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Or I use a random number generator 😀
Ta for the reminder Robbo. I have just re read the first few pages of this topic to try and familiarise myself with everyone's FTPs and weights. 👍
If I can hold the front group this week I'll be happy Adam.
I've fallen off the front in every race I've finished so far and zwift booted me on road to ruins.
My form isn't exactly stellar in Robbo's series. I need to do more riding and less pies me thinks.
, I think a winner after handicap from amongst the strongest riders is more likely than @dangeourbrain and @phil56 do
If it didn't happen at innsbruke or Yorkshire it ain't happening in Paris. No chance.
Basically if you are strong enough to break away from a group on a flat course you'll have far to big a handicap to win after it's applied. The winner will be the 'weakest' rider that can hold on to the front group I reckon. And given there are no hills that'll mean a B or C.
OK, I've looked properly. I take what you guys are saying seriously (I've not been in the position where I need to take responsibility to put serious time into anyone else at any point, so who am I to disagree!) but I'm reasonably sure that barring mechanical misfortune an A rider will win the final round. This is going to be a really tight battle for the overall as well.
andeh may be on for the stage, he’s pretty tenacious holding on and has a bit of a kick for the line still.
Phew, I'm shattered just thinking about it. I figured that I'm 30w or so shy of the sweet spot for properly capitalising on the handicap system. I've never been able to keep up with the first group, always getting dropped on a climb and falling off. Like a few have said, you need to be the weakest rider in the fastest group to win big.
I'm pretty light so will probably have a hard time on Tuesday night.
I've been watching a few of the NorCal Cycling crit vids lately. The main tactic there seems to be a couple of strong riders making attacks/getting wound in, counter attacking to try and tire the group out/force a split. Think the As will need to work together to shake a few tenacious clegnuts like me.
I may use the road bike for the finale,the Dawes Kickback is creaking badly (although it is purple which is probably worth a few watts).
Finally my Wattbike has arrived. I havent burried myself on an indoor session for about 12 months. I guess next tuesday will see an end to that!
Nice one mate. Welcome in
I’ve been pondering if a stiff frame bears any benefit over one less so for trainer use. when I started off on the turbo I automatically thought to stick my least used bike on their, a 6 year old boardman Cx. Sometimes the shitty rival gearing as been an inderhence as I run and have always run Shimano on every other bike and I sometimes shift up when I should be shifting down. However is the frame itself going to be slightly less efficient than something with decent power transfer such as my TCR?
I’m not going to switch the bike anytime soon but food for thought and all that.
I often debate bikes... I race on a 29er HT with a 40T chainring and a Vittoria turbo tyre. I have raced on a dedicated race bike and i'm about 5w faster overall.
raced on a dedicated race bike and i’m about 5w faster overall.
5w faster on the Race bike or the 29er HT?
On the race bike. I'm kinda curious as to why, but not enough yet that i'll go out and spend £500-1000 on on. I can steal the race bike any time as the guy lives in Canada, he may even browse on here, don't tell him 🙂
But 5w, well it's not enough for me to get from C to B for example, so i haven't bothered. It's also fractionally too big for me, which is another reason i don't borrow it.
Looking forward to this race... may be my last if they carry on on Tuesdays, as the wrist is getting better and I'll likely be out in the real world..
Any chance we can mix the day up? Wednesdays work well.....!!!
Interesting talk above about tactics...
I'm hoping that I'm feeling MUCH better for this race, and if I'm well rested I reckon I could PROBABLY hold onto the front pack at circa 260-280 watts, with surges as needed of 400 ish watts..pretty similar to the Volcano circuit...
But - we'll see on the day!
Here's a simple question - I'm using a smart turbo to alter the resistance etc, but the POWER is being read from my crank power meter...
So technically, it wouldn't matter WHAT tyre I had on, or if my chain was rusty as heck, would it? because I'd still create the same power at the crank - just that the wheel speed (which, with my set up means NOTHING) would be less...
Not that I'm going to change anything; just wondering!!
DrP
Is it possible for me to jump in on the last race this Tuesday?
FTP 226w
62kg
G iggsmaster
@giggsmaster - no problem. I have added you on Zwift. You need to follow me to allow me to invite you. Cheers
Here’s a simple question – I’m using a smart turbo to alter the resistance etc, but the POWER is being read from my crank power meter…
So technically, it wouldn’t matter WHAT tyre I had on, or if my chain was rusty as heck, would it? because I’d still create the same power at the crank – just that the wheel speed (which, with my set up means NOTHING) would be less…
Not that I’m going to change anything; just wondering!!
Try with your chain off and see what happens. Tuesday should be a good day for testing...
Cheers for that robbo, all done. Looking forward to hopefully not hanging off the back, like my Cat B races of late!
Going to have a practice race around Champs Elyses tomorrow morning (9.05 head race) to aquanit myself to the course if anyone else fancies it.
I've ridden the course several times now, both directions... I'm happy with my knowledge, just the 2 little inclines where i know i'm going to struggle.
I've entered the 9.05 herd race tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up Kirky. Hopefully I'll get out of bed to race it.
which Cat have you entered Retroric?
My two pence worth on what has been a hugely enjoyable race series. In round 1 I tried to race tactically and within myself and although finished a solid 16th ended up with 'nil point' after handicapping. On a side note, the rather random in-race timing discrepancies meant that even though I crossed the line near the front of the group I was in, I lost a couple of seconds in the official timing that dropped me 5 places..
Realised then that the best tactic from here on in was to just go out as fast as possible to try and stick with the lead group, 'enjoy' the frantic starts and the on-the-road racing and just see what happens. Realising that I was never going to be troubling the top of the actual leader board, my focus now was doing the best I can on the road and doing everything I can to stay ahead of @tpbiker and @phil56 in the GC 😉. Not much in it either so all to race for in Paris.
Only went into Round 3 (Volcano Circuit) and Round 5 (Harrogate) with any sort of a plan, and that worked in Harrogate, but failed miserably in Round 3 where I got dropped by the lead group on lap 6 and couldn't make back the time no matter how hard I tried and ended up no man's land. The other 2, with bigger climbs, was a case of just going flat out for as long as possible, which suits me better.
For Paris, I think overall victory will be a cat B/C. No round has been won by a cat A yet, and I certainly cannot see it happening for the first time on a flat course like Paris.
Roll on Tuesday... Can't wait.
I've entered the C race that starts at 9.05. I looked at my avg race power and thought that race would suit me.
Tempted as only 2 were signed up for the social, but that one is too long for me today. I can't race that many laps yet.
The Herd race was difficult for me. I finished around 9 minutes down on the leaders and was lapped! I averaged 208w which I sort of expected.
Am I looking forward to Tuesday's race?...
Thanks for the tip about the 9am Paris race @kirky72. I entered the 9.10 B race and found it very educational. I don’t think that circuit suits me.
Looking forward to Tuesday.
Interesting results! Nice rides there. I find those Herd league events a bit baffling. But I've ridden enough of them to know that they are really tough.
Congrats on the win @kirky72. You aren't staying in C much longer eh? My own move from C to B coincided with me riding these as a C. I'd stay in the front group but never got anywhere near winning one. Were you riding for points? Or was it a side-product of just racing?
Somewhere, @phil56 is figuring out which of the ingredients which contributed to him putting 5m30 between him and @j-r can be recreated in the STW format next week.
I'm not quite sure i can say I enjoyed that but useful to get a feel for the course.
as usual the start was ridiculous, quite a long lead in for this course of around 2 miles, seemed to be done over 300w for a few minutes which then lead to the only climb and uphill sprint. so was grateful to hit the top within reach of the lead group and we then stuck together to the end. Big sprint off and a break away by a guy he finished with 3.9w/kg in the Cs.
The pace was really tough at times but I guess everybody was knackered after the climb so there was a chance to recover shortly after. I think this be an opportunity for the fast lads to form a mini group make a gap on the climb and pull away just after when every other mortal is looking for some respite. our group was around 15/20 after three laps and then lost two or three everytime over the climb finishimg with a group of 8 i think.
finished 8th on the road but I figured there may be some disqualifications as everybody above me had more than 3.3 w/kg upto 3.9w/kg. finished 1st in zwiftpower and 3rd in what I think are prime points.
I've never seen the term prime before, is it exclusive to the hwed series think its a collection of points for sprints koms and finish position. wasn't aware of this and didn't push for any and seemed to always 2 or 3 giys blasting buy on the climbs but maybe they were amongst the DSQD.
I didn't see retrorick think he may have finished mid pack. noticed Phil amongst the stats but the timings etc seemed odd for this race.
6 laps is definitely gruelling. the course also starts to get a bit boring after a few laps as well. if I wasn't in the lead group, and it being my only ride zwift before tuesday, I might have bined it after 4 laps as I felt pretty exhausted (cold as come back again the last few days).
Are we racing 5 laps yeh, thats still plenty with the long lead in and around 9.45m per lap. My fastest today was 9.37 in the C group.
Savoyad you are right after this morning, over my last races averaging 255watts as just about nudged me over and upgraded me to B at 3.25w/kg.
which is still below what I've used in Robbos race series for the last 3 races which I think is now at 267w. So the STW is consistently drawing bigger efforts than Other zwift races. funnily enough I feel just as ****ed after riding either.
I was shelled from the front group of B’s after a lap and a bit, then ambled along slowly in no man’s land until eventually the next group caught up and I did the final couple of laps with them.
I’d like to think it’s because I didn’t know the course, rather than Phil’s superior W/kg and steady power on the flat. But realistically. . . .
And well done Kirky.
I started ok in the cat c race until the lead in finished and the race started! I then hovered around 30th until a group of 20 flew past me around lap 3. I couldn't keep up with their pace so I decided to try and keep my 50th or thereabouts position for the rest of the race. I was in a small group of around 5 for the majority of the race which helped with the motivation.
I didn't have a decent enough warm up and initially thought about quitting.
I did alter my trainer prior to racing by reducing the 'resistance' to around 20% rather than the 50% it was operating at before and the difference I found was that the short inclined didn't hurt my legs as much with the ramp up in resistance. I think there is a difference to how my legs feel even if there is a slight reduction in speed 🤔
Does anybody know the meaning of this Prime business now being shown In zwift power?
Retrorick, do you mean you have reduced the setting to only 20% total or reduced it from 100 to 80%. I wouldn’t recommend running at only 20% on any course especially a flat one. Are you running single chainring and massive one at that? I’ve been trying to limit the use of the granny ring on any course unless it’s mega hilly, I want to try and grind up in the 6th or 7th cog big ring and only change into the granny if it’s 8% plus for a long section.
If it’s a quick steep ramp I’ll try and grind it out. So I had 80% for pump room and whack it back to 100% for anything like champs, London classic, can just about power up the climb with a few gears spare without stretching the chain and no risk of loosing the chain changing up or down chainrings.
Question about zwift racing.
Some races all cats start together, others it's cat specific. How do you know which is which.
When everyone starts together I find the race is never as good as usually you have no idea what position you are in. Half the time I think I'm in the front group only to work out that a group has broken off front without me even noticing.
both on Zwiftpower and the companion app show either different start times (companion app) or +1 +2 +3 etc on Zwiftpower.
Once you look and see it, you'll wonder how you ever missed it before 🙂
Zwift power also indicates cats together or not even on the same start time. It might be the black suited head icon.
As for primes question yes those are points for intermediate sprints. Can be run either as first over the line or best time per lap. It's not exclusively sprints either. Can be done on climb segments.
I did the race at 20% of the trainer resistance. Only had to change gear when I stood up on the pedals. 50t up front, around 16t at the rear.
Prior to the race I had a short test ride at Harrogate where I set the resistance to 100% and 0%. At 100% I would of been in 1st gear on the hills and at 0% I pedaled easily but was slow in a high gear up the hills. Like you say Kirky changing the resistance to suit the course might make a difference. I need to try my options out.
Bollocks. Middle age strikes again.
Woke up this am with a sore ankle, went to a job in London which required carrying my tools down some scaffolding.
By the time I got home I was struggling to walk. Ankle is properly swollen, getting a shoe on isn't happening at the mo.
No idea what caused it.
No race for me tomorrow and probably not Tuesday.
SO just over 24 hours then... Is it time to play yet ? Are we all ready tactically ? are we fit and healthy ? Or at least healthy ?
Ready but no real tactics...same as the other races, get off as quick as I can, grab a group and hold on. If I feel good like last week then I might push and try split things up, but that may not even happen...
Looking forward to the last one of the series, not my type of course but should be fun!
Essentially speaking, you're one of my main targets to hold along with Robbo and possibly even Savoyad if he's on a day where he's not on fire... Lap1 i'll be going in deep up to the Arc for the first time and seeing where that leaves me... If the group splits, i'll let it split, if it stays together then i'll do my best to hang in.
Ankle is wierdly much better.
No swelling at all anymore.
Its almost like when I had torn cartilage in my knee. One minute fine, next minute can't walk.
Maybe it was my body rebelling at the thought of racing a push bike badly on a muddy hillside in the pissing rain?
Looks like I'm in but I'll abandon ship if there's any twinges.
As excited as I was when the virtual TDF & the new zwift courses were announced, I haven't even ridden this before let alone raced it 😂 I get that it's mostly flat but with a long-ish uphill drag... I'll just be trying to hang on to the leaders for as long as poss as usual, then either TT it to the end or grab onto the next fastest group (and repeat!) depending on how things work out!
Try not to cock up the start for everyone! Although a bit more time to get the group together on this route. Then hold on as long as I can. If I am feeling at strong I might try a long range attack on the last lap up the hill to the arc de triomphe!
weeksy
SO just over 24 hours then… Is it time to play yet ? Are we all ready tactically ? are we fit and healthy ? Or at least healthy ?
Did the course change? Looking at the post on page1, it's showing as London Classique but there seems to be a lot of talk about Paris. I take it, I missed something or have forgotten something!? not that it matters a great deal.
I did a run for a work challenge on Friday - 10km which I haven't done since around May time and have barely run all summer. My legs are still sore, although I can go downstairs today without going ooh, eek, aaah on every step 🙂
I did a 50km road ride yesterday - not sure it was the best idea considering my legs were a bit battered from the run, but they don't seem to have been adversely affected upon waking today.
I'm gonna enjoy it whatever happens - tactic will likely just be the same as normal - go as hard as I can. Hopefully I can find a little bunch to chum up too, but I always seem to end up on my own.