I think this is something we will have to do at some stage but I can’t promise when.
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I never won a race in C (not for trying) and was upgraded to B. Still having more fun in B and always get dropped on the climbs (80kg) but there are plenty of baby-B’s to ride with in a larger race. Enjoy!
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Oh yeah i embrace it. Just means as you say finding bigger fields until I’m strong enough to hang at the front.
Won’t lie, it was quite nice that i got to taste a genuine win from a field of 40 though. Technically I’m fine to stay in C until the new method is rolled out, but guess i would be a sandbagger if i did (albeit not like the guys who manage their W to stay just inside limits).
Ride on
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Y’know, I don’t think I realized your opposition is because you still implicitly assume a fixed set of categories.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, hopefully for the last time: Ranking is not a categorization.
Anywho, I’ll leave you to arguing about how to make the power curve metrics the least wrong… still…
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I didn’t mention categories. In fact whenever I mention next steps, I suggest removing categories altogether, and only talk in terms of pens and how they are split. So confused as to your point…
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Can some sort of feedback form be added at the end of the race for these? Could maybe move the Pace Partner one which has surely now run its course.
@James_Zwift and @xflintx just did a lunchtime crit with category enforcement. Very much a big blob and sprint race. Enjoyable but not hugely different at B level (to be expected, more benefit will be felt at C and D).
Looking on Zwiftpower and there is one racer with the code UPG - how are these post race DQs working here?
I need to revisit all the default settings for the Zwift events.
I’ll do it after my workout. Threshold over/unders. URGH.
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I should have most of the future events covered.
@Michael_Sparshatt can you send me the id of the event that you took part in so I can fix it?
Sorry thought I had copy pasted it above!
Thanks fixed.
Sorry if I missed it earlier, in full blown it’s half 4 on a Friday and I have so much to do before finishing mode!
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I was in the same race and thought it was a bit more relaxed compared to other Crits, (well done by the way!), and the pace wasn’t pushed too much on the flats as it sometimes is, but it might just be that it was this race and not because of cat enforcement.
The sprint went as expected: for me as a “low weight cyclist - low watts sprint” I have to go early in the park, which I did, and came in fifth, with aero helmet saved from lap 2-3 or so.
Fair top3 of the race…
My overall feeling from doing 4-5 test races is that they seem to have a lower average speed. Maybe it’s temporary until B’s start to experiment and push races with different tactics, and I don’t have the evidence to prove it. Maybe it’s also because races aren’t chopped up by sandbaggers to the same extent.
Looking forward to seeing how this changes race dynamics over time.
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I haven’t done crits, I tend to go for the ~30km course races, but my experience of those B cat races is very similar. The pace on the flats has been reduced significantly from before, but the pace on the ascents is still hard. As a bottom B (FTP around 3.3-3.4) I used to get spat out of the back early on since I could barely hang on on the flats. Now I can stay with the lead blob on the flats, but do get dropped from the lead on longer ascents (which is fair enough I’m a still a bottom B) and fall back into the second or third group).
Maybe it will change, but my theory is that there are less sandbaggers and cruisers that would previously enter B and some riders that would previously enter C (genuine top C riders as well as cruisers and sandbaggers that were entering C) have been pushed up into B. I think this has led to a more even spread of abilities in the race instead of being skewed towards the top end of the group. With only a few riders able to ride at the max power and those that can do that power, it will actually tire them out and leave them on the front so they will drop the power until more riders can share the load on the front.
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My partner (female, mid/upper D) did a Crit City Race with cat enforcement this morning. It was her first mixed-cat crit and only her second mixed cat race ever. Normally, she leans heavily on women’s only events but she had a great time with this one and appreciated that there weren’t sandbaggers pumping the pace up.
D cat feels very broad and I feel a bit badly for the people in the 1.5 w/kg range but I think they can improve very quickly, whereas lower cat C/B’s have a long haul to become upper-cat C/B’s. The only person who was a bit OP was the winner, a first-time racer according to ZP, but even he will surely enjoy success for a bit and then head to C.
Seems like it’s all working great to me!
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zid=2858356 please restore my hard earned first place in the B category that i definitely belong in while you’re at it. actually i’m pretty sure it’s a bug… i shouldn’t be able to enter B in the first place. just letting you know
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Sounds like they have lowered something due to all the whinging you lightweight riders were doing which has resulted in allowing you to enter B
oh, i’m glad to hear it’s working as intended then. in that case then i’m looking forward to being restored to my rightful category, B.
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Definitely felt slower, especially for that size of blob. I’m always far too late in launching my sprint, and was the same again here! I wonder how attacks would fare with a handful of riders on the small climb in these cat enforcement crits.
Be interested to see how C and D crits are going, as these would be getting more impacted by sandbaggers. Anecdotally it sounds really positive though.
Please add a survey after the event in game ZHQ!
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Just tell me - I share all your feedback anyway.
This isn’t actually my race to update (It’s a DBR one) but I’ve done so anyway. Should show finalised results in about 5 minutes.
thank you, but i’m like 95% sure i shouldn’t be in B at all James, i think it’s a bug that i’m allowed to enter B in the first place. my 60 day CP is probably about 255 depending on how zwift is calculating it and my 5 min is 6.2wkg/345w