Zwift Chat

[steverob]

Which forum is that Steve?

The forum is actually part of ZwiftPower, although it is pretty well hidden away - if you didn't know it was there, you'd probably never find it! Also, if you look at the event itself, there's a Comments link at top right - that's basically a text only version of the forum page, with a link to the forum itself at the bottom.

 

[Whorty]

Be careful Carl I notice that your nearly B in zp and the same might happen to you where you’re have a good race in C and take the placing away from you and then put you in cat B.
I raced in the Category I was given by ZP and I reckon the Dbr racer Jason Bartrum races and never goes above wattage to keep himself in D and keeps getting first place.

I'd quite like to get into B, and be competitive to not be last, so I'm not holding back in my races (apart from to keep enough in the tank to climb ) I just can't seem to get those extra 5-10 watts to drag me up a level

 

[Alongo]

I reckon twice a week racing is more than enough. I may pick an event a while out and try and peak for it properly, just so I see what I can really do under optimum conditions.

That’s an interesting thought , so , hypothetically , if you could choose your perfect distance and course to assess your progress on, which would you choose ?

 

[Whorty]

I think he is very good at knowing which riders are going to be dq'd and not panicking at well.

I see the fella who won the c race series last time out is now comfortably a b (and has won a b race). Nothing dodgy in that, probably just shows how it makes you push yourself more

https://www.zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=1404239

Yes, he may have ZP open so he knows who to chase and who to let go. I try and chase everyone (legs allowing) and then find out I've been racing B guys What it does show though, is that winning isn't all about power, tactics and craft plays a bit part. We can all learn from him

 

[Whorty]

I reckon twice a week racing is more than enough. I may pick an event a while out and try and peak for it properly, just so I see what I can really do under optimum conditions.

I'm just doing this one race a week, with training other days. I could race 2 days, but I want a hard training session to be one where I can try and improve my shorter term power so sticking with that instead.

 

[CXRAndy]

I'd quite like to get into B, and be competitive to not be last, so I'm not holding back in my races (apart from to keep enough in the tank to climb ) I just can't seem to get those extra 5-10 watts to drag me up a level

You would need 250W at your current weight Carl. You need to be doing lots and I mean lots of HIT 30 secs to 4 mins max effort stuff. Also some weight work for the legs, whether that be super slow cadence or squats and dead lifts.

 

[Norry1]

That’s an interesting thought , so , hypothetically , if you could choose your perfect distance and course to assess your progress on, which would you choose ?

That is an interesting question back

Probably a race of around an hour - which makes it a bit more about endurance than the shorter Crit type race. Needs some sustained climbing, but not too long - otherwise it just becomes an FTP test if output is flat. Yesterday's race would have been a good candidate actually. I also like Innsbruck ring - with a 1 minute almost max effort every lap (12-14 minutes). The key though is the building up and peaking with freshness which you would do for target events IRL.

 

[Marino.g]

That is a real bugger! Shame about the bluetooth limitation too. Fingers crossed it arrives before the next DBR race and you don't have trouble getting hold of one.


25th on the road will be significantly higher on ZwiftPower though - some riders won't be registered, and others will be DQ'd so 25th may even be a top 10!


As it stands you will be DQ'd if you are over power for the entire event/race, and I think you get promoted into the next category if you consistently achieve over 2.5 for 20 minutes - someone will correct me if I'm wrong there!

The trouble is, there are changes being proposed from 1st of May, so there may only be one more race within these rules! From 1st of May we are expecting speed limits to be applied to riders during events on Zwift, and probably new cat classifiers on Zwiftpower. Watch this space...

If you have another device available during a race, then Zwiftpower's live timings show stats for every rider during the race - updated every 30 seconds. Maybe something to try in your test event in a few days time?

This is meant to be fun and it’s virtual and not reality.
All the mathematics and algorithms to watch so you don’t go over a limit is too much for me.
Your cat is decided before you race and If you go over so what, they should congratulate you for your effort and give you the points and then move you to the above cat if necessary.
I took a minute up box hill from the guy who got promoted to 1st place but he was just watching his numbers and holding back probably.
That’s not racing that’s crunching the numbers.
I’ll annoy him next week by sitting on his wheel.😊

 

[Norry1]

This is meant to be fun and it’s virtual and not reality.
All the mathematics and algorithms to watch so you don’t go over a limit is too much for me.
Your cat is decided before you race and If you go over so what, they should congratulate you for your effort and give you the points and then move you to the above cat if necessary.
I took a minute up box hill from the guy who got promoted to 1st place but he was just watching his numbers and holding back probably.
That’s not racing that’s crunching the numbers.
I’ll annoy him next week by sitting on his wheel.😊

I think that is how it should work. I'm sure there are also reasons not to do this, but there is no perfect system.

 

[Alongo]

That is an interesting question back

Probably a race of around an hour - which makes it a bit more about endurance than the shorter Crit type race. Needs some sustained climbing, but not too long - otherwise it just becomes an FTP test if output is flat. Yesterday's race would have been a good candidate actually. I also like Innsbruck ring - with a 1 minute almost max effort every lap (12-14 minutes). The key though is the building up and peaking with freshness which you would do for target events IRL.

Agree with yesterday’s race plus Innsbruck too , maybe two laps of Yorkshire worlds course as well . Tailoring some specific intervals that focus on the race demands whilst in the build and peak phase would definitely prepare you well .
I’ve only done one Crit race , enjoyed it and will do more , but they are very intense . I managed to hang with the front pack for only 3 laps before “ the elastic broke “ 😂 . My target is to manage the whole race with the front bunch 😀.

 

[steverob]

I think that is how it should work. I'm sure there are also reasons not to do this, but there is no perfect system.

Yeah, the problem with doing it that way is that it means any rider who doesn't do a race for 90 days, then essentially becomes eligible for D cat once more, as they have no recent races for ZP to base their category on. Then they can join a D race, win it by probably doing just 3 w/kg (not all that difficult for a C, let alone an A or B rider) and wouldn't get DQ'd. Yes, they wouldn't be able to race in D again for another 90 days, but there's people out there who'd do that...

 

[Norry1]

Agree with yesterday’s race plus Innsbruck too , maybe two laps of Yorkshire worlds course as well . Tailoring some specific intervals that focus on the race demands whilst in the build and peak phase would definitely prepare you well .
I’ve only done one Crit race , enjoyed it and will do more , but they are very intense . I managed to hang with the front pack for only 3 laps before “ the elastic broke “ 😂 . My target is to manage the whole race with the front bunch 😀.

I do the 9.45 crit City race most Saturday's if you fancy joining. You can see my youtube vids if you want to know what it is like. I think one short race like this and a longer one (well medium really) like this is a decent mix.

 

[Whorty]

You would need 250W at your current weight Carl. You need to be doing lots and I mean lots of HIT 30 secs to 4 mins max effort stuff. Also some weight work for the legs, whether that be super slow cadence or squats and dead lifts.

For my hard sessions I'm doing a mix of 15mins x 4 @ 245 watts (my FTP is 237 so this is above my current FTP) and also 5mins x 4 @270 watts. I'm aiming to do one or both of these sessions a week (Weds-Fri) with a lower tempo slightly longer ride on Saturday and rest Sunday ready for Monday.

 

[CXRAndy]

For my hard sessions I'm doing a mix of 15mins x 4 @ 245 watts (my FTP is 237 so this is above my current FTP) and also 5mins x 4 @270 watts. I'm aiming to do one or both of these sessions a week (Weds-Fri) with a lower tempo slightly longer ride on Saturday and rest Sunday ready for Monday.

try some shorter intervals 1min stuff, somewhere between 300-350W, 1 minute on 1 min off.

If you're struggling, stretch the recovery to 1.5-2 mins to ensure you can do the 1 min interval.

Keep going till you cant achieve the interval completely.

Use a high cadence 100+rpm

 

[Whorty]

try some shorter intervals 1min stuff, somewhere between 300-350W, 1 minute on 1 min off.

If you're struggling, stretch the recovery to 1.5-2 mins to ensure you can do the 1 min interval.

Keep going till you cant achieve the interval completely.

Use a high cadence 100+rpm

I tried that before ..... but it hurt definitely need 2 mins rest between each interval