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@J-R
Oof, that was tough. After loosing the front 3 up the hill I managed to settle down with @vanilla83 for a long slog, until he slowly edged ahead and it was all I could do to stop him finally taking a well deserved 20 seconds off me.
That was super tough. Looks like Dr P's training plan is actually doing something though!
Thanks to everyone for the races and big thanks as always to @robbo1234biking for doing everything
Ouchie.
Ground my way up using my unique positive splits technique, and got pipped on the line by a nicely timed Zilog.
Max bpm 177, is that bad for a 57 year old, 'cos it feels pretty toasty.
Thanks @robbo1234biking again - now to lose some kg's before the start of the next one.
Thanks for everyone for taking part in the series! Hope you all enjoyed it.
The results are provisional in case I have made any mistakes. Please let me know.
Race 6 - La Reine
Overall Race Winner
1. Savoyad
2. DrP
3. Phil56
Overall Race Winner (with handicaps)
1. bails
2. Freeridenick
3. msjhes2
Ballon Sprint
1. Straightliner
2. Zilog6128
3. Sturdylad
4. savoyad
5. robbo1234biking
Yorkshire KOM Forward
1. savoyad
2. DrP
3. Phil56
4. J-R
5. vanilla83
Final Green Jersey Standings
1. paino
2. savoyad
3. slowpuncheur
Final KOM Standings
1. savoyad
2. Donnersrider
3. DrP
Final Series Top 3 (including sprint/fastest lap points) Best 5 race points counts (due to first race not happening
1. Paul-S
2. msjhes2
3. J-R
Final Combined Sprint and KOM Points Total
1. savoyad
2. paino
3. donnersrider
I will be in touch with the winners about prizes! (@Paul-S, @savoyad)
There is a 3rd prize. Last time round we had riders rider of the series. I forgot to put a poll together for this series but along with reluctantjumper, @woodadam has ridden the majority of the series near the back of the field but has made improvements and completed every race and for this reason I have voted him as Commissaire's Rider of the Series. Well done all.
I have set up a GoFundMe for people who have enjoyed the series. This time around we are raising money for Diabetes UK. Slowpuncheur has been a regular in this race series from the start. On Fathers Day last year he ended up taking his son to hospital as he wasn't feeling well. Many hours later they were delivered the news that his son is Type 1 diabetic. His son has adjusted well to the changes in life and continues to do everything he wants to. Diabetes UK helps his son and others like him through investment in Diabetes research and support for other Diabetes sufferers. I know there are also others on the forum who have diabetes or close family members with diabetes.
Please dontate if you are able to and would like to show your appreciation for the series.
Looking at ZP, Zilog beat me by 10 secs, but it looked like about 2 secs at the time.
Something odd happened at the end, I passed the end marker, through the blue barrier, meter countdown was 0, and it then re-appeared a few meters in front, and then did it again - that perhaps was 10 secs.
Wierd.
I kinda enjoyed that. I think I feel better at grinding against a gradient than spinning on the flat.
Not that it's easy though! I had a feather which I used to keep up with c.charles towards the end, but then had nothing left right at the end and got pipped to the line right in the last few seconds!
Cheers Robbo for all your hard work in organising and roll on the spring series.
That was fun!
I’ve only ridden a couple of times with you all but wanted to say thanks for being so freindly and competitive, just what Tuesday nights are for! @robbo1234biking thank for helping me join up and explaining everything.
MTB season not too far away.
The start was a bit punchier than I'd hoped for but managed to stay with the front runners well enough until the start of the climb, not surprisingly I then watched most of them disappear at right about the same rate the gradient increased.
Held the second group until about half way I think but dropped my chain shifting rings a few times, nothing bad and managed to bring it back on with an upshift every time but it was enough to see my power drop to zero for a second or two and need a real push to get back. Just couldn't find the legs for it the third time.
Then it was just a case of head down and try and hold a decent pace up the hill.
Pleased to see a few familiar names still on the road behind me but think all my targets in the handicap were in front.
Another great series robbo!
2nd on the sprint! Pleased with that!! Wish I’d kept the Tron bike now rather than switching in out for a climber! 😀 of course, it did ruin me so dropped off the back and spent most of the climb recovering 😂 Did recover eventually and managed to finish strongly, just pipping Haloric (definitely nearer 2s than 10!)
Something odd happened at the end, I passed the end marker, through the blue barrier, meter countdown was 0, and it then re-appeared a few meters in front,
I had something similar. Absolutely emptied the tank to get past John B, went through the finish gate and stopped pedaling, only to see I had 15m left!
Thanks once again Robbo, I'll sort out a donation shortly.
Those technical problems in races 2b (10 points when I could have won) and 3 (0 points) have come back to bite me given the overall scores. But I was pleased with today's performance, and it finally got me an FTP increase to 230.
@haloric - my banner did the same.
@robbo1234biking - thanks for another well organised race series! I really need to lose a few kgs before the next one, but I do like cake sooooo much!!
Race was a bit rubbish for me. I had a very late dinner for some reason. I've been tired all day and even when warming up I felt that I was missing the top few % of energy.
I went up the hill a decent way with freeride Nick but got the impression from the numbers that he was taking it steady while I was feeling there wasn't much more to give. Then with about 2.5km to go he just went. Absolutely left me for dead and made several places. It was an awesome effort!
I kept pushing for the line but had to tell myself it was the last race and would be over soon. It was a bloody tough effort!!
Thank you all for me getting up and moving for the first time in years.
And many thanks @robbo1234biking for organising, and the nod of Commissaire.
Tuesday evenings are going to be a bit disappointing for a while without the view of you all far off in the distance providing motivation.
This last race was looking hopeful until the climb, gravity, and those 6 pre-race pints we had to drink more than caught up with me.
Thanks for all the company at the tail @reluctantjumper! I thought I might hold out this time, but you just kept coming.
I look forward to next time 🙂
Great course design @robbo1234biking, perfectly judged finale to a great series.
On the start line I was totally focussed on points, particularly the KOM. Rationally I knew @paino and @donnersrider were absent, but psychologically I couldn't risk not racing for the points. I enjoyed the big group rolling along together through the intestines.
Then @robbo1234biking and his 46 chainring went charging off the front at the sprint, and the race was suddenly on. @drp, @phil56 and @j-r (or his friend) went a bit faster up the petit kom than I expected - not as fast as when it's the main event, but faster (I think) than if it wasn't artificially a little climb built into the the big one. I went over the "top" (well, through the banner) with @drp and he made the race very hard from there to the top.
He never really let up, and had a gap a couple of times (I used one of them to get rid of a burrito) but we stayed together for most of the way. I was struggling though (looking back I was v close to my all time 20 min power best), so my only hope was if he was too. I upped the pace a little with 1km to go - there was a bend which looked steep so seemed like a nice place to try something - and got a little gap which I managed to hold long enough to seal it. There was no sprint though, just knackered people gratefully finding the end in slow motion!
The finish line jumped towards me, and then jumped away again as I thought I would cross it (like @haloric and @bails I think) but I didn't care by then!
Great racing, so much going on in these races. Massive congrats to @Paul-S @msjhes2 @J-R the handicap standings are so hard to do well in.
Ooh I do love it when it points upwards, very happy with the 4th after the handicap. Another FTP increase from 200 to 204, not much of a jump but getting close to where I was a year or so ago.
Felt great to be at the front of the group for so long, though I knew it wouldn’t last, as everyone else were in the comfort zone while I were pumping above my FTP!
In the last few km or so, I could feel @feed slowly catching. Getting into the last km, a little cramp set in. It wasn’t too bad when standing on the pedals and with a few choice words of encouragement from my coach @stumpy01 😂, I managed to hold him off.
Another great series @robbo1234biking, I’ll echo everyone’s thoughts and say a big thanks for sorting it all out.
In the last few km or so, I could feel @feed slowly catching. Getting into the last km, a little cramp set in. It wasn’t too bad when standing on the pedals and with a few choice words of encouragement from my coach @stumpy01 , I managed to hold him off.
Good one Giggs, I was never going to catch you, cramp or no cramp 🙂
Enjoyed that, was a solo effort from the start as I just didn't have the legs to stick with the main group from the off. Decided I'd take it "relatively" easy and keep on going at the end to do the full route. Did the full route and then decided to keep going to the summit but if I'd realised how much further it was I'd probably have knocked it on the head. 1,600 mtrs climbing total, legs are feeling cooked but good 🙂
Thanks for organising another great series @Robbo
Thanks everyone for the kind comments and the donations.
I had a plan that went a bit wrong last night. I am rubbish at sprints so I decided to start with an aero bike and go for the sprint. I dont know that sprint very well so I went a bit early and ended up acting as a lead out man but still managed to get 5th place so not too bad.
My plan then was to swap bikes for a climbing bike and attack the timed KOM segment and try and pick up some more points then. Excpet I stopped to change bikes after the timed segment started, fluffed the bike change and lost about 40 seconds to the group I was with. I still managed to get my second best time up there missing my fastest time by about 20 seconds so I would have got a decent time (for me).
I then carried out and caught a few people but our shop was delivered late. I have found that if I eat something decent about 5pm then that seems to work for me but it wasnt to be last night so I went into it fairly empty. I then just ran out of steam about 30 mins in and didnt start to feel better again until 40 mins when I started to make up some time on the group ahead. THe group was between 100 and 200m ahead of me most of the climb but it was showing a 20-40 second gap most of the time!
Oh well - it was fun to try something different. First time we have really gone properly uphill in the series with sustained slopes and the 13% gradients didn't really suit me.
Spring Series will commence on the 8th March. I will start a new thread soon with sign up details.
I was amazed when you came up behind me Robbo! and then even more amazed when I caught you up again!
And yes stumpy, I used you as a paceman at the bottom of the climb, then thought sod it as was feeling good and just went for it!
Climbing suits me
Once again things didn't go according to plan!
After a day of feeling absolutely dreadful, tired with zero enthusiasm or energy, I planned on turning up for the start and most likely being dropped within minutes.
It would appear that exercise really is a great pick me up, felt more awake after 10 mins warming up than I had all day.
Stayed in the lead bunch until the start of the main climb and as soon as I was dropped I settled in with a group who were riding at a good pace and slowly catching anyone dropping from the lead group.
After a bit of a solo to catch and pass the rider (sorry, forgotten names already!) in 6th place I thought I had the gap covered all the way to the line.
With about 40-50mtrs to go and a 2 second gap I lifted off the gas a touch and got mugged!
Still great fun as always and again no tech issues, they only seem to appear on TT Thursday!
I look forward to the spring series and hopefully getting better at remembering who I'm riding with!!
Cheers all! JB
Thanks again Robbo. Not a great series for me as I seem to have been fighting a cold/lurgy for a number of weeks, but sort of enjoyed last night. Okay, lugging my delicate weight up a big hill isn't ideal but it's a continuous effort which I like and as someone points out above, having something to push against makes it feel a bit better.
@RichardKennerley and @ChrisCharles, there seemed to be plenty of ebb and flow in those last few kms, and the couple ahead and small group behind also seemed to stay relatively constant so plenty of work was put in.
Thanks to everyone who's entered any of the races for making the hard work fun.
Don't forget - you are all welcome to join the (mixed category) STW TTT team on Thursday evenings.
Full info (and questions usually answered quickly) here: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-team-time-trial-thursday-evenings/
I have made a mistake on the results. For some reason the sprint results didnt include the last race - I have corrected this on the spreadsheet and the actual top 3 was:
Green Jersey
1. Paino
2. Savoyad
3. Straightliner
Apologies for that.
There is a 3rd prize. Last time round we had riders rider of the series. I forgot to put a poll together for this series but along with reluctantjumper, @woodadam has ridden the majority of the series near the back of the field but has made improvements and completed every race and for this reason I have voted him as Commissaire’s Rider of the Series.
I did wonder if that was running again. He's @woodiwoodwood, hopefully that mean he sees it.
Cheers @reluctantjumper I have messaged him - sometimes peoples names on the message system dont match the forum name. Another STW peculiarity I guess
Paul-s has sportingly allowed mjhes2 to have his prize as Paul won the last series. Thanks for the Sportsmanship Paul and congrats Mark!
cheers for another great series all. Always good, solid type 2 fun!
Biggup Robbo for organising!
Well it would be embarrising to have 3 at the end of the next Spring Race Serires :-).
#Gauntlet_Thrown
P.
I'm racing at 11:40 in the dirt doozy if anyone fancies a hard one. Should be flat out.
If anyone would like to take part in a rearranged race 1 then the link to join is below. There won’t be any points or handicaps but might help to get your Tuesday fix!
https://www.zwift.com/events/view/2799789
I'm up for it, not done that route before so another badge to tick off!
I'm in.
I like the Beach Island Loop.
Nice one, Rob. Zwift sorted you our with a link then, rather than having to do the old 'Go Go Go' group ride format?
Nice one. I'm in as well
If it is a standard course then I can raise events through the clubs feature.
@haloric Thank you Ant! Hope the cramp is OK.
I would have totally died without you donning a rabbit suit.
Cramp was just a big twinge, but could not have come at a better moment, as I was just about half dead. Nice to ride in with you.
Cheers everyone. Was fun tonight I think. Good race @phil56 @yanboss and @slowpuncheur
🙂
Likewise Ant
Cheers guys that was fun tonight and a nice course.
Yep. Cheers all! Pewsey & I rode round together, until that steady climb on the second lap where he showed me a clean pair of heels.
Was hard work tonight - a good bit of exercise!
yup, cheers for last night chaps.
Was a good ride stumpy, i wasnt sure if my breakaway would stick, but i managed to keep the pace up and maintain the gap! Before that tho you werent taking it easy, felt pretty hard work!
See y'all in two weeks!
That was good fun. Then it wasn't. Whilst the field was reduced, it was just as competitive. A spirited start by @Stumpy01 as usual and an early bid for freedom by @v7fmp saw us eventually settle to a break of four: Me, @Phil56, @yanboss and @robbo1234biking. A cagey lap followed with a couple of half-hearted attempts to break away. Following one of these Phil took off and that was me and Ian done for. Phil looked to have gapped us all until Rob took off in hot pursuit. So that was the last we saw of them which is a shame, as I'd have liked a ringside seat for the run in. As it was, I dropped Ian in the Italian Villas which I was partly really pleased about and partly regretting as it led to a 6km death march on my own at FTP, sat in no-mans land. The last KM was mainly about watching Phil and Rob exchange stupidly high power surges (and Keith and Matt flirting which each other;). Congrats @robbo1234biking on a solid and overdue win!
i was in a similar boat, 6km solo of trying to keep around 270ish watts. Was a mental battle as well as physical one!
Hence the flirting to take the edge off 😛