I’ve recently started doing races in the Zwift world, and I have an idea for a feature that I think would be welcomed by a lot of Zwift users. My own two main problems with the current race system are 1) my time available for training isn’t very flexible, and 2) I’m just barely above the threshold for the B category, so when I race as a B, I get dropped very early in the race and do a solo chase for the last 90% of the event. If I race as a C, I get DQ’d based on my W/kg value. So my idea is this… Have a system where an individual user, or a few users, can set up their own race against computer-generated racer bots. The user would be able to specify the size of the field, the length of the race, the course, the ability level of the field, start time, etc. The bots themselves would have some AI for racing strategy to keep things interesting. Does anyone else think that they would use a feature like this? Or is it just me?
Bryan, I guess I don’t understand your problem.
In a mass start race, everyone starts together, regardless of cat and you just fall into the group that you can ride with.
If all the B’s leave you behind, there should be plenty of C’s to ride with.
It is a false belief that every B rider should be able to beat every C rider. It just does not work that way.
I can beat riders that are slower than me and I try to draft off riders that are faster than me.
B riders can usually hold a certain power for a longer period of time where as a C rider might be able to hold that power 10 minutes.
If you race the Hare and Hounds races, then I can see how you get dropped by the group, especially if you can’t withstand the initial surge but the initial surge in the Hare and Hounds race is not as sever as a mass start race because the group tries to stick together and work together for a little while.
I’ve done a few more races since my original post, and I’ve managed to avoid the ‘solo chase’ situation for the most part. However, I’d still like to be able to just spec a custom event on the spot like: 30 mile race with a two-mile neutral start, hilly, 25 entrants with FTP within 5% of my own, starting in 10 minutes.
I don’t expect this anytime soon, if ever but my time zone (west coast, US) don’t have the best options for racing. If I get up at 2-4am they are good or if I could race in the office from 10am-1pm they would also be good, but I digress. I would love the option to make a custom race, or training session with bots around and just above my current level of fitness.