STW Zwift Autumn Series 2

75Kg at the moment

Now you’re going to tell me you’re not 5’2″ either and it’s not natural advantage, I’m just not fast enough 😂

Now you’re going to tell me you’re not 5’2″ either

6’2″ so plenty of drag. Sadly got the the verification videos for both to prove it for tonight’s TTT as well.

Sadly got the the verification videos for both to prove it for tonight’s TTT as well.

In your bibs? Where can I could a friend get a copy?

No bibs, some old cycling shorts and top I use for indoor. Weight is on Zwift transparency FB group. Height linked from my ZP profile. Neither are that interesting, nearly 40yo man who hates being on camera mumbling (:yawn).

even in the group, I’m having to kick out 4w/kg,

I found your video very educational @DrP – and I was impressed with the amount of time you spent on the front of our group.

Kirky…. your finish was fantastic! The right effort and the right time!

Yes, @kirky72 did a beautifully timed sprint – I followed as he passed me but there was no way I was going to get anyway near.

I find my main problem in the blob is being too uneven with the power and drifting onto the front or off the back. – I was impressed to watch on his video how much smoother @nixie is on the flat.

I think one factor in the draft is available power. @nixie can roam the group, sit back a little in the first few km (like he does; watch the stream) because if a gap does open he knows full well he can bridge it. So he can ride closer to or even right at the minimum power needed to sit where he wants to sit. For those of us with less of a reserve to sort out a mess, the risk is too high so we end up riding edgier, wasting energy but as a trade off with gambling.

That’s a good point @savoyad, it also means I don’t need to push it quite so much at the start as I can cruise the strung out line to get to the front. I’ve not seen him for a while but I used to do a lot of events with a rider called Johnny Rocket. He always seemed to have a massively lower power output than the pack and could always be found just hanging onto the group (until the sprint!). For me hanging at the back is so I can use the draft to gain speed for attacks and then jump off the front without having to go too far into the red (attacking from the front is a killer as you are forced to go big to get your speed up).

Eventually found the link @DrP, thanks! Better seeing it from our groups point of view as opposed to just watching Nixie riding solo (no offence Nixie!). That second climb felt brutal without a feather-was just clinging on hoping everyone else’s feathers would just run out! One thing I notice is that the esses really are my enemy. Just can’t seem to get the power right through them. End up really having to gun it to keep up-should thank you DrP for dragging me back up to the group after the second sprint!

@paino 😀 no offence, it doesn’t make the most interesting viewing after the initiating attack. I’ve tried playing with camera views but that can only do so much.

In the esses I tend to spin up at the bottom while resistance is lower. Then by the time the gradient hits and my cadence has slowed back down (through the increased resistance) I’m onto/over the top.

Too heavy to climb really fast and not heavy enough for the flats

@nixie nobody else really believes it 😃 but AIUI lightweights do have an advantage on the flat. It’s one of the factors in calculating your CdA, so lighter riders can hold the draft for less watts, plus you will accelerate faster and for less effort when you make an attack!
(someone else mentioned previously about using up a feather as it’s not useful on the flat/for the final sprint… I don’t think this is true, it’s better than nothing cos of the acceleration boost due to lower CdA)

For those of us with less of a reserve to sort out a mess, the risk is too high so we end up riding edgier, wasting energy but as a trade off with gambling.

This. Exactly!
I’d rather sit near the front, panting away at 300 watts (too much, but I know i can hold that for some time) than cruise at, say, 240, but with the risk I’ll need to smash out 400+ watts if I fall out the back…

I brick it if i feel myself drifting backwards, so up the power..hence why I spend probably ‘too much’ time at the front for my own good….!!

I guess if I got better at this aspect of zwift, I could still cruise with the fast group will less wattage being spent..

DrP

Some of it is pack size and also knowing common attack points. In a larger pack you can drift back knowing that you don’t need to increase power much to stabilise your position. Knowing the common attack locations (or at least guessing from course profile) means you can move toward the front to cover those off.

@DrP instead of a big increase when going back try a smaller increase and give it 5-10s or so for your speed to pick up. That should stop you bouncing straight back to the front.

instead of a big increase when going back try a smaller increase and give it 5-10s or so for your speed to pick up. That should stop you bouncing straight back to the front.

I guess this is my mistake/fear.. I feel like as SOON as I’m moving back, I SHOULD bang out the watts to stop it.. I guess I just need to do this more gradually, and leave it 5-10 seconds…

I definitely am guilty of the ‘drop bounce drop bounce’ approach!

The other thing I found on tuesday was I needed gear 4.5!! Gear 4 I was spinning at 105rpm… Gear 5 was about 89… I kept flicking up..down…up..down!

DrP

The other thing I found on tuesday was I needed gear 4.5!! Gear 4 I was spinning at 105rpm… Gear 5 was about 89… I kept flicking up..down…up..down!

What bike are using? Is it MTB ratios so big gaps between the gears?

Nah… roadie block. I think it’s just the course/speed/group… not had it before!

DrP

Yeah that just happens sometimes. Really annoying when the pack is at just the wrong speed.

Sounded like a big gap but I have had it in the TTT before as well.

Nah… roadie block. I think it’s just the course/speed/group… not had it before!

DrP

Basically we’ve twigged that we can watch you pedaling live so can see if you’re getting irritated or grimacing with pain, at that point we know we’re doing something right.

When you resort to a nibble of your sausage we know we’ve got you.

🙂

The sausage comes out when victory is acheived… 😉

DrP

Ah so you were shaking it like a champagne bottle! All makes sense now but I feel sorry for who ever was holding the camera.

@robbo1234biking A wee update to my numbers if you’ve time to update the sheet.

Steve ross STW
75kg, 212w.

Many thanks!

All done @svladcjelli. Glad you triggered me as I had forgot to post up the handicaps for the race tomorrow night.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iTgJtFVOo3QzWHBY8iS-D2s2a52AB3awdMBMRtyWpNM/edit#gid=1758506376

Here they are!

Oh Blimey! Just remembered what course it is!
I think I better make sure my front mech is working OK, as I’m sure I’ll be needing both front rings on this course….

I don’t want to lose the chain again!

Turn your trainer difficulty down if you cant fix it – will save you having to change to the front little ring hopefully and therefore losing the chain!

Ah yeah, not a bad idea that! I think I have it set to ~75%, so definitely room for manoeuvre.

@robbo1234biking
please could you ping me the links to the series remaining, as I’ve a mate who’d like to join us too, if that’s OK?
thanks

DrP

Also… I’m only 30 seconds down on Nixie now 😀

Bummer!

Looks like I’m out for tomorrow, have to attend a site meeting and will be back late. I’ll keep my attendance on the app though, to help the numbers look good.

@DrP – message sent.

The events are now viewable on ZP (but you can only join if you have the link you have been sent). Not everyone is on ZP but the top 5 in sprints last week were…which shows that I made a mistake. I am afraid that @dangeourbrain has lost his single point and this has instead been awarded to @ivandobski! Apologies for this – luckily it wont make a major impact in the standings.

The results totals will reflect this tomorrow evening!

Reminded me I need to sort my gears out… Ta.

It’s Richmond right?

Brill, thanks for that Robbo.

yeah, Richmond…a few sharp kickers en route!

DrP

The events are now viewable on ZP

this is very cool! 😀 Love the way you can filter by sprint/KOM so I can see just how badly I’ve done compared to everybody else 🤣

Still quite new to this, do you need a power meter or direct drive trainer to appear in the ZP results?

Noticed it says “No ZPower riders”

The events are now viewable on ZP

this is very cool!

‘Tis Very cool…

I averaged 4.2w/kg… At least I get gold for ‘lightweight tryhard!’

DrP

@funkybaj – you can see your results in the unfiltered tab on zwiftpower. Some series don’t allow ZP riders in but it isn’t an issue for this series (the same as being on Zwiftpower isn’t mandatory for the series!)

Events showing on ZP is interesting for two other points as well. The results now count towards your race cat (waves at ‘nearly A’ DrP) and we accrue ranking points.

Not wanting to scare anyone but sorting the table for tomorrow’s event makes interesting reading.

Not wanting to scare anyone but sorting the table for tomorrow’s event makes interesting reading.

Which column are you sorting by?

Libby hill and UCI lap time.

I think a lot of you have never done a race lap on the UCI layout.

According to best lap time i’m 8th hhahhahahahaha

298w lap !!!

Yeh that will skew the results @weeksy. You racing tomorrow evening?

What are the age gaps for the different categories (Master, Vet) – I think I can work out 50+ and 60+!

Which column are you sorting by?

Libby hill and UCI lap time.

How do you subset the times on that segment to just the people in our group?