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Nothing here. All good on my Snap.
20:25 WBR Innsbruckring Flat Race 4 Lapper this evening, was with the front main group through most of the first lap, and got distracted towards the end as was waiting for a text of the mrs to say she'd got to work ok, they got a gap on me, 5 seconds, tried to close it for a minute, but no chance, left me 20 seconds up on those behind, took them half a lap or so to catch me, ended in a group of 5 for a lap, 2 left up the hill, got caught by a big group, stayed with them for a bit, got dropped at the top of the hill on the down, finished solo 30 seconds back on a group of 10, and 30 seconds up and anyone behind,
felt disappointed at the end, however, i did the same race at the end of September and i did 258w for 20 minutes and my HR was sky-high, and this race was 285w, so ill take some solace in that
Results here 19/32 in B
285 is awesome power mate. Nice work. Sometimes races make us happy, sometimes we're disappointed, even when the results are better lol. All part of being human.
I've got stage 2 of the tour planned for 9am. Won't be going nuts due to distance and climbs.
Well that was horrific !
Anyone want to swap their Kickr for my neo? Or buy my neo?
I’m training for a big ride over the Pyrenees next year so have just ordered a Kickr climb (on special offer) so need to get a compatible trainer.
Willing to sell the neo for £575 with an 11 speed Shimano cassette fitted if anyone interested
Back on the wagon. Two laps of Innsbruck yesterday to fill in for too busy to get outside. I’ve done longer rides, but two hours is perfectly fine. Three really needs rollers, but my single sided Favero doesn’t talk nicely to iOS via Bluetooth.
Anybody using a surface go/pro with ANT dongle? That would work.
Oh and a fixed 100 miles on the road in the cold today. Much more like it!
I been completing the Wahoo Climb Mission all week, so first race today.
La Bicicletta Toronto Zwift Donut race - 2 laps of London and Fox hill.
The first time up Fox Hill be dropped the hanger ons to have a group of about 10 as we descended; on second time up Fox Hill I decided to try thin it out a bit more by upping the pace so everyone had to put a big effort in. By time I got to top I had put 17 seconds on the chasing group and with 6 miles to finish ... 4 of them chased and I managed to hold on and finish 6 seconds clear.
The week of climbing alpe du Zwift certainly helped today.
TOur of London Stage 3 today then.
Not actually sure when I'm going to ride it though, i've got 7pm and 8pm penciled in currently, but could easily be 6pm... Xmas shopping after work with my boy and collecting Hope Pro4's for myself. But should be home by 6pm, if so, i'll likely ride it then.
7 laps of the Classique, although in reverse, not sure i've ever ridden the reverse layout of it. But these Tour Events have been useful as i'm riding longer distances than usual on them, more distance, more time, can't hurt leading up to Xmas.
That seems like a LOT of up Mooman. Weirdly i seem like riding on Zwift is harder than outdoors when going up... maybe it's the speed... Maybe outdoors i just cruise up, then on Zwift i try harder... Don't know really...weird.
I find Alpe du zwift is really good to tempo and gauge your effort. Whenever I race a hilly course I inevitably get dropped from front group on the last climb. It was nice to actually have the strength on last climb to take the lead and be the one splintering the group .... the Alpe is definitely good strength training.
Day 3 of the tour, classique reverse, so suits my profile more.
Went off quite hard, then just hung in mostly, was pretty tough going
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=107789
50/240 on the road, 39th according to Zwift.
Well, that's my 6 week FTP builder in the bag.. only missed one session and that was down to the crappy interface.
So, 30 sessions and 40 or so hours later I've gone from an FTP of 154W (a bit road-bike rusty and probably not that representative) and 2w/kg via 168w early on (probably more representative as a base) to 215W and 3w/kg today - a not inconsiderable improvement!
Suppose I can't put off trying some races now..? 😀
Top of C group then👍
The races will bring you fitness on faster. Practicing your positioning will help your results.
Not sure 215w will get you top of C in many races to be honest.... maybe top5 though, the C guys are all pushing right on the boundaries for many races, right on the limit and not lightweights, so power plays a factor. I rekon to be at the pointy end i need to be putitng out 270w average for a C podium. Sure, some courses you may get away with less... but not so sure.
Looking quickly through 5-6 races there was only 1 race where a person with <220w got in the top 4....
I don't expect to be at the top end to start with, but at least I should be able to feel competitive compared to where I was 6 weeks ago. I'll be taking it easy and learning the maps / race-craft so I can be tactical rather than just trying to blast it the whole time.
Yeah you'll get in the melting pot with it 🙂 You'll need to be over FTP for the first minute to get position though... then settle in and see what it brings. The larger fields over winter will be good too 🙂
I rekon to be at the pointy end i need to be putitng out 270w average for a C podium.
I guess that comes down to weight. I average 270-280w and more often than not podium in the B category ... thats with a 3.8-3.9w/kg.
I thought with a 3w/kg that would have been top of the category below mine??
We'll soon find out I guess, but as we know, watts and w/kg are better/worse depending on the courses, imo you'll need to be right on the 3.19 limit for wins mostly. The closer to DQ the better.
I'm fighting tired leg syndrome along with 3x box hill on stage 4 tomorrow, but home early and fancy a ride I must say.
Did the earlier Sydkysten Cycling - Carl Ras Race. That short little Kleiner Hügel climb is a killer to stay with the group!
Lose the group before they get to top and descend and you never get back on.
We lost the front group of A cats on the 2 nd climb up there. And just a group of about eight B cats then till we climbed it the last time .. just the 4 of us then to the finish; I was the only one who didnt have a TT bonus thing to press for the sprint .. the three of them out sprinted me to finish.
Although zwift power had me getting the bronze because one of them couldnt have been registered.
OUCH
Well that will teach me not to choose a race before getting on the bike! Basically left it a bit late so jumped on blind and chose the next race to start. What I didn't realise was that Zwift will now place you in different worlds to do different races. Was happily warming up in Watopia and the next thing I was in the pit for a TT in New York. Not only a time trail, but a route that took in the KOM Arch 3 times!!! So my least favourite discipline, in my least favourite world on my least favourite course lol. Cue a LOT of sweating and some very sore legs. Did manage a sprint race to the line (that I lost) and some pretty good climbing power too so was probably a good work out. After the race I rolled down to the lower level and had a go at the NY Sprint. Imagine my surprise to find I was only the third to do it today (since it is not really open riding there I guess) and also the fastest. First time I have had a Green Jersey to wear in Zwift 🙂
Just checked my results, was 9th in B out of 26 B riders and 17th overall. So happy with that. Will check what I am letting myself in for next time though.....
Well, that didn't go well.. maybe the "Road to Sky" (Alpe du Zwift) route was a tad ambitious for a first try! Started out ok but then started going backwards and ended up in a small, mid-pack group in no-mans-land.. bailed out once I started falling out of the back after about 15km (30 min) at threshold.
Struggled a bit with getting the group balance right - I was either on the front for long periods or playing catch up, rather than sitting in.
Maybe I should've eaten something before, maybe should've had a day off after my FTP test, maybe shouldn't have recalibrated the turbo trainer, maybe should've tried harder..
Maybe you should have listened to your own advice lol
I’ll be taking it easy and learning the maps / race-craft so I can be tactical rather than just trying to blast it the whole time.
🙂
Respect for trying Alp du Zwift as your first race though....
The Alpe is a solid 50 mins even at your own solid pace ... only done it once in a race and it was brutal; being in the wrong group - or even just staying in a group is horrendous when you having to keep closing the gap!
Good over-night write ups guys 🙂 Much appreciated.
Wasn't sure i was going to make Stage 4 today, felt a bit rough last night with what felt like an oncoming cold... but happily this morning i'm feeling OK.
However, the plan today is not to even attempt to 'race' stage 4, it's Box Hill X3, so couldn't suit me less if it tried... So i'll be sitting at 2.0w/kg mostly and trundling round for last place, treating it as a recovery/easy day. No point killing myself on a course i have no chance of anything more than a finish on.
Alpe for first race LOL... nice one 🙂
Alpe as a first race. Ouch. Road to sky is a good hour 10 minutes even if you can get up the alpe in 50.
I've done nothing for a week. Lost a bit of motivation.
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