LAva race was fine, sure it's a hill and requires a decent push of effort.
The Alp though, nah, done it.. it's horrible.
not done "Whole Lotta Lava" before, really enjoyed the course, hard work yes but the climb was JUST short enough that I could give it full beans all the way (which really rewards you as it's a gentle enough incline that you still get a big benefit from drafting as well!)
Was gutted by the ZP results though as EVERYONE above me (in Cat C) was over the w/kg limit and yet no-one got DQ'd so I'm only 8th 😭😭😭 https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=356884
You need to press the 95% button at the top of the results.
Winner was a lightweight female so sneaks in on rules for lightweight with low power.
2nd and 4th are the only other ones over by a small amounts and one has now been upgraded.
All fall in within the rules on ZP.
On the plus side for you you have plenty of room to increase towards the limit and getting good results.
ah fair enough I didn't realise that was how they worked it out!!You need to press the 95% button at the top of the results.
Yes it's hard to get your head round as Zwift have the rule but don't enforce it and there was a lot of work done on ZP with different ideas to keep it as fair as possible without being in control of Zwift.
Guess I’ll renew my subs then....
Anyone doing Stage 4 tomorrow?
Only ridden a bit of the jungle circuit.
I notice most are signing up for the group rides rather than the race. Wonder if it's because the race is so short, less than 16km?
Tempted to do the group ride in B cat, 3 laps, 24km, 246m climbing. Nice compromise for my legs I think.
A cat has 4 laps, 39km, 410m. That might be a bit painful.
Ok only a mid D cat rider at best but obviously cats are a moot point in group rides anyway.
Don't know about anyone else but group rides seem like unofficial races in this tour?😁
I'm doing the cat c race at 1912hrs, I suspect I'll find it easier than the d cat races as I won't have the motivation of holding on for a shot at a podium so I'll prob just end up getting in a mid paced group and riding to win the sprint for not last place.
Think I might to do the Cat D race at 08:10, want to get out in the real world as well tomorrow so a bit of fun before breakfast.
The trouble with the Stage group rides is that they go off like a race but you have no idea of the actual cat of the other riders which I find a bit "disorienting" lol. I should probably go by my ftp as a guide but can't help trying to stay with a rider or blob.... then crash and burn a bit later.
I'm trying to increase my mileage on my "every other day" riding routine. I can't stand training programs so just figuring the more I ride the fitter I'll get. I've started from a low point though, so any riding is going to be good at this stage. I should probably do the race tomorrow them do some freeriding afterwards. Freeriding does lack the incentive of a group/race ride though.
Trying to get some enthusiasm together for my booked stage 4 at 0910, having not Zwifted since Thursday, knowing I ought to keep things steady and not go much into heart z3.
About the only positive right now is I weighed myself earlier and I was 75.7Kg, the lightest I've been for ~2.5 years, not through burning lots of Calories on the bike but by not having access to so many cold cross buns and chocolate raisins!
Lol. My weight is doing ok too. Keep going mate
I'm off out riding today, only done 1 swift this week, the rest have been in the middle of nowhere
We've just got our club kit on Zwift!
A reference point for stage 4 to anyone as geeky as myself...
2.7W/Kg on the Scott mtb gave time of 44mins7secs withh draft benefits for ~5secs.
“Newbury Vale” is a weird name for a circa year 2000 rave club. Is it some cryptic reference to ecstasy that I don’t get?
I think it's more an eye issue - it's Newbury Velo.
I prefer racing because at least I'm up against similar cat riders, as mentioned with group rides its hard to know if you are trying to keep up with A or B riders, so I burn out too quick.
Did the 0810 stage 4 this morning, finished 38th in race, ZP had me 2nd, again loads of disqualifications or non ZP riders.
The rider that finished first in zwift was 8 minutes ahead of everyone else, with only a 131w output...everyone else around 250w haha...very suspect.
Nice result there oop north. What cat you in again?
I've decided to do the A, 5 lap group Stage ride at 6pm tonight because I'm an idiot basically.
Just want to wind up the mileage I'm doing really. Going to try to just not come in last. That'll do me.
Thought I’d ‘test’ my new second monitor for WFH. Blimey 1080P on a 27 inch screen is really good. Coming off a 10 year old VGA 21inch screen. I did notice my MacBook was working pretty hard as I had everything turned to the max.
Ended up having to move the turbo back and pop the monitor up a bit. Good move to the window(s) as well. Never normally ride Zwift after Feb, but this year I reckon I’d best get it set up in summer mode. Clearly I’m going to need a bigger floor standing fan.
Started the latest Singletrack Slayer workouts. Blimey 5 workouts a week and they are a lot harder that what I’ve done before..
Still not managed a race...
@Poopscoop I'm in cat D. Usually I start ok in the front group but once the hills come I'm going backwards. The ZP results flatter me, I'm usually anything from 20th to 50th in most races with a decent field.
If I ever get to cat C I would be definitely at the back 🙂
A gnatts chuff away from being in the top half (ZP) of my first cat c race so pretty pleased with that.
Interestingly(?) the pace on the flats was more manageable than in the cat d races I've done but the climbing was much harder. I wonder if this is because the riders in cat c aren't in that category because of power so much but more because of the weight side of the equation.
Well done Dobski! Nice when the results start coming
Cheers Weeksy, looking forward to stage 5 now.
oop north
Subscriber
@Poopscoop I’m in cat D. Usually I start ok in the front group but once the hills come I’m going backwards. The ZP results flatter me, I’m usually anything from 20th to 50th in most races with a decent field.
She, me too,D. What you describe on hills is spot on for me too. I'm ok on the flats but when the hills arise I'm just a slow moving road block.Lol
I did the 5 lap Stage 4 today and it wasn't too bad. Noticeably slower on the dirt on the mtb. Loads of people were slagging off the track, the virtual mtb's though etc... Quite amusing really.
Nice result Ivan! I think I came dead last in D on my first race, and a few after that!😁
So, partly for a laugh and because Jnr is a successful county swimmer / I don’t want them without exercise I stuck his bike on Zwift. He enjoyed it, but I then discovered you can apply for a proper, protected child account up to age 16 for free:
https://support.zwift.com/en_us/zwift-accounts-for-children-HyleeRkr7
Maybe of help to some.
Despite the lovely weather out there today, I had a few things to do around the house/garden.
So did the 16:05 3R Tick Tock Flat race.
Fast start as typical for a short and flat 19k race; it settled down after about 5-6k .. 8km in and sat fairly comfortably in front group, and lost connection again!
I decided to just finish the course and set a 250w TT effort. 10k in and just at start of the little climb the connection resumed; but I was a minute off from front group and 20 seconds in front of a group of C riders.
They caught me descending the little climb, so sat in with them for a km or two and went off the front with another rider 5km from the finish.
Bit frustrating losing connection again, and I seen by chatter on zwift it is happening to quite a few other riders too ... I guess there's lots people using it at moment.
Hoping to do the 17:40 Team Gladiators Race tomorrow .. fingers crossed the connection holds🤞
I'm planning on doing the stage 5 ToW race then concentrating on longer steady rides I think. Doing the races is good but I'm utterly ****ed at the end of one and as per the "reining it in" thread I'm not sure that's a great idea currently.
10:10am today for the Jungle Tour race i think. Mostly because they get better fields, but also because its on a MTB too. Planning on setting up the turbo in the garden for it 🙂
zwift/turbo was throwing a wobbly so in the 11:10 instead
I'm doing the Team Italy Gladiators Race at 5.40pm today, in D cat.
Richmond,33k, 318m.
Anyone else?
weeksy
Subscriber
10:10am today for the Jungle Tour race i think. Mostly because they get better fields, but also because its on a MTB too. Planning on setting up the turbo in the garden for it 🙂
I saw the pic, best set up I've seen!👍
Gave tempus fugit a tickle last night, to see what the TT format was like. Normally find a prolonged threshold session very taxing on the turbo, and it definitely felt easier with the zwift environment. Posted a 25.51 on the 17.6K course which felt like a decent effort - although not sure I'd do it again, the racing seems more fun.
Maybe with some mates or in a 2/3 up the TT would be good.
Sorry as this has likely been covered somewhere in the preceding 328 pages but I'll ask anyway as here seems the best place to get a sensible answer...
Like most I find my self wondering about how to spend the next few "weeks" and I'm looking at a smart trainer and some sort of app.
I have a dumb turbo already and frankly it bores me to tears. I can manage half an hour or so of beasting my self but not much more (doesn't help its very loud so I can't watch or listen to much whilst I'm at it).
So, those of you who do zwift, are any of you in the "I hate(d) the turbo but zwift is good *" category, in which case it might be worth a try or is it still like riding a turbo and I'm likely to find I've got several hundred quids worth of dust collector once all this blows over?
Is it something that grows on you?
*good is relative but something half way to a real ride I think I'd probably get on with ok enough.
“I hate(d) the turbo but zwift is good *”
Yes, up to October 2016 I had previously owned 3 different turbos over 15 years, all of which got barely used before I moved them on.
In November 2016 I got my first smart turbo for zwift and 8,000km later still loving it.
I have however upgraded the smart turbo a couple of times and now on a Neo 2.
Yes - definitely in the I Hate The Turbo cat ; but zwift is much better ... It will get as boring very quickly if you just riding around the different worlds, but the racing is never boring.
You never know if your going to get a lazy group who sit up after the initial sprint start .. or if you find yourself in a too fast a group, but you too close to finish line - and too far from chasing group to sit up.
(those are the wrong answers. I hoped the cv19 thing would at least save me money). 😉
Until Zwift i never hated the turbo, it simply didn't exist, it was something to not even consider. Now I've done 20,000km on Zwift I think I can safely be called a convert.
Absolutely better than just a turbo! It's so much more engaging and at first I was scared about doing my first race, now I love it! Trying to pitch yourself against others across the world and if you fail, who cares, there is no one at the finish line watching.
I find myself always looking for my next event, or if i'm not feeling the race, I'll freeride and challenge myself on a new circuit or up a mountain.
I started on the dumb trainer when I first joined but you definitely get more out of a smart trainer with the resistance change.
Long group rides (let's be honest they are races!), hills and me don't mix well. I think I'm better suited to shorter races.
Did the stage 5 longer group ride and went off too fast again, ended up blowing up towards the end and was being passed by most on the volcano. How do some ride so fast uphill??
Ended up 161 on ZP...its also boosted me up to cat C. I think I've just scraped in. That's going to be interesting in my next race, think I'll be propping up the back haha.
Still need to get stage 5 done, finally headed out to Beacon Hill for one climb at ~1720 before a slight meander home for a ~28-mile round trip, so surreal heading out at that time and barely seeing any cars!
Don't think i have much in the way of legs at the moment due to fatigue, but the 13:35 Crit Race is tempting me.
Well if I hate it I'm sending the not insubstantial bill for the smart trainer to three of you who shouldn't have encouraged me
LOL send it over 🙂
died 6 laps into the 8. rubbish
Well if I hate it I’m sending the not insubstantial bill for the smart trainer to three of you who shouldn’t have encouraged me
You'll probably be able to sell the thing on for a mahoosive profit. Apparently turbo trainers aren't hanging around on the shelves at the moment and there's every chance there'll be a shortage before long. Who needs to stockpile toilet paper when you can buy 50 Kickrs?
Oh, and despite someone who's stupid / motivated enough to kick themselves silly on a dumb trainer, I'd concur that a smart trainer plus the app of your choice is a proper game-changer.
died 6 laps into the 8. rubbish
Err, you won, sandbagging winner of C averaged 5W/Kg! https://zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=385763
Result not showing here. The figure doesn't surprise me, it was damn fast !
2 mins from the gun on the cat c race..
Its true, i have been looking all over the web for a Kickr Core and they are all sold out with no proper ETA's when they will be back in stock.
I managed to find a Kickr on CRC so went for that - A little more than i wanted to spend but should hopefully be good to play on and for fitness!
There's such a huge discrepancy between the "on-the-road" results and those on zwift power.
On the road I came 65th-ish out of 190ish (cat c) so in the top 3rd.
On ZP I got promoted to 20th (yay!) out of 50 so now I'm effectively mid-pack (boo!).
It doesn't make a huge difference at the time but if you were only racing those whose results would stand it would probably play out quite differently.
It doesn’t make a huge difference at the time but if you were only racing those whose results would stand it would probably play out quite differently.
That's very true. I finished 21st on the road and got gold. Lol
People make the races a farce. 5w/kg is just daft in C races.
Been a bit lax the last couple days. Over indulged too, bit of comfort eating...
Doing Stage 5, 9.15pm tonight in D.
Looks short and sharp, not my favourite scenario!lol
So erm, when I sign up for zwift, is the done thing to sign up with my actual weight, my vanity (so - 3 or 4lb) weight or some other?
Actual weight for me. I weigh myself before wvery ride as I'm dieting it changes a bit.
I like to know whatever place I finish it it's as "true" as it can be. Whether absolute last or a bit better.Lol Anything else and I'm just cheating myself and I know it.
That's just me though...
Mine is pretty close, maybe 2lb out currently, but not much in it.
Weight helps/hurts you depending on layout.
Flatter 90kg is king, hilly 65kg you want. Hence why I mostly race flat
Keep mine at middle of floating weight (depending on time of day, food etc). So about 1 kg above lightest the scales report but less than the most.
Flatter 90kg is king, hilly 65kg you want. Hence why I mostly race flat
So 80 ish means I'm rubbish for both 😭
This feels like when I discovered I was the only person who didn't use a mouse to play quake and I've not even had my ass handed to me yet.
Got an ftp increase in.Stage 5 which was nice.
239ftp now. I know, I know but it's getting there.😁
Take any "marginal gains" you can fairly get! As regards weight, I use the numbers I see when weighing myself most days after sitting on the throne.
It might be over a week now since I last used the turbo, think I've been out everyday since Monday, anything from approx 30-105mins.
I've been out so little compared to normal over the last 10 days because of isolation, that some days it's hard to judge if I still have possible mild COVID-19 symptoms, or I'm getting a late Seasonal Affective Disorder relapse.
But I shouldn't complain too much, because although I've not felt it wise to do sustained efforts, at least I've been able to ride... My better half has had it quite bad, breathless while talking or simply walking from room to room.
239ftp now. I know, I know but it’s getting there.
Zwift told me I'd raised mine to a whopping 216w yesterday.
Quick question, I did a ride in Watopia yesterday, 25min climb up to a KOM, then it dropped and climbed again (why) anyway I looked at Strava segment and people I can put 2mins on over a 7min climb are getting up these climbs on Zwift only 30s or so slower than me. Is my set up borked or something?
Then races can anyone recommend a hilly one and how do the categories work? It seems 3w/kg is okish, for me 3.5 stings and 4 is about top end for 30s.
some days it’s hard to judge if I still have possible mild COVID-19 symptoms,
I keep getting a tight chest but I think thats stress.
Then races can anyone recommend a hilly one and how do the categories work? It seems 3w/kg is okish, for me 3.5 stings and 4 is about top end for 30s.
Looks like you are a C cat. Pushing 4wkg for only 30 seconds suggests bottom to middle of category too.
If you only pushing 216w then unless your under 60kg I wouldn't be expecting much in a hilly race.
Start with very short flat races to build power and stamina first.
You shouldn’t weigh yourself so often as hydration and digestion causes fluctuation. Once a week should be enough, some athletes use once a month.
So 80 ish means I’m rubbish for both
ive recently dropped down to 74kg and when I changed this in Zwift From 75kg last week I immediately noticed a difference in my climbing whereas all the way from 80 to 75 I never really noticed. I wonder if a sub 75kg weight affects the Zwift algorithm in a slightly larger and perceptible way.
Due to the current issues and in lieu of real races I’m now targeted on a Sunday race every fortnight from 12th ApriI. I haven't raced on Zwift for about a year now so it’s going to be interesting! My coach did some maths based on my real life race output vs w/kg vs others Zwiftpower results and he reckons top 10 B is easily achievable for me - I’m not so sure!
I always put true weight, I'm doing this for me so want to see my true performance and if that means at the back or slow on the hills, then I know what I need to do to improve.
I don't see the point of dropping weight or categories just to win races, it's a false victory in a virtual world.
My weight is currently going down as part of this training on zwift, 10kg down so far, so any gains (or should that be losses?) I'm really benefiting from by getting faster or by recently hitting cat C. Those are my victories.
Quick question, I did a ride in Watopia yesterday, 25min climb up to a KOM, then it dropped and climbed again (why) anyway I looked at Strava segment and people I can put 2mins on over a 7min climb are getting up these climbs on Zwift only 30s or so slower than me. Is my set up borked or something?
Without a comparison tool like a PM or a 2nd turbo to compare with, it's impossible to say.
But Swift isn't like real life. It's algorithms are a bit skewed in various ways. I've ridden with people I'm quicker than outdoors and found it hard, I've beaten a mate on just about every segment who'd destroy me outside.
Don't forget, yours may be accurate and theirs not. But it's tough to say.
My coach did some maths based on my real life race output vs w/kg vs others Zwiftpower results and he reckons top 10 B is easily achievable for me – I’m not so sure
Based on my perception of your output, I'd agree.
@Weeksy actually can I ask for your knowledgable advice on this; he told me to enter as a C first race but expect to bumped up - would doing that once cause alarm bells at Zwift HQ?
I think he said it to aid my mentality tbh, in that I’d react better to being bumped up than smacked down.
If you only pushing 216w then unless your under 60kg I wouldn’t be expecting much in a hilly race.
I've only Zwifted 3 times! Never looked at power before. Weigh 71kg currently.
I'll give a c a go.
Another question, yesterday I was descending the 30min climb from the control tower thing I was still having to pedal quite hard to keep moving, is that normal?
No alarm bells, it's impossible to know unless you know, so the only way to find out is to try.
It's going to boil down to route for you and distance. A lot of Zwift races are 20-40 mins, I don't know how much you can suffer in that time. I think if you pick a decent length one like say 2 laps London loop, you'd go better as it's an hour or so.
What can you average w/kg for 45 min?
Another question, yesterday I was descending the 30min climb from the control tower thing I was still having to pedal quite hard to keep moving, is that normal?
No. Are you sure as it has dips and peaks on it?
If I was going 85kmp down and stopped pedalling it slowed dramatically, obviously I expect to have to pedal up the rises. On that stw group ride the other day I was doing 200w keeping up with the 2 riders I found downhill.
What can you average w/kg for 45 min?
About 3.6w/kg non adrenaline. But my forte and training is for longer outdoor races - 4 hours plus - so in Zwift I’d expect to underperform based on stats for a Crit style race. I’m an “endurance” not power style rider as I have top end issues eg I can sustain 3wkg for 4 hours but 4.2wkg for 5 minutes. Then skewed by a 15wkg sprint lol.
I’ll be looking for the longest race I can find on the day.
Did you stop pedalling completely? you have to have a cadence of zero to get into the super tuck
You shouldn’t weigh yourself so often as hydration and digestion causes fluctuation
I can see your point, I just weigh for often for general trend, I was 75.5Kg yesterday and today I'm 76.4Kg. We had a fairly big Mexican birthday meal last night including tortillas crisps, which will soak up plenty of extra fluid, so I'm not panicking! 😉
@kryton57 Going from memory, your FTP was quite similar to mine IIRC based on 95% of 20mins MAPS, 280W+ (mine has dropped from 297 to 282 and will drop further due to giving up regular sustained efforts since 27th Feb, depressing, but hey ho). Let's say 280W, at 74Kg, that's ~3.8W/Kg... Way over the 3.2W/Kg threshold for C and you would likely be DQed.
For those trying to make turbo riding more like outdoors, https://www.rgtcycling.com/ tells you the overall weight of you and the virtual bike, so you could fudge the values to get a figure closer to your real bike with water etc. you take with you and then get more accurate figures for hill efforts.
Anagallis are you on a smart trainer? I know when I had a dumb trainer I had to always pedal.
Now I'm on a direct drive trainer I can simply stop pedalling on the steep downs and it my avatar goes into a tuck position and keeps the speed. I'm not sure if this is the same with a smart trainer that requires a rear wheel.
Did you stop pedalling completely? you have to have a cadence of zero to get into the super tuck
Maybe not, I'll try.
Anagallis are you on a smart trainer?
Yep a taxc flux s i think its called
Just been fiddling with the app for taxc and it has a calibration, maybe I should do that!
Let’s say 280W
well, 267w at 73.5kg this morning. I’ll sign on as B I think.
^^ I calibrate my Core once a week there abouts.
Yep, you must stop pedalling for the aero tuck and be above a certain speed too.