Zwift=One big sprint

Well, also you have time trial events.
No draft, so it’s you against the clock.
Even you will find that on Zwift will be more ITT competitive than in real life, as it suppose that if you are lighter, then your aerodynamics are always better…

Zwift is the place where climbers are even more competitive than ITT specialists… :smirk: :joy:
It’s not a joke, it’s happening.

I am mad as ****: I am steaming! Today I raced and I can see (afterwards) that nobody did any supermanefforts, not at all. I gues I just gave up at the wrong place, it was the other hill and at the end of it. I just get this feeling that the bunch never rests. There was a cheater in the race, and that annoys the hell out of me. Because when there is one cheater it destroys the pace, and sure they get DQ on ZP but people who say that if there is a cheater “you just get a better workout” are stupid, sorry but when I am on my limit and someone is doing this I just can’t push any more!! It’s not like I just push myself a little more, I do have a limit and then it’s either being in the bunch or not being in the bunch. You know legs giving in and getting dropped?

I guess I am just whining and being a bitc* but damn this annoys me. Am I paranoid or what is the deal? How do you guys think about judging if it’s time to give in and go solo? You have no idea where the other people are effortwise, if they are tired or not I mean.

And to the guy who asked if I don’t feel joy in training, well I do! This racingthing is very new to me! I do find myself going silly on something when I have started something, I get obsessed. And I know I should race less but I just want to get better and I want to get better NOW, and then you have to race? I WANT to solve this reacingthing which I quite frankly SUCK at.

End of rant, I am not in my best form after one week of no real training because of being sick but when I even struggle on hillyraces where the other guys are doing nothing special effortwise I get frustrated.

I am assuming you’re talking about this race?

Where you placed 5th in A as per ZP?? That is a good effort.

If I had your power I would just quit whining and learn how to race. Learn how to hide in the draft. Learn when it’s an appropriate time to put out 5 W/kg for 20 minutes. I would also work on how to improve my 1 minute and 15s power as well.

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If you know that your sprint is below par (according to the ZwiftPower profile) then the only way you’re going to win is through a breakaway, by getting away from the pack early (and hopefully alone) and using your strong 20m power to build and hold enough of a gap so that the pack can’t catch up before the finish line. If you’re in the pack coming up to the finish, you’ve practically lost since your 15s power is rather poor.

Racing isn’t about just being stronger. It’s about using your strengths to the best advantage and trying to nullify your weaknesses. It’s about using your finite energy stores in the most efficient way possible.

Unfortunately, with short races (IRL, a one hour race is practically a crit and a sprint-fest), other riders are completely able and willing to blow themselves up to catch you since they don’t have to conserve power for additional hours. Longer races and pure hillclimbs are where you will find more success.

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NICE JOKE.
ITT specialist is always faster than climber.
If it is the same PWR in Zwift, it always drives fast heavy one.
Zwift can invalidate the torque up by the climb, mountain is the flat ground that an avatar only slowly.

Even if it is Ven-top even if it is AdZ, Zwift is no place of the climber.

You made this statement a few times. Do you have examples to back this theory? Zwift is based on IRL formulas to calculate speed from power taking various factors into account.

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Zwift incider inspected it.

I think you mean that for the same w/kg in Zwift, the heavier rider goes faster. This is true except on substantial hills, because for the same w/kg a heavier rider (more kg) puts out more power (more watts) and therefore goes faster.

@Blue1 no that was not his conclusion. if we are talking about the same article. He made a case that w/kg categories is not the best option because it ended up being weight classes.

What you suggested is that heavier riders are always faster even on a climb and that is not true.

w/kg ratio is used IRL to compare riders climbing abilities. it was never meant for racing categories. But we as a community started using it because it was an easy metric to put in a spreadsheet so that we can have some competitive racing.

Zwift should have adopted a race ranking system years ago.

See here:

Zwift is the one and only place where a climber who put 265W can beat Alex Dowsett putting 100W more… :roll_eyes: :wink: :rofl:

If you think a climber suffer on the flat at Zwift, OMG, I figure how hard have to be real life for you… :face_with_raised_eyebrow: I’m sorry :pleading_face:

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That link you posted has so many things wrong it is not even funny.

You liked that post so many times but the post is still incorrect.

I have a hard time seeing how a sprinter would take you down on Alpe Du Zwift or VEN, well if another cyclist is at just the last turn when you are there then sure he can sprint so hard he falls off the damn mountain but otherwise I have a hard time seeing how his sprintingpower would take you down? But that would be some kind of combo of a sprinter and a climber. I hope you don’t consider someone’s power for 30 minutes as a sprint. Hehe

Well, sure all of you have seen Wout Van Aert climbing with the best (or doing it better) in every classic and even doing it at the last climb in the hardest stage at the thrid week of the Tour of France.

Also Rohan Dennis did it in the Giro at Stelvio.

And sure the older can remember Miguel Indurain crushing pure climbers as Pantani, Chiapucci…etc.

There are some myths around there about “light climbers” and real performance. Should be revisited.

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Because X climber was faster than the professional rider who cycle lightly, is a X climber superior in ITT?

NICE JOKE!lol

Zwiftinsider
ttps://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/

And please hear the reason why Zwiftfpower added wattage category to in Zwiftfpower forum.

TT specialist is not a sprinter.

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The one thing the Zwiftinsider did not show is the difference in power.

What you can see is for 4w/kg
65kg = 39.8km/h @ 260w
100kg = 43km/h @ 400w

That 100kg guy has to do 140w more for 3.4km/h

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TRUE!
Has to put 53% more power, but for sure their lungs and heart are not 53% bigger… :smirk:

and as I told you many times before, in real life 140W more… will be a bigger speed difference.
Hope you can ask more people or try yourself.
Zwift model penalize too much the big guys.

We are all racing in Zwift so the same formula hold for all riders. We are not trying to race IRL riders.

we have discussed this before and still no proof.

The small guys say it is easy for big guys and the big guys say it is easy for small guys.

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It’s the Wild West unless everybody is honest and using the same setups … which isn’t practical other than in a controlled race environment that puts everyone in the same place on the same equipment and all are weighed/measured at signup. The ‘honor system’ isn’t being followed by everyone, so I gave up caring about results and just ride to get me through long Winters and offset the side effects of beer consumption.

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