bring back bots in races please

Many races have too few people, and have too wide a spread of ability. I generally race in 12-30 people races, and pretty much everyone ends up on their own or with only one or two other people.

If, for example in a C race, there were sufficient bots added to bring the numbers up to 50 riders, and if most bots rode at a ‘‘fast C’’ pace in a bunch. That way we could have some of the riders off the front caught by the bunch (which would be 10-30 botts and 5-10 people) before the end. 

Right now, I find that I’m riding half the race with 1-3 others, but then time trialling on my own. In a 12 person field, there might only be a handful of fellow C speed racers, so you just don’t get the race experience, and get a time trial instead.

This would seem a good addition when the switch is made so that people in the race can’t see the other riders who are not in the race.

 

Thanks

The problem you’re describing pretty much reflects what happens in RL when the field has low numbers. Personally I only want to compete against real people. Seems to me that there’s actually too many races on Zwift hence small fields.

I guess for me, I don’t mind if some of my opponents are bots, if it means I get more of a pro experience with bunches, bridging accross etc. Or if we got 50 C grade riders in one race, I’d get that too. But that would mean I’d need 200-250 riders for every race. I’m just sick of time trailing in races. I can’t catch the person in front, and the person behind can’t catch me.

Interesting thought. Maybe the bots can be ghosts of the previous similar event, lots of races has the same event multiple times a day for different time zones.

Having less races, that would create bigger fields, but then there’d not be such ease of just there always being a race to do.

Did a race today, 28 or 30 starters. I did not see a bunch of more than two riders, and those two didn’t have the bunch advantage to catch the riders ahead of them. I personally got one lap in with 3 others, but then did the final two on my own. There’s just no way to catch the riders ahead, and there’s no way the riders behind could catch … now if they were in a bunch … maybe.

If we had 50 C level entrants, then a bunch could go around at mid C power. So lower C racers could hang in, and higher C racers could have a go at attacking off the front … but there’d be a chance of the bunch catching them.

Right now, it’s individual time trial races.