2. retrorick – For attempting to win on a MTB and looking inspired as he opened a 10 second gap
I'm sure it was 20 seconds 🤪🤣.
Don't vote for me.
But if I win I'll donate in £ the number of points I've won divided by the number of races I've entered to the nominated charity.
(I'll do that anyway even if I lose).
I can't race the last race either 😭
Cheers Robbo enjoyed tonight that’s a good course thanks to K Allen for all the encouragement.
Link for any chairty donations below:
I have set up a GoFundMe for people who have enjoyed the series. This time around we are raising money for The Firefighters Charity which provides support to Firefighters and their families during tough times. This is a cause close ot my heart as my Dad has been a Firefighter for coming up to 50 years. My Dad was ill a number of years ago when I was pretty young and the charity helped by giving us a few days away as a family after spending a lot of time in hospital. They do a lot of good work for Firefighters and families supporting them through tough times.
https://www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/
My FTP is up from 247 - 267.
Low rpm approach is paying dividends 🤔
@robbo1234biking - that link points to Autumn Series?
Edit: I see you've already fixed it 🙂
Felt like I was doing all I could to stay in the group I was in for most of the time. Had a bit of a nose with 4km to go, but nothing doing. Got smoked on the final climb.
Think I was close to an FTP effort so probably about right.
First time on a bike of any form since last Tuesday where I died a thousand deaths. I think my body is telling me to rein it in a bit. Whatever virus I caught has totally floored me, just can’t get my HR down to where it should be. Normally I’d be cruising at 135-140 bpm but I was well over 165W for the majority. Still aimed at getting sprint points (although a bit pointless as I’m away next week) so did my best to follow @Savoyad up the KOM. He got me in the end by 0.2seconds, then both of us schooled by @benman!
A decent gap opened so on the flat tested myself and quickly realised I had nothing in the tank, well, comparatively to @nixie and Adam, so slowed to meet the @Robbo1234biking & @J-R group. Probably a good decision as it gave me time to recover for the sprint, which I’ve literally no idea how I took it. After that it was hanging on as Phil decided enough was enough, ably assisted by some Robbo & Savoyad surges. Think the rest of us clung on for dear life.
Brutal race, but thanks once again Robbo for the time to organise. Vote cast for Savoyad….just a machine at the front. Strong absolutely everywhere. There’s a good haul of points up for grabs next week…I’ll be watching from sunny Cyprus. Not a turbo in sight!
@jimdubleyou there is a corrected link a few posts down. Realised to late to edit the original post!
Retrorick - when it's flat I struggle to hang onto the lead group long enough to get in one of the front groups. Just lacking the all out power & stamina to hang on!
Got in a group with NArnold and 2 others...my mind has gone blank on names though! After a couple of surges from NArnold it was just the two of us. I felt like my only chance was to try and get a break, so pushed hard on the hill out of the underwater tunnel. Got about a 7sec gap but slowly got reeled in and I was battered. Nothing to respond with on the run to the line.
My body feels wrecked now 🤣
Happy to help out Giggsmaster! That hill broke our group a bit. I suffered on my own for a lot of the Paris race and know that it starts to become a bit of mind over matter.
No ftp increase all series so far. Obviously not putting my full effort in!!
I enjoyed that. The mind games backfired at the start when I re-entered the pen on the zwift carbon instead of a TT bike. Needed a very quick switch back to the more sensible choice of the Tron.
The game plan was attack lots. Attack recover, attack again. Seemed to be causing a bit of chaos early on as the pack fractured in into the volcano and up towards the Italian villa. As expected it all got stretched on the KOM and I nearly lost paino and Savoyd as they sprinted towards the top. Needed a half sprint and tuck on the way down to get back. 3 became 2 into the desert when paino dropped back for some reason. Savoyd did not seem keen on pulling which was a worry as Rob was rallying the chase group. As the sprint came up it became obvious why Savoyd was freeloading as he speed off toward the banner. The effort seemed to take a fair bit out of his legs and a few tickles later I had gapped him through the waterfalls. 15k left at that point and I tried to settle into a 4.5wpkg TT. The gap got up to 36s as Savoyd fell back to the chasing group and I was starting to believe I might make it. The end of the desert dispelled that feeling as the gap started to disappear on the downs to the under water tunnel and by the start finish line I was caught.
Plan now shifted to recovery and attack towards the villas. Phil seemed to have the same idea and I had to match earlier than I wanted to go. 3 of us of us made it to the top ahead and the now recovered Savoyd made a break for the line.
All in all a very enjoyable race. It was good to be back.
What a fantastic team effort. Great riding with you guys!
Pipped on the line by Snotrag after I thought I’d got away with an attack about 600 meters out. Huge power output from you there - by the time I noticed I had so little left I couldn’t hold on.
Fab fun - thanks all!
BOAS (Ben)
Been thinking about tonight's race and all in all well pleased.
Stayed with the big front group at the start, but saw everyone using their power ups and panicked so didn't have my feather for the KOM.
I'd not managed to recce the route but knew I needed to be right near the front going up the KOM to be able to stay with the fast guys, but it was not to be. I was gapped so ended up pushing as hard as I could hoping for points, but you get nothing for 10th.
I eased up over the top and waited for the 2nd group on the road, which was 10 to 18th ( good idea about the screen shot I'm rubbish at remembering names) and this is where the race completely changed for me. It felt too slow [1], but fast enough that I couldn't get away, so just a case of wheel sucking as much as I could, and watching for an attack.
I tried a test attack @ 7km to go but everyone came with me, but fortunately I didn't go too far into the red.
Sprinted to 15th with only a couple of seconds between the group. After trying hard last week when we ended up being separated by about 1 second as long as I was with the group I would have been happy.
Looking at zwiftpower, it has me down @ 200w, so I always feel like I've done well looking at other people's power outputs on the results.
Mentally the pleased bit comes from thinking about the 1st STW race, which wasn't that long ago, where I was blown out the back within 10 secs of the start, and now I'm getting in with the fast group @ the split when the hammer was put down, even if it was only for 10 seconds. It's something to work with 😉
Anyway cheers again all, thanks again @robbo1234biking, and well done @sayoyad for another win.
Sorry for the rambling nature
[1] That sounds wrong but I don't know how else to put it
Edit: rewarded with an FTP increase 219 -> 225, starting to get back to where I was last year
Also, according to Strava I've done the route 2 minutes quicker, so must try harder next race.
P
@snotrag - yes, that's me. I'd have been a good minute slower if we all hadn't worked together so well, just annoyed my legs gave up just before the finish sprint.
My legs are a bit sore this morning, where do I claim for replacements under warranty?
I enjoyed last night. Seemed to have a good mix of terrain. I hung around the 10-15th positions for the entire race with familiar faces.
I had a good final sprint to the line and finished 12th on the road.
@robbo1234biking i seem to not be showing in the GC w Handicap results?
That was my favourite race yet I think. There was a lot happening - the race was all over the road, big swings in people's fortunes, amazing individual rides. I enjoyed being in amongst that.
I started the KOM at the back of the group and gauged myself against @paino (and felt no guilt about that 0.1s gap haha) but I didn't realise @benman had started so far back. He must have rampaged through the field to bridge groups, class ride.
I had to focus on the sprint once @paino had dropped back, but (sorry @nixie) I misjudged how soon it was so I sat in for too long. Then I put myself in a deep hole going too hard too long at the sprint, @nixie pushed just too hard for me to hang on after and @paino beat my time anyway. Aargh.
The gap was 32s when I rejoined the chase group, and with @nixie motoring along the catch seemed unlikely. Once recovered a bit, I tried to pull as hard as I could, and @phil56, @karnali and @robbo1234biking were very active on the front as well. The group was big enough to move quickly, we rolled along nicely and the gap came down fast in the tunnel. Amazing effort from @nixie to ride solo like that for so long though. He'd have made it with the standard 1-lap finish line.
The finale was aggressive - @phil56 doesn't let anyone let up and will punish you if you do, @benman wanted to go quite long, @nixie was never getting dropped. And we didn't really know where the line would be drawn...
Amazing rides (amongst others) from @benman, @paino, @nixie, @paul-s and @robbo1234biking. The top three is looking tight overall as well. Can't wait until next week.
Racers Racer Poll
Voted. Not for myself tho 😉
Good race, earned enough drops for my 1st bike upgrade, went for the zwift areo. I expect I'll be right at the front in the next race 🤔
As usual I found myself clinging onto the front group, with a few of the fast boys like @phil56 and @nixie eventually getting a gap on us. After that it was just about holding on for dear life, especially up some of the bumps. Later on I was feeling quite pleased to be in a group that was reeling in the likes of @paino and @savoyad.
A bit surprised when after seeming so comfortable putting a lot of effort into the group, @robbo1234biking dropped off the back near the end. But I was soon feeling it myself too with that final little climb to the finish leaving nothing in my legs so ended up at the back of the sprint as @Paino, @karnali and @Mahowlett accelerated away.
I am always impressed about how economical a rider @mahowlett is - although Zwiftpower shows I put out higher W/kg and average W, he just seems to make more effective use of the power he produces. I guess I just need to get better about tactics and riding smoothly in a pack.
I have missed all these but I am kinda interested if you guys do it again.
Some questions though:
I use Zwift with a 12 speed mountain bike, how much will that hold me back? Is it even worth trying to race with this set up?
My FTP is low compared to you lot, 187 when I tested a few days, does that mean I am going to get toasted by you all?
I use Zwift with a 12 speed mountain bike
I only use 3 or 4 gears out of an available 10 when racing. The smart trainer does the gradient/resistance changes.
My FTP is low compared to you lot, 187
Depends how much you weigh. If you are ←60kg you'll probably win the handicap race.
If you are 80kg you probably won't win anything but will have a good time at the back.
I'm 75kg with a FTP of 267.
Managed to hold the front bunch for longer than expected, think got separated after the volcano.
Ended up fighting for the hotly contested 20th place with Declan/Simon/Joe/Owen.
Somehow in the desert Declan pulled away and despite our attempts at a half-assed TTT stayed away. We got a hurry up from the chasing bunch of Stumpy/Neil Arnold near the end of the desert, and I got red mist and tried to catch Declan but eventually got hauled back in, and we four manned it the whole way to the last 1k, where we still managed to not catch Declan.
Respect to all, ahead and behind.
Managed 20th on the road, and 12th for average power. Going to have a brew and a few biscuits while I think on that.
Call for riders! Does anyone fancy joining the STW TTT team? Everyone welcome, esp people who ride this series. Every Thursday, 7.40pm.
This week it's 3x Watopia Hilly. We put out two teams when it's busy, one team when it's not and the rules favour mixed ability teams, so everyone is "good enough".
The thread is here: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-team-time-trial-thursday-evenings/page/8/
Come and join us?
Zwift with a 12 speed mountain bike
Won't that spin out on the flat? (purely down to the front chainring size)
Doing a quick test on my road bike on Tempis Fugit I can't go much faster than 35km/h in the 34T chainring (spinning at 105rpm+)
Enjoyed last nights race, I've improved my starts (which I had been doing completely wrong) which has meant keeping with the front group for a bit longer and then hopefully finding someone with a similar power output to work with/hang on to!
Finally logged in!!
My plan last night was just to hit the KOM hard, and then chill in the pack somewhere. I've got a 'spirited' club ride tonight so wanted an easyish Tues.
That was going well until we absorbed @paino and @savoyad into our group, and then caught @nixie. Tried to drop a few riders from the group in the last 5k, as I'm no sprinter, but couldn't shake @savoyad and @nixie. Looking forward to it finally getting hilly next week. Well done on the win @savoyad, strong work.
I use Zwift with a 12 speed mountain bike, how much will that hold me back? Is it even worth trying to race with this set up?
Won’t that spin out on the flat? (purely down to the front chainring size)
That's my experience. Last year I had a top gear of 50/11, this year 48/11 and I have far less gears left to use on the flat. Did try my hardtail on Zwift with 11/42 cassette and a 32t chainring and I was out of gears just pooling around in the top-end. Even playing with the difficulty setting didn't help. Gearing doesn't make a difference for training in ERG mode but for racing it really does help to have road gearing.
@J-R I don't think it's efficiency, I think the biggest difference is the obvious one - you're 20cm taller than me, Xwift insider reckons that's going to cost you about 20 watts at our usual race pace - https://zwiftinsider.com/speed-tests-height/ which is a pretty big difference, enough that if we produced exactly the same numbers and were the same height, you'd beat me pretty consistently I think.
@savoyad I should be back to TTT after this series, I'm normally at running track with my son on a Tuesday, but he has had a couple of months off, once that restarts I'll struggle to race after, I tried it once but a hard track running session, 40mins drive then 2 mins on bike before the off wasn't the best. So I'll shift to TTT on a Thursday.
Zwift insider reckons that’s going to cost you about 20 watts at our usual race pace
I hadn't thought of that. It's good to know it's not me spending too much time on the front of the group - I was doing my best to avoid that!
A quick question about the results and scoring…
I’m obviously back-of-the-pack, and very much a newbie when it comes to racing. However, I would have thought that if I’d ridden the race I would get a point, even if I came last? The way it currently is, I get the same as someone who hasn’t ridden, which seems a bit, well, disappointing
I’m sure there’s a good reason, and I know Robbo’s been doing this for aaaaages but it seems a bit odd. Can anyone explain this to me please?
i think its the top 29 that get points (after handicaps), so if you fall outside of that.... nil point.
Maybe in the future series Rob could extend the points to the top 50 (although we dont currently get 50 riders) and maybe the sprints to the top 10? It might then gives more folks an incentive to ride and make the points a little tighter?
And thats not me bashing the current setup, as i think this series is so well formed and run! Just food for thought.
Please don’t think I’m bashing the set-up. The effort that goes into running these things is very much appreciated.
I just wondered that’s all.
However, I would have thought that if I’d ridden the race I would get a point, even if I came last? The way it currently is, I get the same as someone who hasn’t ridden, which seems a bit, well, disappointing
Wait till you win a race on the road and still get the same number of points as someone who hasn't ridden!! You do at least have the opportunity to get fitter (which you will), get used to racing (which you will) and move up the field into the points.
Oh, but then Robbo will increase your handicap - he's cruel like that
I run our local junior triathlon club, pre covid we used to run a mini series of events and the chap that did the reuslts based his points system on the time gap from the winner. This seemed strange to me at first but instead of giving 100 to winner and then 95 to second 90 to third etc, a percentage was worked out on time gap. So first got 100 if you finished a second behind then you may score 99.5 points etc. Not suggesting it is used for this series as I think that @robbobikin1234 does an excellent job of organising this series and i really appreciate the work he does
Great race the other night…… I couldn’t of messaged earlier in case of PTSD symptoms.
Looking forward to Tuesday!!
Can anyone recommend a phone bar mount for ZwiftCompanion? Google5 - so small form factor.
I get the same as someone who hasn’t ridden, which seems a bit, well, disappointing
You could also argue that if you get points for just showing up each week, you could net more points than someone who has scored points but has to miss races due to injury.
Yeah it's crap slogging your guts out for zero points, but that's racing and it makes any points you do earn, more worthwhile in my eyes.
(not that I'm biased being injured after my first few points of the series, definitely not that, never).
I've managed to give myself a dose of Patella Tendinitis after last Tuesday, I knew I was giving it all!
Hopefully it clears up, it's nasty. It's the right weather for R&R at least currently.
I've got one of these although this is a different brand.
Has been fine for well over a year.
That's not great news snotrag! Hopefully it'll clear up quickly.
I’ll be dipping out of the rest of the series, caught covid last week and whilst I seem to be out of the worst of it, I’m definitely not up for racing.
Bad news jimdubleyou although recovering from Covid is more important than STW race glory!
I think there's another series in the New Year so better to recover ready for that, than do yourself mischief while still getting over it.
Hope it's not hit you too hard.
Hope you recover soon Jim.
Handicaps are live for tomorrow nights race now:
Paul S for the win!
Using my analytical skills 🤔.
I could do with checking out the course profile.
