So touched on this before and need help…just finished Heard summer race. Overall W/kg was decent(maybe the highest)but i just get smashed on the hills…even when pushing more W/kg than some infront they just float away.
What am I doing wrong? it’s pretty demoralising. I also feel I have the keep the power far higher when in the pack or I’ll just get spat out the back.
Any help appreciated.
Hi @stephen_sharp9124, some additional information would be helpful. What equipment are you using, bike, trainer, etc? Is you weight and height accurate in Zwift? What virtual bike are you using?
Hi…thanks for the reply.
Wahoo Kickr snap, Sworks tarmac SL7 bike, weight and height is bang on.
Have you done a calibration and made sure the tire pressure is good?
yes…normal around 14 seconds.
are you lightweight or heavyweight rider?
(sounds like you might be a lightweight rider - lightweight riders have to output more w/kg than heavier riders to go at the same speed, although this is less pronounced on hills - see here: Speed Tests: Steady w/kg Across Various Body Weights | Zwift Insider )
frame/wheel loadout is also pretty important. SL7 is alright for climbing.
what wheels are you using? wheels have far bigger impact on performance than frame. Zipp 808 for example are terrible at climbing - Zwift Speed Tests: Wheel Ranking Charts | Zwift Insider
also it is common knowledge for zwift racers that hills are the most efficient place to pile on the pressure during any race event, so expect most people to be chilling on the flats at Z2-3 or so then going full send up the hills at threshold or above threshold pace.
so if you’re planning to just maintain a steady pace for the whole ride, ur gna have a bad time.
Hi Ben
Thanks for the reply…I have both Enve 3.4 and DT Swiss - both look good on charts. Need to move up a few levels to get the better enve wheels.
Currently CAT B although not sure about 5/20 min outputs. I don’t train or do tests…just race 6 days a week 
Decent running background(14 flat for 5k and 3.42 1500m) so I guess endurance from that helps.
I will try and go steadier on the flats and harder up the hills, see how that goes. My sprinting is woeful too :)))))))
racing 6 days a week might be a tad excessive, make sure you’re getting enough recovery between races. although if you’re not sprinting that helps. but for me if I race next day is defo not gonna be a race cos my legs are gna be blown 
sign up to zwiftpower.com if ur racing a lot as it is seen as the more “official” results than what zwift companion app shows, filters out a lot of cheats etc.
they will also track ur 15s/1m/5m/20m power for you
top tier Cat B riders are pushing 5-6 w/kg for 5min efforts for the most part…! (F that)
Yeah…on zwiftpower.
5 mins is 4.55
20 mins 4.33
Just raced and had to stop, flying along and got a puncture. What’s that all about…lol. Watts dropped and was spinning like a made man
New tyre ordered.