I can't figure out why I got bumped to a higher category

Racing ZwiftPower Community
1

I recently got bumped up to category C and can’t figure out why. I’ve read that zwift allows for a 0.1w/kg discrepancy and looks at your last races and ftp performance to determine which category you should be in.

Limit for category D is 2.5w/kg and that is the category I should be in based on my recent few races and ftp. Why I find this weird is that I’ve only stayed at or under this limit for my last few races. For me at 65 kg, 2.5w/kg is exactly 162.5w.

I’ve done one race in which I had ever so slightly over the limit (167w; 2.6w/kg). It was a shorter race of only 29min, which explains my higher watts of course. My ftp is definetly 2.5 or under, since it would be weird to assume I could hold 30minute race watts for a full hour.

Next race I do is exactly at 160w average which is UNDER 2.5w/kg clearly, next thing I see is now I am C? WHY?

Only one of those races was clearly over 2.5w/kg, and I was sometimes racing with guys that were clearly doin more watts, sometimes 3w/kg or over, which is definetly C.

I am cool with trying C, since I wanna get better at zwift racing. I think I should be a category D in my opinion, so why does Zwift think I am C?

2

There is no 0.1 leeway

Cat limit for D is a zFTP (not 60 minute power) of 2.63w/kg (not 2.5)

You can see your zFTP in the fitness section of your feed on Zwift:

This details the category limits:

And here is an FAQ about Category Enforcement:

3

The slight leeway that you’re referring to is probably that used by WTRL in ZRL, where they have a variable fudge factor depending on the route.

4

Don’t worry about it anyway. As of Monday, all races will have categories redefined by your Zwift Racing score – which has nothing to do with your ftp.

5

You can also be promoted for zMAP > 3.2W/kg. If you choose to share screenshots of the Fitness section from my.zwift.com with the zFTP, zMAP, and all the PRs, I can probably tell you why you got upgraded. I think some of your misconceptions about how categories work could be resolved by reading the Pace Group Category Enforcement document that Aoi shared. Let me know if you have any questions about it.

6

actually, there is some leeway. about 5% on zftp for people above the watt floor. none on zmap though as far as im aware