I am 50, a long time user of Zwift, raced in a lot of races, have atrial flutter and love to compete. However, I can only handle a relatively small workload. Meaning I can do a race about once a week. More than that and I run the risk of heart issues.
I’ve made a couple of “comebacks” during my time racing. Meaning I need to rest at times for a while to get back to a place where I am comfortable. On my latest time back, I have entered the Zwift series of races and done well in D. I can get a great workout but not crush myself. On one hand, I want to be fair and respect the categories but I also want to be safe.
Today, I could not even enter a D race. I raced a C race and got shelled really bad. A good workout but more than my body really wanted. Is there a way to petition my category? Thanks.
If I look at other D cat racers, there are certainly those who have been there for a long time and raced with good numbers as far as output but few podiums. Maybe that is how they stay there?
Either way, I guess I gotta get back to racing C. Thanks for taking the time.
My avg over the last three readings is 2.45. My fitness is improving but not where it was. Plus, I remember that I would get an “Almost C” cat rating as a warning. That was not the case this time. I am still a D but cannot do D races.
This means you are category D on ZwiftPower, and you can still ride in D on events that use ZwiftPower categories. But you are a C in Zwift’s Category Enforcement system, so you’ll need to ride C or higher in events configured with Category Enforcement enabled. You’ll probably find there are still some events you can enter in D. Category Enforcement uses data from all recent rides, not just races. It also considers other factors beyond 20 minute power.
Racing C is way more intense than my fitness allows. Today, I held the main pack for about 1/2 a lap and was then shelled. My time was 30 seconds slower than the D Race. In the race itself, I was somewhere in the 80s of 115. It’s shockingly demoralizing and makes the racing not fun. In my last D race, the only reason I won was because I jumped a gap with a tri guy who was later DQ’d. I drifted off the back about 6 times during that break but held on for second. Ultimately, this is the race that got me upgraded. Super unenjoyable now just because of fitness. D cat would be perfect as I have time/fitness/desire for a race about once a week. It’s just a shame that enough people have cheated the system that they need to impose such guidelines.
You beat a bunch of racers in that C race, you didn’t come last. Should all those other racers be in D as well?
The categories are broad, so being at the bottom of a category sucks - that said, you’re winning D for many of your D races, so when they bring in race rankings it is likely that is going to further keep you out of D into C.
Category enforcement has a lot of problems, it is nowhere near perfect, but what it does is try to keep people with C power out of D, B power out of C etc. So someone isn’t just beating up on the pack and podiuming all the time.
You’ve done 16 races this year and finished on the podium 10 times, winning 4 times.
In the last 3 months before the C race you’ve gone 1,1,2,3,4,2,2 in mostly decently sized fields.
Sounds like you think the system should be skewed to make sure that you’re the one who is always at the front which isn’t really fair for the rest of the people you race against is it?
No. I just know that the C cat is not my fitness level. It goes from what…2.4-3.2…that’s a big range. And like someone above said, I am caught at the bottom. I love the workouts from D racing. I have to work hard but never fully kill myself. I can race for 30-45 min and come out with a great workout. Feel taxed but not dead. Plus, being in a race pushes you nicely because of that carrot of winning. I raced C’s and was doing well during COVID but lost that fitness and motivation to be on the bike that much. I wish there was a D+, C- cat. Maybe someday. Thanks for taking the time to reply and listen to the broken record of cat upgrades.
I’ve mentioned it before on other threads, but for folks who aren’t able to boost their fitness much over a season (for whatever reason) it sucks to be continuously at the bottom of a cat, meanwhile people can sit at the top of a cat for multiple years and have a completely different racing experience.
Race rankings will help, but as long as there are static categories people will find innovative ways to stick at the top of one (whether that is tanking their rating every few rides, or some other method - zwiftracingapp has some solutions, but I have a hard time believing Zwift is going to have these bases coverred in the next few years).
Race organizers have the ability to create races that use different category boundaries, and there are a few that for instance you can join that focus on ‘lower C’ riders, or some that use compound score etc, but those are not the norm. It would be nice if some of Zwift’s main race events or one of the bigger race organizers offered events with different category definitions so someone can’t simply be a “top C” for their entire season beating up on everyone while someone is a “bottom C” for the entire season getting beat up on every time.
Not sure what your zMAP is, but from a zFTP and compound score perspective it does look like you’d be in the lower category for the VirtuSlo rides Paul mentioned, so that might be a good one to jump into if the time ever works for you.
Given your stated health issues, isn’t the results you get in C about what you would expect in real life race?
You like D racing for the workout.
Many people Race for workouts but races are races and workouts are workouts
People should not lower their race cat to get a good workout, they should do harder workouts or ride with a faster pacebot.
That said, do a mass start race and ride with the mixed group of C&D riders that match your fitness, just no podium.
So are people who have hundreds of races in D just gaming the system? I look at the overall leader in the 50+ D cat. The racer will win a D race then do the same race and finish in 14th, 21st, etc. That must keep them in D when they clearly have the fitness to move up. They sprinkle in enough races at higher levels and with lower results to maintain where they are. They also win lots in a row which is confusing to me.
Or this one that has better stats than me and WINS a lot.
Looking at his zwiftpower profile, I’ve been scratching my head at how he has had 3.3W/Kg for 5mins for a number of weeks and didn’t get a zMAP promotion.
Usually anyone in D with a zFTP of 150W+ seems to get a zMAP promotion with a 5mins of approx 3.26W/Kg+ these days.
Thing is, once a pen dominator does get a promotion, odds are someone else will become the dominant racer.
No. BB is below. The above is the second place guy. The guy who is first is below. The only thing I can guess is that they mix their results but this is also not always the case. It’s a head scratcher. Also these guys race…and win…multiple days in a row. In my case, I cannot even come close to that or I put myself at risk.
