Zwift Team Time Trial, Thursday

I don’t think I was on a mtb

Ah, that’s in the pen though right? I mean, I wasn’t actually riding that was I? Might explain why I couldn’t draft for toffee.

Can I make an appeal after last week, on behalf of my significant other – please please don’t disappear down hill.

The hardest part of last week was about a 4 minute effort of chasing my team HARD, who did not appear to be slowing down at all as we crested, and my discord appeal was on deaf ears, due to general comms issues. I was pretty blown after that.

Iff we are still trying to stay together, and you are at or near the front of the group, and we are at the top of a significant lump, and we are not all visibly together..

either a) change your view to front-on, so that you can see the gap to the back AND slow down, or b) just keep an eye on it, AND slow down.

For me the ideal strategy is that as you crest (if there is a gap) the whole team slows markedly and waits for the last guy to go through the or into the middle of the team, that way we are sure no-one is dropped, before increasing speed, otherwise its super painful.

Ideally we want to climb as a group, but if we don’t manage that, lets have a strategy for re-grouping that doesn’t involve death-by-chasing.

I don’t mind the fastest-four-over-the-line-later-in-the-race approach, but whilst we are still riding as a group, lets micro-manage the spee on the crests.

Appeal over.

If you’ve also been affected by any of the issues in this message, please contact your nearest significant other.

Good point haloric that was partly my fault as I got caught up in the other team ahead of us. At some points I wasn’t even pedalling but got caught in their draft! Just the one hill tonight so hopefully easy to manage and no one ahead of us!

@haloric I understand the problem you’re trying to avoid, but what you’re suggesting isn’t the best way to address this.

We absolutely need to power through the crest of any climb and into the first part of the descent for two reasons. Firstly, most teams do what you’re suggesting and back off, so it’s a great place to make up time. Secondly, the speed you carry into the start of the downhill section gives a group massive free speed for the rest of the descent – which you saw when you and I we’re trying to catch them last week! They had nearly stopped pedalling, but were still travelling at speed.

The best answer is to hold the group together on the way up, but if splits do appear then we need to group up before the summit, go over the crest together with one big effort and rest while we’re carrying that free speed downhill.

The key to this is to focus on the rider behind you up the climb, not getting fixated on the wheel in front – don’t gap the wheel behind you.

I’m saying, lets have a strategy for when this fails:

Ideally we want to climb as a group, but if we don’t manage that, lets have a strategy for re-grouping that doesn’t involve death-by-chasing.

I’m not saying we should slow down unnecessarily, just if there is a gap. If we are together, press on. And concentrating on cresting together is key, yes.

Ditto the start – if you are at the back of the pen, you can be 100m down at the start, and others have left and grouped up, it can be a hard chase to get grouped up. Better to leave the pen at 80% power and group up early. If you are last man and blow through the group, keep going, the group will catch, just don’t set off as a group with a man hanging.

So if MoreSTW catch us do we ride a 16 man TTT? 🙂

To echo Phil it’s very important to ride for the t rider behind you. T he only thing on screen that matters is the blob of names at the bottom with distances on. You need to keep them as close to 1 as possible and it’s the man in front’s job to do that, not the person catching*

and rest while we’re carrying that free speed downhill.

You’ve changed since I last rode with that group ! 🤣

You’ve changed since I last rode with that group!

He’s not, just you’ve a different definition of rest.

He’s not, just you’ve a different definition of rest.

250w is a rest isn’t it?!

Now I know how the sacrificial lamb feels.

250w is a rest isn’t it?!

Any pace at which you actually can vomit is a rest. If you can spare the effort to retch you’re not working hard.

if you are at the back of the pen, you can be 100m down at the start, and others have left and grouped up, it can be a hard chase to get grouped up

Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you time your start well you cross the line exactly on our GO time. So if 100m back start pedalling with 5 secs to go. Just don’t overshoot! For me, on a Wattbike, I have to start pedalling slowly as the initial gear changes take a few seconds to occur.

@paino yep, I start pedalling a couple of seconds before the Go, then when it hits zero you actually start moving with no delay. Nothing to stop you inching further forward towards the actual start line very slowly beforehand too, I suppose 🤔

Does no one else stand up at the start ready to start pedalling and get their wife to do the finger countdown thing the pros do?! Ok then just me! lol

Pros isn’t an abbreviation of PROctologistS is it?

FFS! Someone just posted on another thread that Strava and maybe Zwift was running slow so I just tried to log in on my phone from the office… it won’t let me (on the app), accuses me of maybe changing my password! (I haven’t) This is a similar but slightly different error to a couple of weeks ago when loads of us, including me, couldn’t log on in time for the TTT

Can anyone else log in OK?

EDIT: ok panic over, I re-entered my login details and it let me log in fine!!

FFS! Someone just posted on another thread that Strava and maybe Zwift was running slow so I just tried to log in on my phone from the office… it won’t let me (on the app), accuses me of maybe changing my password! (I haven’t) This is a similar but slightly different error to a couple of weeks ago when loads of us, including me, couldn’t log on in time for the TTT

I get this about once a month with zwift.

It takes about 4 attempts (from a password store so not a typo) rejecting the password each time before miraculously it’s the right one. I seem to get 404 errors with the change user/login page with metronomic regularity too.

I start pedalling a couple of seconds before the Go

Sounds like you all need to learn to rocket launch :D. Sit in pairing screen, be at 400W ish or whatever is agreed before your start time. Exit pairing screen. Much faster.

Sounds like you all need to learn to rocket launch :D. Sit in pairing screen, be at 400W ish or whatever is agreed before your start time. Exit pairing screen. Much faster.

Is this the one where you drop out of pairing and find yourself at the top of the Insbruck leg snapper ? I don’t think we even got punished for that.

I do aim to join a TT one Thursday, it just happens to be my preferred day after Monday for a proper ride out and well spaced around Tuesday and some bigger miles normally on Saturday.

Today’s 50 miler around the trough was just about the right side of comfortable temperature wise, if it gets much colder Ill join you guys instead. In the mean time I might try some solo TT races rather than group races/crits just to get a feel for it.

The Trough is grippy enough to keep me warm in all weathers Kirky! It about as far from a TT route as I can image:)

Are you a local slowpuncheur? It’s cracking riding around those parts.

The TTT is more like the Tuesday night races (minus the sickening start, plus some cooperation) than a solo TT @kirky72. When you do come inside just join straight in.

Is this the one where you drop out of pairing and find yourself at the top of the Insbruck leg snapper ? I don’t think we even got punished for that.

😳

Anyway, FAKE NEWS – I was only half way up the hill !
(waiting in the pairing screen works fine; waiting in the garage marks you out as a moron, as you crawl away from the pen at 50 watts. Somebody’s law isn’t it – never put down to malice that which can be exlained by incompetence)

@yanboss change your tag!

Sorry all couldn’t breathe, inhaler didn’t help. Pretty much fell off the bike.
Felt fine warming up.

hard luck jamesoz – you missed a great scrap “leave ‘im Brian, he’s not worth it !” 😂

That was fun in a masochistic way. Flat races are awful for me, so hard to contribute. I was riding at just over ftp to stay in our group.

I did my best 25-42 min power in all of 2019 and 2020 apparently, sez strava

Great ride, felt like we were flying 🔥 🔥 Hit a new max HR (187 😳). So glad we didn’t pass any other teams, pretty much on the rivet the whole way round and probably didn’t have any “surges” in me! Think some of us (STW) need to up their mic game tho… could not understand anyone over Discord except for Phil!!

Don’t know what happened to my discord, I couldn’t hear anyone. It’s normally ok. I was just praying I was following the right riders off the line!

Well completed my first TT in moreSTW. Discord stopped working after the hill but managed to stay with the group and contribute. Really enjoyed it. 2 new boy errors. Didn’t update zwift name only zwift power and nearly set off too early. Hope that doesn’t affect results.

Think some of us (STW) need to up their mic game tho… could not understand anyone over Discord except for Phil!!

I think only Phil and I spoke didn’t we? (point taken I’ll see if I can find something with a better mic)

I averaged 292w for 20 minutes – a new best for me! Couldn’t have given anymore. Normalized power of 284w.

You wouldnt have heard me zilog as I didnt say anything. I could hear phil but brian was a bit robotic/garbled. The two idiots near the beginning didnt help either but luckily other than a bit of a distraction they didnt split the group.

Currently sitting 37th out of 250!

Did anyone else bother weighing and recording it this morning? I was up 2.5kg on my Saturday weight but I weighed less than my Saturday weight after the race! Will be putting my zwift weight back down 2.5kg lol.

MoreSTW were 2 seconds faster!

Possibly @dangeourbrain ! Either one or 2 people at the start, saying quite a lot but I couldn’t understand any of it!! Previously you’ve been fine though I thought?

Did anyone else bother weighing and recording it this morning?

errrr no, were we supposed to?!

Was gutted, I barely got a sweat on. Might have to give it a rest for a while.

errrr no, were we supposed to?!

Top 3 of each class have to video verify weight and height – dont think 37 teams will get DSQ so unlikely we will need it! Fastest team were 3 minutes faster than us so far!

Really enjoyed that. Knowing the hill was done with gave me the confidence to do some proper turns on the front. Turned into a full on interval session.

Still get surprised just how much you can ease of in the draft if you wind down the power slowly. Ease too much at once and you just drop off the back but do it slowly and you seem to stick.

Great rides from both teams. Some of the bigger squads have really turned it up this evening.

Both our teams somehow did basically the same time. No wonder I struggled to predict which was faster. And judging by the comments here we paced it about right!

I hope you are feeling OK James.