I just got the notification on completion of the TDZ about the Tour of Innsbruck. It seems like a natural progression from the courses I’ve just completed to have a go at this next challenge, but, the course is listed as being 2700ft, that’s 24% more than the greatest ascension on any of the TDZ circuits, and I know from riding the TDZ that it took me approx 2 hours to complete the longer stages and it destroyed me, meaning I wouldn’t be able to repeat the performance the very next day.
It seems a little bit inconsiderate and non-inclusive to have an event like this which must be done within 3 days, and exclude anyone with a normal family life, or other obligations as I can’t dedicate this amount of time to cycling.
I also got this notion with TDZ, with the stages changing every 72 hours, but this new Innsbruck tour takes that to the extreme.
Additionally:
The course info here looks like it might be incorrect, with Group A being 2 laps, Groups B and C being 1 lap, and all groups listed with the same ascension stats?
It’s a challenge (“the Tour of Innsbruck is a challenge like no other”) to complete the 3 stages in 3 days. Some people will be able to do, some people won’t. That’s the whole point of a challenge. If everyone could do it then it wouldn’t be a challenge.
If you want to unlock the jersey you only need to complete one stage, you don’t have to complete all 3 which is unlike the Tour de Zwift where you needed to complete all 7 stages to unlock the jersey.
The elevation listed (823m) for that event is for one lap. As Zwifthacks lists Stage 1 A group as being 38.5km while the ride description has it at 48.4km I am not going speculate on the accuracy of the elevation.
I’m not at all interested in the Jersey, it’s not real after all. I would like to take part for the fitness aspect, so I would like to do the whole thing but for me it would still be a challenge if it was available over a week or two. I just think these events need to consider average joe who cant dedicate 3 nights to cycling for 2-3 hours or physically contemplate it either.
I think the point which I’m making is that I dont understand why they’re not offering it with the same 72 hour window between stages. It just seems very short sighted to me.
It could have been done similarly to TDZ where you can do it as a race over 3 days, or do it as a group ride over longer.
Zwifthacks has it right and the ride description for Stage 1 group A is wrong, since the Lutscher (“sucker”) route has the KOM climb as the lead-in before the actual lap(s). Two 400-odd m climbs for groups B and C, three for A.
James, I’m in the same boat, my wife would not be happy if I spent every evening on my bike, so it doesn’t work for me.
But, that’s life, things aren’t all about us. Just because it doesn’t work for us doesn’t mean that it isn’t perfect for somebody else.
If the jersey isn’t important to you, you just want to complete the challenge; why not just make a note of what is involved in each stage and then recreate them yourself when it does work for you.
Surely that’s the point though. TdZ was about ensuring that everyone who wanted to ride all 7 stages had the opportunity to do so over an extended period of time, including those with other obligations etc… This one is about providing something for those who want, and are able, to take on a more challenging, shorter time limited event.
I can do it, because it happens to fall during half term so I have the time at home to accommodate it. During term-time, not a chance.
But it, honestly, wouldn’t bother me that Zwift were holding an event that didn’t suit my schedule. That’s life.
Well it’s great that it suits your schedule, but it doesn’t suit mine which is why I raised the objection in the first place.
Since I’m paying for the service, I think it’s not unreasonable for me to say hey, why don’t you accommodate the every-man for these events, as well as the people who happen to have a week off.
As a paying customer my opinion is that it actually is all about us.
I’m an ‘every-man’ and I should be able to do all of the events. And even if I can’t I only need to complete one of the events to get the kit. Life is tough. You can’t always accommodate all of the people all of the time.
Lets think about it, every time Zwift has these big events Group ride numbers drop significantly and race attendance is slim.
There is community members that host group rides week after week putting in their own time and effort to make the groups fun and exiting. If there are big events it impact these rides.
Zwift is trying to keep a good balance and i think they are doing a good job. There are only so may possible spots on the calendar and so many hours in a day.
There will always be events that does not fit every user situation.
Who’s to say ‘everyone’ would be happy with that? Someone might be on vacation or on a business trip or have something else going on for those entire six days. In the end, it’s generally impossible to make everyone happy. There are also myriad events on Zwift and if they tried to make everyone happy for every event the most likely outcome is that most everyone would end up being frustrated. There is just no way to do everything in life that you would like to do, so fit in what you can and move on. The Zwift Fondos are a classic example: they are offered ONCE each month Jan/Feb/Mar. If you can’t fit it in on the day it is offered, too bad. Sometimes that’s just the way the world works.
A slight correction: I should have said the Zwift Fondos are offered on ONE DAY each month, not just once each month.
That is a very good example and it is one of those rides that is really challenging and a big accomplishment. It is stil on my bucket list but because it is on a sunday I can’t ride that long due to Church responsibilities and family commitments.
You tried to assert that if I got it my way, the event couldn’t be completed in 3 days. You said I was being selfish for suggesting this. You made a false assertion and a false argument.
“Everyone” was a loose expression, but certainly more people would be happy since they’d get to take part, right? It’s obvious that it would be impossible to cater for everyone, but it’s also obvious that they’ve given this some consideration for the likes of TDZ, my argument is they should do it for this Tour as well.
There are hundreds of events, but I’m specifically talking about an official Zwift event with multiple stages, and there are only a handful of those each year.
Honestly not getting why so many people are striking an opposed viewpoint when all I’ve suggested is the event should available for longer so that more people can get the enjoyment of taking part.