Apart from the brave MTB choice by @retrorick, everyone else seemed to be on their regular road bikes.
@robbo1234biking had previously ridden the course and advised that road bikes looked the best bet.
It was great to see retro’s moment of glory as he disappeared off the front for the first few minutes of dirt.
I think we swamped him as we hit the first sprint.
I dont think any of the Yumezi routes justify anything other than a road bike to be honest. The losses on the road sections are too great to justify the gains and the gravel sections arent long enough to negate a bike change.
It was funny and i still laugh when thinking about it now 😃. I must remember to put it in my memoir and tell the story at the after dinner sporting events when I’ve retired from bike racing 😉.
Well if you also do the rest of the races on an MTB you'll get my vote for ‘Rider’s Rider of the Series’ 🙂
Yep, gravel bike here. And I can safely say everyone left me on the initial road section, not like that wouldn’t have happened anyway!
@robbo1234biking the custom country side tour used in ZRL yesterday definitely favoured gravel. With 2.6 laps and a finish at the top of the gravel climb the road bike was only good for the first sprint. Lap 2 I took 50s out of a gravel bike (30 catch and 20 ahead) on the road only for them to sale past with ease on the first third of the climb.
Looks like I should be able to come play next week.
So here is the link to the handicaps for Tuesday nights race. This weeks race is a little longer and a custom distance so the finish line will be somewhere around the KOM the second time we go over it.
Before Robbo frightens everyone off, the finish should be somewhere towards the start of the the reverse KOM, early in lap 2. So we won't be climbing twice. Near the bridge I think (but no-one knows precisely where the magic blue curtain will ever materialise, so no promises)
Yep been out mtb biking way to much as its dusty in the Surrey Hills! Should be back in the mix Tuesday
Looks like my bike choice will be important for this race 😅
Flat & Fast.....gonna be a world of pain for me!!
Hmm flat. Anything dare a TT bike (are we allowed)?
TT bike crossed my mind also. 🤔
You can choose whatever you like. But with a TT bike people can still draft of your can’t they? It’s just you that doesn’t get a draft advantage
A TT bike, so other riders can draft you at even higher speeds but you can’t draft them?
Seems like there could be a flaw it that approach?
Late shift at work for me on Tuesday so I can't take part. Will be catching up with the post ride reports though! 😜
It’s just you that doesn’t get a draft advantage
A TT bike, so other riders can draft you at even higher speeds but you can’t draft them?
Yeap those are the ones. The correct question is what you do get instead....
TT bike crossed my mind also. 🤔
They can't draft you if they can't catch you.
The MTB is prob the most sensible choice for this route. I think there is about 5% on gravel so it should work wonders...
Now that would be madness.
Just be aware that if you haven't logged into Zwift for a few days there's the new update for Neokyo and a patch to install. Really like the changes they've made to the group dynamics and the name boards at the bottom of the screen, much smoother and slicker. Neokyo is one giant retina burner, with lots of little hidden gems everywhere. Not much in the way of hills but lots of small undulations everywhere that should be good for you lot at the front to attack each other if robbo includes it in the next series. Learning the terrain will be very beneficial for some!
Not looking forward to tomorrow, been down wit the lurgy since the weekend, hopefully I'll snap out of it for tomorrow, otherwise I may be at the back ☹️
Just be aware that if you haven’t logged into Zwift for a few days there’s the new update for Neokyo and a patch to install.
Do they roll these things out in stages? I was expecting to have to update this evening but I didn't get a prompt.
@richardkennerley - what platform are you using Zwift on? Android?
If so, I had to go into the Play Store app settings on my tablet and delete the data & cache for it to realise there was an update.
As soon as I did that it realised there was an update.
I've got the companion app on Android, the main app on Apple TV. I'll mess with it tomorrow, maybe delete and reinstall it.
On ATV go to the App Store -> Purchases (even though its free) or Installed, find Zwift and hit Update.
If there is no Update check the version number (1.19 I think) it might have auto-done it.
If that doesn't work then yes, delete and re-install, make sure you know your zwift account details.....
I will be streaming tonight;
I've just had a hearty burger and scotch egg for my lunch. Hopefully this will see me through until the race.
Not decided on my bike choice yet. I have looked at the course profile and the TT bike option is looking favourite.
I don't think I have the power to hang on to the faster riders in front of me and my close rivals that I'd usually finish near now have a handicap advantage.
So a solo focused effort might be needed in the virtual wilderness. 🤔
I was stuck on the Tron option retrorick, but now you have got me thinking on the TT!
If last week was anything to go by, I will be at the back on my own. 🤷🏽♂️
i preferred it when we all had to ride mountain bikes.... didnt need to worry about bike choice then! 😀
TT bike would be quite risky I reckon unless you are frequently on your own.
retrorick - aren't you normally in a group? I think we end up in a similar group on the hillier courses, but on the flat you are in the next group up the road.
If I remember I might change to the Tron bike, although the one I've been using for the last few races also seems pretty good (can't remember what it is - Scott something).
retrorick – aren’t you normally in a group?
I would normally aim for the group you are in Stumpy01 but tonight I need to be ahead of you and out of sight!
I was lucky on the 2 part race to stay in the group ahead on the first race and in the bunch on the second as the course was short.
The length of this course is worrying me a little. If I average around 250w for the whole course I'd be happy/surprised 🤔.
I'm not in the Tron club yet, so I'll be on my slipperiest bike and slipperiest wheels, but not the TT, I need a draft 🙂
As I'm not in any of the league runnings I'm thinking of TT as first to the end is the only target. The question is can I escape far enough (or at all) on the flat to compensate for how bad TT bikes climb Vs road. It's a choice of big TT effort or a lazy hide in the draft.
"If last week was anything to go by, I will be at the back on my own. 🤷🏽♂️"
I'm riding tonight so either you'll have company or you'll be ahead of me!
You guys looked like you were having fun.
Getting pissed off with this new setup now, there was no resistance at all so i was spinning out at 120 RPM to knock out the 280w needed to hold the back of the group. Nae chance of keeping that up.
Think I've sorted it now (bloody garmin watch was pairing to the controlable bit of the trainer over ant+ and over riding the bluetooth from the tablet)
Just as well really - still buggered from Saturday! Oh well, there's always next week
Hard fun. Legs are cooked now.
Oof, that one hurt!
Managed to stay with the main group for about 30 seconds (not the leaders) then I dropped back to a small group with blobonastick and settled in to try and at least keep up a sustained effort for the duration. Managed to until we popped out from the volcano the second time then my left leg started to cramp up so backed off and cruised to the finish. A massive improvement for me and I got a rewards with a FTP increase to 207w! That's a 5% increase since the beginning which I'm really pleased with.
Have to give a shout out to @giggsmaster though, brilliant solo effort holding us out at 40 secs for a while and then extending it to just under a minute. No way could I have lived with that!
Now time to rest for the next one.
Crikey, nearly saw my chicken tikka massala again after that one as I sort of flopped off the bikes onto the garage floor.
Interesting that the big group seemed to stick together longer than normal at the start...?
Big thumbs up to B Roberts and N Daniel ( @reluctantjumper, is this you?) that's the longest I've rode in a group and it worked well. From about 5k to go it felt like a sprint was coming, Mr Roberts went early but I went for broke and caught you - absolute dead heat as we hit the line and I was at about 600 Watts mainly adrenaline powered. Brilliant racing, well done.
And yes respect to Giggsmaster we thought we'd catch you but you pulled away, solid solo ride that!
A photo finish after an hour is going some!
Thanks for everyone for taking part in the series!
The results are provisional in case I have made any mistakes. Please let me know.
Race 4 - Magnificent 8
Overall Race Winner
1. savoyad
2. nixie
3. benman
Overall Race Winner (with handicaps)
1. Paul-S
2. bails
3. benman
Sprint Points (Fuego Flats)
1. Paino
2. Savoyad
3. Phil56
4. JR
5. mahowlett
KOM Points (Watopia KOM Reverse)
1. benman
2. savoyad
3. paino
4. nixie
5. JR
Green Jersey Standings
1. paino
2. savoyad
3. straighliner
KOM Standings
1. benman
2. savoyad
3. paino
Series Top 3 (including sprint/fastest lap points) Best 6 race points counts
1. Paul-S
2. J-R
3. mahowlett
Racers Racer Poll
Ok here are the 4 nominations for racers racer
1. Savoyad - lighting up the front of the race with multiple attacks and keeping everyone on their toes
2. retrorick - For attempting to win on a MTB and looking inspired as he opened a 10 second gap
3. stumpy01 - FOr general good nature in spite of adversity
4. reluctantjumper - for shear bloody determination and always putting it on the table despite having to ride on your own at times
Hopefully the poll below will work and the voting is open!
https://doodle.com/poll/7w7nn4t8ic9s7isr?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
I've fully recovered from the race, I'll probably have to contend with a sore arse on the commute tomorrow morning tho 🤔.
How did the race go for me?
Well I was slightly worried before the start, I wasn't feeling as if I could go the distance.
The bunch at the start went well for me I managed to hover near the middle/front of the pack for the first few km.
When the climb began and the group split I lost track of Stumpy01 and thought he might of latched on the lead group?
I managed to remain in the next big group including Jim double u, M.Pewsey, M Bailey, J Sartin, S Patton, Andeh, A Atkinson and Paul. (I took a photo to remember everyone's name).
Through the desert we went from being 35 seconds down on Robbo to bring nearly 2 minutes down prior to Robbo giving up near the end.
Whilst in the desert I noticed that Stumpy01 was behind by over 1.30 Which surprised me a little.
I probably could of finished stronger at the end but couldn't remember the course.
Roll on TT Thursday 🤣
Well done all that was tought tonight. The normal fast start and a decent group. Its a bit blurry as to when it wittled down. I had to go all out on the climb to remain in the group but managed to get over the top on a group of 5 or 6. Tried to real in Nixie and Savoyad as part of the group but it wasnt happening. Then nixie dropped adam who dropped back to the group.
I was afraid of getting dropped coming out of the desert on the hill as I easily had the worst power to weight ratio of the group so powered up and stayed with the group. When it broke again in the volcano I tried to bridge to the fast boys almost made it and dragged everyone across but blew up. I went all out tonight - got some new power best and actually felt pretty comfortable for about 40 mins or so. It was only the final bridge that did me in. Was struggling a bit with cramp in my hip.
Still 12 mins at 340w and intervals has me with a new ftp at 308w. Onwards and upwards. Next week we visit the New York and the first time a STW series has gone up the NY KOM on the glass roads. With the hills the next two races arent really suited to me but will give it all for a strong finish to the series.
Cheers Robbo have I gone mad but is the link the wrong results ?
Cheers @snotrag @reluctantjumper. For some reason it felt good today, maybe not being at work helped out.
Keeping up with the (steady??) lead group at the beginning and pulling out some time on you guys gave me a chance.
Also, @stumpy01 sending out some good vibes with all the encouragement in the middle of the race, I needed that, nearly gave up!
All I can say, Spaghetti Bol, food of champions! 😂
Although, it has given me a FTP increase from 183 to 188 now. Thanks @robbo1234biking
Yep wrong results link - sorry!
Here is the right one!
