Hi zwift experts. I'm new to this. Just got a Kickr Core and connected up to Zwift. I've done one workout successfully and am looking for something that will simulate a decent 30mins to hour climbing. Was going to go up the Alpe D'Uez but you need to be level 12.
Anything else you recommend I can look at as a noob (but a pretty fit climber)
The Watopia KOM/Mountain climb is fairly hefty... It's a good 30mins up..
Yes Epic KOM route all the way to the viewpoint.
I think if you pick the Pretzl route it takes you there. The reverse Epic KOM is also good but you have to navigate your own way to it.
If it's London, which I think it is today, There's a good climbing route. Probably Surrey Hills which throws you up all 4 big climbs. Not 30 minutes at a time but a solid 15+ on 2 of them.
Did the morning grind race this morning and i reckon that was the hardest race i have done this year. I had my highest avg hr for a race (168) and highest avg watts for a race (301w) and even got a 4th overall achievement on one segment. It was 10 laps of Laguardia and i was with the front group all the way but got dropped 400m from the finish when i just imploded. I was utterly ruined by the end and a bit light headed.
Stage 4 today, box hill loop X3.
I took it really easy on lap1, just 220w up it and cruising, didn't pass 145bpm, but went from 170/254 and crested at 158/254. Caught 3-5 riders with an aero and holding 240w on the down. Then sat with them until the 2nd Box hill, went 35s quicker up it at about 235-245w or so, again with a little surge on the kick after the banner I made up some places and was down about 140/254.
Lap 3 I closed a few more riders and we had a group of 4 at start of Box. This was the final lap so a bit more in there, legs felt good so was about 300w up and reeled in quite a few.
Good chase on the closing few km and the escalator then into tower bridge, finished about 120/254 on the road, which for a hilly layout I really can't complain too much about.
Legs tired now and right knee needs a day or 3 off but stage 5 on Friday I assume and then some time off as we're away for a few days
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=107823
few days off, been so busy, busier than i'd have liked, self inflicted, and it maddens me at the missed opportunity sometimes, i get mardy and need to pull my head out my arse and remember its just riding in my kitchen 🙂 , no races around the time i could jump on today, so did a lap of Greatest London Loop forward, PR round the loop and a PR up Leith nowt much else to report, kids break up tomorrow, god help me,
Only done the road to sky race once, never again it was brutal! https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=66109
Curiosity got the better of me the other day, mainly to benchmark myself with a few carrots to chase as I’ve been trying (and failing) to stick to my TrainerRoad plan...
13th place and a new FTP of 317w https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=112927 Confirms I’m no where near this time last year...
So I’m now trying to rebuild for the BC Zwift races next year, anyone else looking to try them out?
14 laps (YAAAWWWNN) of the Laguardia Loop for the EVR race last night. 30s of warm up was not good and I really struggled for the first 10-15 minutes till my legs woke up. Just tried to get my head down and concentrate on spinning rather than big pushes. Seemed to work an after a while I started to feel OK. The field wasn't big, only 5/6 As and maybe 20 Bs. As this was a double draft event pulling away was not possible. Best I could manage was applying pressure by us of power ups and uphill half sprints to try and knock a few off. The lead group was rather large all the way to the end. I wasn't feeling particularly sprinty but had been testing the field on the uphill before the banner. The best option looked to be to go early then hard up the hill. Gold was clearly not on given who else was in the field but I thought a rare cup was there for the taking. Seems a couple of other As had the same idea and as we hit the last ramp three of us pulled away at the top. As it hit the top gears I started to get some chain skipping, though if I'm honest the other two had me beaten by then. I kept the power as high as I could and cross the line just in fourth (after one B caught me on the line! grr). ZP gives me a (bronze) but if you look at the detail this really was a low effort race with my 95% figure at 3.7W/kg and a much lower average HR than usual. Was nice to see my average cadence was the highest ever, maybe that work is paying off.
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=115574
Has anyone else noticed you only get a power up every other lap on Laguardia Loop?
Been reading this thread for a while and have decided to give it a go.
Off to Merlin tonight to buy a 4iiii Viiiiva ANT+/Bluetooth heartrate strap/bridge, so I can use my LeMond trainer with it's Wattbox.
Now I will be using an Ipad mini on an tablet mount (probably a Tacx one) Plus my Iphone in companion mode on the bars.
My only question I need to ask of you guys is, is it OK viewing it on an Ipad mini? or does it need a bigger screen?
Ta
Dave
Oh and forgot to ask this, can you add your own FTP into it? or do you have to do it on Zwift? The only reason I ask is that I usally do the CTS one ie 2 x 8min with a 10 mins rest.
You can put in your own FTP but it would only matter if you were doing training plans - for racing it'll look at your race power (w/kg over 20 min) and penalise you if you're in too low a group
iPad - depends on your eyes. I have a 36" telly and I still can't read messages or the map properly 🙁
iPad – depends on your eyes. I have a 36″ telly and I still can’t read messages or the map properly
bugger !! thats not good then 🙁
I do have a 24" TV that I could use but it only has VGA input, I think you can get an adapter for Lightning to VGA, that may be a bettter solution, if the quality is OK that is.
Finished the 6wk FTP builder. Final ride was a free ride, God I hate the London world (or need to sort the trainer setting).
Some totals:
Total time: 28hrs 40min 36sec
Total MTRS climbed: 8030 meters (I did deliberately choose hilly routes)
Total calories burned: 13025 calories
I now need to get used to spinning and using gears for effectively in rides.
I use an ipad mini and find it fine but my eyes are ok. In all honesty the important bit is being able to see the riders in front of you and the course ahead and that can be seen easily even on an iphone. The next thing worth seeing is your output and that is in a big blue box so you cant really miss that either. Power ups are big and easy to spot, Everything else on the screen doesnt really matter in the grand scheme of things.
vortex, you can log into zwift and choose to watch another rider or ride without pairing any devices. That way you can find out what/whether you can see what you need to before you get on the bike
Just had my arse kicked in the CHOP race, classique x4. Bs won it but I got dumped up ?horseguards hill on the penultimate lap. Shame, i was pretty comfortable everywhere else but I'm back on after 10 days of very little riding so happy enough overall.
Welcome back. Chops are hard.
I'd say chops are weird too, weeksy - you're supposed to be working together (right?) but there seemed to be quite a bit of trying to break up the bunch, even early on
Had my first proper wheelsucker too - I ended up with a pair of Cs who we caught and got dropped at the same time as me from the front group. One of them put up a message saying "stick together" and then bloody sat on the wheel all the time. I tried to make him work a bit by letting the other lad get ahead and then chasing him hard - wheelsucker was pretty strong and reeled us back in every time, though I broke them both in the end and rode in "alone", chasing another guy (presumably a C too, since he wasn't on my radar) who shot past us not long before the finish
vortex, you can log into zwift and choose to watch another rider or ride without pairing any devices. That way you can find out what/whether you can see what you need to before you get on the bike
cheers, i'll try that first
I've done a few like that but a few where chat and tactics are perfect.
Saving my legs today for the final tour stage tomorrow.
weeksy, when you say "chat" is that discord or something like it?
Might need to look into that; never used it
Nah just text based in game chat.
I've had discord a few times but can't listen to music then.
there is NO WAY I could type while racing
at
all
I barely can in the companion app. Have to be careful not to drop off the back while doing it.
That was so frustrating.. just done the Tour of London Stage 5 with Weeksy. 200+ A riders started, my aim was to be in the top 10. The group was quickly narrowed down to 20 riders and individuals kept being shelled out. I was sitting very comfortably, legs working well with heart rate under control. On the second lap going up the initial bit of box hill disaster! While I was sprinting my turbo had moved slightly and pulled its plug out! Had to hop off and reconnect it, there went the lead group. So with 12km to go it was down to a TT. I had a gap of 80 seconds from the chasing group, this quickly dwindled down until eventually with 700m!!!!! to go I was caught. Sprint finish saw me cross the line in 13th, or 11th according to Zwiftpower. So annoying that without the plug coming out I could have got my top 10!!
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=107842
I put pics on strava to prove it moved too haha: https://www.strava.com/activities/2027939650
Stage 5 today. Long and a weird course that feels more up than down.even though you start and finish at same point each lap.
Went off with a fairly speedy group and just hung in. Lost some wheels out in Surrey hills but overall I did ok.
Last 4km I nearly got dropped so hit my aero and ended up gapping 10 riders and sitting on a fast wheel. He then dragged us to the line with a 10s advantage over them. I didn't contest sprint with him, gave him a leadout then cruised the last 200m.
Glad the tour is over. Was interesting to ride longer harder days than usual for me
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=107842
Nice riding chaps. Nathb i managed a top ten, finished 7th in B out of 162 but i wish i had sprinted for the line but didnt seem any point and got passed by 3 or 4 riders. This ride took me passed 6000 miles for the year.
Different world to me Nath.
I've just about recovered now 🙂
Sadly my lad threw a chain up on the Ridgeway about 45 mins ago "Dadddy, my chain is not working, can you come and get me..."
Sheesh, just what i needed that !
Well we are well and truly sorted
Lemond Revolution with Wattbox - Check
Ipad Mini - Check
Tacx Ipad holder - Check
4iii Ant+/Bluetooth HR strap - check
£12.99 to Zwift - Check
All paired and up and running (Eventually) and off we go 🙂
let's hope it fends off this Chrimbo gluttony 🙁
I find iPad is fine for visibility/functionality (even a mini) but we've got a spare old monitor and the larger screen is much more immersive (set up with a spare laptop, not tried connecting from the iPad). So we've now got that set up permanently in the conservatory which is a perfect icebox for training this time of year (most of the year in fact).
Ouch !
Just had a festive early lunchtime blat round the laguardia. Definitely NOT a climbers' circuit and possibly my favourite venue but makes for a hard, hard race. I did well, for me, eventually lost the very front on the penultimate lap's "climb" but stuck in with a quick bunch.
They seemed stronger than me so went at about 8-900m to go, with an aero and was pushing hard. Got a 2 sec lead but 4 or 5 came back past, also on aeros.
Good fun, and a new PB for 5min and 20 min power.
Not sure I'll be on top form for the village carol service 🙄 tonight - might sneak a nap in !
Can someone recommend a first go on Zwift course/race for me please?
I don't fancy reading through 257 pages to see if it's been recommended before 🙁
what do you like - climbs, crits, ... ?
go to https://www.zwiftpower.com/ ** and have a look at what's on offer (the little tobleroney triangles in a column off to the right show how hilly it'll be
Or, if you really want to know the course, https://zwiftinsider.com/route-details/
Pick a distance and jump on
**(I find the zwiftpower lists easier to browse but the companion phone app much easier for seeing how many folk are signed up, and also easier for joining a race in advance)
Once you've entered, start zwift as normal some time before the race and just ride around (if you're lucky you might get a useful power-up when you pass under a banner that you can keep for the race). There'll be a button offering you "join this event now" but if you ignore that you'll be automatically taken to the start pen a few minutes before it starts anyway.
... and do lots of power on the start of the race (I'm a B and always need 400+ watts from 5 seconds before the start, just to stay in the initial lead group and it's hard for at least the first minute or so)
By eck that was hard, only managed 1 lap of the WBR 2 Lap Astoria Line 8 Race 🙁
Scaredypants, I tried your tip of powering up 5 secs before the start, but I only lasted 100yrds !! and they shot past me.
Well must keep trying
224 watts average @ 70kg puts me right on the border of group C and group B, (3.2W/Kg) TBH the fact that I only managed 1 lap tells me I'm definitely more C than B.
Sat in the Kiss endurance 2h 2.5-3w/kg today instead of going out in the rain. After 6 weeks if Vo2max/power build intervals I thought I might tire, but sat comfortably with 3 then later 8 riders in the second group. The group worked well together with most riders taking turns, some through and off etc.
Missed 2 riders going away with 2 mins to go but then it wasn't really a race. Happy to average 210w over 2 hours within Z2.
First time I've done a proper ride with a virtual trainer and Zwift companion also, and had a good time discovering the joys of both living up a winter turbo session.
Can you just ride by yourself or do you have to enter races?
You can:
A) just pootle round on your own
B) follow a structured training plan (but carried out in the Zwift world)
c) join one of the many social rides at various paces.
D) race
Doesn't count, they're not races lol
Vortexracing
224 watts average @ 70kg puts me right on the border of group C and group B, (3.2W/Kg) TBH the fact that I only managed 1 lap tells me I’m definitely more C than B.
I'm not sure what the "racing" in vortexracing means but unless it's bike racing my money's on you being 3.5 at least, once you've learnt to suffer (and also you'll learn to draft better and that power will work better for you)
Well done nath
Did a double draft test race tonight. Couldnt really test it though as there was only 8 riders in Cat D. One guy went of quick so I raced to keep up with him and felt pretty good and managed to get ahead and built up a 40 second lead before we hit the 3 climbs at the end. Then I was gradually caught by 2 other riders and came in first (my weigght wasnt helping me up the climbs).
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=118291
Came in 3rd although ZP has me as 2nd. With the new app I can see less and less people signing up to ZP though as they can see results there now.
Looking at my hear rate I seem to spend most of my time in Z4. I thought Z4 doesnt really help from a training/fitness perspective but dont think I can race any other way!
Hmmm, just finished the Tour of London Stage 1 race (B group).
Made a reasonably quick start but within a couple of minutes realized that the group I was in was quickly losing ground to the lead group. I made a big effort and caught the tail end of the lead group then sat in to recover for a bit. This group were making good progress and we stuck together for a good few kms.
Eventually, though, they sped up and I was left in a much smaller group about 1 minutes behind lead group and about 1 minutes in front of next group.
I was running around 18th out of 170+ so quite pleased with myself but legs and lungs started to fade and some of the riders behind me must have been saving themselves as huge spikes in power reeled me in and I lost several places quite quickly.
However, I seemed to have a brief technical glitch and about 500m from the finish the group of riders I was trying to chase down turned right at a junction to line up for the final sprint and I got turned left and ended up a stretch of road with no other riders!
I was around 23rd at the time but by the time I did this extra loop, I'd dropped down to 43rd....
Felt like a race @weeksy 😆
The tour race I did with you was too 🙂
I’ve made a makeshift anti movement wedge to stop the turbo from disconnecting itself in the future - seemed to work today!
Thanks @scaredypants
HEre's a question for some then... Regarding hills and Zwifting. Do we think that training on hills in a Zwift context is the same as training for hills outside ?
Next year I've got 3 100milers planned, the main one being the SDW, i'd like to focus this years training on them, rather than necessarily directly on racing as i do most years recently.
So should i be climbing the Radio Mast time and time again at a steady pace, or just steady pace riding... Or will the riding i'm doing currnetly still be of use ?
Depends on your gearing - I'm pretty sure that mu zwifting isn't really helping my MTBing as much as it could. I'm getting much fitter but it really relies on me keeping that flywheel spinning at a blur. WHen i'm out on the MTB (and i'm sure that it will doing the SDW) is the low cadence, high power stuff, especially when it's sloppy under wheel.
In short, i'd say crank the trainer difficulty up to 100% and get used to a wider range of cadences with more low cadence work.
I’m not sure what the “racing” in vortexracing means
it's nothing to do with cycling at all, it's from over a decade back when I ran a Karting team, and that was it's name.
Between chores today and not enough time to actually get out, so did the 12.30 WBR 1 Lap Figure 8 Hilly Race.
Very quick start as expected - but managed to sit in a good position. Stayed with front group till maybe 20 yds from top of first climb - but just couldn’t close the gap as they all descended. So had to sit up and allow the 2nd group to catch me because with only 10k gone of a 30k race there was no way I’d keep the 15 second gap on a chasing group😩
Really strong group till the finish; and finished 3rd of the registered B cats.
great work, 3rd... nice... 😉
Ian Bibby got the win .. The Ian Bibby??
Yup, he's not uncommon in Zwift land
HEre’s a question for some then… Regarding hills and Zwifting. Do we think that training on hills in a Zwift context is the same as training for hills outside ?
Next year I’ve got 3 100milers planned, the main one being the SDW, i’d like to focus this years training on them, rather than necessarily directly on racing as i do most years recently.
So should i be climbing the Radio Mast time and time again at a steady pace, or just steady pace riding… Or will the riding i’m doing currnetly still be of use ?
I've done lots of hilly sportives over the years and two Marmottes and I would say that Zwift while useful training is not the same as being on an actual hill. Even cranking the resistance right up and doing hill repeats at low cadence, I feel like it's just not the same. I'm not sure why - I do tend to climb more out of the saddle on actual climbs than on Zwift though. Having said that I've never trained extensively on Zwift for a sportive so it's just a subjective opinion.
A friend of mine did very very little riding outside of zwift from December to practically April. Nothing was longer than 60-90 minutes, but quality sessions of high wattage and HR.
When he went to Majorca in the April, I along with most of the guys he actually went with, expected him to be that fella at the back - but he put in one the fastest times out of a pretty good group of guys he was with on Sa Calobra.
Well i'm not sure what went wrong today.
Went up Alp D'Huez on Zwift, took me 80mins exactly. Total of 2 hours 5 mins up and down via 'Fire and Ice' route. Then Zwift shows me as 1 hour 20 and 700m elevation, rather than the 1150 i actually did... Add to that it did nothing on Strava.
Can't currently get my Zwift profile to load to export the ride.
Failed on the Alp yesterday after going too hard, so was pleased to get it done today.
I've just returned to Zwift after a layoff due to recovering from an operation. I've done a couple of races recently but I'm not able to go flat out due to still recouperating. One thing I have noticed though and would like some explanation for is the effect of weight and/or W/kg.
I'm 82kg currently so I accept that generally I'm going to struggle more on the hills compared to lighter riders. The effect I have noticed though is when I am in a race group and cruising at around 2.5 W/kg on the flat or downhill, I'm generally at the front of the group or even pulling away at times. Then when we hit a 4%+ climb, most of the other riders in the group start cranking out 3.5W/kg+ and of course I have to go to 4.0W/kg or more just to stay with the group.
What I don't understand is why they are upping their power output on every climb but seemingly struggling to keep up at a lower power output on the flat? Is this something to do with how smart trainers operate? I have a Kinetic trainer with an inRide power pod so don't have a smart trainer but the power readings seem reasonably realistic as far as I can tell.
I've done the Watopia hilly figure of 8 race twice recently and it seems to happen on every climb at any point in the race.
Sounds about how races go yeah, other riders seem to be beasts on hills.
Every hill/ramp/roller in every single race is taken at far greater wattage/effort than the flats,thats just racing on zwift. It is generally the best place to break or split a group and everyone knows that so everyone tries a lot harder. It makes more sense doing that than the unfathomable reason as to why the start is always a full gas effort for the first minute
If that's the case then I might as well put all my effort in on the flat to gain some advantage before the climbs. I'll lose out on the group tow though which is the downside. I usually end up TTing on my own after the last climb anyway!
I'm a bit too heavy (mind, isn't everyone?) and I get the same thing. People do try harder on hills, partly because it hurts some opponents but also smart trainers ramp up the resistance and sometimes you just, err, try a bit harder.
I've tried the "beat them up on the flats" too - works best if you get a gap with a little surge first and make them fight back into your draft. Then do it again, and again.
No way of knowing whether it works but it makes me feel better every now & then 😈 . Trouble is, if you're climbing at threshold you'd likely be better off taking a rest on the flats but that feels like just waiting to become a victim sometimes.
Can you guys help me a bit please?
I did a 30 mins interval session yesterday and noticed a slider on the companion screen on my iPhone for 'bias'
How does this work? I had a go with it and it reduces (or increases) the power required. I thought that Zwift knowing your best FTP over 20 mins (from previous rides) would have just set the levels to that?
Can somebody explain how this works and why?
Ta
Dave
As standard it's at 50% so a 10% incline will actually feel like a 5% incline in outdoor land. If you want true realism, slide all the way.
It was set to 99% when I started, so I'm assuming that's the hardest ie it's slid all the way
I think the option in workouts is different weeksy - lets you bump up/down your FTP by a few percentage points if you're finding a session too easy/hard
Ah I see. Not done workouts. Sorry.
cheers guys, that's seems to make sense, I'll keep it at 99% and see how things pan out.
Weird shit going on this morning. Just done a small-field race and finished in about 6th or 7th overall, maybe 3rd or 4th B but ZP tells me I was 2nd (or maybe 3rd) overall and winner of B
Are riders still not registering all this time after the GDPR changes ?
HEre’s a question for some then… Regarding hills and Zwifting. Do we think that training on hills in a Zwift context is the same as training for hills outside ?
The theory behind the Kickr Climb and its ability to raise the front end is that in real life climbing you engage your muscles differently due to the changed angle, which makes sense. In terms of being able to sustain power etc, then it's just the same, but it makes sense that your body is going to be working at a different angle on an actual climb and that makes a difference. That's the theory anyway. I'm guessing you also engage more core muscles outside through necessity as well.
What I don’t understand is why they are upping their power output on every climb but seemingly struggling to keep up at a lower power output on the flat? Is this something to do with how smart trainers operate? I have a Kinetic trainer with an inRide power pod so don’t have a smart trainer but the power readings seem reasonably realistic as far as I can tell.
Smart trainers up the resistance on climbs, just like in real life, so you're having to push harder, so you tend to put out more power on climbs to overcome that resistance - you have more to push against, if that makes sense. On a dumb trainer, the resistance is linear regardless of the virtual terrain. Smart trainers tend to lose out on the downs though as there's less resistance, so dumb trainers tend to run away on descents.
https://zwiftinsider.com/classic-vs-smart-hills/
Did the 3.15pm 3R Perimeter Loop Reverse Race today.
1st lap group of A cats and 4 of us B cats put about 40 second gap on the chasing group behind. On the 2nd lap me and 2 other B cats lost the front group, so worked together to stay away from the chasing group behind ... surprisingly I managed to outsprint the other 2 to finish.
Question here is; in the results on Zwift power it only shows me in the Unfiltered results as getting 2nd place ... but nowhere in usual results; and on my profile it shows me as UPG in the category section?? what does UPG mean??
I was wearing HR monitor and was inside the 4w/kg limit??
I think upg means you’re actually just over the cat threshold and it suggests you should upgrade. Previously (don’t know if still valid) you could get away with this a couple of times before it would DQ you..
Strange that then because I only average 3.93w/kg in the race.
ZP thinks your an A according to your profile. Your previous two events were 4w/kg AVG. You entered as B so were DQd.
I think they should make a category between the A and B then. I can just about manage to stay up the sharp end of a B race ... but definitely cant hang with the A cats.
Suppose it not make any difference - I1ll still just be battling it out with the top B riders.
Welcome to my world. Suspect you'll quickly find yourself at least able to hang for a while quite quickly. That's what happened to me.
Would be better with an A+ or pro cat over A.
There is such a gulf between being able to do 4w/kg on a good day - and trying to stay with s group who can push 4.2w/kg on their average day.
I have still to work out what course best suits me too. At 69kg I don’t push big watts; ftp is around 280 - yet practically always get dropped by the A cats mid race on a climb😩
Absolutely no motivation to ride outside at moment; which is typical of me this time every year. Thankfully Zwift is much easier motivation to get on ... 15.25 volcano race will do me today.
I'm with nixie on the "A+" category. I've watched a couple of bits of streamed races and there are riders there riding unbelievable numbers - waaay over 5w/kg for long stretches of a race and then putting up well over a thousand watts at the end of that
I'm upper-mid B if I'm lucky but that's me riding full whack right through and after doing that for half an hour my sprint is well under even a doubling of my race average. If I trained REALLY REALLY hard I reckon I might get to the bottom of A but it's such a wide cat that that's a meaningless term. Doesn't bother me personally if I finish last in my cat but I don't want to start from a different pen with people who're going to shell me out within ten minutes and leave me TTing home, maybe with one or two other similar riders.
I like a race - would much rather a tight race for a mid-pack B finish than a shit race with an A next to my name.
(course, this is what those CVR points were for isn't it - like real life racing, your finishing points decide your category. Only trouble is the huge numbers of new riders coming in, some of who will smash their first few races before they move up. That's easy though; big points for podium places to move the best riders up fast but lesser scores right down to, say half way down the field for the mortals)
What are the CVR points? I am only aware of zwiftpower for races??
Old rankings system that died after gdpr came in. It was better in many ways, worse in some
8th our of the 12 A cat riders.
1minute 4 seconds behind the winner (4.5w/kg) .. 3.9w/kg for me during race - those in front of me were between 4 - 4.5w/kg ...
@mooman, your w/kg levels aren't that different to mine. You will get races in A and with a small improvement even the occasional cup (subject to picking the right race :D).
My race from last night https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=122316 . I'm the last A. The two that finished ahead had sub 4 w/kg averages (I missed a break and ended up on a solo TT as I couldn't close the gap).
I just not worked out the right races. 30-35km distances are perfect for time; warm up & warm down, plus the wipe over of training mat and shower afterwards is as much time as I have available in evenings after work. As for which course suits me best I am not sure; the flat races are easier to hang on the back of, but because I will be on my max, any climb after halfway will shell me. The hilly races can catch me out even quicker, and always puts me into no mans land of not being fast enough for the fast As - but typically too fast for the chasing group who have the fat boys. And if I sit up and wait for them they smash me on the sprint!!
Minor Zwift type question...
Over/Unders. How much over and under FTP then ? And what sort of time/intervals ? Wont be doing them until after the weekend, but will give them a try.
Happy New Year everyone!
I've just ordered a Cyclops magnus trainer... Do I need anything else just to get started? Know that you can get extras to give a more 'realistic' experience but just want basic stuff for now.
Cheers!