When does your race score change? I am a C CAT and keep getting my ass handed to me by A and B CATS with a similar race score to me as below. How can this be fair when the new system puts C CATS up against A CATS, yet another major Zwift fail.
It looks like you were close to middle of the pack, but slightly below middle of the pack, so I would have thought you would see a bit of a drop in racing score (since it seems like in general the bottom half of the pack seems to be way more likely to see a score drop). It is interesting that it went up. You didn’t hit a 90-day PR for 10min power in that race did you?
Your score will go down if you finish in the bottom half of the field. The closer to last the more it will go down.
But you’ve also got to remember there are 5 categories now instead of 4. So while you were top of CE C category when there were only 4 cats (making you just slightly below average), you are now in the bottom half of ZRS C category (which is still slightly below average).
This means you get to meet a lot of new people who used to be in the bottom half of old CE B category (those who are slightly above average). Also, the occasional A cat rider who can’t sprint.
The change from 4 to 5 categories is more responsible for your mid pack finish than ZRS.
It could be worse. I finished 2nd last in a B cat race today. I’m just slightly above mid level B so I get to be ranked near the bottom of the new B category. Riding half the race solo was less than enjoyable. At least I wasn’t the guy who was last who rode 2.5 laps solo.
My score actually went up!
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If you’ve followed my theory, down arrows usually start at the 50% mark, based on the number of signups. The event page on Zwift for this race shows 107 signups in the C pen. Halfway = 53.5
Its a joke I finished nearly £ mins behind the lead group yet got a score increase like them? How does that work? This new system seems pointless why didn’t they just split the old CATS high and low? Will they eventually bin the cat system?
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Was your score increase like them? Hard to know how many points they got. As you’re closer to the middle of the pack, I’m guessing you got a very small point increase?
I am almost starting to believ that Zwift intendend didnt show us that since it would make more clear how flawed this system is that those Phd scientists have come up with.
If it is really just about where you end in the group and nothing with the ZRS of those finishing before and after you it is even more stupid than I first thought.
But since they also refuse to give us the calculations, like they promised, I have a hard feeling they can fix this, if they even wanted to fix this mess. Will proably be the standard Zwift approach of ingnoring the problem and hope it will be forgotten and come up with somehting new so the storm of complaints get snowed under.
I would of maybe expected a small drop although the movement for Paul is so small it really made no difference more an indication he finished where the algorithm expected him to.
Mid pack 48/86 is not terrible.
ZHQ events all use the same boundaries so this is not going to differ from CE if you find yourself an the mid to low point of a pen it’s going to be a struggle.
I would say although with that route being fairly flat it’s likely only going to get worse on other routes for Paul so would be interested if he gets some bigger score movement downwards in other races that would potentially move him towards the next pen down in future.
Am guessing you are a decent sprinter, the race score basically puts good sprinters up against riders with better FTP but with a poorer sprint, forget about competing as you wont be able to!
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The only hope is that if you’re placed in ZwiftHQ pens A or B, your score could drop approx 75-120 points over a series of bad results, which might result in a pen demotion.
In pen D, that potential 15% drop is only approx 27-52, so less likely to result in a demotion to E.
As a Cat D I just looked at your race and who won and was laughing to myself how bad the racing score system is then realised my racing score puts me in that same race, absolute lunacy.
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He is placed in C and would drop to D with a points decrease of 38. Which i suspect might happen if he chooses hillier races.
If he is in flat ish races like yesterday then will likely be a mid pack racer. Or look through other events that use different banding.
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The pen ranges are still huge there is no getting away from that. with only 5 pens that will always be an issue. As for the guy that won given another race or two i think he’ll be moved up.
On flat course ZRS does not look awful but anything hilly is where we might see scores start to tank.
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The guy who won has moved up but the pen below was won by a B cat and he has moved up to this pen now.
Anybody listening,
A minimum score for each rider depending on what old Cat they were in would solve a load of problems straight away,
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yep, pen E 0-180 isn’t just legitimately weak racers, there’s a constant influx of racers returning from a summer break being given “randomly” low seed scores.
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That will keep on happening for months depending on how much people race or perhaps never been solved at all, since next year after the summer break we will face the same problems again.
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Where would you place that B rider?
He has a power profile very similar to yours so in the same race as you looks to be the right place.
he is a rider returning post summer this same thing happened with CE, ZRS has not fixed that.
The big problem with Racing Score is that restricting pen ranges is a minor plaster, there will still be racers with over-estimated or under-estimated ability because the fundamental formula of the current system is garbage.
Under-estimated racers, often lightweight high W/Kg, might eventually get a pen promotion to racers of similar ability.
Over-estimated racers, often heavyweight high pure Watts, can only drop 15% under their seed score, which may well not be enough of a drop for a single pen drop.
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did the crit race last night, 23 showing in the results, 1-14 all went up, 15 went down, 16 went up 17-23 went down
not sure your theory holds much weight i’m afraid, certainly not for that race anyways