Can zwift races be done by a disabled person

[Joel_Frederik_Zeijls (Joel Frederik)]

Hi all

I am wondering if a disabled person would be able to do TTs Crit and other races on zwift who are slow and don’t have very much co ordination

[Mike_Rowe1 (Mike)]

Hi @Joel_Frederik_Zeijls, if said person is able to ride on Zwift, join events and group rides, i see no reason why they wouldn’t be able to race.

[Juanjo_Ferres_HISP (Juanjo)]

I don’t know if you will be able to be competitive, but indeed no one will stop you from racing. Just try with the cheapest option before investing in an expensive smart trainer. And with the cheapest option (cadence, speed sensor) you will effectively be faster (you just hold the speed with little effor). This is called Zpower, and unless you start winning races like crazy no one will point you out. You can even change your name in game so other racers know your condition (armbikers usually do this).

There are also in the market -one side only- powermeters (crank ones -usually only left- or pedal ones), that mirror the power on one side to the other. This will reduce the effect of your disability in races if you only have a “bad” side.

There are 4 stablished categories, being D the easiest. Do as Mike recommend you and start with group rides.

Be aware that a correct setup of your bike/trainer/chair is critical or may be detrimental for you. One of my colleages have an arms related condition and his bike is adapted making the handlebar higher and closer to the chest. But i highly recomend you to consult this with your physician.

So, with the proper equipment, the correct setup and the correct Zwift Racing Category, i think you can get lots of fun with us!

[James_Zwift (James)]

I think a lot of it will depend on the disability. I’m disabled and race on Zwift.

I know that there’s a decent community of hand cyclists who do so too.

Essentially - as noted above, if you can ride on Zwift you can enter races. Have fun

[Otto_Destruct (CJ)]

Hi Joel!

We’ve had some discussions in the forum about adaptive athletes and I’ve collected links of possible interest here:

Links to Zwift Resources 🗺️

NOTE: this post has been superseded. Please refer to the: Zwift Resource Wiki (new) It seems like I’m finding out about a new Zwift resource every week and frequently see people asking about specific types of resources. I thought I’d post a list of the ones I’ve found - maybe you know some I’ve …

Copying from that section:

@Otto_Destruct

• Amputee, Disability, Under 1 w/kg group rides out there? - discussion on low-W/kg rides for adaptive athletes. IMPORTANT: there were replies by the NPE-CABLE team as well as the developer of the PainSled and RowedBiker apps on how to use that technology (see above) to apply a wattage correction factor for adaptive athletes.
• Paracyling added to Zwift -Handcycles and recumbant bikes - #57 by Christopher_Schwenke
• Events - using the “Search” box on ZwiftHacks Events list, try “adaptive” or “handcycle”. You’ll come up with regular events catering to adaptive athletes, often with “keep together” (aka “rubberbanding”) enabled so that everyone can ride together.

Perhaps one or more of those links would be of interest?

[Paul_Southworth (Paul)]

You can also search for all events with the Rubberbanding feature enabled on the ZwiftHacks events site. It’s under the Rules tab.

Events

[Joel_Frederik_Zeijls (Joel Frederik)]

Ì think with the approach to paracycling you could also look at including cerebral palsy cyclists