Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of October 30-31

As you may have read, I have teamed up with Matt Rowe (of Rowe & King) and I am being put through my paces with regards to training.  But I must confess, despite the suffering, I’m enjoying it! So I thought I would share some of the sessions that I have been doing.

Matt Rowe explained that it is important to have a good base of fitness to build upon.  This means my Saturday mornings for the next 5 weeks are going to include a steady-state Zone 2 ride, which is anywhere between 2.5-3 hours of cycling. 

Like all of us, I often face a time crunch, so it means that I have to get up early to undertake this task.  Fortunately, there are many steady-state rides on a Saturday!  This particular event has an interval element to it and is slightly different, hence why I included it here.

This event is hosted on the Downtown Dolphin route.

• GROUP B: Distance: 100km – Base Pace 2.8-3.0 W/kg, Intervals 3.5-4.0 W/kg
• GROUP C: Distance: 80km – Base Pace 2.5-2.8 W/kg, Intervals 3.0-3.6 W/kg
• Sometimes higher short efforts and sprints could be included. 

Saturday, October 30 @ 7am CEST/6am BST
First event details and signup at zwift.com/events/view/2370865

I have had some very tough interval sessions, often being pushed over my FTP.

According to the description, this session really dials in on stressing strength and threshold power with the changes in torque—ideally pushing up your FTP.  

Certainly worth a tri!

Multiple dates/times. See details @ zwift.com/academy/zatri/tri-run-workout-2

On my schedule is a race, and there are many races to try on Zwift. But here’s a lucky spot that I would like to share.

The VirtuSLO e-League is starting on October 31st.  It is a points-based race series with 8 races over an 8-week period in A, B, C, D and E category groups. Races will be held every Sunday at 10:30 AM CET, starting from the 31st of October till the 19th of December 2021.

The winner of the day is the rider with the lowest time in the end, discounted for time bonuses gathered during the race on intermediate prime banners. The first three riders over the prime banner receive 3-2-1 bonus seconds, which will be discounted from the finishing time.

Daily race result counts for the general classification (GC). Riders daily finishing rank (discounted for the bonus seconds gathered on primes) translates into points. The winner score 1 point, runner-up score 2 points, 3rd score 3 points, 4th, 5th, 6th, score 4, 5, 6 points and so on. To score points rider must finish the stage and be listed in ZP results. A day without participation, DNF, DQ counts 100 points. Finishing below 100th rank (in the case of large groups) counts 100 points as well. The winner in GC will be the one with the lowest cumulative score of 7 best races out of 8!

Sunday, October 31 @ 10:30am CEST/9:30am BST/5:30am EDT
Event details and signup at zwift.com/events/view/2372889

Recovery – after all that hard training, a recovery ride is well deserved.

This event is for those who are just venturing into Zwift, since it’s an easy group ride paced at 1-1.3 w/kg for 1 hour. This ride is also the perfect pace for recovery if you have been thrashing yourself in previous events!

I like the fact that there some guidelines about the event, to ensure it remains an inclusive, easy ride:

Please respect the ride leader’s pace and instructions. This is not a race and the ride leader will not chase anyone riding off the front of the group. If you feel the need to stretch your legs, do so on the sprints and then prepare to regroup immediately afterward. Faster riders are encouraged to sweep in the back to assist less strong riders who may be struggling to rejoin the group after sprints and inclines. Sprinkle Ride Ons far and wide to encourage and delight your fellow riders! Join in on the conversation (on-screen text), but be mindful of the younger folks (i.e., children) who join the ride from time to time.

Sunday, October 31 @ 4:15pm CEST/3:15pm BST/11:15am EDT/8:15am PDT
Event details and signup at zwift.com/events/view/2372972

Your Thoughts

Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!