Looking, I do believe that's my last C race. 3.21 overall average now.
There's some big numbers in the list of C racers. We shouldn't need a third-party results app to sort this out though. I hope the anti-sandbagging function works for Zwift.
Finished early today so decided to have a go at a race for the first time in over 2 weeks. The 18:45 Royal Pump House 28km 6Points Mallorca GGCC Race was the only one available at the time I wanted.
Really tough course, and tough field of riders. Stayed with front group for about 10km, then fell off back and tried to find a small group to work with. Constant grind up and chase till the end. Finished 7th in B-cat on companion; 1st B rider was 5.59w/kg .. the lowest w/kg ahead of me was pushing 4.43w/kg. I averaged 4.15w/kg which is most I have averaged in a 28km race for quite some time; very happy with that. I have upped my weekly mileage since I started new hours in work and it looks to have benefited my fitness.
And also given the gold cup on ZP.
B gold, awesome job buddy. You can only give your best within the rules we have. Top job.
Hands up. Saw a few stw tags in the 19:30 deeside thistle Apr crit.
Hard shift. I might be up to A shortly averaged 3.8w/kg on. Zp.
Winner of our race aS also 5.06w/kg not a B cat. Just a **** . We operate on zwift power results for our series anyway so they all got expunged from the results for being fudds
I was flying under the radar in that race as well (A Barry BRT). Picked up bronze in A however we were way off the catch.
i was second group on the road with B and the front group of B(sorry i mean Sandbagging As) were just off the chart , no one was catching them
They've changed the Zwift HQ stuff again on Zwift Power, still no idea what it means though?
It's an interesting one.. It says my ZHQ setting is C... but my ZP cat is now a B....
I'll race B though as it's time to get better... so will have a try.
Mine's amusing as apparently have a C-cat 1 minutes, B-cat 5 minute and A-cat twenty minutes!
I'm route ticking currently, across all worlds, trying to build fitness and am throwing some hills into the mix, plus I'm not feeling races at the moment.
Yesterday was Figure 8 reverse followed by the flat loop, today was London's Triple loop which takes in both Box and Leith hills straight after each other. Both rides around 40km.
Legs are certainly feeling it...
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=534678
B.
Meh.
Went too hard. It was stupid fast!!! I'd have crushed C.
The king is dead.
Lol
Which suggests you'd have been sandbagging c
Have to remember front of c is back of b. You likely tried to stay with front pack of b which is a stretch just coming up from c. Need to pace your self
Agree with some of that, but anyone who's seen my HR data knows I'm not sandbagging, I'm just a good C on this layout.
What's hr data got to do with it ?
101 /170 isn't dying on your arse. That's respectable. You were never gonna be front of the pack on your first time out with them
45th in a large B cat group is very good. As you well know - a lot of the top B cat riders in the bigger groups are A cat riders holding back for the sprint.
Short 16km races are just 20 minutes of pain - well done. And your correct; no time to pace yourself with only 16km to do!
I will be doing the 19:15 ZHR Hare & Hounds race tomorrow. 2 laps/36km of Tick Tock course .. flat and fast. So if anybody wants to make it a STW group, In am willing to pull on the front until my legs pop to try and get somebody a result.
Is it just me, or is drafting in zwift far less beneficial than drafting in real life.
If done 2 races, and got shelled out back in both within 5 min, despite averaging over 300 watts.
Tt's are only marginally better. In last race put out 3rd highest watts per kilo (in the b's), and came in bottom half of results. Guy who won averaged 400 watts for 23 min, but only 3 watts per kilo?
Strikes me watts per kilo is totally irrelevant to categories, it's purely down to how much power you can put out.
W/kg is a climbing metric.
If your TT was on Tempus Fugit most power wins. Just as it would in real life.
Think cancellera his w/kg wouldn't be great but he would destroy a tt.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the result.
Finally got around to ordering the replacement belt for my Direto yesterday from https://www.bearingsrus.co.uk/review/product/list/id/60401/ (thanks to Nixie's link) and I've had the dreaded "Sorry it's out of stock due to high demand and it will be 2-3 weeks before we get new stock, do you still want to proceed with sale?" e-mail.
Now watch it tip down with rain for the next few weeks!
@tpbiker probably, which is why they introduced the optional Double Draft. Still only used by a minority of races I think (rarely done events with it myself) but you can check out which ones have it using ZwiftHacksIs it just me, or is drafting in zwift far less beneficial than drafting in real life.
Did one of the WTRL team TTs last night - that is a good format, seen it mentioned by a few of you on here. Was a mixed ability team (2xB, C, and a D) so ended up as more of a sweetspot effort, but still a nice dynamic keeping the pace together to get that fourth person over the line.
Reckon a well-matched team would turn you inside out - 120% effort on a turn then back in the wheels close to threshold.
I'd be up for entering as part of an stw TTT team as a cat c/d if anyone else wants to give it a go.
I'll ride with ya dobski
Is it just me, or is drafting in zwift far less beneficial than drafting in real life.
I'm sure I spotted 25% mentioned somewhere which is huge, but I do think it's very hard to judge (for me so far at least) when you're actually drafting and when you're not.
Guy who won averaged 400 watts for 23 min, but only 3 watts per kilo?
I find that difficult to believe, 21st and fit as a butcher's dog? I get that vunipola isn't playing rugby at the moment but you've been very unlucky to meet him in zwift. (your opinion may vary of course).
I’d be up for entering as part of an stw TTT team as a cat c/d if anyone else wants to give it a go.
I'd be happy to have a bash if times work, can't promise I'll be any good mind but TT would do me the world of good.
I’d be up for entering as part of an stw TTT team as a cat c/d if anyone else wants to give it a go.
I’d be happy to have a bash if times work, can’t promise I’ll be any good mind but TT would do me the world of good.
I'd be up for this too. It looks mighty complicated to enter (the first time? probably makes sense after that). I'm a C.
i could be up for a Team TT . B cat here if theres any takers for a B team ?
B cat here if theres any takers for a B team ?
I might tip into that, but I'm rubbish. On experience and results I should be D...
B cat here ... If you need👍
robbo1234biking
@oop north are you doing the zwiftinsider list of routes?
Sorry for the late response Robbo, I'm not following a list really, just randomly picking ones I haven't yet done depending how I feel on the day.
I'm up for some TT action, Just scraped into A because I'm short and light-ish but more B if we're talking TT = More Watts Win
It didn't sound that bad until the start time nonsense
It's actually not too bad - just the start is weird with the not pedalling thing, team needs to ahve someone unequivocally in charge for that bit to say go.
It's a third party running the event on the zwift platform so it's not a seamless integration as far as setting-up goes. But once you're actually racing it's great - the game doesn't string you out in a line like a real life TT but it's still obvious who is taking a turn, who's sitting in, and who's hanging on for dear life!
I'm happy to handle the fiddly bit of the sign-up process if people are interested.
I could ride in the morning (10.20) or evening (6.15, 6.30 and 7.40) slots next Thursday.
So far, tentative noises have come from:
Garry_Lager (category?)
kelvinshuffle A/B
weeksy B
trail_rat B
mooman B
savoyad C
IvanDobski C
dangeourbrain D
So if the faster ones (B+) don't mind riding with us slower ones (C/D) we could enter a mixed team into "latte" or "mocha" depending on who is available / wants to ride / how many we are. It's forgiving of exact category choice (i.e. the rules re-categorise you rather than the usual zwiftpower dq) so there's some flexibility depending on how it pans out. Alternatively if fast people want to go fast, and pretty much everyone is up for it, we might need two smaller teams.
I'm happy in a bcd
I'm a B savoyad - defo interested in a stw team but depends on what my other team is doing. Can confirm next week.
I'm in the system now. It turns out that there's no 6.30 race in the registration system. So our choices are:
10.20am (almost no-one else entered)
6.15pm (busy)
7.40pm (not busy)
I have no preference at all, I'll just enter whatever a consensus seems to suggest. One difference between busy and not busy is how long we'd have to do the "don't pedal in game yet" thing in the start pen.
Id be keen to give it a try at some point Im a C
Happy with any.
6:30 races tight .. but 7pm perfect👍
Happy to ride in any group
Yeah 7.40 better for me than 6.30 if that works for others
What day is this?
What day is this?
Thursday 23rd April for now.
Ah, sure, I'm in
Time irrelevant
If your going for the ttt a few tips.
Stop pedalling 30s before the start or you'll jump start..... Or go sit in the pairing screen and spin to your heart's content. About 30s before your time to go stop spinning and return to the normal view (once your turbo has spooled down). There is also a launch trick where you sit in the pairing screen and spin up to power like normal and hit escape (returns you to the game) at your start time. You should start quicker doing this but is difficult so we don't use it.
Don't go off to hard, more important to blob up quickly.
It's mixed cat in all coffee classes, the higher cats should still be turning themselves inside out doing harder/longer turns. No idea what the course is for next week but if there are hills the stronger riders need to protect the weaker riders by pulling the climbs.
Enjoy, it's surprisingly good fun. 😀
Groan, I hate NY.
Ny sucks but if that's where the race is.
19:40 works better than 6.30 for me as that's bairns bath time.
How do you do a "team"
Another tip for The TTT, don’t use a TT bike.
For results to count you need team name in () eg (STW) appended to both your Zwift Power and Zwift profiles.
@Mossimus it only needs to be in your zwift power profile. Only reason to change you zwift name is if your team uses a number system.
What is very important is that every rider has it set exactly the same. With so many riders at the moment they are not correcting for mistakes.
To enter a team someone needs to register at wtrl.racing and enter one. You'll need a idea of the cats of who's going to take part so you can pick the correct coffee class.
I'd suggest who ever does that also does the checking to make sure every rider is in the right pen and has the right naming.
Our team is entered. 7.40pm on Thursday, Astoria Line 8.
Now you each need to sign up as individual riders. We need between 3 and 8 people. Here's what to do:
1. On zwift, enter the event. It's here: https://www.zwift.com/events/tag/wtrl/view/594453. Enter CATEGORY A (it's not done on w/kg, ignore that. Just enter Category A). Do this asap.
2. On zwiftpower, tag your name with our team name, which is STW. Put it in brackets. So login to zwiftpower.com-->zwift profile-->settings--> change Rider Name to "[yourridername] (STW)". Do this any time before the race starts. If you don't yet have a zwiftpower account, be warned there's some hassle involved in setup.
That's it for now. Once we have a team assembled we can figure out the detail.
Entered event
Entered event and updated Zwiftpower name
Entered the event and edited Zwiftpower
Entered and updated.
Not sure if it's helps with the organising of the team but according to ZP I'm officially a D almost a C. Not sure how because I was dq'd from a D race the other day for being over the w/kg limit but that's what it says.
All done ... I think!
Not sure if it’s helps with the organising of the team but according to ZP I’m officially a D almost a C. Not sure how because I was dq’d from a D race the other day for being over the w/kg limit but that’s what it says.
The zwiftpower categories look to be respective of a change which will be implemented May 1st. Eg I'm now showing as (80% of whatever that means) cat C despite my w/kg being over 3.1.
You'll see below I'm a minimum B(top of screen) but a cat C lower down.
[img] 
[/img]
I've entered and edited my screen name on zp and zwift.
You're right, that has changed a fair bit so it looks like I'm back in the D's for a while, or at least until May when god knows what'll happen!
I took part in my first ever race (real or virtual) this afternoon. It was a sand and sequoias ITT. I either came 2nd or 3rd in Cat D depending on which site you use. I'm pretty pleased with that as it was very much a learning experience for me.
I learnt that TTs are chuffin miserable.
Lol none of the others are less miserable, but they're fun!!
What's the new cats thing then ?
Would put me back into c as well despite having a similar weight to you dangerous brain and putting out another 45watts - and doing ok in B .....
I'd get punted from C for sandbagging on ZP currently so what's the change ?
It looks like they are planning on looking (somehow) at more than just ftp in w/kg for their categorisation - so taking into account 5 mins as well, and also pure watts. I wonder if they are aligning, at least partially, with whatever zwift's new anti-sandbagging feature is doing in the background - I think that looks at 5 mins as well.
How odd. That new graphic shows my 5 minute as a few % inside B, 20 minute well into A and raw watts as A+. How confusing.
So is the logic in this new categorisation it makes clearer those who have mastered staying under the 20 min cat limit but smashing everyone in their cat with 1 & 5 Minute time?
I can kind of see the value in that.
Did a quick 45 minutes on the Astoria Route (aka the TTT route) just now as I realised I'd never actually ridden that specific route before, nowt really to report, no long climbs, descents or flat drags really, a couple of short steep digs but the whole central park stuff blurs in together for me so hard to remember what comes where.
Do you get segments times/avg power like the ITT?
Wtf. Between me writing the above post and looking again just now.....
My proposed catagorys gone back to a B
They have dropped the 1 min power off the proposed. - which is what was dragging me to a C as I don't do sprints. I do long breaks and ramp up from 3-4 km out just pushing up the power....cause my sprints shite.
I think I'm on my fourth or fifth version of them presenting it
Would put me back into c as well despite having a similar weight to you dangerous brain and putting out another 45watts – and doing ok in B …..
My one race I got punted from c, no way I could hold my own in B yet, power aside I just haven't the experience of what and where.
I'll be happy to bump up to B once I've got a handle on how it works but I need to work up to that really, in B now I'm just going to find it silly as the whole bunch disappear out of sight on the start.
Anyhow the TTT should be fun, sort of.
Vikings vahalla 100 this morning with a few guys from the IRL club. . The blob had good pace. Averages 2.8w/kg and 40km/he
2:39 for full route.
First metric century. Sterzo works well for stood climbing. My pipe lagging psudo rocker worked well for preventio. Of numb bum
My pipe lagging psudo rocker worked well for preventio. Of numb bum
Ohhhhh colour me interested. Sounds a lot cheaper than a set of expensive bibs for zwifting!
Is there any way to get a breakdown of a ride on Zwift at all. ZP shows me my overalls but it only seems to show 20min breaks etc for races. If be interested to see how my actual rides break down
Companion app gives you a blow by blow power out put over events
My pipe lagging thing sounds better than it is but I'll stick photos up later
Companion app gives you a blow by blow power out put over events
Ah, so it's not just for proving I'm working hard because neither the touch screen nor the finger print sensor work properly though the sweat when I try to type!
My pipe lagging thing sounds better than it is but I’ll stick photos up later
I bought one of the proprietary ones - used air bladders on each side, sandwiched between the base and upper plate. Was a right pain in the arse so I changed it for cut up pool-noodles that were in the garage from when the kids were young. It's genuinely BETTER than it was before in use, as well as maintenance-free
Any photos of that ? I have lots of backer rods kicking about from DIY rim savers.
My pipe lagging is just two bits on the legs and two bits running perpendicular letting the trainer move a bit and isolating it from the ground. Works ok.
Rode the PRL full this morning, 11 times up box hill. Got a @weeksy invite about 60 miles in, in hindsight this might have been the better option. Ticked the route badge off but definitely won’t be repeating that one.
Yeah I spotted the prl, thought "oooooh I've got a day off on Friday" then looked at the route and thought nah.
Does anyone fancy a recce of the TTT course some time before Thursday by the way? Never ridden astoria before so will need to have a quick loop just to figure out out but these things are always better with company