The first category enforcement test races on Zwift were announced in late February, and the initial test was a success by anyone’s definition. For the first time in Zwift’s history, riders were restricted in their choice of race category based on their historic power data.
Since those early trials, Zwift’s category enforcement tools/features have been evolving, as has their documentation.
Today, with many positive reviews from community members, category enforcement is being used in more and more races each week. Currently there are 623 races happening in the next 7 days, with 145 of those races using the new category enforcement tools. Category enforcement is an option for event organizers to use on request, but it is not yet the default.
Next Steps
I reached out to James Bailey (originally a Zwift community member and now working at Zwift as an Event Operations Specialist) for an update on category enforcement. Here’s what he told me:
We currently have 15+ organisers with approximately 185 events running Category Enforcement. This assigns an estimation of critical power (CP) from looking at the Zwifters 2-50 minute power curve. This determines their category based on both CP and MAP using the below values:
- A: (4w/kg CP OR 5.4w/kg MAP) AND 250w CP
- B: (3.2w/kg CP OR 4.1w/kg MAP) AND 200w CP
- C: (2.5w/kg CP OR 3.9w/kg MAP) AND 150w CP
Whilst not quite “fully baked” the feedback we have received from the vast majority of users who have taken part in Category Enforcement races has been extremely positive. A large number have said how much more enjoyable they have found racing and how their events haven’t been stretched early on by riders who shouldn’t have entered that category.
Prior to promoting outside of the Futureworks banner there are a number of areas that we need to work on. These include:
- Category Enforcement in Women’s races
- Support material explaining how CP and MAP are calculated.
- Better integration and visibility in ZwiftPower and minimizing discrepancies in category sign ups
- Ability for Event Organisers to customise limits
Additional Next Steps
On the “Next Steps [February 2022]” forum post, James shared that the goal is to make category enforcement the default setting for Zwift races, so organizers would need to turn it off on purpose. But before that happens, Zwift has a short list of things they want to get in place. Here’s what James listed on the forum thread:
- Riders without data automatically go into E (rather than A)
- Better information presented when signing up for an event, rather than just being told that you can’t
- Ability for Support to “forget” an effort when it’s been caused by a miscalibrated trainer, or similar
- Adding CE for Women’s races
- Support documentation that isn’t “ask James or Flint”
Critical Power
The use of Critical Power (CP) instead of FTP is an interesting move, and one that will have reverberations throughout the cycling world just as Zwift’s focus on FTP has made it a more prominent metric. While CP and FTP are sometimes used interchangeably, they’re actually two very different metrics.
CP and FTP are typically within 10% of each other for any given cyclist, but they are calculated using very different inputs. An explanation of CP is outside the realm of this post, but you can check out this BikeRadar post for a more in-depth look at the Critical Power metric.
If you don’t know your CP, you might check out intervals.icu as a free service that can calculate your CP and many other metrics. Tip: find your CP by going to Power>Options, and choosing “Morton’s 3 Parameter CP” as the “power model used to estimate FTP”.
How does CE actually work?
To put it simply: Zwift looks at your last 60 days of activities to determine your minimum category. That’s the essence of category enforcement as it currently stands.
As often happens with early-stage projects, there was very little documentation available for category enforcement when it was originally trialed. One Zwifter (James Eastwood) pushed Zwift hard for more details, then put together a thorough post explaining how category enforcement works – or more specifically, what the Critical Power (CP) and MAP/VO2 category boundaries are, and how those are calculated.
If you’re wanting to dive deeper into Zwift’s use of these metrics for category enforcement, read James’ post.
Finding Category Enforcement Races
Zwift has no easy search filter built into Companion, etc to list only those races using category enforcement. But ZwiftHacks, as always, comes to our rescue! Here’s a custom ZwiftHacks search showing all upcoming category enforcement races.
Questions or Comments
Have you tried category enforcement races yet? How was your experience? Share below!
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Now they need to make categories variable. i.e. divide field into quartiles, not fixed W/kg. Then mi-packers might have a chance one in a while.
That’s on the to do list above… see “Ability for Event Organisers to customise limits”
KRG thursday night crit does this, i have a 3.4 w/kg ftp and c is 2.5-3.5 so it’s good
So my average power according to zwiftpower is 193 watts . My FTP is 198. Just below the 200 for Cat B . But I’m pushed into certain races as a B . So I cant really compete with top end B’s .. should more certain B’s not be pushed into Cat A races !? Maybe we need the split +/- in each cat as in ( catA + riders/ Cat A – riders. This would make it more even and competitive. If this doesn’t make sense.. I apologise for being daft !! 👍🤣
FTP doesn’t matter… it’s Critical Power (CO) as well as MAP/VO2 (which is 5-8 minute power).
So one of those values is pushing you into the B range. Sounds like you’re a light weight rider. So your best results will be in climbing races, where you can drop big guys like me!
My best results have always been in races on flat rolling courses.. I’m a weak climber for a lightish guy 60 kg . 😅😅 I’m not complaining just interested in how / why it works. Thanks for your reply Eric ..RIDE ON !!
I keep seeing that phrase such a lot but it’s incorrect! A heavier rider with the same wkg as a lighter rider will go up any incline faster than the lighter rider – the difference just gets smaller the steeper the climb but they will always be faster! (This is the same in Zwift and real life – you can check any bike speed/power calculator too)
Exactly! Here’s an example: A 80kg rider and a 60kg rider are racing Road to sky (Alpe du Zwift). Both are racing at 3w/kg. This means the 80kg ride is racing at 240w while the 60kg rider is only pushing 180w. The higher wattage rider wins – 1:12:13 vs 1:14:15. If numbers were based on purely on wattage, ie both riders racing at 180w the lighter rider would win based on lower mass: 1:14:15 vs 1:33:39
I’m a zwiftpower B, in A for category enforcement based on my 5 minute power.
I’ve asked many times over the years but never received an answer, why doesn’t Zwift use a results-based category system like USAC? IRL you can’t just sit in Cat 4 or 3 and win race after race, year after year. You win or podium X number of times you move up a Cat until you are Cat Pro/1 (A+/A). Why is that so hard? It eliminates sandbagging and weight-doping (now people are INCREASING their weight slightly to stay in a lower Cat).
Results-based categorization is something Zwift wants to move towards… they’re just taking a lot of time in making it happen. Everyone agrees it’s the best way to go, but there’s not firm agreement on exactly how it would work.
There’s your answer!
Thank you Eric! I’m happy to hear it’s something Zwift is working towards. I just hope I’m not “60+” by the time it’s implemented…
Haha same here. I’m pushing 56 .. 👍😅😅😅
The issue with Results Based is how the difficulty of the race would matter.
For example, ZRL Oceania, you can have multiple wins, but the same rider in EMEA or AmWest would struggle to even break the top 10.
How would results based work? Win in C class a lot, bumped to B and never win. Then what? Stay in last place forever or get pushed back to C? If I won a couple races then get bumped to A I’d quit riding as it is physically impossible for me to compete in A. Results based I don’t think would work as good as the forum guys think it would unless everyone on Zwift was suddenly taking racing seriously like it was irl.
One commercial reason might be that it removes the incentive to get good at the game. By this I mean learning how to draft/use pack dynamics, get the best setup for the race by earning XP/drops.
The main problem I see with results based is the shear number of new riders. Irl your racing against the same people and groups each week and year. With a constant influx of new riders and riders who race twice a year there has to be a way to incorporate everyone. And it’s not the same person winning each week on a climbing race and a flat race, if they did they’d get bumped to the next cat. Zwift is not irl racing but everyone wants to complain and make it like it actually is. Just learn and play the game the best you can.
That’s very true, and a flat “you win X you get promoted” type of system would likely be a disaster on Zwift, however they do already have in place the Race Ranking system which awards every rider with a value based on their best 5 races and which takes into account the level of the opposition in the particular race, so expanding that to be part of the overall categorization of riders could well be the way to go, perhaps a blended approach where both your CP/MAP values as well as your Race Ranking over the last 60-days could be taken into account to determine if you are due to upgrade/downgrade.
Frankly though I’m just happy to see the existing category enforcement going wider, that’s making things better for races already, and with the coming and going of such a huge number of riders there will always be sandbaggers or “system players” around so it’s hard for them to ever give us a 100% level field, as much as I like to moan about the deficiencies of Zwift this is one area that is genuinely complex
Results based systems like you see in a IRL club event are problematic on Zwift. Firstly, there’s a constant stream of new riders or riders coming back into racing. Secondly, if people are racing in an easier league and pick up wins then moving into a harder competition / series may see them in a category where they have no chance of staying with the pack.
I get that people that want this system are usually seeing the same people dominating their races and feel they should be able to win to. Unfortunately that’s just life.
The Category Enforcement system is a good idea if the cat limits are set correctly but is only a partial answer. Firstly, everyone on Zwift should have a Zwift Power profile with a ZP cat assigned which prevents them from entering any race below their ZP cat. This instantly removes being in A racing in C for instance and we have seen how that affects the race. The initial response to CE has been positive in this regard but there’s also issues.
What we are seeing from the current CE limits is that the 5min power curve isn’t correct for a lot of people. People in C who are racing Div 1 in WTRL and finishing top 30 but not top 10 are now being told they are B cat racers. The result has been that they get dropped within the first few km’s and then ride solo and often don’t come back to that race again. All Zwift has done with the current CE power settings is move the goal posts so to speak in where the ZP cat limits were with the 20min power limits. This will see a bunch of people moved up a cat and they will be uncompetitive in most races where they have been racing in. Yes a new bunch of people will now be competitive but all we are doing is moving people around without fixing the actual issue.
The real problem we have is that the gap between the top and bottom of each category is too big. Someone with a 3.21 w/kg ave in B can’t compete with someone at 3.9w/kg. Zwift say that they are wanting to grow racing and encourage more people to race. Effectively what they are doing won’t grow the sport in the numbers it could and has the real potential to see riders leaving racing events with CE, stop racing or even leaving the platform. The vast majority of people race for fun, not to win and being smashed out the back in the first 5km isn’t fun.
The answer i feel is to have more categories, A+, A, B+, B, C+, C, D. Each cat would have sub limits around halfway of what they currently are. WTRL have been successful in having divisions in the ZRL series which has seen a huge amount of people join and numbers have grown over the seasons. If Zwift build these new categories they will grow racing IMO, waiting for numbers to grow before they implement new categories is going about it in the wrong way.
Hey Mike,
My opinion is that CE, with its multiple power inputs, is better than FTP-based categories. Also better because it blocks you from racing in a lower cat.
I think they need to include shorter power intervals in there (1 minute, sprint, etc) too. But it’s much better now than it used to be.
Having more categories so the windows are narrower is great, if you have enough riders. Most races right now don’t.
Lastly: results-based is the answer long term. Your reasoning about racing in an easier league don’t make sense to me, since your results-based stuff takes into account strength of field. New riders would simply be placed in high categories or open categories until they’ve done enough.
My thoughts.
Minimum categories would also work better if they were tailored to the duration/difficulty of the race. A rider with great 20 minute power (or 1 hour power!) might be a B in a long event but a C in a very short race likely to end in a sprint. A rider with great 15 second power might not be competitive in a race with 5 trips up the leg snapper, so minimum category could be lowered for that rider. They could get different minimum categories based on the characteristics of the race. This could work with a results based system, if results were scored according to the race characteristics. Obviously it would add complexity, but I dare to dream.
I’m a C nearly B a few weeks ago it had me only able to enter A.Then last week I was aloud in B and A.this week I’m only aloud in A.ive not raced in 4 weeks because of Covid.lol
What I’d like to see is the CE being used for the ZRL where riders, at the start of the season, are only allowed to join a category based on the CE parameters. This CE is used when riders join their respected teams. If they dont fit into the category that the team is registered for then they are not allowed to join the team. Then once the season starts you are allowed to race that category until the end of the season. Then at the start of the next season the CE comes into play again.
Do we have any idea on how far back Zwift is looking at these numbers? I had B MAP numbers over a year ago, but after taking some time away I haven’t returned to that level of fitness.
All activities in a 60 day period
Generally CE works great. It ensures that no one can join a cat they dont belong in. There are some buts though. It does not eliminate sandbagging. Many are still “surfing” the limit to stay within category. Only result based categories can solve this, as already mentioned.
Further more. in cats D, C and B, those at the upper limit are moved up in category, making racing fairer, even for those moved up. Except for those moved into cat A. The category span for A is much bigger (too big). Those former B’s with a 5 min power of 5.4 are up against beasts with 20 min power of 6 wkg+. It would be nice to see A split up into A and A+ (~5 wkg+)
I did a couple of these last week and was quite surprised that as a Cat B, it appears that you now need to be able to put out well over 7 w/kg for the last minute to get on the podium. What I did find that nobody was able to get away, and although the field was whittled down by the finish, half the field was still in contention with 1k to go. So although I’m finishing closer to first place time wise, I’m finishing lower down to field as I just can’t put out that kind of power at the end. Having said that both were relatively flat races, 14 laps of crit city and Libby hill after party.
sprinters right now = 😌😌😌😌😌
I’m okay with the CE as described, but I think it would be cleaner and easier to just have mass start races (like Tour de Zwift only a race) and you get an overall placement and then a calculated category placement based on your performance in that race. It would be like the ZP filtered results, but instead of being disqualified, you are simply bumped up to the correct category automatically. Congratulations.
I’ve been racing Crit City most weeks. Since the introduction of category enforcement I have noticed that the races are much more closely contested and more fun. I have no sprint so often I’m within a few seconds of the winner, but from a results point of view towards the back. As a low end B I’m keen on the ideas of TFC and DIRT, where they divide the categories in half and it would be good if the enforcement system could accommodate it.
Your category enforcment is no good for people in my situation. Let me explain, I am 61 year old . 88kg. Since 5 year in zwift i have done more than 370 race, that s only what i like to do . Look at my zwift power account and you will see my heart rate is at maximum and when i do more than 20 km my watts goes down. I have wahoo kickr v5 that is suppose to be very accurate . even at maximum of what i can do i cannot exceed 2.5 w kg. I am a good D category rider but with my weight, my age and the watt i can do , i will never be able to be a C rider. Also i am not a good sprinter. it doesn’t matter to me that they are some 2.6 and 2.7 w kg racer in D category. It’s good for the challenge. Usually after work i like to do small race 16 to 25km. But now i am blocked on almost all off them. Your algorithm is to hard on old and heavy people like me and i presume i am not the only one. You are gone to end up with a category D with only beginner and a lot of good D racer that won’t be able to race in there category anymore.
I agree. I am 63, and light, can’t sprint, love racing C grade where I usually finish in the middle of the pack. Have rarely got onto the podium let alone won a C race; yet now I’m blocked from the usual C races that I once enjoyed.
I also totally agree. The algorithm is completely out and has put me in A grade, when I’m barely a C grader. It is completely wrong ..
You should use zwift power for category. If you are not on zwift power than you take your algorithm. A lot of good D racer will quit racing if they can’t run in D. When they are a lot of hill and you are more than 85kg it’s very hard to follow C rider. That’s why we always ride on flat race.
And what about lightweight riders with 20m w/kg that pushes them into categories where they have to compete with people who can average 100w more and almost double their peak sprint power? The system we had for years now? Did you go to the forums and talk about the good D racers who will quit racing now that they have to compete in C because it’s very hard to follow people with vastly more power than them? The people to which “always ride on hilly races” was a nice theory until they take a look at a series like ZRL with it’s one hilly race per season?
The categories themselves need adjusting. You can’t have A and A+ riding in the same cat; it’s almost like merging As and Bs. Some of these A+ riders have pro level power, and for someone at the lower end of the cat, 4.0w/kg, it’s practically an impossible feat to just hold their wheels.
This bullet point stood out for me:
In March I had one weird ride where my power was way higher than normal. It was during the ToW Dirt Drippin ride and I suspect something happened with the assigned bike or the road surface or both. I had fun with it but intentionally deleted the ride when I was done. However, that one ride bumped me up from B cat to A and now I’m locked out of B races that have CE. Zwift marked the ride as an error, but it’s still haunting me. This should be an easy thing to fix. Hopefully the ride will drop out of my category calculation soon.
Very few people sign up for D rides.
Are we sure these parameters are currently valid?
According to intervals.icu, I have a 60 day CP of 3.91 w/kg, a MAP of 5.26 and my MAP does not exceed 5.4 anywhere in the 5 to 8 min range. My FTP is also under 4 w/kg.
Yet, I can only race in A currently. However, my estimated VO2 Max in intervals is over 60.
So does Zwift look at VO2 max independently of MAP, maybe?
Or is there yet another parameter in play potentially?
Intervals.icu do not calculate CP in exactly the same way as Zwift – also Zwift take all activities in to account, even ones that were quit. Google high North CP calculator and put in 4 max values for a better idea.
I don’t find the car enforcement working for me. It has pushed me a low B rider to a cat A rider……
If the categoty are base on ftp on zwift and zwift power than if D is from 1 to 2.5 w kg than a racer that is always below 2.5 w kg should be alloud to race in D race . If not than change category from w kg to CP . Or disqualify racer directly in zwift companion if they are 2.7 and up on short race.
Racing has become much more realistic with the category enforcement! My only concern long term is the validity of the categories…as a 77kg rider who typically finishes in the top 15 mosh pit my average power has been trending lower and lower with these “True” B races; and based on the final results it appears everyone else is as well…what will that do to upward mobility? In many ways surviving and winning a B race is all about 1-5 minute power and therefore that needs to be weighted heavier when assigning Cat’s. I know it has been said before but this also strengthens the argument for increasing the number of categories or forcing advancement based on points. Moving out of Cat B when 3.0-3.4 is all you need to win will perpetually lock riders into B unless they choose to go up…I am assuming Cat C and D are seeing the same things.
I actually had big expectations when I heard after a 1 month break from Zwift about this Category Enforcement thing.
The point is: I don’t really think it makes Zwiftracing any more fair.
Why?
Now… this is only from my personal view, but:
Zwiftpower rates me as B.
Zwift puts me in A. (why? maybe the critical power thing that I don’t really understand)
1) when I enter cat A races I get dropped right at the start. Yes, I know: Zwift racing means: go all-out at the v start and then settle down. But it depends on how much effort you have to put in for that.
From the fun aspect: okay… I’m dropped… riding alone I can do… uhm… alone.
TT races certainly are less frustrating that way… you are simply behind then… why competing as a Zwiftpower cat B being barely able pushing 4wkg @ 20min with the cat A(+) superheroes easily pushing 5wkg+…? #futile
2) when I enter cat B races my average HR (and wkg) are matching those around me. Except. Escept! Except when Zwifters intentionally do not give their best in races.
Example: Rio A. is a v good example for “legal” sandbagging: sitting (as a B) in the (B) pack at comfortable 120bpm av and then sprinting the hard working racers around easily out in the final sprint.
So: as I were suggesting long ago… from my personal POV a power curve in relation to HR is the key for “fair” Zwift racing and (!) leaderboards.
And yes: as long as the accurancy of the used trainers (you simply cannot compare a Tacx Neo or Wahoo Kickr w/ a wheel-on trainer or Zpower etc.) is so huge and wide then Zwift racing fairness always will be very vague.
What I simply would like to see:
1) no racing w/out HRMs
2) questioning unlikely weight / height ratios or sudden changes of weight or height (transparency)
3) evidences of being able pushing 5wkg+ (esp at low av HRs)
And then I still think that the av HR is the better indicator of if you are giving it all or not.
And for every Zwift effort (including the jersey leaderboards) if would be advantageous.
Who really wants a 600W av (!) (600W for 32min! No Zpower…) Alpe climb being awarded w/ a jersey? Who really wants a sub 6h vEveresting appearing on the Zwiftpower leaderboards? Who really wants an Alpe climb even on the v low DQ standards from Zwiftpower being DQed (20MIN wkg) as a Strava Alpe du Zwift KOM (Maverick M.)? I’m okay with all that. They can do whatever they want. But why awarding in terms of a fair, sportive contest?
In the end: do what you want. I’m sick of all that. People accuse me ranting and hating although having not even done a bit of my miles, climbing and time. It’s okay for me. Zwift could be a v good platform. I simply hope they’ll find a way being what they could be.
How does a rider like this continue to race in B and win every race even with the category enforcement?
https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=2600055
That is the best job of sandbagging I have ever seen! That’s why ftp needs to go…1-5 minute efforts to determine category for anything but TT’s. There are lots of riders who are sub 4w/kg for 20 minutes but can do 5.5-6w/kg for 5 minutes…that is impossible! If you can do 5w/kg for 5 minutes you can easily do 4 for 20.
Yes, in today’s race the only person who he could not beat was a A+ rider. Something is not working if someone this strong still races B.
THAT RIDER IS THE EPITOME OF WHY ZWIFT NEEDS TO RANK CATEGORIES BASED ON POINTS … win and you move up. plain and simple.
And yay he won again today. Eric what is your opinion on riders like him and how to force upgragde.
…weil die Rennen im 5 Minuten Wert gewonnen werden. Bei der Alpe hätte ich keine chance. Ein 5000m läufer gewinnt auch keine 100km läufe da er spezialisiert ist
Das ist jahrelanges Training…..werd einfach selber besser anstatt andere zu beurteilen. Wenn ich unfair fahren würde, wäre ich A. Jedes mal all out.
Dann mach es doch wenn es so einfach ist. Ein 800 m läufer hat bei 10000m keine chance. Armselig diese debatte.
😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆
Weil ich 100% gebe und laut den Regeln in B bin.am Puls und den Sprintwerten sieht man es. Also…Neid einpacken und einfach Gas geben. Ich muss nein Gewicht auch erstmal in Watt umwandeln. In der ZRL ist übrigens nichts mit Sieg. Also erstmal schauen bevor der Frust aus dem Mund quillt
The racing up into smaller categories to score points needs to be enforced too. Anti-sandbagging.
I love it. I ride at the top end of category d and I no longer need to wait for zwiftpower to dq those ahead of me. The finishing sprint is actually meaningful now. I ‘won’ one race previousy by finishing 23rdon the road but just this week come third by coming third on the road. That’s gotta be an improvement in my book .
I’ve tried Cat.Enforced racing and it reaffirms that Zwift Racing is built for sprinters. With a max. 15 second power of 6.3w/kg I can’t even get out of the start pen with the front group…..what’s the point. I’m stuck in Cat B because my 20 minute Power is around 3.7w/kg ……with the pack I stand a small chance of hanging on for a bit……out of the gate…..forget it!
tiem to hit the weights..!
This is a good step but until the categories include some factor for height (or BMI), a w/kg boundary will always significantly disadvantage taller and lighter people. Obviously, the best answer is a results-based system, but until then Zwift knows its own power vs speed vs height algorithm so just include that in the CE calculation.
For the same height, an extra 15kg takes an extra 20W but saves 0.3 w/kg or
for the same weight an extra 20cm takes an extra 15W or 0.2 w/kg
(for both flat and rolling courses)
So whilst extra weight obviously requires more W’s, when the boundaries are w/kg this makes an enormous difference, and hence we get reverse weight doping.
Iam a C rider since January only done 40 races iam 112kg & 52 iam racing in ZRL at the moment & don’t look close to breaking into B anytime soon .
Category enforcement has me in B
I’ve done a few now & struggle to keep pace full race still enjoying it but haven’t come close to 3.2wpk yet
I really like the cat enforcement races but cat A needs to be made smaller. Just having 4w+ When there is a substantial amount of riders much higher means that the riders right on the cusp of cat A still get blown out the back race after race. My cat power profile puts my in Cat A (4.01 CP on intervals.icu) so racing becomes also starting solo TT effort each and every time when racing against people 4.5w+
I raced in a couple of TFC Mad Monday races and I truly like their D, D+,C, C+ format. I think it speaks to concerns voiced here.
I recently was pushed up to C by A Category Enforcement. I had a very satisfactory exchange with James Bailey on the subject and I understand some of what’s happening. Folks, Zwift has your exact data.
That said, I’m unsure at age 73 whether I’ll be able to continue. I’m happy with my strengths but I don’t have the raw wattage to compete give Zwift rescuing b starts. Please note: I’m not asking for age groups to go into the algorithm.
I’ve done a few CE races now, and haven’t had any issues and have had noticeably closer races in a couple of them than I would previously have expected for the type of race – it’s definitely a positive for anyone who enjoys doing races in any of the Zwift Categories, and thankfully sounds like they are pushing forwards with it as a successful initiative
Ensure the Companion app matches ZwiftPower results by eliminating those out of cat from appearing in results. Sandbaggers like seeing their finish position in companion even though they are DQ’d in ZwiftPower. This will also take away the incentive to cheat.
bob
I’ve entered just 1 CE race. There were fewer than 10 entries in all so we all seemed to be in it together. According to Zwiftpower I’m a cat D (almost a C) but I had to enter the event as a C. I kept up with the bunch at first but eventually they pulled away leaving me in between 2 small groups. I consoled myself thinking that the group ahead would probably get D/Q’d.
Come the finish the results showed that they were B riders and I’d actually won the C race! Much happier that way, but could I have known that they were in a different category?
So I’m sure it’s sound in principle but a few details need fine-tuning. And we need to be able to see the values Zwift uses to decide which category to enforce.
I’m glad they’re doing something; HOWEVER, I don’t understand this Critical Power thing. I race in C grade and love it, finishing usually mid pack. Now I am blocked from C grade, yet when I compare my times to B grade I would always be last or close to last. I’m clearly a C grade rider at best. Why does this new system force me into a category where I have no hope? This joy in my life is now gone and I don’t know how to fix it.
I love Zwift, but they’ve blown it by making it overly complicated. They are using an arcane metric that is difficult to define/understand and not visible in Zwift. Right now, my ftp is 3w/kg. ZwiftPower puts me at a C (and I have been finishing mid-rear pack in C races recently). With my 3w/kg ftp, I can’t sign up for a C race that says “AVG 2.5-3.2w/kg” because there is a secret number(s) somewhere that I can’t see. I am going to get shelled in these B races.
Yeah, they really need to make these numbers more easily findable, with more and more races using category enforcement.
Maybe I don’t understand the system properly. I am a cat C, however on some of these restricted races, I am forced into B, which is literally out my my league. In best circumstances, I can reach 3.2w/k, however when competing with others in B up to 4w/k, well I lose the group within the first lap or even before. My only chance not to finish dead last is if some abandon or possibly in same boat as me.
Discouraging to say the least
Interesting read, thank you. I’m returning from injury. I can’t rego for C or D grade races now, but i definitely know that i am currently unable to hold anywhere near B grade power. Am i able to go back to C grade, or do i just suck it up and roll last in B? Cheers!
Hi Cat enforcement have me on A. This wouldve been due to a couple races when I had incorrect power reading. I’ve now fixed that and back to my lowly B Cat. I actually didnt end up in A in zwiftpower, just B (Almost A). How can this be corrected?
Contact Zwift support. That’s your best bet.
Zwift support is useless on this. I contacted them about the problem, and they suggested it was a problem with my trainer or that I was letting other people use my account and violating the terms of service. Easier to blame the customer, I guess, than actually fix their bad algorithm.
Sounds like they cut and pasted a generic answer, which seems to be par for the course for support in general these days.
If you’re on the edge of A in Zwift Power, there’s a good chance that CE will require you to enter A. CE minimum category and Zwift Power category can be completely different.
I’m in the same boat as many of the folks above: somehow bumped up into B when Zwiftpower has me as a C (“almost B”), but I can’t compete in B and just get dropped in the first minute of every race, even when I’m riding well over my FTP. Zwift seems also to have disabled cross-category drafting, so when I get caught by the C’s, I have to ride 3.5+ to keep up w the pack riding at 2.7. It’s demoralizing. I guess I’ll stick to TTs from now on where this doesn’t matter. I don’t get why there need to be categories this way. Why not let riders race as a mass pack, with groups organically forming, as in TdZ. They could still report race results according by category to be fair. I don’t mind being near the bottom in the race results. But it’s pointless to race alone all the time.
Right there with you. I “race” more of the Fundo events than actual races. I did OK in a non-CE race that was 44k so it started slow and played to my strengths (attrition, not sprinting).
Yeah, that’s a good approach. Part of the problem is just the way Zwift races play out, coupled with the new category enforcement. They’re like every high school cross country race I ever ran back when: everyone guns it way beyond any pace they can sustain for the first 10 mins. And then you end up just trying to hold on through the next 45 mins. of oxygen debt. There’s no real strategy, and it’s just too exhausting to do more than every once in a while if you’re in this “between groups” bind. Again, I think if Zwift didn’t force people into categories and had mass starts, you might have more chances for groups to form organically and work together through drafting and pacing. So, slower B’s could team up with faster C’s to get away. If your aim is to ride at 3.3 w/kg, for example, you start out at about that pace, maybe pushing it to join a group riding at about 3.4 and get pulled along to a PR or falling back to one that’s slower where you end up helping riders. But getting spit out the back before mile 1 in every single race just destroys whatever satisfaction one might get from Zwift races.
Mmmm. I see the phrase “estimate” and immediately question how this is meant to pass scrutiny? There are many years of data available on Zwiftpower, so shouldn’t we expect better than an “estimate”, remembering that Zwift isn’t for free.
MAP or 5 to 8 minute effort being used as a category assignment is misleading. Take a look at every sprinter in the Tour de France and tell me how many of those have ever won a mountain finish? That’s right, NONE. Every elite sprinter will record a high result over a 5 minute effort, but that doesn’t mean they have an elite level FTP. So this clearly isn’t a reliable source of data for category assignment.
I feel personally aggrieved on this because I can sprint. But if I race on a course with a climb, such as Box Hill, even now I never make the front group, and that’s in Zwiftpower assigned ‘Cat B’. This new system puts me in cat A, so I have absolutely no chance of even getting to contest a finale. Please tell me how this is being ‘fair’ and what enjoyment I’m supposed to feel by getting dropped every race?
I’m a new Zwifter. Haven’t entered any races yet, but Zwiftpower has collected a few data from my first few casual events. Zwiftpower says now says “Minimum Category C, Almost B”. But when I look at any category enforced races on Zwift the option to add myself into any C and D races is greyed out. I can only enter A or B.
What am I missing?
I’d have quite liked to do a few races to find my feet where my W/kg was among the stronger riders, rather than have to start immediately as a weak rider in a B race.
Your confusion isn’t surprising, given how Zwift has rolled this out.
Basically, ZwiftPower categories are based on different criteria than Zwift’s new Category Enforcement. So ZwiftPower says you’re still a C, but Category Enforcement says you’re a B at minimum.
My guess is your 5-minute power (which ZwiftPower doesn’t take into account) is high enough that it’s pushed you into the B category for Category Enforcement.
Zwift knows this is confusing, and they’re working on improving the interface/UI so this stuff is more obvious.
I’m cat c in zwift power but I’m being restricted to B in races. I’m not able to sustain the B pace and can’t compete in B. How can I address this?
Why is the Zwift power category lower than zwift? On Zwift power I’m min Category C on the Zwift app and platform I cant race lower than B. But Zwift own and run both platforms. Makes no sense.