STW Zwift Racing League – Autumn – 2021

fair enough!
well…will see how the ol’ “meat and two veg” fair over the next 48 hours… rode in today, and could feel some groin strain/pull when pushing hard against the wind!
may race…may jsut keep the legs turning with a low tempo ride!

DrP

If you are on strava it is worth signing up to intervals.icu. That will calculate your FTP based on smaller lengths of time. You can change the minimum time but the default is 180 seconds. ALso the eFTP updates continuously to give you a view of where you are now (whereas Zwift only tells you when it goes up and no-one goes up forever!)

does it always assume, though, that one is beasting it for EVERY ride???
95% of my rides are casual/commuting… i.e not to be taken into account for FTP at all…

DrP

No think it looks at your last 40 days as a whole generally but you can also set up seasons as well to run from specific dates. Try it – its free and really quite good!

So then….erm, how are people playing it tomorrow night? Ahem.

I can’t decide whether to save a bit during the first race, so I don’t die completely in the second race, or just go flat out in the first & hang on in the second, while wishing I’d gone slower in the first…..
I suppose people will want to keep their cards close to their Rapha Jerseys?

Might have to nick some of my daughter’s Haribo to chomp on between races 🙂

I guess like most rides, it will be a fast start and then simply try and hang in as best as possible. The first race is likely to be a little “faster” given the legs aren’t quite so tired, but also the second course is more lumpy.

I’m not going to make it tomorrow. ZRL starts so I will be TTTing. Somehow ended up as a team captain 😆.

Liverpool v Porto. So at best I’ll make race1.

I think I’ll be biking in the real world. Which is a shame. Or is it 🤔.
My tactics would be, race against those nearest to me on screen, try and help to close gaps to those in front. For the crit race, probably something similar.

Gutted I’m not going to make it, I’ve enjoyed getting involved in the first two. 8pm finish at with tomorrow though, so definitely out.

I’m completely devoid of tactics other than ride as hard as I can until I’m in a group that I seem to be able to keep up with!

I would treat rhe first race like a one off and max it out. then repeat and empty the tanks again, cant do any more than that.

its not like tbe first crit will be 100% right yhrough, furious first lap, hang in and push up the climb and furious last lap. maybe 6 or 7 minutes of huge effort so should recover okay with the break in between.

Just tried a session – managed 15 mins at 200+w before lack of energy got me, I will be cruising around at the back of the bus making up the numbers, hoping to get rid of this cold – even more than usual.

I think I’ll be biking in the real world

Looks like the real world has cancelled due to predicted bad weather!
I should be on the start line.
Is it an earlier start?

Nope. 7:30 start.

2 short races though, so shouldn’t be much longer than a normal race….. Well a bit longer I suppose.

Cheers Stumpy01.

Does that mean you are out for the rest of the series @nixie? Good luck in that ZRL TTT tonight.

There’s lots going on this evening! Two races, three primes, crit chaos, hills.

Not sure about tonight, race 1 plays to my strengths (it’s flat) race 2 erm, doesn’t 🙂

Still recovering from a cold that started last Tuesday, so we’ll see what’s going to happen. Will give it what I’ve got in race 1, and try to hang on in race 2.

@savoyad that depends on whether I select myself or not 😀. We have a squad of 8 so I would expect to not race some weeks. Those I don’t I’m aiming for this series instead.id love to do both but two into one doesn’t go.

Unfortunately I’m (not quite) now driving to Luton this evening instead 😕

will be there tonight. missed the first 2 due to manflu unfortunately.
already been mtn biking this morning so a triple for me!

Good luck tonight all.

Ah well zwift has thrown me out whilst I tried to enter the race

Looks like race 3b is my only option now

Hard work was that. Glad I didn’t do the first race 😉
Well done to all my rivals 😂 you did well, plus helped me out at the end 👍👍

Thanks all. enjoyed the first one, got in a good group that pulled me a long after being dropped by a faster one. 2nd was an 8k solo ride after getting dropped at the start.

Definitely hard working doing two short, punchy rides back to back. Thanks again Robbo for organising.

Tough night! Can feel myself getting better though – stayed in a group for 4.5 laps in race 1 which really improved my overall race time.

Second race was really tough!

Well I managed to complete both! Absolutely destroyed by the end though, I have a lot of work to do to be back up with the names I was racing with last time. Only just managed to avoid being lapped twice in the first race and the leaders in the second finished as I got to 1/3rd distance.

Still, it’s a steady improvement again.

Race 1 went ok. Race 2 did not.

Not sure I’m getting many points tonight, but should maintain a Europa league spot in Cat C 🤣

I’m pretty tired generally at the moment and a few minutes into the first race I thought “there’s no way I can hold onto this, I’ll do half and then drop off, cruise round”.

A bit of peer pressure, of not wanting to get dropped, and I think I was 4th in the first and 2nd in the second.

Pleased with that.

That’s my first proper race in over a year and i went a bit deep in the first one chasing anything that went off the front. I was hoping to be able to kick on from the little bunch of 3 we had in the second but had nothing left in the tank.

These short punchy races suit me, i’m not sure i’ve got enough miles in my legs yet to last a couple of laps of something hilly.

Thanks for everyone for taking part in the series!

The results are provisional in case I have made any mistakes. Please let me know. I havent done indiviudal cat results tonight – I am too tired!

I think I have the sprint times right for the Bell Lap but if someone wants to double check. If not I will double check by next week (you have to sort by fastest lap not first over the line!).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1La3WIPQUrOIv7FQHkJ_SSKDJsRoQPgCCR8RtR15TrC0/edit#gid=1334036094

Race 3 – The Bell Lap

Overall Race Winner
1. scaled
2. savoyad
3. slowpuncheur

Overall Race Winner (with handicaps)
1. mahowlett
2. v7fmp
3. snotrag

Sprint Points
1. Straightliner
2. savoyad
3. J-R
4. slowpuncheur
5. robbo1234biking

Race 4 – Cobbled Climbs Reverse

Overall Race Winner
1. savoyad
2. gingerflash
3. phil56

Overall Race Winner (with handicaps)
1. retrorick
2. mahowlett
3. scaled

Reverse 23rd Street KOM
1. savoyad
2. phil56
3. robbo1234biking
4. straightliner
5. J-R

Reverse KOM
1. straightliner
2. scaled
3. J-R
4. savoyad
5. mahowlett

Green Jersey Standings
1. straightliner
2. andeh
3. savoyad

KOM Points
1. savoyad
2. straightliner
3. phil56

Series Top 3 (including sprint/fastest lap points) Best 6 race points counts
1. mahowlett
2. J-R
3. Ginger Flash

As usual I felt right on the edge all the way round both races, and the Power Up gods were not good to me. So I was surprised to finish both races with Robbo, Jules and and Mark Howlett and not so far from the front.

Perhaps the absence of a few of the usual fast guys like Kirky and Dr P, who usually split the front pack, made life easier. On the other hand I did manage an FTP increase, which I’ll pay for in the next race.

I wish zwift hadn’t had a fit for the first race. I would of had less energy for the 2nd. 😲😂
My summer training plan of very little riding is paying dividends. 😂

3rd place, chuffed with that!

I’m spotting a trend – when it’s flat, I can hang onto a group and “out perform” myself. As soon as its climbing, I drop right back and under perform relative to the calculated handicap.

I need to lose weight, don’t I…?

Braaaap!

Not looked at the result yet but I had a great time tonight. Got in with a good group on both races and felt like we pushed each other along well. Managed to keep the pace up out of the start which really helped me stay with the group.

1st race – I know I can’t outsprint you lot in crit city. Turns out I can’t ambush you all either. @scaled had me beaten before he came past in the end. I figured starting at the back of the group, and following @straightliner on whatever lap he made his big effort might be a way to poach some sprint points, and I think that worked out OK.

2nd race – It might not be fun at the time, but I think that’s the best short race course on zwift. The downhill start is fun, the two punchy climbs can be really selective…but that doesn’t do so much damage because they are followed by the long flat when you really need a group. Then the last climb is followed by a long enough flat that it can come back together. The lead group on the flat was bigger than I thought it might be, so I knew attacking early was the only way to get a big enough gap to win on the road. I just wanted @gingerflash to stop chasing me at the end.

Two great races, again. There’s so many different (conflicting) things to aim for in @robbo1234biking’s rules that it always kicks off in different directions. Thanks everyone.

I’m just back from a 4 pint celebration session! 🍻🍻.
Time for some cheese 😜.

Ha ha. I felt compelled to have four pints and a nice single malt tonight. Well, the footy was on in the pub and a few mates were out….that was a hard effort tonight, Well curated by Robbo and Zwift. Did well in the first but missed the bus in the 2nd and ended up mid pack. Two unfamiliar courses were…interesting.

I enjoyed that last night.

I held on with the front group all the way round and missed out on the sprint but kept close enough to most of my rivals to nab some decent points. I raced the first race with the HUD turned off so I didnt have to think about power etc but I thought the sprint was another corner away so went a bit late!

Second race I attacked pretty hard from the off and was surprised to get over the first hill in 3rd! I managed to hold on to Phil’s coat tails going over the second and we managed to get back onto the group for the flat section. The last hill I couldnt compete with the lighter competitors but still managed to get a bit of time on straightliner for the finish and a few more points.

Overall pretty happy with the evening. RGV next week! Nothing hilly but the rollers at the end can catch people out!