Please fix your horrible draft and scoring logic….
99.99% of races are determined by the final sprint. Why not make the ZScore 100% dependent on your 15 second power?
Add a category for each course HillRating (1,2,3…). Add in a ZScore component that heavily ranks lighter riders higher. Those races you get the 60kg people racing in a narrow band because the weight penalties are nuts
Drafting logic. Please point to a real-world race where someone off the front can do 50% more power than someone in the pack, and the pack person still hangs?
Breakaways…Why not make the game support them. If there are more than 10 people in a pack, you can avg around 1 w/kg more off the front and they catch you every time
Acceleration…I am pretty sure you defy the laws of physics with the acceleration you allow lighter riders at the start of a race.
Momentum…you should look it up, it matters
Acceleration over a hill, another fun mario cart feature
Velocity downhill…maybe weight should matter here. I can match a rider 1/2 my size in w/kg downhill and hardly catch them.
Kicking someone out of the draft…always fun watching you pump out 375 watts and fall from 1st to last…
When ZRS began, seed score was based on sprint power, 30secs iirc.
The problem is, a decent/good sprint is useless if you don’t have the aerobic engine to keep with the lead group and ordinarily, you aren’t going to sprint at full effort if it’s not for the chance to win.
I think we then had a period where seed score was based on 10min ability, before it was reduced to 5mins.
Even at 5mins, the problem is, very few routes have 5min hills to get good data for stronger riders and such routes are seldom used.
There’s still other big issues with ZRS, but I think seed score based on 2-3mins would give better data.
I don’t know about that, I get belted downhill by everyone - even the folks who are 39kg uphill who seem to be able to do 80km/h+ downhill. They almost certainly are not 39kg on the downhill, given my 59kg struggled to get to 70km/h even with power.
IRL in the other hand on a Giant TCR SL1 I’ve gone 80km/h+ on Col de Bonette heading towards St Etienne de Tinée. Not an aero bike either and includes slowing for corners, which nobody does in Zwift. I probably could have gone faster, but that was well quick enough for me…
I know as a light rider I definitely have no advantages on flat courses, despite everyone claiming otherwise and bringing chat GPT written replies to back them up.
Zwift does make heavier riders go faster downhill, which is correct according to the laws of physics and what happens IRL (try a freewheeling contest with someone heavier than you on a gradual downhill slope).
However Zwift also somewhat exaggerates the aero effect of smaller riders (shorter and also if they’re lighter i.e. less stocky). So this is what the OP may be seeing.
Sorry but that’s not correct. I can’t remember enough physics to say what the formula is for this case, but mass is definitely involved. Have you never freewheeled IRL against someone else with a much different weight? It’s very obvious IRL.
Because there are some Cat D riders with better 15s power than some A+ riders.
5 min power is probably the best foundation for ZRS as you need a good VO2 max to excel at Zwift racing. Match that with an elite sprint and you’ll have a high ZRS.
If you have a high VO2 max but a limited sprint you’ll be able to make up the numbers in Advanced category, but won’t be at the front at the finish.
For me the concept is fine, the issue is that you can lose points by riding harder in harder (busier with better participants) but gain points riding easier (less busy, lower level competitors) races. Do lots of easier races for a higher score.
Regarding the dynamics of Zwift: I think the problem is inclusivity. IRL cycle racing most riders are only a few kg either side of 75.
Zwift has to work for people from 40-110 and be ‘fair’, which means the laws of physics have been adjusted to allow a lighter rider doing 200w to stay in a bunch being driven by 80kg rouleurs doing 400w turns, and a heavier rider to not immediately go out the back when 50kg climbers go full gas up a climb. But as most races are more flat than uphill, there are inherent advantages to being light.
