“But I’m older than the other runners and can’t keep up with them, so it’s only leveling the playing field.” Yeah, don’t buy it.
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A lot of discussions are about participating medals.
I’m using an e-bike, because I want a medal
Cats are to wide, I was top C, now low B —> won’t get a medal.
I’m living at altitude —-> won’t get a medal
I’m a lighter rider, can’t keep up at the flats —> no medal
I’m havier rider, can’t keep up in climbs—-> no medal
I’m doing stage races, but have no time to complete them all—-> no medal
I don’t have Zwift steer, feel disadvantaged—-> no medal.
If you do races it is about being the best, if you don’t win. For some reason you wasn’t the best. That is competitive sports. Already have 4 cats is already a hand reach.
There is no point of making 100 categories so you can win a participation medal.
You do rides for participation medals.
You have to make sacrefices for being the best. And stil you can do all what lies in your abilities, but you lack talent. That’s live. Some are good in cycling, others in soccer, others in writing. Some in whining that the world is unfair…
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I would like to think most people who use Zwift are like me and couldn’t give a rat’s behind about trophies
At 107 kgs I look at home on a football field and quite out of place on a bicycle
When I race I run mid pack in D and I hope one day Zwift will tell me I have to move up to C where I will be close to, if not, dead last… And I will have a big smile on my face the whole time…
Why? I’m glad you asked… After any race, or any ride, I check my results… Not to see how crappy I did vs the kings of D but to check on the improvement over time vs myself
TL/DR: I was hugged enough as a child and don’t need validation from a trophy I needed to cheat to get
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I’m 100% in favor of increasing participation in sports, and competition. And that’s across the board, for anyone who has been prevented from participating in the past, and right now. But I don’t think that means that there shouldn’t be limits in categories for those performance enabling devices. I love that ebike racing exists, because I know people who struggle to be able to ride in a way that they would even consider ‘racing’ without that assist. So ebike racing is great. But that doesn’t mean that all racing, any race, any cat, should be open to ebikes.
I should not be allowed into the top levels of pro cycling, regardless of how fast an ebike I could buy.
If people are allowed to use what they want
all will know
so you will know what you are up against
So openness is the best way
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If Zwift wanted to create an ‘Open’ category of racing, more power to them. But replacing the standard racing with that would be a bad idea.
I suspect very few people not on ebikes would choose to compete with ebikes. And neither should they be forced to.
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Anyone seen “Ready Player One”? Was the special game-suit that the main character bought, a cheat?
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You’re right of course but, if Zwift does not make money it will cease to exist. I don’t race on Zwift, I find the group rides in TDZ, etc bad enough for cheating. I really don’t know what the answer is. To be fair though just look at the cheating that is clear to see IRL on Strava. KOM’s and QOM’s won at silly fast speeds with either no HR or a very low one. (in fact sometimes without any physiological metrics) People cheat.
i’m a floyd mayweather fan personally. i admire his honesty
hahaha, you just nailed it! That’s the source of the problem mixing the views and expectations of gamers vs. athletes…!
Many people come to Zwift to leverage the platform as training tool: to improve their IRL health, performance, etc. For them, fake power, cheating, makes less sense because their primary goal is IRL performance; however, for people with gamer mindset unrealistic power outputs “Zpower”, eBike, weight doping makes more sense because it is like the character in “Ready Player One” using the special suit… btw by sampling Strava Zwift KOM’s, Zwift is plagued with fake power outputs…
I hope at some point Zwift or “the next Zwift” provides separates universe for the athletes and for the gamers…
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Won’t the gamers be offended by being separated out from the athletes? Maybe they will see it as somehow inferior?
I was under the impression that Zwift was all a game
We live in highly sensitive times, so most probably someone will; however, at least, you can have the choice to Zwift in an universe of direct drive trainers, dual recording power, etc. or a more fictionally one (for games) with Zpower, ebikes, or wherever letting them believe they are MvdP or Remco!
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Many people come to Zwift without any knowledge of their speed or power, or experience riding outdoors, or whether they’re an exceptional genetic specimen. They buy a garbage spin bike or speed sensor that makes up fake power numbers because it’s what they can afford or feel like spending, and they are none the wiser when they do something that looks like a pro athlete performance. They don’t even know what the numbers mean.
how true - I completely agree. But when they win races, sprints, KOM or QOM what then?
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I can think of quite a few ways to improve in this area (it’s not hard to think of ways to do better) but in Zwift the features to improve race integrity are mostly used at the margins in community events, with relatively little support from Zwift and little interest in making it better in the events that Zwift puts on. The calendar is dominated by events that are intended to be inclusive at the expense of integrity.
“with relatively little support from Zwift and little interest in making it better in the events that Zwift puts on.” Yes, I think that is the problem. As someone has already said “it’s about the money” and Zwift isn’t going to exclude many such riders or restrict them in some way when they are willing to pay their monthly fee like everyone else. I sympathize with those who do participate in races etc. and would like a level playing field, but I don’t think it will happen any time soon.
I’m in my 70’s - I just saw a 70 year old Zwift “A” level rider on Zwift averaging over 350W with a HR of ~100. Don’t need an algorithm to figure he is on an e-bike. I’m really tired of seeing Strava KOM’s on Zwift and IRL where it seems obvious looking at Watts and HR that the rider is on an e-bike. It is deflating for those of us that don’t cheat.
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stupid question 
A $250 spin bike can do the same thing without a motor (in Zwift, not IRL)