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Thanks Robbo and everyone for another fun series. Another start where I failed to hang on to a group so time trialled from 3km with a brief rest behind D Fee just after the avalanche tunnel.
I really need to sort my starts out!
That break on the rollers caught me out big style. Managed to work 2-up with Daz Hall, but by the time we got the climb I was 20 secs back on Paino and Nixie. Took me ages to reel you back in. New FTP after that climb!!
Is there still a Robbo-nominated charity we can donate to as a wee sign of appreciation?
Own up. Who else collapsed on their bars just through the blue and white arch and realised the blue banner was another few hundred metres further on. Cost me about 5-6 seconds and a race to the line with @andeh. Some good rides from @V7mfp, @feed and @funkybaj. Well done to all who took part and thanks again to @Robbo1235biking - just go easy on the handicaps next time;)
I got a new FTP, but it was -9w from before😭
I didn’t fall for the blue arch, but was desperately hoping chips would! He didn’t.
Managed to work 2-up with Daz Hall
I think that's a bit generous, I can only remember doing one turn in front, and then you rode away when it went uphill 🙂
Robbo
i lost WiFi but did finish time of 50;25 very lonely ride lost tracker mini map and companion app just me all the way.
neil
@jamesoz I think that was me you passed - just couldn't hold on - for a first race, I finished and not last so I will happily take that - and a PB up the Epic KOM (but not like Daz's 8 mins!)
Own up. Who else collapsed on their bars just through the blue and white arch and realised the blue banner was another few hundred metres further on.
Yep!
I was going full gas to try and catch Andy and Simon just in front. I wouldn’t have made it anyhow mind.
how do you get a new FTP ?
Robbo - THANKS man, really enjoyed those races. Much more entertaining when you sort of know who you're riding with and being battered by
Thanks to whoever a STW reached out round to zwift to get us a proper pen, too. Magic
Thanks for that, I think 😊
I thought I was a goner after about a minute as the peloton elastic snapped, but got in with a good crew until the bottom of the big hill. I’d never done it before so had the advantage of not knowing where the top was... cheers all!
Gnnhr
@benman was that you that took the win? Nice catch and pull away.
Bit of a car crash for me. Two attempts at escaping on the climbs, one on titans and the other up to the bridge. Got the gap both times only for body to say no and I had to slow and wait for @phil56 and @paino to catch.
After the second my breathing was so screwed I thought they would blow right past on the big bridge. Somehow got it under control enough to hang on. I then shamelessly wheel sucked to the top and popped past @paino after he had done most of the work.
Not great again. Going to take some time off racing now till I'm properly well again ☹️.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the series. This has made the event what it is, by people taking part, getting involved and generally enjoying themselves.
A few stats for you:
Average race attendance (not including those who had to drop out): 40
Total time spent racing in the series: 200 hours 57 mins 57 seconds
Meters Climbed: 78,743m
Distance travelled: 7293km
Enough of me talking crap here is what you really want: the results from the final race of the series. These are provisional in case I have made a mistake!
Firstly, the results of the various categories from tonights race:
Cat A:
1. benman
2. nixie
3. Phil56
Cat B:
1. paino
2. Kirky72
3. Savoyad
Cat C:
1. v7mfp
2. Robbo1234biking
3. jamesoz
Cat D:
1. jimdoubleyou
2. Lewisdeacon
3. whirld
Now the race results for the final positions with handicaps applied:
1. V7mfp
2. Kirky72
3. Paino
The series sprint results were:
1. Paino
2. Garry Lager
3. Nixie
And finally the moment you have all been waiting for, the top 3 from the series based on points scored (best 5 scores count, scores that don’t count are in red on the spreadsheet):
1. Paino (224)
2. V7mfp (223)
3. Kirky72 (221)
That was close at the top but Paino sprint points have helped him take the title!
The GC win goes to nixie!
Full results here:
STW RACE SERIES 2 - Google Sheets
I hope that you have enjoyed the series!
If you are missing the Tuesday meet ups then join us on the TTT here:
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-team-time-trial-thursday/page/10/#post-11414396
Or for more social rides then see this thread. There are Sunday Hills, weekday virtual commutes or stupid long Uber and mega Pretzel attempts.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-meetups-and-social-rides/page/74/
For more general racing see this thread:
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-my-journey-my-weight-and-my-fitness/page/377/
The next series will start on the 5th Jan (I am expecting a few weight changes!) and the courses have already been decided! These will be official zwift races so we retain the starts.
@funkybaj noticed you getting closer from half way up the climb, had to dig deep to put a little dig in every time the gap came down to single figures.
Was solo for most of the climb, Andy King overtook me near the village, managed to claw back to him at the end only to lose out in the ‘sprint’
Great series, thanks again Robbo, Roll on January.
Who else collapsed on their bars just through the blue and white arch and realised the blue banner was another few hundred metres further on. Cost me about 5-6 seconds and a race to the line with @andeh.
Pahaha, I suspected that happened. I saw the banner but noticed there was still 200m on the clock and died a little inside.
That was unpleasant. I was convinced Chips was on an ebike as he stormed past me at the bottom of the climb at 4.5w/kg.
As always Robbo, thanks so much man, this has been great fun. Mad props.
@neilarn2 I have added your time onto the spreadsheet - I am afraid you missed out on a point by 11 seconds after handicaps!
Another enjoyable but tough one. Had a decent Titans Grove, but once on the bridge just went backwards! Held on for all I was worth. Hopefully it was enough to stay in the top 3 overall.
But as every has said, cheers Robbo. First beer is on me!
That was an ace series Robbo, thanks. Now I can gorge on mince pies and IPA till the next series. Think I’ve been lucky this time round that the races have fallen outside of my shift pattern. No way I’ll be able to do all 6 again.
Anyway, tonight culminated in an FTP increase from 318 to 321. Fairly pleased with the performance but kind of gutted I didn’t do better at the same time. Plan was to get past the rollers first and foremost then take the climb at minimum of 300W. @Nixie set his stall out when he gunned it up the first ramp at the very start of the KOM, I had the legs to follow so decided to go for it, then settled in with a steady climb. Was pleased to see @J-R fall back, was expecting a battle royale up the climb! The next 5km saw a brilliant individual climb from @benman who must have put in a turn just to catch us. Unfortunately didn’t put quite enough time into the boys ahead of me on points but at least got a Green Jersey out of it. Well done all involved, cheers!
Edit-hold on, surely can’t be first in the handicap? Thought I needed 90 seconds over Kirky???
Unfortunately didn’t put quite enough time into the boys ahead of me on points but at least got a Green Jersey out of it.
Um Paino - you won! 3rd in the race was enough to take the series!
3rd in C? Wish I hadn't stopped for a rest now, although I didn't have much choice. Lungs said no.
Whaaaaat? You sure?
Oooft! Happy days 😁
Yes, cheers Robbo, superb organisation. Looking forward to January's events with trepidation...
Top 10 on handicap - I’m happy with that.
Can’t see me dropping 10kg before the next series so I’ll have to work on that FTP 🙂
@mossimus ha! I wound it up to over 4w/kg with about 3-4km to go, but struggled to maintain it. I had a second go at 1km left but you pair seemed to match it and stay 5-6 second ahead. Nice ride!
I’ll add the thanks to Robbo for organising. I only joined the series half way through but already looking forward to January.
Well done paino! What a finish, just a point in it.
I'm well chuffed with second. Good effort everyone!
Well done to the top 3 and especially @paino on the win. That was so close overall. Thanks to Robbo for a great series again.
Cheers R obbo thanks for organising roll on series 3, thanks Mark and Chipps for your help getting us the start pens and all official.
Cheers R obbo posted photo on my Strava feed not sure how to post on here, it’s bloody hard when you’ve got no reference points or timings
Once again thanks for organising it’s appreciated.
regards
neil
Congratulations @paino, @v7fmp and @kirky72 for well deserved podium finishes - and such close results in the points.
I found it hard going, averaging well above FTP for the first 10 mins keeping up with the fast guys over the rollers, and hoped Kirky and perhaps even Paino were suffering too. But as soon as we hit the KOM climb it became obvious they weren't and after going flat out up the first km I had to back off and soon lost touch with them. I was then pretty much a solo effort with one or two others reeling me in and passing, but as I got to the final slope I saw @trolo closing in and made a big effort to get over the line ahead of him. I though it must have been a bad day for me, but when I look at my numbers it was as hard a ride as the other races - I reckon the others are just getting better with practice.
Thanks again @robbo1234biking for organising a fantastic race, and I am probably looking forward to racing again in series 3.
@v7fmp to be honest I really thought you had it. I just wanted to give top 3 a bash. I knew it was close going into it. It was the sprint points that did it though, so thanks Robbo for changing the format!
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Some pics from todays race.
That group was doing well over the rollers...it completely split as soon as we hit the vertical though 🤣
Well done all, top 3 did great and as always Robbo, awesome event!
Cheers to Mark and Chipps for getting involved and pushing it forward with Zwift HQ. Hopefully you will join the next season
Awesome guys, well done Paino I didn’t realise you were in the Reckoning to be honest as I didn’t really study everybody’s worse race points to see what would be deducted.
Super tight finish with Matt, I was too busy keeping an eye on JR as going into this one I was concentrating on figuring out how the hell I could pull 4 or 5 points back on a lighter stronger climber on a mountain race.
I kept trying to push and prod and get Nixie or Phil to join me over the top of one of the rollers and push on and make a gap, but it didn’t really work out and I was in real danger of hitting the wall before the first Ramps up to the bridge. There was just enough distance to recover enough before the first ramps and then I was lucky that Ian caught me at the start to the long bridge so we could tow each other across.
This opened up about 10 second gap to JR on the road and I decided to go deep early to stretch the gap and demoralise him from going to deep to try and make it up. This went pretty well but I was also conscious of trying to keep within what I thought was a minute of Ian and 1.30 of Paino, which played out quite well. Was worried when at around 30 second gap JR was joined by savo and crazy Harry so fearing getting caught by this strong group I tried my best to push on. I managed to maintain the gap but was hitting max hr, and struggling to get enough air in as I hit final climb. The false finish line was harsh after the effort to reach it and I faded from there to the real finish. I doubt I lost the vital 12 seconds I’ve finished behind vmfp and really couldn’t expect much more out of my exhausted legs.
Just to make the next series harder again the savage effort earned me my biggest jump in FTP for a while from 284w to 299w.
Bad time to push for any weight loss to balance this out coming upto Xmas so guess I may have hit an all time peak and will struggle to trouble the podium next time.
Well raced everybody, it’s been a blast, and sick kind of fun.
Again big thanks for dedicating so much time and brain power to this Rob.
Any plans for Tuesday spin and sprints in the meantime?
@mossimus - that was me you were battling with to the line. I stuck to my game plan of playing to my apparent strength of strong if steady efforts on the climbs that paid off as I managed to keep reeling in folk who had dropped me on the approach. I thought I'd be on my own for the last couple of km, but you defied my best effort to lift my pace on the last incline. I almost fell foul of the false finish line and was fortunate to hang on and max out my effort and come round you to take the sprint by the finest of margins.
@robbo1234biking - brilliant concept flawlessly executed. Take a bow. Many thanks.
Thanks Rob for the series. I enjoyed the races from back of the pack!
I tried hard at the start of tonight's race to make a gap between my nearest rivals. Paired up with O.gg for a while until the start of the epic kom, got caught by K Stumpy 01 and Jim then ended up soloing up the rest of the climb between those 2.
Hopefully by the next series I'll be 15kg heavier but have the same power and then maybe I'll have a better handicap 🤔
Thks for organising Rob - really enjoyed the series. Felt decent tonight - sharp climbs decimate me in a race but I'm better on something large that needs a steadier effort. Congrats to all who made the podiums - the handicap, GC and sprints meant something to go at for everyone.
I’ll echo everyone’s comments robbo, much appreciate the time and effort to sort it all out, loved every minute!
Race was very harsh, but well worth it. Them rollers on Titans Grove were hard going. I think @Straightliner was teasing me for a couple of km on the climb, he was constantly just out of reach! 😂
Great result all! Close at the end, for the top 3 spots.
Much better race for me tonight. Was suffering over those bloody rollers, but found a rhythm up the hill and had a few targets to try and beat and some people behind that I was worried would catch me if I slowed at all. Really need to get my power up, my weight down and improve my recovery from short efforts!
Well done Robbo on a fab series (again).
@kirky72 I would have played on the rollers normally so that was a good plan.
So, I just listened to the podcast interview. For someone who has engineered so much pain and suffering for us all, Rob comes across as a very nice bloke. Don’t let the celebrity go to your head, Rob. Roll on the winter series!
some people behind that I was worried would catch me if I slowed
I had a good idea of the time I couldn't afford to lose against you Stumpy so I tried my best not to drop too far behind. I always knew that Jim was ahead on the handicap but didn't want to be caught by him either.
Thanks @robbo1234biking. The whole thing was superb. Happy to wait a few weeks for the next series though...
And congrats to the winners. It was exciting until the very end. Can't believe how close @paino @v7fmp and @kirky72 were in the final scores.
That lived up to its queen stage billing didn't it? We had the crazy start, some really aggressive racing through titans, and then it broke up on the climb and as it went on plenty of positions changed.
I had my now-customary mechanical right at the bottom of the first ramp of the climb. Chain came off which hasn't happened to me (inside or out) for years! I was lucid enough (but maybe a bit sweary) to get sorted quite fast but the group had gone and I knew I'd never see the front few again.
The adrenaline made me a bit erratic up the climb. I got back past @dazh before the bridge and eventually picked up @j-r. @crazyharry came storming through the field and I stayed with him for a bit, but I wasn't much company by that point and he eventually moved ahead. I couldn't have followed @kirky72 nor resisted the charge of @crazyharry so I ended up where I'd have been without the chain incident at the finish.
You've created a great event Rob. We're even getting zwiftpower ranking points now (@weeksy might have to explain!). See you all in the next series.
Thanks all for the kind comments - I am glad that you have all enjoyed it. I am pretty excited for the next series already!
@kirky72 if someone wants to set up some sprint and spin meetups then you are welcome!
@oblongbob - thanks for the kind words - I still find it weird, firstly, how successful the races have been and secondly, that people are interested in hearing me talk about it!