Hi, something is not feeling right. I am a high-to-average D rider and happy with it. During the week, I entered a race, which allowed me to enter the D category. Shortly before the race started, I canceled my plans to enter a group ride; however, I was to late for the ride and went back to enter the race. In the rush, I accidentally selected the C category, and when I wanted to change to D the enforcement was activated. I then went on to Zwiftpower and opened my profile. In the tab, it still reflected D and chance while it was active. I am no longer as strong as I was and have tried racing in the C group, but at most I will cycle all alone for most of the race. For the last month or so, it was nice racing in the D category, as there were a few young chaps that were pushing my limits, but I could barely get my average above 2.5 w/kg. I don’t understand the zMAP, but there could have been one moment of surge that would have compromised the rest of the race, as I should have pushed my heart rate to above 95% max. It would be sad to stay in the C category as there is no motovation to competed and I can just as well select a route and cycle by myself. Your feedback on this will be appreciated. I’m no sandbagger, and you will see the effort put in to stay adrift in the D category.
Check you Category on this link under Fitness The at Home Cycling & Running Virtual Training App
or refresh your ZP Profile to have to correct Category.
There were changes to CE in June with lowering of zMAP Wkg.
Thanks Dejan, my zFTP is 237w (2.51w/kg) and zMAP is 306w what ever that means. How do you refresh your ZP profile?
You go here ZwiftPower - Login
Under LEVEL you have Refresh Profile
For more info on Category Enforcement read this
If you can do the short term power to meet the zMAP threshold (even at 95% HR) or the longer term power to meet the zFTP threshold, then according to the algorithm, you belong in C. It sounds like you’re over the zMAP threshold for C. The categories are cruel in the sense that the difference between top and bottom of category is big, and the boundaries between categories are completely arbitrary and change without notice. Everyone who gets near the top of a category is happy, until they have a great performance and end up in the bottom of the next category. Zwift says they are working on a category system based on race results (probably including power as well) which should have the effect of pushing people with good race results into a higher category. In any case the category enforcement data expires after 90 days so if you don’t reach your best power again you will end up back in D eventually. To enjoy racing in C, choose completely flat races, never get on the front of the group, and think about beating anyone you can see near you, not just the leaders.
Check out races on the home page of zwiftracing.app that show “Pen Distribution: Automatic by rating” and try one of those if you find one that suits your timezone. That will have you racing people with similar race results.
I’d wager you fell for James’ trap in this week’s OG stage, you went hard up Libby Hill, across the plateau, down the descent and then up 23rd Street. In the past it was common to supertuck down that descent, PD4 physics may well have caused different tactics. It’s caught out a number of D racers this week, including what was the current GC leader, six of the top ten finishers on 1710 BST Monday got zMAP promotion.
On the plus side for you, there was a relatively large influx of Ds promoted to C recently from zMAP reducing from 3.36W/Kg to 3.2W/Kg and going back 90 days, so it there’s better odds of finding riders to race against in the low end of C.
Thanks guys for the incoragment 90 days is a long time but I will be back as I can not sustained 2.5. U are right Steve that is exacatly where it happend. At the top of 23rd street I rember that I could hardly breath, why did I do it??? See you on flat roads of Zwift
Cause you can 
People pedalling their bikes and producing power SHOCKER! 
It does sound a bit like the conclusion or moral of the story here, has ended up being don’t do an all-out segment effort again like this or you risk being promoted. IOW, sandbag from now on.
Our friend Dawid here has podiumed almost every D race he’s done “I can put out C power, but why did Zwift upgrade me to C? I want to go back to D so I can win every race!” Incredible.
try push on and improve you have podiumed nearly every race you entered in the last 6 months.
or try out some of the other races like TFC Mad monday or zwiftracing.app ranking races that use different category systems where you don’t have the same huge leap to the next race up/.
To be fair, racing is soooooo slow right now I feel I am pushed to race C just so there are people in the pen. More than once I have had to abandon my D pen because of the lack of riders.
The good news lots of D riders getting promoted from the Richmond course and many more will get promoted next week via the Box Hill. You won’t be alone at the back of Cs too long. Plenty more will join you.
Plus a good number of Cs will end up in B which will improve things as well. Dawid’s power is sufficient to do reasonably well in a flat C race. I’ve won a few C races and regularly place in the top 10 with similar power to him. I just have less weight to drag up the climbs so I tend to pick the ones with moderate climbs, or with 1-3 hours of racing so I can use what fitness I have. I’m a cat’s whisker away from B and I probably wouldn’t do well in a sprint against Dawid.
Heh, how you have similar power to Dawid, when you " a cat’s whisker away from B’"?
But I do agree, on a flat course with under 30-40 riders signed in and less than 20 riders in the front group. Dawid will do well on pancake flat routes in the Cs. But he won’t have the power to do multiple efforts that are 1 min long. I.E. 1 or 2 laps of innubrucking will drop him.
Races like Tempus Fugit, he will be in the front on the final sprint.
I’m talking about Watts (power), not W/kg (power-to-weight). My current zFTP is 241w, zMAP 308w. Dawid’s zFTP is 237w, and zMAP 306w. I call that pretty close in terms of power. But his 15 second power is 200W higher than mine. That’s why I think he’ll be OK in a flat C race, and I’ll stick to races with moderate hills to leave him behind. My 5 minute PR is current 4.14W/kg and he probably can’t touch that. Also CE doesn’t include 2 hour power, and that still matters in some events. You’ll find me there.
Last 10 races:
7 wins
2 seconds
1 third
“High-to-average”
A fair share of those races are 3R races, with next to no one in them.