Very nearly there Tallpaul and well done for being on the right challenge while doing it 🙂 The shiny light-up toy will be yours very soon.

As for the concerns above about being bottom end of Cat A – it’s really the same whichever level you’re at. Once you nudge out of the lower category into the next one then it is hard again. There’s a big difference between bottom and top in each category (particularly if some at the top are also “managing” their output to stay down). Go find courses/races that suit your skills. At your weight and W/Kg, look for as many rolling or hilly events as you can which will reduce the number of watt monsters left at the end.

The real negative with A was mentioned earlier – it tends to be a far small entry list. Which is shame when you see people in B who can put out sizeable numbers. Definitely get the idea that there are fragile egos involved, unfortunately I’ve just got fragile legs instead 😉

unfortunately I’ve just got fragile legs instead 😉

Ah, just ride cat A crits then*, that way you only need to be able to do 20 minutes.

*don’t do this. Crits in A are really really not fun.

Hello Darlings,
Been a Loooong time since I did any STW ride (COVID, then inertia). What goes on these days? Presumably out of season for RobboRacin’
I did my first zwift race in ages yesterday – first time in Z3 or above for months !. I used to be a mid-pack B but entered C. Was fine; kept with the bunch (which caught the 2 breakaways) and didn’t really bother with the sprint.
ICU emailed to congratulate me with an FTP that’s about 20% down on what I used to manage. Think I’ll be a while before I see that, or B. Can’t imagine what the start of an A race is like – or are they more grown-up about it ?)

Can’t imagine what the start of an A race is like – or are they more grown-up about it ?)

It’s about the same pace out the blocks as B, if not slightly lower.
Unlike B it only drops off a touch after that though

Haven’t Zwifted since the warmer weather hit, and wasn’t planning to, except I’ve just broken my hand so probably back on it for the next 4-6 weeks 🙄😂

Just checking out what’s happening and see the official controllers have just launched! They actually look really good (doubly so if like me you have an Apple TV) and reviews including DCR are very positive so just ordered some at the initial discount price.

The what?

Zwift Play Controllers Launched

Cheers. Not sure they’d do a lot for me as I only race on Zwift and have flat bars.

Steering is now enabled by default on all events. That’s likely going to put you at a disadvantage without it.

they look like a well thought out decent product! much better than the Kickr Steer

90% of my zwifting this year has been in erg mode ticking off routes while in Zone 2, but I’ll probably jump on these come winter when my bike doesn’t really move off the turbo,

having increase intensity & decrease intensity on the bars is a winner imo

Have ordered them at the intro price… as an ATV user, it’ll be nice to be able to have more control rather than just the companion app…

DrP

That’s likely going to put you at a disadvantage without it.

you might be right about that! Nice little race-review here:
https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-play-race/

if/when they introduce in-game braking, that’ll add yet another layer of strategy. (Also would actually be really handy for things like the team-time-trial, non-race rides, meet-ups etc)

I rarely win races anyway due to lack of sprint power

Well, the Play controllers are very good! Do seem a bit finnicky to connect to my ATV initially, often needing a few power cycles, but once connected are rock solid (no dropouts as of yet). I see there’s a FW update today for them so maybe that’ll help.

Really handy to have access to all functions without taking my hands off the hoods, seems very intuitive especially for PUs in races. Absolute no-brainer to get these for navigating menus too if you have an ATV, 1000% improvement!

The actual steering seems very woolly on the Repack Rush test course. I saw this explained in a comment though that the steering works by selecting a “lane” and then at some point the auto-steering algorithm takes over to keep you on said lane, so it feels like you’re not fully in control!

This works really well in races though! The Zwift Insider guy loves it and has done a couple of race write-ups about it so far. It’s true that you have a massive advantage especially on a course with loads of tight turns like Crit City & at the moment when most people don’t have steering yet (you have a little icon displayed by your name). You take the shortest line and see your guy surge to the front of the pack or even off the front! I’ve seen it said in comments that it cuts a significant amount of distance off the total you have to cover in a race if you do it consistently! Definitely feels like cheating at the moment 😬🤷‍♂️

the ZI guy also says there’s steering only races (although not many yet) and apparently these are great and make the racing seem really immersive. Hope to try one to tomorrow maybe!

Side note, the e-sports Olympic cycling (on Zwift) is up on YouTube now. Actually quite cool & fun to watch. The first race is an elimination format which looks like a lot of fun, but no word on it coming to Zwift for the masses any time soon which is a shame!