Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

Last night was brutal, I was on the rivet throughout and i loved every moment. I tried my best to do a couple of turns on the front to at least feel liked i had contributed, and even had a nose bleed and an FTP increase! So all in all a successful evening session in my book

Ha Ha awesome!   I found Tick Tock more brutal that the reverse climb of last week, and I’m not a climber.  It was relentless.

Indeed, very easy to take these things too seriously and I rather enjoy the TTT for being a fun race and part of that is having a diverse group rather than 8 people within a W of the category limit.

Amen to this, the team I’m own is diverse and we aim to finish together.   For the two weeks prior I’ve been pulling strongly and had to reign it in, this week I was tired and hanging in as a passenger for half of it.   But either way, its bizarrely fun and addictive after you’ve finished.  I’ve even caught myself looking at real tt bikes… 8|

Is there a way of seeing the profile of a race route beforehand. i know you can look at the zwift route profiles but these aren’t always the same as the race routes as far as I am aware.

@tpbiker have you done a search on ZwiftInsider? That is a pretty comprehensive resource for all things Z!

speaking of which… anyone up for the ultimate Hare & Hounds race? https://zwiftinsider.com/chasing-cancellara-2020/

How much headstart are we giving him?

@IvanDobski that was last year… this year, he’s doing the chasing!! Headstart determined by category. Should be hares & hound I guess 😂

speaking of which… anyone up for the ultimate Hare & Hounds race? https://zwiftinsider.com/chasing-cancellara-2020/

Given his rep, and if nobody is looking he’ll probably be on a e-bike 👍😀😂😂😂

should probably give the ol’ legs a rest after the TTT buuuuuut… I see there’s a short ZHQ crit city @17.45 and the ZFF Bologna TT (really enjoyed that a couple of weeks ago!) @18.00. Anyone planning on doing either?

i’m doing a gentle leg spin at the moment but the 2:35 is calling me on Crit. i may even C it and take the DQ to get an emotional boost..

Just wanna say you chaps have def got the right approach, happy to looks at ways of getting a bit better but mostly in it for the enjoyment!

I think the format really rewards teams where the riders are all very close both in total wattage and w/kg, which I think is possible amongst the teams with dozen or so teams where they can pick the teams accordingly. But really it should just about having a laugh and a good workout.

I’ve had a few weeks off from the TTT with the WKG lot as I was getting a bit disheartened with myself cause I wasn’t hitting the numbers in the TTT I thought I should be able to. Just come to realisation it’s just a reflection of where I’m at on climbs vs flat and not to worry too much about it.

We don’t organise on the front it’s push through as you feel able to. Probably worth trying to manage it but somehow you need to get the stronger ones doing it more so a simple rotation won’t work.
We try to stay together but past halfway if you lose a wheel and can’t get back on you are culled.
1st lost connection last night then was 5 seconds down halfway through the desert 2nd time. He’s got loads of power but couldn’t get back on. 2nd just at the top of the climb. First time too but no point in waiting that close to the finish.
Our best flat result so far.
We do better on hills and only 1 is a climbers build but then we are getting beaten by Latte teams due to them all having 300w FTPs and weighing over 90kg. On hilly courses we are now getting in the top 5 in Latte (But we are in Frappe). Flat courses we are more like 15th.

. i may even C it and take the DQ to get an emotional boost

I’ve given up even bothering with the b’s cat races as the zwift cats are so idiotic. My power to weight puts me top of b cat, or on a good day more like a low A. Yet I get blitzed by fatties puttimg out 330 watts and about 3 watts per kilo, even in the c class. It’s ridiculous.

Obviously I could find a hilly course, but they never have many enteries so there are only a handful of competitors, and realistically, unless the entire course is a climb then you are still at a disadvantage if you are light and in the ‘correct’ cat, as you have the same w/kg as everyone else on the climbs, but less out right power on the flat.

I wouldn’t be racing against folks puttimg out 330 watts in real life crits, so I see no reason to race them online. I’ll happily live with cheating if it means I actually get some enjoyment out of the race, which to me equates to not being spat out the back within 5 min after failing to hold 350 watts.

I should point out that despite puttimg out over 4 watts per kilo in each of the 3 x C crits ive done, I’ve not had a podium finish yet. In fact I’ve only had one top 10 finish. Which just goes to show the zwift categories are total nonsense.

@tpbiker have a go at the Bologna TT later then – half dead flat, half climb – should suit you perfectly!!

I should point out that despite puttimg out over 4 watts per kilo in each of the 3 x C crits ive done, I’ve not had a podium finish yet. In fact I’ve only had one top 10 finish. Which just goes to show the zwift categories are total nonsense.

On Zwift or ZP for the finish position?

There’s a lot of people in completely the wrong category for races on Zwift as it’s not forced so it’s very easy to think the cats themselves are wrong when the issue is your B race had 30 A riders in it.

Also don’t forget though the draft makes a huge difference and can be very hard to find sometimes as you lack the control to tuck in. The upshot of draft and miscategorisation is you can easily end up with a 3.6wkg B drafting a 4.8 A all the way round and leaving you for dead just because zwift happened to stick them on the correct wheel and you on someone doing 1W more than you.

half dead flat, [with a few down slopes just to ruin your rhythm] half [fairly awful] climb [that eases off a bit too much two bends from the top]

I always enter As a B in the tt’s as you are only racing against yourself. I usually do ok in the bolonga tt actually, for the reasons you mention. I was looking for a group race tonight though as I did the flat tt on Tuesday. Predictably I got absolutely mullered on the flat…doesn’t help o use my actual tt bike on the turbo which robs me of a few watts.

When is the bolonga tt..I may do that and a crit later?

i quite enjoyed the race but bailed at 8lap finish as when i was riding it i suddenly worked out they’d changed the distance on the 14:35 to 12 laps and as i’ve got Swinley tomorrow i didn’t want to kill myself. So i hung about in Group2 of B for 8 laps then stepped off. Power was 271w so not full chat, but not cruising either. The issue in that context is that to stay in lead B group i really do need to be right on my game/form and putting out 300w average, which today i didn’t think i’d manage.

How long roughly does that climb take on the Bologna course @zilog6128? Might get on it but looks a bit horrible.

I’ve entered the bolonga tt at 6pm

According to my strava the climb takes slightly over 9 min, that’s putting out about 4.3 watts/kilo. So you can work out how long the pain will last based on that!

I’m aiming to complete the course in under 18 min.

https://zwiftinsider.com/bologna-setup/ Not as clear cut as you may expect, due to length of flat run in before the climb, especially when drafting is on.

TP that sounds like Zwift results which are a nonsense, Zwift power is the only place to see what’s actually going on. Also you have to be aware within the race who you are racing gotta let those sandbaggers go up the road and find the real group where the race is. Granted sometimes people get away and manage to hang onto a faster rider and sneak under the cat limit but generally works, Ive managed 7 podiums in last 10 or so races.

Thks tp – that does sound painful but will give it a whirl.

I managed 18.03 on bologna TT last time out Gary. I’d guess the climb was about half that if not less as I was trying to keep the pace down on the flat so I didn’t over do it.

TP that sounds like Zwift results which are a nonsense, Zwift power is the only place to see what’s actually going on. Also you have to be aware within the race who you are racing gotta let those sandbaggers go up the road and find the real group where the race is. Granted sometimes people get away and manage to hang onto a faster rider and sneak under the cat limit but generally works, Ive managed 7 podiums in last 10 or so races.

I don’t think that I lose because everyone else is in the wrong cat. Most of the folks that beat me put out way less watts per kilo, and way more power. A recent race I came 12th. 8 of the 11 in front of me put it over 300 watts. None of those were over 4 watts per kilo. I put out 4.15 watts per kilo, but only 275 as an average.

Ultimately I’m happy to race at a lower level to feel I’m actually in a race, just like I would in real life.

Just eat more pies TP, winner winner cholesterol laden dinner.

On ZP results or the results as they come up at the finish in game and on the Zwift App?

Out of cat riders are annoying as a C in C only races as they pull away people who I might be hanging onto but they can hang onto someone faster.
Especially up climbs.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/lifeline-xplova-noza-s-smart-trainer/rp-prod198085

New to me and in stock, decent specs for £600.

How long roughly does that climb take on the Bologna course @zilog6128? Might get on it but looks a bit horrible.

as above, under 20 mins for a strong rider to do the whole course & the climb is roughly half time-wise. It is horrible, but then all TTs/races are IME when you’re giving 100% the whole time! At least it’s over fairly quickly 😃

New to me and in stock, decent specs for £600.

not heard of it before, decent review on road.cc though and DCR first impressions favourable (altho could not see a trademark in-depth review!)

Enjoyed the Bologna TT, paced myself a bit better & knocked 20s off my 1st attempt (snuck in under 20mins this time!), nice FTP bump of 6 points, still had a little bit left in the tank at the top too so will try to take the hill slightly harder next time! Saw Gary there, anyone else have a go?

Just finished bolonga. A new pb of 17.17 and power average of 4.41 w/kg. Paced it well.

Was hoping to get outside for a long ride today but with the weather forecast being pants from midday onwards I thought I’d cut the ride short and enter the TT that was on at 2pm. Now I normally ride the TTT for WKG so riding on my own was a bit strange. Did my usual schoolboy error that I do when riding 10mile TT’s outside and set off to fast and paying the price for the last 2miles. Anyway nearly got a 20min power PB, averaged 4.4w/kg for the 23 minutes. To my surprise I came 3rd on Zwift, 2nd on ZP.

Laid my turbo mat out ready to set up, after what seemed to be a consecutive day of wet, when the road outside looked quite dry and nothing falling from sky, but in vicinity…

Got 30mins in and only wet from my own sweat under my Magma jacket/jersey and it’s still not rained now. Wish I’d known and paced things not so brutally!

Now can’t decide whether to set up turbo or get changed and get dinner started.

Strong TTing all 💪💪

Did Bologna in 18.04, pacing was OK for a first go but maybe undercooked the flat a little. Not much left up top but reckon I could have laid on an extra 20 or so Watts on the flat without penalty.

Great job all!

Nothing works you up to Friday beer quite like a TT and it sounds like resounding successes all round

Question for those in the know.

When I enter the crits everyone who set off together is in the same cat and I see my position vs the other riders in same cat.

Today I did a 6 lap road race. It appeared we set off at a different time than than the faster cats, but there were still some riders around me in a higher cat right from start. And whilst I could see what cat those immediately around me were, I couldn’t see my position in the c cat race was.

Ended up duking it out with some other lad for what we thought was 1st place, only to find a guy must of escaped right at start and had won by over a minute!

Here’s the info for this week’s TTT.

Thursday, 6.30pm. 1 lap of the Magnificent 8. We have done this course before, and it was a 44 minute effort. It’s mainly flat (round but not up the volcano, round the desert) with one climb up the Reverse hill in the middle.

Riders, sign up to category D here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/907622

I’ll post exact start times later in the week.

Cheers savoyad, signed up.

Nice one, signed up, enjoyed that route last time! It is gonna be 🔥🔥🔥 though!!

Cool, signed up.

Thanks @savoyad – I’ve entered