Watopia’s Sugar Cookie is a great race route. You’ve got a sort of neutral downhill lead-in, sprint segments for points races, a key climb, and just enough road to chase back gaps created by that climb.
So I was excited to take it on as a Zwift Racing League points race. Things were feeling fresh: I was with my new team, the Thundercats, one of many DIRT squads participating in ZRL. And I was riding the new Pinarello Dogma F 2024 with DT Swiss Disc wheels so I could compete on the sprints without losing much on the key climb.
In the end, I turned in one of the better race performances of my long and storied Zwift B-cat career. But I’m getting ahead of myself… let’s start at the beginning.
The Warmup
I jumped on early for a longer warmup, for two reasons:
- I like longer warmups. 30-45 minutes seems ideal for me.
- I wanted to recon the four sprints along Watopia’s southern coast road.
As I spun my way along the Sugar Cookie route, I refreshed my memory of these roads, hoping this knowledge would help me tighten my race-time execution. That meant looking closely at the finishing 500 meters of the race, as well as each of the four sprints.
I also hit the watts hard a few times to blow off the cobwebs and get my heart rate up.
Before that, of course, I applied PR Lotion and grabbed a couple of pieces of caffeinated gum. (Related note: I’ve always said I’m not a coffee guy, but we recently bought an espresso machine and I’ve gone far down the rabbit hole of all things ‘spro. So I already had some caffeine coursing through my veins!)
Slight Detour: Bumped to B2 and B-Cat Drift
Before I tell the story of the race, I should mention that my team began this round in B1. To be precise, we were in the horrifically named “Open EMEA-W Southern (North) Division 1.” But after race 1, WTRL reshuffled the deck, and now we were in B2. Or to be more precise: Open EMEA-W Southern (West) Division 2.
I’m not ashamed to admit I was super stoked to move to B2. Why? Because B1 is a meat grinder where I simply can’t compete… and I’ve been there for (literally) years. Seven straight ZRL rounds, to be exact.
It’s not that I’ve gotten weaker in the past few years. If anything, I’m a bit stronger and certainly smarter. But here’s what DID happen: Zwift changed its categorization scheme. Zwift (and thus ZRL) now uses category enforcement to determine our pace groups, and those categories are based on your detected zFTP and zMAP. For me, at least, my zFTP is well below my actual FTP: my zFTP is currently 272w, while TrainerRoad and Zwift’s own “The Grade” test both put my FTP right around 315w.
That’s a difference of over 15%. And I can only assume that many other riders have a much lower detected zFTP than their actual FTP.
On top of that, the FTP cutoff for B category was increased from 4W/kg to 4.2W/kg.
Do you see how this is a double gut punch for B riders in my situation? Not only is Zwift detecting FTP lower than it used to, it has also raised the FTP limit for B category. So the top of B races are now filled with riders who were easily in A range in the old category scheme.
(Here’s a bit of fun math: if everyone has a zFTP as understated as I do, that means the range of actual FTPs who are racing in B has shifted up by 15%, making it 3.68-4.85W/kg. That would put my actual FTP of 3.75W/kg near the bottom of the B category.)
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying the categorization scheme should be changed to accommodate me. Category range changes aren’t inherently bad. Sometimes those shifts will put you near the top of the category, and sometimes they’ll put you near the bottom. I’m just saying it isn’t much fun racing for scraps week after week, so I was happy to be placed in B2 where I could hopefully be at the pointy end of some races.
Detour from the Detour: ZRL’s Confusing Naming Scheme
Try as I might, I can never remember what race league/division/locality/whatever I race in for ZRL. This happens every season. With names like “Open EMEA-W Southern (North) Division 1,” I’m not sure I could come up with a more confusing naming structure if I tried.
I have two proposals for better naming schemes:
- The Boring Scheme: ditch the localities (EMEA, etc) and compass points (West, etc). Nobody knows what they mean. Just give each vertical grouping a number (1-50?) followed by their division (B2, A1, etc). “Division 45 B2” is easier to remember than “Open EMEA-W Southern (North) Division 1.”
- The Fun Scheme: give each vertical a unique name along a ZRL-wide theme. Perhaps desserts. Because I never forget a dessert! “I race in Jelly Donut B2! Last year was Strawberry Shortcake B1, and this is sooo much easier….”
The Start
We had just 43 B riders in the pens as the race began. My team figured out as we left the pens that we only had 5 riders, since one had cancelled at the last minute. That wasn’t ideal! But there was nothing we could do about it now.
The group spun its dusty way down through the Jungle at a pace that was quite tame, as expected. The work would begin soon enough.
Sprint 1 (Stoneway)
As we neared the first sprint (FAL only), I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to attack or not. Since this was our first race against these teams, we didn’t know how strong the other sprinters were! So I stayed near the front, watched how the pace picked up, and decided on the fly to go for it.
This indecision meant my jump was delayed, which surely cost me a few places. But I finished 9th and more importantly realized I could compete against these riders in the sprints. Game on!
(Teammate Dave took 2nd on this sprint, with Alex 3rd.)
Sprint 2 (Acropolis)
The next sprint was the only one awarding FTS on the day, and I had planned to go for it. Sure, in the new ZRL scheme FTS only awards 10 points for 1st place (vs 20 points for 1st in FAL), but I also figured that:
- Fewer riders would contest this sprint, since it was giving lower points
- My course knowledge and sense of timing helps me perform well in FTS efforts
I sat just off the back of the pack of 39 as we headed into the sprint, then as soon as we crossed the line I ramped up my power and easily rode through the pack. I actually eased up at that point, because I didn’t want to be in the wind for the whole sprint! I knew that, since I had started behind everyone, even finishing in the pack would mean I was faster than the pack.
As the pace picked up, I activated my aero powerup and went all-in to try to catch the handful of riders just ahead. Teammate Dave (a wattage bazooka) came around me near the end, but let up early, and I slingshotted around a competitor just a few meters from the finish, crossing the line first (and fastest) in the group. Dave got 2nd.
Sprint 3 (Sasquatch)
After winning the second sprint, I began to think about the big climb up the road. This was the next crucial segment, because I knew if I could stay with the front group over that climb, I had a shot at the podium.
So now it was time to do all I could to conserve power. I stayed in the draft, and when the Sasquatch Sprint arrived, I used my aero powerup and increased my watts as little as possible while still staying in touch:
My teammates were working, though. Alex took 2nd on this sprint, with Dave 3rd and Paul 4th. Chapeau, boys!
Sprint 4 (Woodland)
Heading into the final sprint, we had four Thundercats in the front pack (Dave, Paul, Alex, and myself) with Campbell chasing from behind. I had originally pondered going after FAL on this sprint, since it had a downhill start that suited me well. But it was also the longest sprint of the day (500 meters) and I decided to save my legs for the climb.
With only 35 riders in the front pack, though, I found myself in the top 20 midway through the sprint, even though I was just trying to conserve and stay in touch! So I gave it a bit of a go near the end, grabbing another 5 points with 16th place.
“Better than a kick in the pants,” my father would say.
Alex took 1st in this sprint, Paul 5th, and Dave 9th. That’s 20+16+12+5=53 points we grabbed on this sprint alone.
The Climb
The climb up from the base of the Epic KOM to the end of the bridge is the bit that made me most nervous in this race. I’d been dropped here before.
But I had a feather, and a plan. Moreover, I could just feel that I wasn’t thoroughly outclassed in this pack of racers. While I was far from 100% confident, the race so far had shifted me to around 70% confidence that I could hang with the front over the climb.
I moved near the front of the group as the climb began – a classic “big boy trick” to give me some sagging space to help make up for lackluster watts per kilo. And I saved my feather, knowing I would need it later in the climb.
At the first hairpin I found myself near the front and feeling good. A couple of riders had gapped us off the front, but I knew two riders couldn’t stay away for 10+ km. So I sat on the wheels, then triggered my feather as the road tilted upward again heading into the right-hand hairpin.
The real suffering began as we hit the second portion of the climb: the bridge with its steady 3% slope. Other riders in the group were keeping the pressure on, and while I wasn’t quite at my limit, I was definitely over threshold and hurting! But my Sauce 4 Zwift overlay told me there were just 11 riders in the front pack now.
I couldn’t get dropped now. I had to stay with this group.
And stay with them I did. Once we turned off the bridge, the climb ended. It was time to sit in and recover. My goal? Work as little as possible while staying in touch for the final sprint.
It was just Paul and I in the front group now, since Alex and Dave had been dropped on the climb. While not ideal, two riders in a front group of eleven was a decent ratio.
The Finish
One rider attacked with 1.3km to go. I upped my watts, too, letting myself get pulled along by a handful of other riders who responded. As we entered the cave with 700 meters to go, I found myself in a front group of 6 who had slightly gapped the other 5 behind.
Now it came down to power and timing. I kept my eye on the rider list, watching for early jumpers. Someone went just a bit earlier than I would have, so I jumped too, but only enough to stay on their wheel. I was in virtual gear 21 out of 24, having decided to stand for this sprint.
Glancing up, I saw it was just me and Vrancken, a strong rider who I’d been marking all race. I was gaining on him in the final meters, but he was just too far away.
I crossed the line in second place.
See results on ZwiftPower >
See activity on Strava >
Watch the Race Video
Takeaways
This was my best result in 5 months of Zwift racing, and what made it even better was that my team, the Thundercats, took the team win on the day. Thundercats, Ho!
It’s worth noting that our finish points would have landed us in just 5th place, but our FAL sprint points put us well ahead of the other teams:
Once again, it pays to think strategically when it comes to ZRL points races. It also pays to have some strong sprinters!
Your Comments
How as ZRL race #2 for you and your team? Got any great ideas for a simpler league naming scheme? Share your thoughts below!
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