I’m 58 and been at this for a long time. Sadly I’m going the other way, I’m not bridging that gap anymore as much as I’d like to. There was a time I would have relished this, but today’s ride was pretty much all I’ve got and was no fun. The gaps were bigger than before when people would race down cat. Guess I can just choose not to “race” anymore which is a real bummer as that is what kept me somewhat interested during the winter moths. Carson is correct in that we just got smashed out there. Not saying I need to win, but maybe smaller power groupings would help. Oh well, at least I gave it one try.
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Double draft has made the front group unnaturally larger and kept them together for a lot longer for most of these events from what I can see in results. A good portion would have usually been dropped in dribs and drabs and therefore the races would have looked more typical of what we have all been racing outside of these events.
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Hey, I’m 65 and until my IRL crash last November I was actually getting faster. Just need to manage the training load more carefully and making every ride count. If it wasn’t for the incident, I would still be in B and about mid-pack. The sandbagging isn’t quite as prevalent in B as it is in C and D but it’s still there. Just when you’re at the back of the pack it seems like they’re all sandbaggers. I would suggest sticking with it for a bit longer. They’re going to tweak the formula going forward and you may end up at the pointy end of C.
And remember, a solid warm up and railing the start to get into the lead blob makes a HUGE difference in your race experience.
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Been on Zwift for 3 years and have no idea what “double draft” is. I assume being in the pack while using the truck drafting booster?
Actually Double Draft is much closer to IRL than Regular Draft. I don’t know if I would’ve been in the lead blob as long as I was without DD. I do look forward to seeing how it goes with RD. I just know that not having racers with >1.0w/kg in my event is a game changer.
Thanks for the advice, however we are all a little different and sadly this is all I have. I’ll never see the pace I rode at or ran at 20 years ago, sad but true.
No doubt. I’m WAY slower than I was in 20’s and 30’s. 40’s for that matter. We never are but you gotta remember: Getting old is not for the faint of heart…
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are there ever no-draft mass-start races?
It’s fantastic to see the serial cruisers and sandbaggers already getting caught out.
I do feel for the riders that were doing it kinda unintentionally. As in, they were just at the top of a category and have never really gone as hard as they possibly could. An amateur cruiser per se.
One things for sure, when this is rolled out across all Zwift races. It’s going to cause total chaos. Every post on this forum will be ‘I used to be C, now I can’t win’. Or. 'why would I ever race again, I’m going to (insert competitor here).
We’ve had a tiny volume of test events, with maybe a few hundred riders. Can you imagine the sheer panic when this is ten of thousands?
I’m excited. I’ve got popcorn ordered. I’ll take the week off work, just to revel in the madness. 
Please Zwift, for my own personal amusement. Engage the new enforcement system wide. Every race, no warning. Nothing, just switch the bad boy on.
Let the fall begin 
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I have done the odd mass start TT but they tend to be few and far between.
Exactly! I’m not sure we’re seeing any serial cheaters in these races, mostly riders who’ve been upgraded sooner than anticipated. I remember how much it sucked when I got yanked from the pointy end of C and put into the cellar of B.
Can’t be true in your case, you’re still getting faster.
And the upgrade in and of itself isn’t the bad thing, the power gaps are, and always have been to big. IRL you don’t go from being very good in one cat to being dropped in the first 5K up a cat. Bottom line is I’m way off the back and it is zero fun, it’s not even racing. I’d be fine if anyone else was with me but we were all back there doing a TT. They need to add at least one more Cat. I actually think two would be perfect.
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Actually, I was getting slower towards the end of the year. I literally ran into a wall on 10November and couldn’t ride at all for nine weeks. Now, I’m way slower than I was before. I actually was a D cat rider for a bit but now I’m mid-pack C and I don’t anticipate ever getting back into B.
I stoppped riding; I did NOT stop eating on 10November. I’ve found someone’s 12 pounds and took it for my own. Still trying to find the bstrd that left it lying around for me to slap on to my stomach…
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Not a roadie as such so no IRL experience, my context is only Zwift so quite likely a fair callout. But most racing in Zwift isnt DD so we get better distribution of riders (I have no hard evidence of course, just feels and looks like it).
Don’t think I’ll be trying again, I can ride alone anytime and not worry about scheduling etc. that was pretty much all I did by entering the “race”. Not trying to shoot the messenger, but I don’t want to go through that again. Borderlines on stupid how bad I got smashed.
Thanks for the response though,
Doak
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We’ll see you out there!
Sadly @Andreas_Traff competitive racing is we might know it no longer the goal or vision . Its a now a maths project to produce a outcome that can be endlessly repeated til the end of time .
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Yes, and you can crush me there.
CP 2.53 = C.
Somewhere are the boundaries, or there are no boundaries. After reading some days I believe the best option is no cats…
That is the reason, why I do not start in the test events.
I used to be a bottom B, but stopped cycling for a while.
At this moment my best 95% of 20 minutes is 3.02w/kg. No way that I even try to start in a B race. Because I am not allowed to start in C.