting rather than seeing it out.

<googles Llama fella>
Ah, I watched a couple of his vids when I was buying a smart turbo

I think he was looking for somebody to join a breakaway; couple of times he rode ahead & hung there 20 secs up. I gave it a go once but wasn’t up to it. In the end he rode off on his own

Weeksy – i feel exactly the same when it comes to having to go solo in a race, its no fun. I tend to carry on but just bimble along and generally ignore everyone else in the race and just pick a hill to sprint up just for fun.

that looked like a quick race.

Whoever was pulling on the front of the lead group must’ve been kicking it, like I said I tried pretty hard to get back on but I could see within a couple of hundred metres that I was barely even holding the gap. Probably for the best – no way would I have stayed there for the full thing

(Yeah lonely on your own, esp on a flat road. Must admit, I was getting ready to bin it when I saw the next group coming up; if they’d been any further back I might have gone)

Going to do the MGCC ride at 9.50, those Kiss races are way too busy.

I’d rather have bigger fields, not like there’s a bottleneck in the singletrack or a risk of crashing!

WFH again tomorrow, but it’s Richmond, worst course IMO, probably give the WBR race a go at 12.05.

I don’t mind big fields, it’s big mixed fields that I don’t like – so many riders that you don’t really know who you’re racing.

Do I set off “too” fast to keep up with a group, hoping it’ll settle down to my sort of pace and I’m still in the front group or are they all top-end group A riders who’ll keep that pace and I’ll have blown up.

If I know I’m racing people only in my category I can better decide what I want to do – the mixed start TTs are fine as there’s no drafting and so far less thinking to do

(Richmond – yeh, kack)

Fair enough, my technique in both I’ve done has been to go out hard and hang with the front group as long as possible! Seems my ability to start fast has transferred from reality to virtual racing. If only races ended at the end of the boardwalk 🙁

I Can see it would be good to know who you’re racing though, particularly as not everyone even puts their category in their name.

I Can see it would be good to know who you’re racing though, particularly as not everyone even puts their category in their name.

You can. It’s the people in the list on the right. That’s all you can see in a race.

Yes, but to SP’s point, in some races that’s categories A-D, and unless they’ve put their cat in their name you don’t actually know if you’re likely to be able to hold a group, or if you’re among a load of A’s who are going to give you a shoeing.

If they sorted out racing properly then I could see me having more of a go at it. As it is, it’s all a bit annoying.

Fortunately(?) I’m right bang on the upper limit of C’s, so if I ride as hard as I can, hang onto the fastest group and ignore the ones and twos riding off the front then I know I’m in with a decent chance of a good result.

If they sorted out racing properly then I could see me having more of a go at it. As it is, it’s all a bit annoying.

See I think it’s bloody good! I’m not entirely sure I’d want it “fixed”. I don’t even mind the mixed cats, it pushes you more if you ride with faster people. It’s very straightforward to do. How would you improve it?

Make it so you can only see the other racers
Sort the results system out

w00p!

Got my gold cup

http://www.zwiftpower.com/race.php?id=4801

Well done sir!

Re: categories, I tend to think that if you’re that worried just do a race that’s one category. I like a bit of a range. Not that there are results (I agree they need standardising, Zwift power seems great, that should be official), but I finished yesterday 17 seconds behind the winner, and was over a minute ahead of 6th, ahead of me were all As (like I say, I guess I should be too now), but it wouldve been a less successful session (as it really is just training ultimately) if I’d only had the Bs to race against.

Ideally I’d like ONLY those racing to be visible, or else really obvious on screen who’s in the race (all same kit on, perhaps or maybe different colour hats or tyres or something for the various cats too)

There are three “venues” – why not rotate & have rides in London when the racing’s in Watopia etc

Oh, and RESULT jam bo !!

Only downside is I said I’d move into B’s once I’d won a C.

Back to the back it is next race…

Ideally I’d like ONLY those racing to be visible, or else really obvious on screen who’s in the race (all same kit on, perhaps or maybe different colour hats or tyres or something for the various cats too)

They’re the only ones listed on the RH side, although I agree non-racers obviously appear on screen. Does that matter?

I’m certainly impressed with how busy it’s got lately. I had a long break from using it and there used to be lots of “blue men” to artificially populate it, with maybe 100 users. Now there commonly seem to be 1000+. I wonder how they’re going to develop it, the volcano is hardly earth shattering! I’d sooner have more real world (ish) courses. Rio could be a good one!

Results are out for cat C/D now.
I’m happy ! 33rd out of 45 in C , 7 weeks ago I was last in D.
I love the racing , without this I would not be getting fitter. I would never ride this hard out on my own in the real world. I’m hoping this will get me fit enough to hand a go at a real outside Cat 4 🙂

They’re the only ones listed on the RH side, although I agree non-racers obviously appear on screen. Does that matter?

does to me – the touted “immersivenessivity” is lost if you’re just racing a list, surely

I’ve occasionally chased riders who’ve turned out to be training on their TT bikes and I’ve also “lost” riders I’m racing against in amongst other big groups

Geologist – great work !

How would you improve it?

– Definitely only see (and draft) riders in your race.
– The category system is daft. Either have separate categories or don’t. Having mixed categories drafting off each other and then an arbitrary boundary of W/kg is silly. To win a C you have to draft effectively off B’s so that you don’t blip over the threshold. Just silly.
– A proper category system would be good. Starting category based on W/kg then a points system like in real life. With a mechanism to cater for changes of equipment (e.g. Vortex power to real power!).
– Nice graphics showing the positions of everyone in your race would be cool.

That’s what I reckon anyway. I’ve only done one race though. I did really enjoy it but I had no idea what was going on for the vast majority of the time, and the result seemed completely meaningless.

But that’s a bit like real racing… you will get a range of abilities and category overlap. I’m not sure what points add, if you’re a D and do loads of races and end up an A you’re still going to lose out unless you’ve got the power, at which point you’re just reverting to that metric.

Likewise in reality some races are 3rd cat only (say) whilst others are 3/4, and you don’t know who’s who.

I do accept that things may be different in the middle of the field. I’ve been lucky in both I’ve done to lead for the first half a mile and then just settle into the group that forms and hold on as long as I can. You may get the occasional hanger on, but it’s easy to see who’s who.

Weirdness !

My ride from yesterday’s 10.00 kiss is up – I’m 6 places higher than the live result and have been placed above at least 2 people who I saw finish ahead of me (one was Llama geezer)

Are they being penalised somehow or could this be to do with my connection dropping out for a few seconds mid-race ?

Oh, and

But that’s a bit like real racing… you will get a range of abilities and category overlap. I’m not sure what points add

I initially thought that points was the answer but not so sure now – as you say, njee there’s lots of overlap in ability (one or two of those cat4 riders may be just atarting and could “really” be cat1 potential)

I think power’s fairer – in theory you’re riding against people who are matched in terms of maximum output, so tactics and level of exertion will matter. You can’t legislate for people moving up (or even sandbagging) but as long as they get upgraded when they pass a threshold it’s only a really temporary “gain” for them. I’m all for (in that I’m not personally interested!) points being awarded for some sort of league competition but not as good as some sort of power metric for grading riders IMO

Could be either. Some races apply a time penalty if you use a power-up. Also bear in mind that due to connection issues what you see locally (i.e. positions of riders) is not necessarily what’s happening on the server.

Yeah, don’t think there was a penalty for power-ups – they were being chucked in all the time (I got the feather about 4 laps on the trot on the flattest course in town 🙁 )

So: locally my pc was adjusting my speed, drag levels and position vs what it “saw” after the glitch was fixed (i.e. me riding in the second bunch) but the race server still thought I was a few hundred yards ahead of that bunch ?
That possible ? (sounds like an awesome way to cheat if you got your timing right)

Well, yes, in real racing you get category overlap, but they’re not separate races on course simultaneously – you race the people in your race, and you don’t get booted out at the end for being ‘a smidge too good’, whilst a guy sat behind you drafting you wins because he tried a bit less hard.

To win a C race, you have to race against a bunch of people who can all do sufficient W/kg to get DQ’d, and do better / get luckier than them at dipping under the threshold. That’s silly.

By points I meant a points system to progress through the categories (i.e. points for top n places) – that way to avoid sandbagging and give people added incentives. If you’ve only got the power of a D then you’d never end up as an A.

In a real life 3/4 race, you are racing everyone out there. You won’t race as a 4, get to the end and be told that you’ve been DQ’d, but would have won if you’d been 3 seconds slower… Sure there’s some kudos (but no points) for being the best placed 4, but they’re not separate races, right?

I don’t want to sound negative, because I actually did enjoy the race that I did. I could just see it being a lot more effective if it just worked a bit better. It would also have helped if I could see the screen better (not very big, not very close, not very good eyes). The mobile app thing didn’t seem to work either, but that could somehow have been network issues.

Oh and categorising people by an estimated FTP would be fine with me too, but it should be tied to an individual’s account, so once you exceed a threshold you are a Cat C and you can’t enter as a Cat D. Equally, if you are in Cat C, then unless you produce a performance that is just mental (e.g. Cat B-winning potential) then your position stands, you just get upgraded for next time.

The main thing, though, is that you should only see people in your race, you should only draft people in your race, and everyone in your race ends up on a big list according to their position. None of this 4.01 W/kg – ooh, naughty, nonsense!

Oh and power-ups? Come on. No way in a ‘race’. Fine in a fun Mario Kart version though – add in bazookas and stuff I say!

The main thing, though, is that you should only see people in your race, you should only draft people in your race, and everyone in your race ends up on a big list according to their position. None of this 4.01 W/kg – ooh, naughty, nonsense!

agreed – I think some organisers apply a bit of leeway to the limits but, yeah, uprade applied FOR the next race seems right to me (and that upgrade should stick for at least “x” races – maybe if you’re consistently shit afterwards for 5 races you could drop again ?)