I don’t understand. Why do people talk about trying to lower their score. Wouldn’t you have to totally throw a few races, to maybe have 1 race of glory??
I want to get stronger. If my score goes up, that should mean, I am getting stronger. Nobody wants to be at the back of the bus, by themselves. But I do want to be racing riders a little bit stronger than me. That is how we get stronger, faster??
0% satisfaction by beating someone, because I had to tank my score??
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Different people have different mentalities.
Some would rather lose the A race than win the B race, others would prefer to get that win.
Not everyone wants to get stronger, and they do get satisfaction from winning that race. Even though they are expected to win because they’ve manipulated the system to exclude anyone who could beat them.
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“I want to get stronger.”
That is you, not everyone.
“If my score goes up, that should mean, I am getting stronger.”
Race score can mean you are racing smarter not stronger. You can sit in the draft rather than out towing everyone. You might save 30% power and not work as hard.
“ But I do want to be racing riders a little bit stronger than me. That is how we get stronger, faster??”
That is you. And getting stronger you should opt to train not race.
“ 0% satisfaction by beating someone, because I had to tank my score??”
A you thing again.
Just looking at 27th July and noticed the signup page via web browser is different to description page. Has the signup page always given route details so soon?
eg. 1000 BST https://www.zwift.com/uk/events/view/4454440
Ah, just seen ZI is updated to 27th July details, mix of Watopia and Makuri routes, mix of flat, hilly and rolling routes. And custom Racing Score ranges.
The custom Racing Score ranges per pen…
A: 650+
B: 530-650
C: 420-530
D: 295-420
E: 0-295
My first thoughts are that increasing pen E threshold from 225 to 295 is going to be really harsh on the pen for the weakest racers. 
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normally i would agree but i wouldnt consider 4 blowout efforts in an hour a beginner friendly session regardless. i appreciate the large A pen also
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Could have kept A at 650+, which would help numbers up there especially during northern summer, but keep closer to the 175 range for other pens.
Something like…
B 475-650
C 325-475
D 175-325
E 0-175
The exact numbers might not please everyone, but I’m really happy to see him trying different ranges than the Zwift HQ races.
A key feature of the racing score system is that the boundaries should be much easier to vary, so people won’t be perpetually stuck at the low or high end of any pen.
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This week’s custom ZRS bands are based completely on trying to have each group be equally sized. Other weeks I may try something different, like trying to have racer scores be as close together as possible, or maybe just doing three categories!
I’m excited about being able to mix it up, and I hope other race organizers do the same.
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Recovery time is all part of the Tiny Race strategy, though. The sooner you finish, the more recovery you get… that’s part of it. But also, knowing how much recovery time you’re going to get, and pacing yourself accordingly… that may matter, too.
I’ve never fussed much with trying to give lower riders more recovery… since everyone in the category gets the same recovery window, basically. It may suck, but it sucks for all!
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Looking forward to being able to do that. Unfortunately our request to test racing score was denied so we have to stick with the custom power based pens for now.
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ZRS is completely different if that’s what you are comparing
I still am not sure if I like that last part. Makes it harder to race with friends. When you plan to do a race together and suddenly you find yourself in another cat due to the boundries changing isnt very funny.
With the old system its very clear and you can plan ahead.
you can see what you’re signing up for on the signup sheet ahead of time though, so it’s no different from any other race in that respect
It’s different in that the score is more volatile than power changes, and the pens are smaller. Those things combine to make pen changes a more common occurrence. The friends would have to pick a pen based on the highest scored rider’s minimum allowed pen, or enter a mass start event.
True, but not a week ahead. The Tiny routes and Cats arent even known a week in advance.
With the current cat system its known and it wont change. We can plan months ahead if we want.
and with kids, wives, inlaws etc etc it is kinda handy to plan ahead. And when you find out three days before that you cant race together its not the best.
Thats why I have my concerns about everyone being able to switch the cats.
But you can still race together. Just that some of you might have to race up a category.
The only event you can’t necessarily do that in is the high-end low-end split race.
Suppose we could do that. But that wont be as fun for all of us 
And than just hope the organizer doesnt change the cat bounderies again right before the race to even out the riders in the cats.
Does Zwift make available to organizers the numbers of all zwifters who fall at each score then? I have to imagine the spread of 10 minute Wkg on the 0-295 category has to be pretty huge, no?
As to something different, you could also likewise have 6, 8, or 10 pens by splitting each event to separate Low vs High cats.
On what basis was your request denied?
They’re not ready to add more test events at this time. We’ll get there hopefully in the next round.
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