UPG Code, still not dominant in Cat C

Hello,

My weight is 59Kgs. I have raced a C for the third time. I developed 3.9W/Kg average and was logically filtered in the results.
Yet i’m struggling to beat the other C racers, even in hilly races.
It seems I have issues with drafting. I have used Canyon Aeroad 2021, Specialized Tarmac and DT Swiss Arc 1100 for wheels.
I don’t get why I struggle that much, I might be missing something.

Thanks in advance.

You need to tell us about your setup beyond what you’re riding in the virtual world. What kind of trainer, bike, heart rate monitor, computer interface, etc. The differences in bikes at a C level is pretty small and won’t account for much difference in performance unless you show up at a Crit City event on an MTB.

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hi @PATRICK_TELETRAM

Welcome to the forum.

You have some great 20min power but you lack in the 0-1min range.

I compared the winner of B to your power (w/kg).

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Thanks for the reply. I am using an Elite Suito coupled to my computer also coupled to a Garmin forerunner 245 and a Garmin HRM.
Noted for the differences concerning bikes.

Thanks for the reply.
Ok so basically I need to manage my power more efficiently by putting more power if I started being dropped and cut my effort if i want to step back in the pack.
Still I did not have the impression that the C I was racing against were adjusting their power, I feel they were almost always below me in w/kg.

If they are bigger riders on a flat road they were most probably putting out more power but due to weight show lower w/kg.

This is part of the explanation for sure… However if I ride Cat B flat races, I will clearly suffer. So I need to focus on full hilly stages…

Yes play to your strength let the power houses play on the flat road.

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Alternatively, don’t worry so much about winning the whole thing. Until Zwift sorts racing out, you will be racing cat AB in C races, and A in B races. You might get bumped up in the standings on Zwiftpower post-race, but the race itself is blown up by these sandbaggers.

I’m a light rider too and at my current level of fitness riding 3x a week I’m in the lowest third of C cat and highly unlikely to ever podium again, because before I can ever podium in C I’ll be promoted to B due to the w/kg limits. However, this doesn’t bother me. Most of those 3 rides a week are races, and for me its just as satisfying to keep up with the fastest group I can (usually the 2nd or 3rd group) and then try to win the sprint to the line. Races make me ride harder than group rides, and there’s still a thrill in passing 5 or 6 people in the last 20 yards because I timed my final effort better than they did…

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in Cat C, being a THICC boi wins:

lightweight riders only stand a chance if they have such a low FTP that they can exceed the w/kg limits without being promoted.
and yea as already mentioned, 15sec-1min power usually decides who wins the race, assuming you can hang onto the lead group until the end.
if you wanna win without a sprint, you need to force a clean break with ~2km to go and just #sendit to the finish line. however, if anyone closes down the gap, ur basically screwed. so better to work on ur sprint power :slight_smile:

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