Zwift probably don’t know what are the problems with ZRS, so lets do a townhall meeting.
Problem: Users don’t understand how the ZRS algorithm works or what factors affect their score.
Why it matters: Without clarity, racers can’t trust the system or optimize their racing experience.
Why do you gain less score beating a bigger field?
Problem: It’s been months since the last update or public communication. Why it matters: A lack of iteration and feedback loop slows down trust and momentum. If it is abandon just abandon it and go back to CE.
Problem: ZRS isn’t integrated with race organization, sign-ups, or results in a meaningful way. You can’t even track score change history.
Problem: ZRS seems to favor certain race formats, and doesn’t always adapt well to varied styles like TTTs or endurance events.
Why it matters: Racers who enjoy different event types are left with a skewed score. Who would have thought Tiny Race vs 100km Epic races use different powers?
Full confession, I like what they’ve done with ZRS. I hated it at first, but the changes that have been made since, though months ago, were an improvement. As a strong C/lower B rider with the CE system (which I think we should absolutely not go back to), I was competing regularly for podiums, but it kept me from being a stronger cyclist in general. With the mix of riders from categories above, I’ve only gotten better as a rider, both inside and outside, in the time since the change.
That is not to say that it shouldn’t be improved upon.
Points 1 and 4 above are probably the biggest flaws. With what seems essentially as a top 1/2 - 2/3 of the field getting a score increase and the rest a decrease, without much taken into account of the scores of your competitors (as the vELO system at zracing.app does), it’s hard to get a sense of the logic of exactly how things are affected from race to race. And yes, the reasoning behind larger fields getting smaller score increases is also a mystery.
The most meaningful ZRS related number is probably the delta between your seed score and your ZRS. This is a reflection of how often you have finished well.
It is however not as meaningful as your ZRapp score, which is better at reflecting the same thing by taking into account strength of field + terrain… and not giving random outcomes based on size of field.
I have a seed score of 617 and can win Advanced races. Seems untenable at scale to start people like me in C then graduate me up very very slowly. I ran a test on a second account and won 5 straight C races before being upgraded to B. I just rode off the front and kept a pace. (My zrapp velo is around 1950 but I don’t really check it)
So either… see that I’ve done this once and whack me into Advanced OR implement a much bigger podium bonus.
If you race an event that uses ZRS for entry but doesn’t score ZRS then it displays your seed instead - maybe a bug (odd that this exists as an option).
To see your 100% seed score, or estimate that of another rider from data you can see…
At 261W for 5mins and 96Kg, my 100% seed score is 209.
Which having not looked at this garbage system for a while, because I’ve not raced in about two months and have been riding outside when not full of lurgy, makes it odd at first glance why my Racing Score is 170.
85% of 209 is ~177.
So many riders are close to 15% below their seed score on 90 day data and it’s allowing a number of them to race in a lower pen.
100% seed score being the floor still has to be a priority bandaid for this diabolical race system.
That velo system app is really great. It has a lot of cool metrics to look at and is well organized. Thanks for sharing the site, I hadn’t used it before.
This calculator is only an estimate. I ran it on my own numbers twice when I was at my ZRS floor, and both times the calculator over-estimated my ZRS seed by about 10 points. I believe this is because the calculator doesn’t consider rider height and the actual Zwift algorithm gives us tall riders a break (which is appreciated, since the Zwift physics engine has a grudge against us).
The only really big problem [sic!] with ZRS is that it isn’t a relative score (relative to other racers). It’s what kills ZRS.
The score calculation must take other participants’ starting score, result and score change into account as well. Yes, it’s going to put a heavier load on the servers running relative calculations, but it needs to be done. Any other problems with ZRS are just minor tweak issues by comparison.
It would have worked if we had distinct racing seasons and a definite number of entrants each season. But we don’t. Racing in Zwift is non-stop, drop-in.
