Category Enforcement Test Events - 21-28 Feb 2022

FutureWorks
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Racers!

The time has come.

Here is the official announcement thread for the upcoming category enforcement test events I’ve alluded to for the last few weeks.

At the bottom of this post is an extensive list of questions we anticipate might crop up. If you don’t see the question you’ve got answered there, please ask it in the comments section.

Here is the quick and dirty info for you:

What is it? Test events of a new system that will disallow Zwifters from joining a category that is too easy for them. “Easy” is based on specific power data collected in the last two months. The lowest category available to you will be the best fit based on power, with the option to join more challenging categories should you choose.

When is it? 21-28 Feb with multiple events happening across major time zones. Check Zwift Companion for the event that’s the best fit for you. They’ll be labeled “Category Enforcement.”

How do you find and sign up for a race? Make sure you have Zwift Companion updated to the latest version so that you can see the events as they’re supposed to appear (if you’re on an older version, you’ll see the join button for every category but get an error when attempting to join categories which are supposed to be hidden). Once you’re on the latest version of Zwift Companion, you’ll see the events beginning with “Future Works - Category Enforcement” pop up and you can join the one that’s the best fit for you.

We need your feedback! After your race, please fill out this feedback form. Your feedback will be the single most important thing to help us get a more robust version of these events permanently on the calendar.

Please note: these events are only a test and they are not indicative of anything permanent. Things like the course, race duration, and especially the metrics we use for power now will not necessarily be the same metrics we use moving forward.

The events are live now, so you can sign up!

Enjoy the races!

Ride On :ride_on:

Questions & Answers

  • When will these tests happen?

    • 21-28 Feb with multiple events happening across major time zones.

  • What will it do?

    • Category enforcement will examine a Zwifter’s historical performances based on power curve data and then find the best minimum category they can join for a race. It will prevent Zwifters from joining a category that is too easy for them based on their power data.

  • What won’t it do?

    • Category enforcement is not currently designed to automatically place Zwifters into a category; it is not auto categorization.

  • How are you determining the category that I belong in?

    • We are using a 2 month historical look at your best values for both estimated VO2 max and FTP (CP/W`) as it is captured in Zwift for all activities, excluding workouts. This is the same for every rider. Riders with an ability to sustain higher short duration power and with a lower FTP might see their available categories increased as a result.

  • How do I sign up for a race? Do I need to do anything specific?

    • Make sure you have Zwift Companion updated to the latest version so that you can see the events as they’re supposed to appear (if you’re on an older version, you’ll see the join button for every category but get an error when attempting to join categories which are supposed to be hidden). Once you’re on the latest version of Zwift Companion, you’ll see the events beginning with “Future Works - Category Enforcement” pop up and you can join the one that’s the best fit for you.

  • Are the races available to everyone?

    • Yes! Anyone on Zwift can join any race. All you need is to have done a ride or two

  • Will the categories available to me to race in be the same as my categories in ZwiftPower?

    • ZwiftPower does not dictate your category in Zwift, as it’s only a supplement to Zwift racing. Every ride that you do in Zwift - regardless of if you’re on ZwiftPower or not or if you have saved the ride or not - saves the power data that we use to determine your available categories.

  • How long will the races be?

    • Each race will be roughly 45-60 minutes and on a variety of courses.

  • What happens after the tests?

    • We will examine your feedback and determine what changes need to be made in order to implement category enforcement for events in a more permanent fashion.

  • What will my experience be?

    • When the test events are on the calendar, you’ll find the event you’d like to ride in and then you’ll see the categories you’re able to join based on your historical power data within the last two months. The lowest category available to you will be the best fit for you, with the option to join categories above should you choose. We also do not currently have any messaging in game to inform you what your category will be and why. It’s simply that the available categories you can join when signing up for the races are what you’re able to join, based on the power metrics we’ve mentioned we’re using for these tests.
      • For example, if you can see the C, B, and A categories, then C is the best fit for you according to the calculations we have made, and you’ll have the options to join B or A if you wish.

  • How do I know what category is considered the “right” one for me?

    • The lowest visible category when signing up for an event is the category that is the category you will likely find the most appropriate for you based on your historical power performance. The choice is yours, of course, if you’d like to race in a higher category or not.

  • What happens if I don’t have ride data within the last two months?

    • You’ll only be able to sign up for category A until you have ride data again. If you’d like to have a better range of categories to access, we recommend that you do a ride with higher efforts or even a race or two before signing up for these events.

  • Why can I still join categories that might be too hard for me?

    • We believe in the philosophy of racing up. For those of you who would like to race in a potentially more challenging environment, we leave the option open to you.

  • Will I be able to see riders from other categories in the results on ZwiftPower?

    • Yes. Every race will have A-D categories available. Remember: the categories that you can see when signing up for the events are the categories that are most competitive for you, with the lowest category visible being the best fit.

  • Is this like WTRL’s auto categorization?

    • No, this is not. Category enforcement is not designed to automatically place you in a category. It is designed to show you the categories that are available to you to race in, with the lowest available category being the most accurate match to your power.

  • Will you have auto categorization?

    • Category enforcement is one of the many improvements to racing we aim to implement in the near future.

  • Where can I share feedback about my experience in these events?

  • I’m an event organizer for the community and would like to have category enforcement for my events. When can I use it?

    • While we have no concrete date for when race organizers might be able to use this feature in their own events, it’s something we want to deliver sooner rather than later.
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4 Likes
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Thanks @xflintx,

Is Cat E supposed to be there? If so, what is it for?

Link to event

Screenshot 2022-02-14 21.15.44
Screenshot 2022-02-14 21.15.441613×839 134 KB

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Well done for getting this out Flint, it really is appreciated and will be a game changer… especially if Zwift are bold and iterate and improve it without be too nervous about pleasing everyone all the time.

10 Likes
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We had E for our internal tests, and they shouldn’t be there now. We’ll get that edited, as the test events should only be A-D.

Thanks for pointing it out!

4 Likes
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i put this in the other thread, but it probably should go here:

i don’t have zwift power, and i haven’t raced in more than 2 months. D pen is restricted for me, but A, B, C and E are all available. from my perspective, this seems correct.

(my FTP is around 3.0wkg. my 5 min power is about 3.8wkg. my best 20 min power is about even with my FTP, maybe a touch higher.)

1 Like
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Any chance of something around weekday lunchtime in the UK?

The ones I see are:

Tue 11am 2pm
Wed 11am 5:15pm
Thu 11am 6pm
Fri 11am 6pm

Maybe one or two of those 11am ones could be moved to noon or 1pm.

1 Like
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That’s good feedback, thanks!

Please fill out the feedback form with your findings and impressions.

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@xflintx can you share the calculation you are using for ‘VO2 max’ and FTP?

I appreciate it is open to be adapted and developed, but we have had a lot of discussion about this, and the wide-ranging consensus is that the calcs should always be openly shared or it leads to immense frustration. If knowing the calcs allows for cruising/sandbagging, then the calcs aren’t right.

It sounds like you are considering the right sorts of data, but please share it. It’s also the best way to gather honest and accurate feedback.

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Not just frustration but it also means that bugs and errors remain uncorrected.

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I’d reiterate @gloscherrybomb comment. I’ve dropped FTP over past 3 months and get promoted to B from C - I suspect my V02 is the culprit but understanding the “why” would be helpful.

My initial reaction was negative in that I’m now B in this test system which didnt gel well, but I’m thinking that a whole bunch of other top C’s will be joining me in B, and the fast dudes in B will be moving up … so I’m keen to play.

Hopefully these are well supported events with big fields.

Keep up the great work Flint and team.

4 Likes
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Might be worth thinking about more UX for the first time racer flow. If the main flow for a first time user who installs zwift and jumps in to try a race is getting dumped into A it might be worth prompting them to let them know the reason, and why they are about to get completely wrecked, and how to avoid it next time. EDIT: It is possible there is UX for this, but it’s not something I’d be able to see so just getting it on the radar in case there isn’t a flow for new users here.

Not sure if this happens much or not, but if that is the person’s first impression of zwift racing they might not come back.

I’ll hold off on filling out the feedback form until after trying a race, but if categorization uses the ramp test FTP, then hopefully they don’t use the 75% scaling and instead go more conservative and scale that value by 72% for folks whom the FTP test overstates their FTP.

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And eventually, if the same/similar calcs are rolled out as part of the new norm, being able to support the queries that come in (support by the community in the forums and elsewhere that is), would be more than useful to offload your support team.

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It’s putting me in B. I’m firmly C in ZwiftPower and have been for a long time. So basically it’s only using w/kg rather than the secondary outright wattage rule, as I feared. Same as Autocat.

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There’s always one… proving that it did need to be tested…

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Uses VO max and FTP, wonder what the limits are?

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What happens if I don’t have ride data within the last two months?

  • You’ll only be able to sign up for category A until you have ride data again.

Ouch. That’ll be fun!

4 Likes
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This is about enforcement. There will be improvements to the boundaries in the future I am sure. Hopefully the ability for race organisers to choose them.

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So assuming you haven’t ridden / raced in 2 months?