Completing catch up day on stage 2 of tour de Zwift and thought I had a chance of winning having learnt from previous rides. Felt I had timed things perfectly and caught and passed a breakaway rider around half way. Decided to carry on at the pace I was going and built a 12 second lead. with approx 1km to go a message came up on the screen with words to the effect “uh oh, looks like you are not using the right equipment, you should be a pro racer at this pace, your time will not be recorded” I gave up at this point, and not surprisingly was passed by my fellow riders. I appreciate that there is a good deal of “cheating” on Zwift and this has led to the system becoming extremely cynical. I am however extremely disappointed as I had worked hard over the last few months to improve my performance; this was a short route and was always going to be quick. it seems I had the audacity to move beyond my prescribed limit.
Anyone else experienced similar?
Hi @Paul_King1
Congratulations on the improvement.
Zwift detected that you performed at World pro level.
You did 6.4w/kg for 5 minutes. That put you in the top 1% of all cyclists according to this.
https://www.cyclinganalytics.com/blog/2018/06/how-does-your-cycling-power-output-compare
I was in that race with you Paul. The chase group behind you was riding pretty hard and you just rode away from us. What is your equipment (trainer, powermeter)? Maybe an issue with calibration?
Hi Arend, thanks for the reply. I use a basic Lifeline trainer from wiggle and the Wahoo speed and cadence sensors: a very basic set up which I’ve been using for a few years without problem, including the previous 7 stages of the TDZwift. Everything was paired. I think it’s just that I rode out of my skin.
Hi Gerrie, thanks for the reply. I don’t really know what to say. I have a very basic set up which I have used for a few years without issue. I felt I’d judged things well. I’ve worked hard on sustaining a high cadence (90ish) on a harder gear to increase power and felt I could do it for a short period to put me in an advantageous position; I couldn’t have maintained that on any longer distance, it was the perfect route for me. I suppose I will have to be more mindful now and stay with the pack, who will I’m sure, obliterate me on the run in 
It was a great effort, no doubt. Unfortunately that sort of equipment (deriving power from speed/cadence sensors as opposed to a powermeter or smart trainer) is notorious for having accuracy issues and can be very sensitive to small changes.
Keep up the great work but you will likely find yourself in the same situation again in the future if you continue to use that equipment.
You’re either in that top 1% of riders or your calculated power is wildly optimistic. Which do you think is more likely? If it’s the former then you’ll need to contact Zwift to have the bar raised. Maybe do that before contacting the pro teams though? 
I can see the frustration coming from a genuine attempt to work hard and improve. The good news is that you have worked hard and you actually have improved, though probably not to the level you thought. Sadly, the numbers your equipment is giving you are improbable! For context, if you can do 6.4W/kg for five minutes, you should be able to go outside and comfortably ride over 40 km/hr for an hour. If you can do that, (or even if you can’t but want to have a lot of fun without getting flagged), get yourself a reliable power source, a heart rate monitor and start racing properly on Zwift.
Ah, okay Arend, that’s good to know. I hadn’t appreciated the limitations of my set up and the large room for error that can exist. Thanks again for your feedback.
I’m sure you are right Colin, I can only dream. From the responses I’m getting it appears to be a combination of a pretty basic set up combined with how data is interpreted v. accuracy. I certainly don’t want any achievements or progress to be unrealistic, seems little point. Thanks for the response. 
Hi Angus, yeah, that seems to be the takeaway for me. I do find the inaccuracy disappointing and frustrating as real progress is difficult to measure. definitely not riding at 40km/h for an hour. I’ve got a wahoo heart rate monitor as well as the wahoo speed and cadence sensors but they are clearly not up to much and the upgrade seems to be a bewildering array of choices. I guess I need to do some research. Many thanks for your response, it’s much appreciated.
Re the pwoermeter or smart trainer, do you have any recommendations?
Wahoo has a sale on their smart trainers right now:
There is also the Zwift Hub, probably the lowest priced direct drive smart trainer you can find:
Any direct drive trainer or powermeter will be much more accurate than your current setup and you won’t get flagged. If you want to ride mainly indoors a cheaper direct drive trainer like Zwift Hub will make for a much better experience. If you want power measurement outdoors, whatever fits your particular bike. I’d go 4iiii/Stages/Assioma for low price and simplicity or Quarq for accuracy. But really anything will be fine.
Thanks Angus, the Zwift Hub looks like it will meet my needs.
Thanks Mike, will have a look at these.
Getting a real power meter or smart trainer would be best, however if you want to tune the speed sensor down a notch, you could pick a smaller wheel size in the game.
Thanks Paul, that sounds like an interesting solution for the time being. I agree the best solution is power meter or smart trainer. Got a small budget so just got decide best bang for my buck.
Thanks Tim, will have a look at that; appears to be a good price.