Look how many races this guy does a day and look at his results 😯
[url= https://www.zwiftpower.com/profile.php?id=5800396 ]Zwift addict[/url]
Why the heck did I think the KISS 50km sportive was going to be reasonably gentle?!
It was bloody hard work.
Muggo the bloke who “won” cat c is actually a cat A rider so dont beat yourself up. No idea why he is in C but he is normally far too rapid for me.
It was a tough ride. I got dropped from my group a few times and had to really put the hammer down to catch back up, but got dropped again about 3km from the finish and after this mornings race and 47km in this one, I just could not go again so just accepted my position as I was around 1.5 mins in front of those behind me and pootled across the line.
Thats pretty impressive given you had already raced, nice riding fella.
Cheers. Looking forward to a night of beer and football then a day off tomorrow before some mtbing Sunday.
Did my second race, 4 lap flat WBR at 1505. Turned on Zwift at 1500, quickly changed my virtual wheels to 808s and updated my name.
On the start line warming up at 1504...
Usual frantic start, then the group split in the gravel. I was in the second group - 7 B's and an A. One guy went off the front, I went with him, we got about 15 seconds but I knew it was doomed so did the minimum. Some slight attrition left only 5 in the group at the end and I managed to come second in the sprint - left it late.
7th out of 18 B's, quite pleased as I'm a lightweight on a flat course.
Ooo, promoted to 5th now. People not wearing HRMs.
Great result beej, always great finding out others arent wearing hrm.
I just did the 19.00 figure8 - not my favourite course (too much climbing) but was the only one tonight with a decent size field
Dropped on 1st climb, as expected 🙄 but was with a bunch of about 8
... 2 of whom were from one team and obviously pulling some tactics, which made all the rest of us ded cagey so it was an odd ride with lots of low power followed by powwah surges
Second time, just before the hill, one of the "team of 2" blazed away never to be seen again (not quite sure how he ended up being dropped initially). I'd held on to a feather throughout an chucked it in up the hill, just to hold my own but amazingly I dropped all but one other rider. Thought I'd then dumped him across the top but he had an aero and caught me on the descent. Tried to dump hime several more times but he obviously had more left than me and I never got more than 10 yards on him. He outsrpinted me for *ahem* ninth place.
First "tactical" race I've ever been in, I think
and a question:
Why is my avatar so stoopid - likes to ride alongside a bunch, right in the wind, rather than tuck in behind anyone ?
How do I make the algorithm tuck me in ?
It's stuck in Nath mode 😆 😀
Nath draft mode engaged 😆
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Just like ^ that 😀
I'm sure my neighbours are going to report me - shouting "get across the road you ****!" in my garage. Does anyone shout that at nath ?
(think I noticed it more today because I ended up using the overhead view when we were being all cagey, just to see who was putting in a burst)
Resting the legs... 😆
Just done the 40km diamondback TT mission, with a cheeky flying lap of the volcano. I can confirm it was a stupid idea as my backs killing now.... Need to stop track standing at lights dammit..
I only shout it when he attacks and I get dropped 😆
9.05am for WBR? Weather looking awful.
I gave you hand signals to follow my wheel on one of those occasions...
I thought you had cramp in your fingers 😆
Sodding windows update killed laptop when I was in pen. Now too late for race.
So i have the tacx t2240 and obviously i am pretty use to zwift so i know pretty much which gears i normally ride in. I did an update to the tacx on tuesday and then jumped in to a race and knew immediately something had changed. Normally I use the middle 2 gears of the cassette but after the update i am now having to use the last 3 which means i dont have a lot of scope for increasing the pace. I am cruising in the 3rd to last gear then 2nd last to do catch ups or a burst then left with the 12t for sprint. I have contacted tacx and did some tests with them and they reckon the watt output is normal for the task they had me do and that my turbo must have been running wrongly before the update (i actually gave them the wrong reading so i dont believe there answer). I am not some powerhouse of a rider, i am an average middle aged rider so i cant believe that i would need to use the top end of my cassette for zwifting. May be nathb and bigfoot and the cat A types might use the top end but not me, what do you guys use gear wise. Or could this just be the limitation of a machine with a 800w max output. I have actually now exchanged my turbo but not tried the new one yet but it does have different firmware version.
Not sure if this will help blader, but I have a tacx flux with a nine speed cassette. I generally use the 4th to 8th gear, mostly 6,7 and 8 unless it is really hilly when I go lower. This is on the lower front sprocket. I generally only use the bigger one going down a decent hill.
I am not as good as you though.
Do you have the option of adjusting the 'difficulty' slider on your Zwift menu Blader?
Fiddling with that one way or the other can help as it basically gears up or down your efforts.
Nath was spinning out on the downhill sprint finish but by making it less 'realistic', he was able to get more gearing and more watts.
I had some weirdness with the slider recently - did a gentle ride up the mountain and found myself having to up the cadence (and power) in bottom gear or else press really hard at 40rpm or drop the slider to reduce the drag on the steepest bits (so I did the latter)
I then forgot about it and did the next race at 25% or whatever I'd set it to and that was a very different experience. I soon realised why, but initially was odd - much harder to follow efforts up hills unless I changed to harder gears and yet easier to keep the power "on" for the flats as we'd crest a hill.
It might help blader's situation but it will change "stuff" too. ALternatively, maybe change up your chainring (or is it just me that's on a compact? 😳 )
Just done a 1 flat lapper - man, that was fast. I got dropped by the lead group (there were about 8 of us at that point) and couldn't get back on. Those folk have some reactions; by the time I saw the first rider going for it, all the others had lit up and were away after "him". No way could I catch that bunch so I TT'd in for 4km. Managed to hold off the pair behind.
Anyhow, I and multiple others have been upgraded to A 8) (and 🙄 - in a 10km race I don't think 4.2 w/kg is "A" territory, is it ?)
Incidentally, the overall winner, and STILL cat B winner was <ahem>:
A.Goldau ZHR QAT ZHR -467w(yep, MINUS) 87kg 89bpm ZP
😀
Problem is that it doesn't change any setting for short sprint races, but of course it should do.
I'm planning on the 8.05pm kiss race hopefully.
Good luck mate
(meant to say yesterday, on my windows10 settings (in the updates section) you can tell the system the typical time ranges when your computer's busy and it won't restart during that period - might prevent what happened to your last race ?)
regarding power, the two Bs who finished ahead of me are listed at 5.09 and 5.52, (and the winner who's now been revised to minus4 watts (not per kg, just -4watts). No wonder I couldn't hold on 😯
Scaredypants i also run a compact with a dinner plate on the back. Also the one lap races tend to be just flat out, bordering on sprints so there is every chance of busting cat limits and having a high watt avg
i will check the slider setting but problem with that is like others i will forget about it and only realise in the middle of a race when i am turning my lungs out that i should have reset it. I will see what the new turbo is like and if its the same then i will just go with the fact that i am the new chris froome!
.
I'm planning on the 8.05pm kiss race hopefully.
See you there. Green and white kinetic kit
Disaster. Just epic disaster. Went off with the bunch I'd expect, but 1/2 a lap in I couldn't get my HR below 170. Power wasn't too bad but I was just gasping for air and not finding it.
Bailed.
Oooof.
jammers, did you get him ?
(you looked pretty well matched)
Went too soon, passed me on the line.
We’d been playing cat and mouse for a Lap and a half. I was trying to get my average down after a stupid first lap and a half...
Ah, bad luck - I seem to do that a lot (I don't have a sprint, so fair enough. It's just that I don't have a fast km in me either 😀 )
Yeh, you're looking pretty close to the Bs on the live page. Sounds like a hard rideI was trying to get my average down
Weeksy, so a few hours ago you were saying you needed a rest week. Then you try and race and wonder why it went wrong 😯 ❗ 😕
Totally baffling behaviour 😆
Got a bit carried away at the start sprint and found myself with the A/B group. Got dropped by them in the first dusty bit and waited for the main C group.
Settled in with them for another lap and was pretty comfortable until I got caught napping by a surge up the little hill before the volcano turn off and I just couldn’t close the gap. Eased right off and rode with that Canadian guy for the rest until the final sprint.
Edit: 5th by the looks of it
Weeksy, so a few hours ago you were saying you needed a rest week. Then you try and race and wonder why it went wrong
I didn't question the Why. I felt rubbish before the race, I debated several times even setting up turbo. But I was bored so went for it, I like to race, I enjoy it, but tonight was not the night.
weeksy, I know you're doing it for the general benefits (wt, health etc) as much as the results but maybe CH has a point - your last few weeks have been peppered with comments like that. I don't think racing or the equivalent in hard riding outdoors, multiple days every week (more, in your case 😆 ) is a goer unless you're massively well conditioned.
In June I had 2-3 DNFs in a row as well as feeling shit out in the real world - I'm not great in the heat but was pushing hard despite that as I had been improving.
A week after the last DNF I had a chest infection that took 2 weeks out of my summer. Rested up (then went on holiday, so no riding for a week even after "recovering", followed by fairly easy MTB week while still on holiday.
Back to the bikes at home after that. Back on zwift a month later and I'm going suspiciously well currently. I'm definitely going to make sure I rest up between bouts of daftness from here on. I know I'm older than you but I think the priciple stands for pretty much all of us lot
But you KNEW your legs were trashed? How did the thought of racing at your worst excite you??
If nothing else, you know what a DNF does to your CVR points 😉
ZSUN group ride would have given you 30+ miles with banter at a sustainable endurance pace and the time would have flown by.
Every spadeful deeper you dig this hole of bad form, the longer it will take to get out of!
Every spadeful deeper you dig this hole of bad form, the longer it will take to get out of
Bad form? I've been riding as well as ever since getting back on the Isaac.
I made a decision, it didn't work out, I don't see it being anything more than that.
I'm not denying I could do with some rest days though.
Can I just say, after hearing about it the other day, that CVR thing is weird - and a bit evil !
(I've done 2 days this week of 90 minutes or so at 120bpm - feel like wasted time but I'm beginning to see the point, or rather the value in not battering myself at 80-90% all the time (60, 100, 60, 100 works better for me - and as CH says, it seems to impress CVR too))
The last few races you've spoken about feeling like you needed days or a week off- i.e. High fatigue. Fatigue increases with fitness and creates negative (bad) form. The only way to get good form is to back off. Fitness drops a little, fatigue drops more so and boom, the form rises.
oh, and @ jam bo - great result!
I say keep racing. It's the only fun bit about Zwift.
Yeah, bailing out in a puddle of sweat and self loathing sounds great 😀
I have these weak moments every so often when I try and steer him towards getting quicker for less effort but I just need to remember I'm banging my head against a brick wall 😆
I do a race pretty much every second day and then do another 20-30 min at half pace, followed by a gentle (or zero) day the next day - that's more than enough for me
It depends on your fitness too. For many A Cat guys, sitting in the lead bunch is Sweetspot wattage for them. They can handle a LOT of that per week.
Pointy end of B is threshold on the flats and balls out up every climb for me and that's at least 48hrs recovery personally until I can replicate the balls out efforts. And if I can't, then I wouldn't want to race. Where's the fun in getting dropped by folk you usually beat?
Yeah CH but you're a bit more focussed on actual racing than many of us (and you're on some formal trainng plan anyway, aren't you ?)
I'm doing it really to get/stay healthy after being put on the diabetic naughty step (and several other markers of middle-age decrepitude). I see weeksy's point of view but I also think he's pushing it a bit far; I didn't realise how knackered I was in the summer until I stopped. Races now are just my "hard days", except for the occasional workout if race fields are too thin or I can't make a start time
Well, I've been focussed on one race for 7 weeks now which has curtailed my Zwift racing.
Interestingly, Weeksy commented on how many hours I was training and how he respected my dedication. A quick look on Strava showed we had in fact both averaged 7hrs06mins in the previous four weeks.
Even if general fitness is your goal then I don't see how adding a bit of structure to ensure you get the best results for your time invested is any harder than thrashing yourself flat out every ride?
To run Zwift, you already have the means for films, music, ebooks, podcasts and YouTube at your disposal so there really is no excuse to be bored at a lower intensity for a couple of your weekly rides.
Hard rides hard, easy rides easy. Avoid the grey!!!
Oh, I agree about not mashing everywhere - though admittedly it's a fairly recent change for me. I reckon around 60% of my time is now at 120 bpm or so, despite me finding it pretty boring (I'm just bimbling up the big hill, logging the climbing to get one of those fancy bikes like you 😉 )
Mostly it's the radio for me - or cycling on eurosport but that tends to make me go too fast as I get carried away (I once nearly fell off a treadmill in a hotel gym while watching a footy match - jumped for a header 😀 ). Should do some podcasts though, you're right about that
OOooh, it's KISS 2nd base tonight 🙂
I always like that one.
😀
SMASH IT !
I know this has probably been asked before, but how do zwift categories translate to real world?
At the moment I’m bouncing along at the top of C. Could I stay with the bunch in a cat 4 race or would I get dropped first lap?
jam bo - Member
I know this has probably been asked before, but how do zwift categories translate to real world?At the moment I’m bouncing along at the top of C. Could I stay with the bunch in a cat 4 race or would I get dropped first lap?
POSTED 6 MINUTES AGO #
CH is the main person to answer this, but for me, pointy end of C can JUST about hang in for a Cat4. With the correct riding skills/technique i think you could hang in the bunch, but that technique requires tweaking, watching, sitting, learning... etc. I don't think CH changed that much between 3-4 races in a power output back when he started racing, but his position improved greatly over that time, but it seemed to me, that was more to his riding style/position etc.
I was doing well in C when i tried a race in Cat4 with CH and Nath... I lasted 2 laps... but i think C now is harder than C then slightly.... But i do question whether if i had a better technique of pack riding i'd have hung in longer....
Yeah, that's pretty much it for Criteriums. Top end of C is plenty to get started. Technique will then decide how far you get.
My first race was -4 laps on the leaders and I averaged about 295w for 21mph 😆
A few months later, the same race would have been around 230w average and I'd have been feeling like I could contest the sprint.
My hunch is that most people who get their Cat 3 points are very close to 4w/kg or have a really strong 1minute power.
Wattsboard.com gives you a crude appraisal of your power profile.
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Zwift isn't friendly to outliers though, I'll try and find the blog post later but there's a guy who's Crit videos I love. He's capable of 35mph sprints and was up to Cat2 US I think.
But as a tiny Asian guy, he's only a D on Zwift!! His wattages are relatively tiny and the Zwift draft doesn't compensate!!!
[quote=jam bo ]Got a bit carried away at the start sprint and found myself with the A/B group. Got dropped by them in the first dusty bit and waited for the main C group.
Settled in with them for another lap and was pretty comfortable until I got caught napping by a surge up the little hill before the volcano turn off and I just couldn’t close the gap. Eased right off and rode with that Canadian guy for the rest until the final sprint.
Edit: 5th by the looks of it
just looked at strava.
lap 1: 280 W average
lap 2: 265 W average
lap 3: 240 W average
Was admittedly a little downhearted after last night I admit, but the reasons of course were fairly clear.
I thought about the 2nd base race tonight for a revenge attack, but instead, I went out on the Parkwood. Trails were too wet but the back lanes were all good, so 50km later and I'm chilling in the bath before consuming a tonne of pasta!
Was a really nice ride, took it really easy and didn't push myself,but was lovely being out just pushing the pedals around.
Gun to my head I'd say:
3.0w/kg for sticking with the bunch in 4s only race.
3.5w/kg for sticking with the bunch in 3/4s race or a clever win in 4s only.
4.0w/kg is clever points territory in a 3/4.
4.5w/kg+ control of the pack.
When I turned up with 4.3w/kg (but thinking I had 5.0w/kg) I was able to control the front of a 4s only, once I eventually made my way up there. I found racing mentally harder when I found out I didn't have 5.0w/kg.
Hope that helps folks 🙂
Well if I could just drop 15kg I’d be in contention....
Well this looks interesting....
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I don't think you actually die if you fall off though 🙂
I might get half way across then have a panic attack and stop. I'm not great with heights 🙂
I think nathb would be about right. Last two Zwift races have been 4.5 and 4.4 W/kg for me. In a 3/4 I'm normally able to make an attack, often one that sticks and I can take the odd prime.I can stay in the bunch easy enough on a 2/3/4 and if it is uphill at any point do something.
Other than the output at the end of rides what are people using to look at data. Zwift Power gives minimal info. Std Strava also gives some. I'd like to see things like power curves as after I stop dicking around I was going to start using it as part of a winter training plan. Anything free or cheap?
Strava premium has lots of extra data, including power curves, none of which makes any sense to me
Muggomagic - was that you riding and if so which course is that? I have no update showing on my ipad.
Not me, I saw it on the Club WBR facebook group.
Just sneaked in a wbr 4 lap london classique and it was pretty good. I think i am coming down with something (slight sore throat and headache) and just that tiny ailment doesnt half make a difference, HR was pretty high and i was struggling to get it down plus doing it indoors when its 20c as opposed to a cold garage was also making it tougher. Quite a large field meant a decent size group at the pointy end so it was quite brisk. I managed to hang on until the last little climb but i think a few got away and it strung out a bit. Sprint finish at the end which i did pretty well and for the millionth time or feels like it i came 4th in cat B. It turns out i and 10 others all finished within 13 secs of the overall winner.
Wondering if there's anything in the legs for today, short flat layout being Richmond, so possibly suited to what i can likely manage today. Questioning it though, which is rarely a good thing.
I am lining up the SZR autumn race at 6. Looks like a decent turnout. I did this same race a month ago (my first ever race) so will be interesting to compare performances.
oh font of all Zwift knowledge... has anyone encountered an issue on Apple Mac's where you start zwift and it immediately crashes with an apple message saying it has crashed unexpectedly?
I have removed reinstalled, updated Mac etc and still can't get it working from a clean install, always crashes before even the login or ride button is presented. 🙁
I have also resorted to logging a ticket with Zwift which is now at their 2nd tier of support but there have been no resolutions offered yet.
I am lining up the SZR autumn race at 6. Looks like a decent turnout. I did this same race a month ago (my first ever race) so will be interesting to compare performances.
Last SZR I did had a 140 strong peloton in the C's...planning to join as well tonight, never done Richmond before though...
If you are unsure about riding Weeksy then i think that actually answers the question for you. Its clear your body is telling you to rest but your brain is telling you to crack on, unfortunately you dont use your brain to turbo so listen to the body. I decided after yesterdays ride at 98% full health that i need to take a few more days off as that tiny 2% ailing health meant i felt really drained and lethargic in the evening. Feel a little better today but still have a sore throat so clearly fighting some small virus so no riding for me.
I didn't ride 🙂
Off out for a curry tonight with the lads as i turn 46 tomorrow.
I sandbagged last night, got onto Zwift at 8:02.. joined a cat B STW'er and rode with them for 30 mins.
I kept powering off the front, but then feeling guilty in case I was influencing the race, so sat back in towards the back.
Turns out they couldn't see me anyway 😆
Gonna have a go at the SZR tonight as a C, sounds like there might be a few other STWers which is always good!
I raced in last night’s ZHR masters which was two laps of the London loop.
Stuck with a nice fast group until Box hill where I was dropped. Managed to catch up with them near the top but then had nothing left and got dropped again on the descent.
Managed to catch up with a rider on the descent and stayed with him all the way until the start of Box Hill again. I noticed that I kept leaping ahead of him while on the flat so had to reign it in a bit to stay with him and not make it a solo TT effort for the rest of the race.
He dropped me like a hot potato on the hill again (I found out later that he weighs 59Kg to my 84Kg so not surprised and is an A Cat). But I managed to again catch him on the descent (the only benefit of being fat!) and I stayed with him for the rest of the lap then at 250m went all out in the sprint and managed to beat him on the line.
Could hardly walk this morning so will do a light recovery ride tonight then perhaps give the KISS Europe a go tomorrow.
Great work hedley, its always a nice feeling to catch somebody who has dropped you but to then go on and beat them is double rewarding.
Thats a good call weeksy, enjoy the curry and have a good birthday.