Not moving to B

General Discussion
1

Welp, here’s a new angle on things for ya’ll - I’m about to become a ‘cheater’.

I was ‘promoted’ or ‘cursed’ up a rank to B for the first time in over two years recently.

I worked my ass off to lose weight and gain power to move from the back of C to the front. I had been enjoying life at the pointy end in any race I entered, at 6’2" 90kg I was even enjoying pushing the skinny guys on hill climbing races and I felt like the zwift world was my competitive oyster!

Since the turn of the year I raced 3 or 4 times per week and had a great time. Never cheated, or sand bagged or whatever. Some races were easier and some were harder. I even discovered the KISS endurance races on a Sunday and had a blast just trying to finish them in the front group.

After one or two shorter races (like, 20 odd minutes) my performance put me over the wkg and zwift stuck me in B. Fair enough, I thought and proceeded to do as told, knowing I’d be at the back.

Unfortunately over my next handful of races I proceeded to utterly destroy myself just trying to stay in the middle groups - for the first time in maybe 80 races not even managing to complete the races before I pulled a hamstring or a calf or even just my heart rate going nuclear on me.

I spent less time racing and more time healing injuries caused during the races and before you know it I was utterly demoralised with nowhere to go, so I all but stopped altogether.

I’m a C rider you, er, see. We all have our limits, no matter what zwift’s ranking system tells us. I say I’m a C rider because after a lifetime’s worth of injuries, at 41, I know my limits. I know I’m a dad-body have-a-go hero who is operating at and even nudging his limits at the front end of C. I ask any more of my creaky legs and they break down and then my mental health suffers.

So tonight Matthew, for the first time ever I will be defying my zwiftpower overlords and be racing in C and anyone who wants to get try and give me a hard time for it can send me over a professional physiotherapist, cycling coach, nutritionist and a new set of reinforced calves and hamstrings and we’ll talk about me moving back to B.

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I sympathize with your situation. The problem here is that the jump from the competitive end of C at 3.1 w/kg to the competitive end of B at 3.9 w/kg is HUGE.

In addition to enforcement, we need categories with narrower ranges.

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Racing and winning that many races a week is a recipe to injury. When racing in B you will have to focus on 1 or 2 races per week and recover between races.

There is also a lot of people that manage their power at the top of every cat and that cause the bottom of the next cat to be very thin.

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Cheers but I’m not even worried about the jump to the front of B, I was damaging myself just hovering around the lower half of the race.

When you are operating at or near full capacity at 3.2wkg, nudging even 3.4wkg for an entire 40 minute race is playing with fire.

I guess I’m trying to say not everyone racing in a lower class is cheating or massaging their ego, some have genuine reasons for being there.

Of course, I’ll admit that’s not usually the case…

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What a load of nonsense.

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Come on then Super Steve, please elaborate.

Or by all means just drop a fly-by ■■■■ post.

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Once upgraded to B, focus on fewer races per week. Maybe shorter and flatter courses at first. I went through the same issues when upgraded to B since I am over 90kg. Eventually, I became competitive in the shorter and flatter courses in B.

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8

I’m only good enough to race in D, personally.

But I fancy racing in A. Until someone can provide me with bionic legs, lungs and heart, I think I’ll race in A using a power-signal-generating dongle. That’s ok, right?

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You want to be at the pointy end of the race - sounds very much like you want to massage your ego.
Hard effort and dont place is less appealing than hard effort and place…

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Did you even read my post or did you jump to the last paragraph so you could get outraged quicker?

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I want to enjoy racing without killing myself leading to injuries.

Please read the entire post.

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Let’s not derail the thread with you justifying your sandbagging and ego massaging…

No response will be enough to convince you, your sandbagging and shouldn’t do it…

Feel free to start another thread…

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I mean, I have raced on zwift for over two years, never cheated or sandbagged and today I have come on to the appropriate thread, took the time to write a detailed explanation of why I’m about to enter a lower cat race FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, then had my character called into question by an internet random.

Then why I ask for some kind of constructive debate all I get back is, “you are just massaging your ego so there’s no point talking”?

Really?

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14

“I want to enjoy racing without killing myself leading to injuries.”

But then you’re forcing the same experience on genuine C cat racers by racing in a category below your own level

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OK, keep is civil!

Ride On!

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16

This is indeed the biggest downside of being upgraded. I’ve won C races, been upgraded, ridden as a “Barely B”, finished way down the pack. Eventually been downgraded to a C again. Then to B. Then to C.

I agree it can be demoralising to go from the pointy end to tail-end Charlie.

I wonder if there could be some softer buffer zones between categories. Once you hit 3.2W/kg the system would suggest you ride in the B group, and once you hit 3.4W/kg it would insist.

But while you’re in the 3.2-3.4 buffer zone, you have the option of C or B. Maybe there could be races that allow buffer zone riders, and others that don’t. I dunno, I guess it would just mean that the de facto upper limit of C is 3.4W/kg. But I do think some sort of gradual promotion would be more palatable than what happens now.

I’m not sure more categories would fix it either. 3.2 to 3.4 would still be the same jump whether the B range is 3.2 - 4.0 or 3.2 - 3.6

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17

If you’re a B race in B.

Enough with lame excuses just race in the correct cat.

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Some race organizers have used the low-end high-end category split for races. Low-end and High-end categories starting at two different times. I have attended a few and they work very well. Tight and hard racing and more fun for all - also for those that have just upgraded :wink:

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19

Simple fix, increase your weight so you are a legitimate C rider and not just another sad old bugger telling themselves that they are a special case. Of course, that will make it harder to stay at the pointy end but wouldn’t that be fairer to your fellow competitors?

For the record I’m 52 and was upgraded from C to B last year. Damn whiny kids. Get off my lawn.

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Or just race mixed cat races.

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