Tiny Race Series – October 29 Rules Changes, Pack Dynamics 4, Routes, and Results

Once again racers turned out in force for last week’s Tiny Races, dashing pell-mell down Pot Bank with anvils flying and heart rates high. (I hit 120 kph with a little help from an anvil powerup.) Definitely a (type II) fun mix of races!

This week we’re relaxing our rules a bit, and testing Zwift’s experimental Pack Dynamics v4. Details below…

Rule Changes

We’ve had an anti-sniping rule in place for the past two weeks, requiring riders to complete all 4 races or be disqualified from any races they did finish. In the first week, ~20% of all results were DQ. In the second week, ~12% of results were DQ.

That’s progress, but we’re still not happy with having to DQ so many riders. So after backtesting past weeks’ data with new rules, we’re softening the rules a bit. Based on our testing, these rules should reduce DQs by 25-50% without significantly impacting the fairness of results.

• No skipping and returning: our previous rule said you had to finish all 4 races in your zone, and if you didn’t, you got disqualified from any races you did finish. This week, the rule has been relaxed: now you cannot come back after missing a race. That means you can race just race #1 and be done, and your single race result will stand. But if you only race (for example) #1, #2, and #4, that #4 result will be removed, because you skipped race #3 and therefore have an unfair advantage (fresher legs) over those who are racing each race.
• HRM required for podiums only: Riders lacking heart rate monitor data will only be DQ if you podium in a race. Previously we required HRM for all riders, but we think HR data is rather subjective, rarely scrutinized, and basically not something that should be required just to show up in the final results. That said, if you’re strong enough to podium, you’ll need to provide HR data.

Note: these rules are not set in stone, and may change in subsequent weeks as we dial in our ruleset. As always, be sure to read the event description or the week’s Tiny Race post for details.

Pack Dynamics v4 Testing

We love testing new Zwift stuff, so we’ve volunteered to use Zwift’s experimental new Pack Dynamics v4 in this week’s Tiny Races!

The goal of PD4 is to create a more realistic racing experience. The main changes focus on reducing the forward and backward movement of cyclists in the pack while also reducing the overall speed of larger groups.

This should encourage a more “aggressive” approach, allowing for more breakaway opportunities and thus more dynamic racing.

James Bailey of ZwiftHQ is requesting that racers share their feedback on this forum thread.

Last Week’s Results

Overall Winners

Women’s Winners

This Week’s Routes

Three new routes this week, and two routes we’ve used before. It’s a mix of route types from flat to rolling to a leg-snapping finish up Alpe du Zwift.

Here are photos so you can see the precise location of the custom finish lines for race 2:

• Race 1: Seaside Sprint (5.676 km, ends at Volcano Circuit arch)
  • This one is a bit of a roller coaster, starting on The Esses, down across the JWB sprint reverse, down the Dirty Sorpressa, then finishing inside the Volcano on one of Zwift’s most technical and challenging finishes. Lots of aero boost powerups will keep this fast and encourage attacks.
  • Powerup: Aero Boost
• Race 2: Road to Sky (5.5km, ends partway up Alpe du Zwift)
  • This will be interesting. A jungle dirt lead-in followed by 400m of Alpe du Zwift climbing. Do you choose a gravel bike, or a road bike? Depends on where you want to attack…
  • Powerup: none
• Race 3: The 6 Train Reverse (1 lap)
  • A rolling counterclockwise circuit of Central Park’s inner loop, this route has an uphill finish up Cat’s Paw Hill that requires timing and punch for the win.
  • Powerup: none
• Race 4: Classique Reverse (7.43km, ending at The Mall Sprint banner)
  • Covering only the lead-in from the pens to The Mall Sprint banner, this route is quite flat apart from quick Northumberland Ave climb taking you up to Trafalgar Square.
  • Powerup: Feather

Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/tinyraces

ZwiftPower Results

Zwift displays preliminary race results in game when you cross the line, but points are computed after all four races are finished, with final results on ZwiftPower. (We have to do some data processing on our side to compute results, so if your rankings don’t show up right away, just be patient.)

Riders will earn points based on finish position in each of the 4 Tiny Races. The category winner of each week’s series is the rider with the most points across their timezone’s 4 races. Here are the links for each timezone’s results on ZwiftPower:

• Zone 1 (8am UTC)
• Zone 2 (2pm UTC)
• Zone 3 (8pm UTC)

Rules

Tiny Race rules are simple. Four races, four rules:

• You must have a ZwiftPower account, because final results are processed by ZwiftPower (learn how to sign up)
• No skipping then returning. These races are meant to be raced as a set of 4. If you need to leave early, that’s fine… but once you miss a race in your hour’s set of 4, don’t come back and race another or you’ll be disqualified from that race since you rested while others were racing! (Example: racing only races 1 and 2 is fine. Racing 1, 2, and 4 is not.)
• Heart rate monitors are required for podium finishers
• ZPower/Virtual power is not allowed. Smart trainer/smart bike or power meter required.

Join a Chat & Chill Cooldown

Immediately following each hour’s racing, we’ve scheduled 30-minute “Chat & Chill” events where riders from all categories can spin out their legs together and have some fun chatting about how it all went down. Find them at zwift.com/events/tag/tinyraces.

Questions or Comments

Post below!