Drafting - how to maintain drafting??

wondering if someone can help. when i approach a rider and see ok to start draft i find it hard to maintain for any length of time if not on pan flat road. i’m alway accelerating away or falling behind. any suggestions on proper way to draft and maintain draft appreciated. Thx

Just like in real life - practice.

I’ve experienced the same and I still have to be careful but now I can suck wheel pretty easily. Just like in real life.

Although this is still tricky, Zwift tech has done a good job of improving it.  I find using the overhead view (9 on your keyboard) helps as you have a better visual gauge of how close you are and the immediate impact of speed changes to you or the rider in front of you.

Thanks Tri Floyd. will try this. J

Also, some folks think that it is helpful to have your ANT+ dongle as close as possible to the part of your trainer that broadcasts the ANT+ signal. Apparently, doing so reduces lag between your trainer and your avatar, so when you notice a response in the video (like the avatar in front pulling away), you can get your avatar to respond more rapidly. To achieve this may require a long USB extension cord, which is what I have been using.

Part of what makes it challenging to draft a single rider, is how steady they are on the speed/power.   In some cases, people might mess with you and intentionally speed up and slow down, just to get you off their wheel

Also, Zwift treats different equipment and different rider (weight) differently, and slight inclines/declines will change the effort required for a steady pace differently for different people (note, this is not unlike real life, it’s just harder to recognize it’s happening in Zwift). .  

Best to find a buddy to ride with and try to work out a steady speed.

Cheers for that Jim. Helpful.  

USB extension cord near the sensor works well, no lag experienced, drafting much easier 

Thanks William. How close? Mine is approx 4-5 feet from my wahoo kickr. Thx J 

Jerry Bob, closer the better, mine is approximately one foot from the sensor, I have a long, 6ft, USB extension cable, from laptop to bike bottom bracket or for you back to the trainer.