For the last six weeks I've been doing the 3R KOM race on a Sunday afternoon which just the Road to the Sky, def recommend entering for anyone who wants to encourage a good time up the Alpe, always someone a few feet ahead to try and chase down or someone a few feet behind to encourage you not to slow down.
Plus it gives you the average watts over each segment which is helpful to keep at or around your FTP
3R KOM race on a Sunday afternoon which just the Road to the Sky, def recommend entering for anyone who wants to encourage a good time up the Alpe,
sound idea in theory but we do our club ride sunday am (via the medium of zwift atm) 100+ km , Doubt ill be setting any records up the alpe on sunday afternoon 😀
Record attempt day will be weekend after this when the TfA looks likely to go up. Pick the busiest timeslot.
Did the Tour For All stage 1 Waistband short race last night, first full-on effort since middle of March pre-COVID, 280W average from 4iiii (and an inflated 298W from Direto used in Zwift) left me drained after the ~40min race and drained this morning... Might give myself extra time to cycle to work shortly and delivering for ~5 hours could be intresting!
On the plus side, I managed 171bpm for 20mins, when I've not done more than 162bpm for a while. On the down side, my best 20mins was 280W on the 4iiii, so I've dropped my FTP to 266W and I'm basically back to where I was before the TT Tune-Up I did in Jan/Feb and improved FTP to 294W... Meh!
ANyone who has done Stage 1 on Tour For All - it may miscategorise you as doing stage 1 as a run. Zwift are aware and are going to fix it.
Did my first time trial this morning and ended up 34th out of about 75. Seems there's a lot of people under 70kg who can bang out over 300 watts.
I averaged 330 for 26 mins so I got a big FTP bump from 296 to 314 watts.
Not sure how that's happened. Might be time to check my trainer against my power meter
44 mins up Alpe is proper fast!!
That's 4 mins faster than my PB .. and 6 mins faster than my best time this year!
How much do you weigh Kelvinshuffle and what power do you need to put out for that time?
That's very impressive suffering👍
Ugh just did the route Big Loop for the first time yesterday and did it pretty intensely so I was knackered afterwards, and it never gave me the route completed achievement or badge. I know I did the whole route as I gave a good few kms extra after the finish and still nothing. It's pretty annoying.
I'm going to drop out of the TTT this week sorry folks, going to get out on my bike in the real world and go the long way home from the office.
Not got much in my legs after last night anyway - sufficiently little I had to drive to work this morning as I'd have had to leave earlier than I actually crawled from my pit to make it in time on the bike
2 1/2 minutes better then my PB which absolutely killed me. Kelvin looks to be more towards the fly weight end of the weight spectrum. Perfect route for decent power and lower weight 💪.
Thanks chaps that's 4.4w/kg for the whole Road to the Sky course on ZwiftPower, so 287 watts at 65kg/170cms
I've been following the training programmes pretty religiously which I think has helped, plus I've lost about 26Kg since last October, so have been lucky to increase watts while dropping KGs.
Found myself in the slightly strange situation where I feel I've got a really flat power power curve now though.
51 Min - 4.4
20 Min - 4.5
5 Min - 4.8
1 Min 5.4
Not sure if to change things up to try and get a bit more top end or stick with things as they are.
Wow 26Kg loss, impressive @kelvinshuffle, well done!
Anyone know if I sign up for the ceramic speed mission, will it stop my Everest mission whilst I do it? I don't want to affect my climbing stats by swapping.
You can sign up for both no worries
When do we find out our start slot for tomorrow's TTT?
Still tbc kelvin, registration closes at 7pm tonight so will be after that that times go up.
So what is the course for tomorrow, did it change?
Is it a short flat route by any chance?!
Still out and back again sorry Ivan
You in Ivan? You're not showing in the companion App.
Did I see Mooman was in as well?
65kg/170cms
I’ve been following the training programmes pretty religiously which I think has helped, plus I’ve lost about 26Kg since last October
If thats true - then thats as impressive as your Alpe time. Have you got any pix of the pre-October 14st you to compare to the 10st you today?
I guess for such a short person (only 5`8" shorty here too) losing almost a 3rd of your body weight would make the before and after pics almost unrecognisable.
Ugh just did the route Big Loop for the first time yesterday and did it pretty intensely so I was knackered afterwards, and it never gave me the route completed achievement or badge.
I had the same problem on Sunday when I finished the Quatch Quest - 1,700m of climbing up the swanny as far as my stats are concerned, and it didn't record as a completed route.There's not much that can be done about it, but it's annoying nontheless.
If we're playing that game, to m lighter than that by 10lb now but don't have recent pic
After
[img] 
[/img]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/40815669823/ ]2019-05-05_07-47-37[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url] - [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dariogf.flickr2BBcode ]Flickr2BBcode[/url]
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Before
[img] 
[/img]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/41091866210/ ]2018-06-19_05-34-52[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url] - [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dariogf.flickr2BBcode ]Flickr2BBcode[/url]
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Have to say Weeksy, this thread in particular was a big inspiration for me along the way, so thanks and well done!
Well done both Kelvin & Weeksy👍
I just tried to do an hour on Zwift - yep was looking to PB the Alpe - but some reason my trainer is not getting identified by Zwift .. hopefully nothing serious; will try to do TTT tomoz if trainer/zwift ok🤞
What time again is it?
Well if we are doing Zwift related weight loss stories...I'm 11kg down so far since I started zwifting at the end of Jan.
It's really helped me and this thread was the motivator...so thanks Steve for starting the journey.
Still plan to lose another 10kg if possible but I'm sure that will be harder.
What time again is it?
It's the 6.30 race, enter cat D iirc
Time tomorrow is +17 minutes 🙄
I'm thinking if the later ones are less busy maybe we should move back next week?
That said I'm not going to be joining you tomorrow as I'm going to be out in the sunshine instead taking the long off road way home from work instead sorry.
Wasn't sure how I felt after work today having suffered yesterday afternoon, so despite the lovely weather, I decided to jump on Zwift instead of heading out. Did the Newbury Velo Midweek TT @ Tempus Fugit and averaged 3.8W/Kg (296W) from the 4iiii, which meant I could increase my FTP to 280W after feeling a bit depressed about my post-covid losses last night.
Tomorrow will need to be an easy day, as I then finished my legs off in the 1-lap Innsbruck Mini Crit after ~20mins recovery.
which meant I could increase my FTP to 280W after feeling a bit depressed about my post-covid losses last night.
Nice one Goat, good to see you back on the mend!
Time tomorrow is +17 minutes 🙄
Did those of you who rode last week have much joy with the warming up on the pairing page trick? 17 minute feels long enough that hardly feels worth warming up before hand
I'm in but don't expect great things!
Did those of you who rode last week have much joy with the warming up on the pairing page trick? 17 minute feels long enough that hardly feels worth warming up before hand
Going to the pairing screen works fine. It must be this one, though - Don't do what I did a few weeks back and go to the garage where you choose your kit, and try and warm up - pedalling on this screen will actually move you on the course.
Also checking the start time it's +17 from the 6.33 start time so 6.50 right?
Should be for the 18.30 as far as I'm aware, it's 17 minutes after banner up anyhow, that's the important thing. Someone needs to take charge of the stop watch for that.
Just seen that Ivan's dropped out for tonight. How many of us does that leave? 4?
My internet has been really flakey and I'm waiting for a new router to arrive. Worried that it may drop out again like it did on Tues. Worth cancelling this week?
I'm still a no i'm afraid... both legs and route are not the best, so i'm a nope for this one.
I've only done "Out And Back" once apparently, albeit at just over 2W/kg during an early TT Tune-Up session, IMO on paper it's quite a flat ~25 mile route with a ~10min climb up the volcano and a ~5min climb up the Watopia Reverse KOM covering ~600 feet of the ~1000 feet total climbing.
My hunch is that I would pick the Tron bike, because of the speed on the rest of the route besides those two climbs, or the Cervelo S5 with Zipp 454 wheels.
This article of 4-main TTTT tactics popped up https://zwiftinsider.com/speed-tests-ttt/ in the last day or two.
@n0b0dy0ftheg0at I [I]always[/I] pick the Tron bike cos it's rad 😂 (even tho it bugs me that you can't tell when you're in the draft). There's only a few seconds between the different bike/wheel combos surely? Or is it really worth picking the best bike for each course?
I'm still up for it even with only 4... realistically that's probably the minimum (if you want to finish) as you've still got a spare! Don't care if we get a slow time 😃 Who is still in btw? Is it possible to check somewhere? If kelvin/moo are still in they might have to slow down a bit from usual monster pace for me 😂😂Just seen that Ivan’s dropped out for tonight. How many of us does that leave? 4?
https://zwiftinsider.com/category/reference/speed-tests/ There's some difference between bikes and wheels, but some courses are in that "grey area" which aren't flat and aren't really climbing routes either.
No visual clue regarding drafting is a downside to the Tron bike, maybe having a dedicated front rider on the Tron for the TTT would work, while others choose another frame.
Don't forget to activate the Ceramic Mission challenge for extra marginal gains on all bikes this month. 😉
I'm still in for this evening.
@n0b0dy0ftheg0at VERY interesting reading on that ZI link re. the draft effect btw. As everyone probably suspected (although we totally failed to do it on the TTT last week, or the hare & hounds this week 😂) properly organised "chain drafting" or whatever you want to call it is [b]way[/b] more efficient than "churning" at the front (which is what we do lol).
Basic overview is: the more riders in single file in front, the greater the draft. 4th rider in the chain can hold a wheel with approx 33% power reduction! That is massive and could potentially allow a C rider at the back to keep up with a strong B or A at the front. Or allow equal strength riders to ride more efficiently by resting at the back and taking organised turns on the front.
The 17 minute wait will start at 18:33. Pen D is just delayed slightly behind pen A (where we were the last couple of weeks).
The organisers' site is showing our team for this evening as:
kelvinshuffle A
dknwhy B
phil56 B
savoyad C
zilog6128 C
Time would be on the 4th from 5.
Did anyone else plan to ride? I can't see any bad tags or people in the wrong category. @mooman? (are your tech issues solved)
Can I join the TTT?
Is there anything special I need?
Would I be quick enough or just a hinderence?
VERY interesting reading on
I only realised [so went and googled] when it was mentioned up there about the tron bike having no visual cue that there's any way to tell you're in the draft on Zwift.
I just assumed it kicked in when you're close enough and that's that but it seems not. Now I'm wondering why I always seem to end up alongside rather than directly behind, suggesting I'm not actually drafting at all. That said I figured that my avatar sitting up/standing was directly linked to my power/cadence so I've probably been digging my self out of the draft every time thinking I'm slacking.
I reckon the more the merrier! Tiger what cat are you? Do you have a profile on Zwiftpower?
Would I be quick enough or just a hinderence?
Think of it this way: you might be a hinderence but in the same way putting on 4st will ruin your ability to fly unaided.
@dangeourbrain yup! Standing up is linked to cadence but [I]sitting[/I] up is the draft cue (which you don't get riding a Tron for some annoying reason)so I’ve probably been digging my self out of the draft every time thinking I’m slacking.
The real trick with the draft effect is that it's a [b]range[/b] of values needed to hold wheel so you need to back off until you start to drift back, thus finding the lowest possible power output. This allows you to ride WAY more efficiently & conserver energy. Rather than everyone just surging forward at the front like a pack of racing greyhounds which is what we do at the moment 😂
Basic overview is: the more riders in single file in front, the greater the draft. 4th rider in the chain can hold a wheel with approx 33% power reduction! That is massive and could potentially allow a C rider at the back to keep up with a strong B or A at the front. Or allow equal strength riders to ride more efficiently by resting at the back and taking organised turns on the front.
We do/have tried it, but it's not quite that simple compared to on a road, you can't just ease off a tiny bit and stay directly behind.
Out of all our riders i think i'm arguably right up there in Zwift skills as i've done 350 races etc, but even for me it's far from 100%
I assume we'll be using the discord STW channel this evening? @Tiger6791 you need to download the discord app to your phone if you haven't already and find the discord address further back in this thread
Seems super hard to ride in a line on the TTTs, so easy to yoyo off the back doing this. The game engine seems to blob you together v easily.
Heard some strong espresso riders talk about taking your pull from the back being key to speed in the TTT - In an 8 it's the back 2 who pull through the group for a short hard turn at the front. Better avoids the sticky draft of the front two peeling off and slowing you down as you come through. Obv you'd need to be pretty dialled in with your formation for this to work.
Here are the instructions for @tiger6791 (and anyone else tempted...):
- enter the event on zwift. It's category D (you must enter D) here https://www.zwift.com/events/view/713952
- tag yourself in zwiftpower by adding (STW) to the end of your rider name (in zwiftpower - zwift profile - settings - rider name). This is how the TTT system picks you up as a member of the team
- follow dangerourbrain's discord link above. there's a text chat channel and a voice channel in there so we can hear each other panting.
- make sure you are in the pen by 18:30 (maybe 18:33 but to be on the safe side). Before the event says GO, you must stop pedalling completely (!) and we'll spend 17 minutes sat there watching other teams set off one by one. Don't pedal during those minutes or you'll roll over the line (the workaround is to go to the pairing screen but get back out in time for the start if you do that)
- At our start time one of us will count us down to go. The rest is easy.
That's all. See you later.
that would seem the natural/obvious way to do it, given the way the game works (rather than say the 2nd rider taking the front place, or the lead rider just slowing down)In an 8 it’s the back 2 who pull through the group for a short hard turn at the front.
EDIT: although interesting that they are doing it in pairs, not singly
kelvinshuffle
MemberI reckon the more the merrier! Tiger what cat are you? Do you have a profile on Zwiftpower?
I'd say I was a Cat D now (maybe C? hard to know)
Zwift profile here, take it with a pinch of salt though, the person in that profile with trophies against B races was a different version of me 🙂 (and on a much quieter version of Zwift)
https://www.zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=288273
I think you'd kill D if you didn't go out too hard.. I'd say you're a decent C.... not quite a race winning C at the moment, but up the sharp end i think
In an 8 it’s the back 2 who pull through the group for a short hard turn at the front. Better avoids the sticky draft of the front two peeling off and slowing you down as you come through
Makes a lot of sense looking at the article. If rider 2 pulls slightly out of sync with the rest your group would be ruined. Rider 3 is relying on sticking to 2s draft 4 to 3 and so on so any break in the line sees the riders behind spat out very quickly. Taking turns off the back completely gets rid of that risk.
EDIT: although interesting that they are doing it in pairs, not singly
Yes this was for a 4x2 formation, rather than an 8x1 set up - with pairs taking turns, don't know if this is a standard thing with the experienced teams. 8x1 sounds like it would be almost impossible to keep in order on zwift.
Plenty to experiment with in any case! Good luck with your race - Expecting a hard sesh this evening. Course record in frappe is just under an hour so it will be the longest one I've done, plus a decent climb in the mix.
Fwiw by the way I'm signed on for the event still. If I'm home in time I'll join you but it's unlikely.
I know, now I've to choose between going the long way and enjoying the (currently unusual) ride sans Mrs brain a bit longer or the shorter way and riding zwift too.
Trying to pick up the couple of pedally strava segments I'm in spitting distance of topping on the way back or having slightly better legs for zwift.
Daddy or chips.
It's all too much I tell ya.
Discord ✅
Name change ✅
Event entered ✅
Couple of quick Qs ??
Kit? Do we Bumblebee?
Bike? TT bike or is this a draft ride?
On the bike/wheel choice I reckon for most of the crew weight > aero right?
No TT bikes, would kinda defeat the point
Ssssssshhhh man. You're no fun.
Just did a 1hr TT in my man cave. Started at 27 degrees went up to 31. 🙁
Started at 27 degrees went up to 31.
That's steep!! You're supposed to do TTs on the flat really
Apologies guys but I'm dropping out tonight. Been one of those days and I need to get out of the house for a ride in the sunshine. Good luck.
There's the chance of Mooman and Dangeour right?
I've started back up racing in zwift, I'm doing the British Cycling South East championship - it's bloody killing me! I only restarted cycling from running Mid march, naturally the first thing I did was hit a ramp test and got an FTP result of 301w, then mid April I started this series and my FTP quickly jumped to 336w. I did a TT race a couple of weeks ago racing Alex Dowsett where my FTP rocketed to 352w (and I beat him (but he's at altitude) https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=376569 )!! This naturally is completely unsustainable as I have no base for it so I've got some serious DOMs I'm stuggling to shift ha.
Anyway, the reason I'm posting is that next week (thursday evening) we are doing a TTT as part of this. What are your top tips for it?
I'm still in 🙂
Although I may have just done something a little silly.....
Curiosity got the better of me while setting up for the TTT and I thought I'd try a quick race..... been a few years...
Didn't go all out but tank is definitely less full
Also some comical results...
They guy who was fastest C is....
180cm & 58KG & can put out 6.2w/kg
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=712679
Sadly that's very typical of racing at the moment and part of the reason I'm not bothering
Good luck fellas! I'll be there in spirit, but in reality I'm just back from 2 hours in the woods and drinking Hobgoblin
@Tiger6791 Tour For All races don't use conventional categories, C is 3.2-5W/Kg, it's what I entered on Tuesday. 😉
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=712643
If you want to do the short race and you normally stay under 3.2W/Kg average, you enter D.
Good luck to those of you TTTing shortly, I might offer my hinderence next week, ~60mins sustained effort might kill me at the mo (especially after yesterday's ~25&15min TT/races).
Our club smashing it! Finished at 27th so far pulling some serious watts
Well done all! Phil is a wind eating machine
Well that was fun 🙂
Pace felt okay despite having being silly earlier, hills kill me, flats I can power through...
Glad it all went well folks, sounds like you did better without me!
Sorry I didn't make it but at least I enjoyed my ride in the sunshine
1.07 which looks like a pretty respectable Frappe time, really good Latte time and amazing Mocha - which reckon for an ABCCD team top notch result.
Yeah that was great, not quite as tough as I’d feared it would be on the hills (although probably couldn’t have gone much harder lol). Almost splintered a couple of times but we managed to keep it together! They weren’t so steep so the draft effect was still pretty strong I thought.
So how do we find out how we got on?
Or doesn’t it matter ?
(Mid run with dogs which is sort of more a walk now)