WKG seems harsh, do i need to move to group B?

Racing ZwiftPower Community
21

Yes, you will be DQ’d.

I don’t know about that. Good racecraft can help some but there’s no real substitute for horsepower.

I just got upgraded after this morning’s Absa Cape Epic event. I finished 12th but somehow put out more w/kg than all but three riders in front of me. My time in the C race would have me in about 150th in the B race. I would have to have some super special racecraft to make much difference in the B race. I established an all time high event average HR so I don’t anticipate going that much faster in the future.

Zwift races are going to be a different kettle of fish going forward 'cuz I’m sure not going to be entering races down category after loudly complaining about all of the bullies fouling up the C races.

22

For sure, but people who think they are at the bottom of a Cat dont need to be alone if they race smart.

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23

Yes if Zwift enforce categories then all those that race a cat down will move up and you will have a lot more people to race with.

4 Likes
24

Oh, oh, NOW I’ve got another soapbox on which to stand and rant!

25

In C cat? The only tactic in C cat is to hang onto the sandbaggers longer than everyone else. Most of the times I won a C cat race on Zwiftpower it wasn’t because I was a tactical genius. It was because I was the last person hanging onto the back of the dozen or so riders doing 3.5+ w/kg. Honestly, my time in C cat never felt like I was actually racing. It was always just try to hang on and hope for the best on ZwiftPower.

4 Likes
26

Exactly so and that’s how I ended up in low B. If I was racing with real C’s we would’ve all had a fun time and not gotten upgraded when it’s not going to improve the Zwift racing experience.

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27

The game mandated I move from Category C, where I was nominally competitive, finishing in the top 10 routinely, to the B category, where I nearly always finish in last place. I do not find the game fun anymore

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28

Yes, the category system sucks, but there are moves to change that, though the pace is fairly glacial.

That said, if your races normally have significantly more than 10 participants, then expecting to be in the top 10 routinely is simply not realistic. If that’s a prerequisite for you to find racing enjoyable, then you’ll not be satisfied with any fair system.

3 Likes
29

In the C category, I was in the top ten - 20 regularly, so it was not unrealistic. Expecting me to magically increase my power output to maintain a similar level of competitiveness in the B Category is what is unrealistic. I was perfectly happy in C Category, and I never finished better than 3rd, so it was not like i was a ringer, that needed to move up to B

30

That’s what the rules are defined at. It is a hard cutoff. There’s hundreds of racers in your position that now race bottom B.

31

Raises hand…

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32

Got there last week too. First B race was lonely till I came across a couple of “us” that hung on to the lead group a bit longer than me. Finished with Cat C performance of course.

It is what it is, just wish we had bigger B fields in my timezone as maybe that would make it a little more competitive.

2 Likes
34

I feel W/KG is a good start to initially be placed in a certain pen.
Then, if a rider places in the top 10 or 20 or some percentage of the racers, 3 times within a month, then an up grade would be indicated.
Becoming the best you can be does not mean you will be better than the next guy.

1 Like