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I hate flat races
Me too. It's very hard to drop people with similar or more power but a bit more mass. The lead in climb is going to be crazy, as are the 3 times through the underpass.
I love flat races, but due to the evening race times i'm calling it a day on the series. Just sort of breaks into family time and 'me' time so will ride in the daytime i'm sorry to say.
I'll certainly be keeping an eye on the thread and results though 😀
The lead in climb is going to be crazy, as are the 3 times through the underpass.
yeh about that...would appear for a group meet-up you spawn on the Mall...will leave race as it is as the intention is for 40 flat km to add a bit of endurance to the proceedings but we will likely do 3.5 laps instead of the lead plus 3 laps. Wont change too much though - just look out for the blue banner/distance countdown for the finish.
That'll deffo suit the power/heavy guys !
Gah!
oh well.
you're gonna have to find a watt bomb out of the underpass Nixie.... then through the 3% drag afterwards too.
Robbo... My FTP is now 270..
Sorry cos you've made the handicaps already.. TBH i THINK it WAS 269, so prob no major change if you just left it i guess?
DrP
DrP - 1 W won’t make a difference - the times are rounded so the few seconds difference won’t matter I don’t think. Is that 1W with your new power meter? 😉
I feel tomorrow's route will be hard work for me. The flat section of last week's was really hard going....trying my hardest & managing to make no ground whatsoever to the bloke up the road 🙂
I went on the turbo on Saturday & tried to spend the time working on getting my cadence up on the flat - I did appear to get a bit more power out (maybe) by spinning faster - it's just reminding my legs to get on with it.
It'll be good to do a slightly longer distance & see what happens! Just need to check that Bake Off is set to record...
Enjoy folks but I'm out for this week, going to do what I should have done when the lurgy first appeared a few weeks ago and take a week off rather than taking the if I can walk I can race* approach.
The flat section of last week’s was really hard going….trying my hardest & managing to make no ground whatsoever to the bloke up the road
Flat races are just about not letting that bloke get up the road in the first place.
The mixed cats format in Robbo's Races really suits hangers-on on the flat, makes it very hard work to be the bloke up the road trying to stay ahead of a bunch.
Is that 1W with your new power meter?
Heck yeah!!!
Money well spent I say!!!!
;-D
DrP
you’re gonna have to find a watt bomb out of the underpass Nixie
Sadly all out of those at the moment 😅. The current stock seem to blow up prematurely if used.
Having rotated out of the ZRL for a week - I'm in.
Looking forward to it, although my trainer which has decided not to power on..
dangeourbrain
Flat races are just about not letting that bloke get up the road in the first place.
It's not like I haven't tried that 😉
I found it interesting riding 'on my own' on Zwift this Saturday just gone.
I was starting to get the impression from riding in this race series or on the Sunday hills etc. that I was massively unfit & slow on the bike etc. and that this was all a bit futile as it seems like such a long way to the next person up the road in terms of required fitness gains.
But, with >9000 other Zwifters I was hardly overtaken. Perhaps once every 10 minutes or so, with a couple of groups flying past in a draft.
I guess a normal Zwift ride encompasses a much larger section of the cycling world & it made me feel a bit less unfit & useless than I have been feeling! I'm sure that'll change tomorrow 🙂
@stumpy01 with the free ride option on Zwift you're going to get a lot of people who are casual riders not racers, also people doing recovery rides etc or just not going balls out for whatever reason - whereas in any race EVERYONE is going to be giving it 100%, so you can't really compare the two. Also there are some VERY fast riders at the sharp end of the STW crew... I think most of us feel pretty unfit compared to them 🤣
yes and they aren't going hell for leather trying to beat each there. its all about perspective.
anytime I get carried away and feel I've done a section particularly rapid or done really well in a race. I just take a quick check on strava and find there's a few hundred thousand n front of me.
Yeh outside of the STW Zwift World things are probably closer to real lift distribution. Some of our group rides may be a bit quick as well I think sometimes.
I emptied myself in the cycling weekly chase this weekend, my FTP has gone up to 254 Robbo. Not sure that makes a huge difference in my handicap.
As usual, it's going to be a case of trying to hang on to whoever I can hold onto for an hour...
Well i may now make an enforced comeback due to my shock being dead on the G-160. Shortest retirement ever.
Shortest retirement ever
Very [ageing] rock star though.
I also don’t look forward to flat races, but it looks like there may be a nice little bunch made up of us lightweight guys, once we get spat out the back!
Urrgh I do not feel good today. Lots of wake-ups from the little one in the night mixed with a cold.
Nixie, best be careful with tonight’s race. Maybe just treat it as a z3 workout for an hour....so cruise around at 270 watts towing me at 250! That’ll be almost pleasant for us both!
I always found this was the issue with November/December races.. it wasn't "am I fit" but "am I well "...
Often I'd forgo a brass monkey race cos I developed a cough and cold the week before!
Heal up dude...
DrP
So it will be a ROLLING START tonight. Spawn point seems to be on the Mall so race until the distance is up (it is just flat laps but the endurance will be the key tonight). Sprint points available on the Mall and you will get 3 opportunities to improve on this.
Nixie, best be careful with tonight’s race.
I can pretend that's going to happen but the reality is I'll just get caught in the race mist at some point. Going to need to be a case of race smart.
I'm currently torn between the 1:35pm Crit City and tonights long one.. Long arguably would make more sense... but i can see a chunk of it being a solo TT if i do, i can see me getting dumped on the underpass.
Other crazy option is to do the Crit and then tonights as wingman for my mate Figg.
@Weeksy, tonight's race is as near as you will get to your kind of race, being nearly flat it's the best option you have for your strengths this series. Just jump on and see how you go, I'm sure you will be faster than me on the flat as I never do any type of crit racing and struggle to keep the endurance going on a long flat race.
Only difficulty on this one will be the length of the race at speed...fast start, grab a group and hold on!!
Yeah i'll have a go...
Long and flat isn't my forte. Shorter and flatter usually. But i'm hoping i can hang in with a group for a while anyhow. My form isn't perfect, my fitness is worse and my fatigue is high... There's all the excuses out in one go.
I'm feeling a little more optimistic after my PT session. Did more than last week and completed the reps I failed then so hopefully I just feel rough rather than being too rough.
Been meaning to ask (for a friend, obviously....) - how does the 'draft boost' power-up work? It's the one that looks like a van.
Does it give you a draft effect when you are not actually in a draft, or does it increase the power of a draft, but you have to be drafting for it to do anything.
I'm never sure - it doesn't seem to make much difference when I use it.
Not that it'll matter - I generally seem to get +10XP, rather than a power-up most of the time.
YOu have to be in a draft for it to be effective.
It increases the benefit of the draft, and only works when you drafting. So it's not necessarily dramatic - makes it slightly easier for you to stay in the group you are in or on the wheel you are on - but it should provide some relief by giving you a moment to ride at a slightly lower power than you'd otherwise need. Basically it turns you into @zilog6128 but only for 30 seconds.
Any hints / tips / etiquette pointers for a rolling start? I did my first race with the STW glitterati last week which was a standing start. From reading bits of the thread, I guess I join the group a few minutes ahead of the start time Then when everyone is present we start rolling behind Robbo and when he is satisfied everybody is blobbed up close behind him, the instruction is given go, go, go. Is that about right?
standard procedure is: balls it up, get dropped, come on here crying about how unfair life is 🤣Any hints / tips / etiquette pointers for a rolling start?
YOu have to be in a draft for it to be effective.
I never knew this... I thought it just 'gave you a draft'.. interesting!
I can see a few FTPs being increased tonight!
DrP
@zilog6128 proper lol! 😉
@Burger basically yes that is it, it's not perfect and some will be left for dead, others will be off in front too early, hence the weekly "discussions"...
I was also convinced that the van power up gave you a draft as well, even when solo.
@Burger that is pretty much it. I try and go very slowly but than can be quicker than I like due to the draft effect of 40 plus people. Just try and get close to the yellow banner thing over my head and when I say go pedal like mad. I try to get everyone into a radius around me before I say go go go. Sometimes someone will be off the back - I try to let them re-join but I would say when I have about 95% into the blob I will say go.
I need to find some energy/inspiration for tonight. I also need to put a bit of time into people as I bumped my FTP after last week!
Cheers gents. I'll start polishing my excuses right away.
Van draft I think gives a boost in the draft to the level you get in a double draft race (though what it gives in a DD race I have no idea). Only the aero gives you a boost out of anyone's draft. The draft boost is useful in a sprint to stay on a wheel while conserving enough energy to boost past. You see so many people wasting the van draft when off the front :|.
ooh..here's a thought Robbo... Can you make a fence/elastic band for the session.. have it on at the start so we all get rolling and stay close, then you can loose the fence/band on the 'go go go'..
Of course, I've no actual idea if this is how the fence works, or is possible to do...!!!
DrP
I think the fence is only for "official" zwift events...no?
The rubber band is only cancelled if you quit the meetup, which will also be a problem, I'm not sure you have the ability to just switch it on and off.
Here is is from Zwift insider...
Draft Boost (van): increases the draft effect you are experiencing by 50% for 30 seconds. In a double draft event, this powerup will give you 3x the standard draft effect.
Use at higher speeds (flats and descents) when you are already drafting off another rider (since this powerup only helps when you are drafting.)
Well every day is a school day and I've been using it wrong all this time...
Nice!