In the Zwift Hot Topic series we bring up popular discussions, controversies, questions, or creative ideas in the Zwift community. We’ll share different perspectives on each issue, but we want to hear your thoughts, too. So read on, then chime in below!
Few things are more controversial among Zwifters than race categories. How should riders be grouped in a race? How should they be ranked in the results? Should leaderboards be categorized? What’s the best way to encourage fair competition? The most popular way so far is W/kg, and some community members have created results-based rankings (see zwiftracing.app).
What about age?
Age groups are often used in real-life races, especially running events, triathlons, and “masters” cycling races. But it’s rare to find an event that uses them on Zwift. FZR, WMZ, and Masters FA are the only open series I can find with age categories, and Fearless also runs their AGES women’s race. Others have come and gone.
Personally, age categories don’t really appeal to me (yet). I didn’t start cycling, or any other sport, until my late 20s. I was slower than a lot of people who were older than me! As I entered my 30s, I became faster and fitter, but still humbled by people decades older who had been training all their lives and could drop me with ease. These are the ones who show up to a group ride, say “you young whipper-snappers need to take it easy on me,” and then ride off into the distance nose breathing while I’m gasping for air.
We can’t avoid it, though – age comes with limitations, and they get bigger the older you get. Top-end fitness starts to decline, recovery takes longer, and health problems can get in the way of training. This can make it harder for older athletes to compete with younger ones.
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Angela MacRae: “Particularly as an older woman, racing in mixed fields IRL or on Zwift gets harder because you are already struggling with sprints against men, and that gets even more difficult as you age. I loved the Zwift age-based racing series that let women race a category 10 years older. It gives a really competitive race, and it is very nice to see how you compare with people of your own vintage. I wish there was more Masters racing on Zwift.”
Then again, using age instead of an ability-based grouping means that you may not be as competitive in a race as you expect. Others in your age category might have much higher or lower fitness than you do. Masters races in real life are famously fast! If you haven’t reached your peak early in life, you can still improve your fitness as you age… and so can your competitors.
But age groups don’t have to be separated within a race. They can just be applied to finish results, letting people race with their natural competition.
Stuart Lynne: “I like to see ranking by age only as a gauge to see how well I’m doing in my age cohort. But I am not actually fond of racing in age-based categories. Vastly prefer to race against people at the same ability level.”
When everyone starts together, age categories can make races more tactical. You may find yourself in a group with three or four different categories, but you only need to focus on your own. Racers naturally group by ability but can have their own “race within a race” with their peers.
I’ve heard this from a few Zwifters, and I get it. When I join mixed-gender races and see another woman, she becomes my main competitor. We’re more likely to evenly match each other than the men in our group. It’s natural to compare yourself to other riders who are like you.
Jon Bradley: “I know that there would always be an imbalance with FTP numbers in the relevant age brackets, but it’s still nice to know how you fare against guys around your own age… and younger riders tend to have more explosive power numbers as opposed to older riders.”
Share Your Thoughts
What do you think? Do you want to see more age categories on Zwift, like in races or on KOM/QOM leaderboards? Maybe even age-grouped badges! Or would you rather be grouped in a different way?
Stuart Lynne: “I like to see ranking by age only as a gauge to see how well I’m doing in my age cohort. But I am not actually fond of racing in age-based categories. Vastly prefer to race against people at the same ability level.” 100% Agree!!
Yeah, I’m the same generally. Although it doesn’t help my ego that as a 46y/o I’ve recently been beaten several times by a 64y/o, boo hiss, lol 😂
its zwift. the place where 50,60 yo’s can beat pros. dont read a lot into it.
Agree! If only the sort Tab on ZP figures showing ages was enabled. 😉
Agere – sort Tab on ZP figures would be fantastic.
I am 72….
Here, here. ALL your excuses are just lies you tell yourself to accept mediocrity.
How many championships/victories are won by excuses? Because any excuse you can come up with, I know someone who has overcome it. Up to and including missing limbs.
9/16 fresh off the plane from Taiwan, Hilly KOM, Volcano KOM, 5 place climbing portal in that order. I will be 62 in December.
i am in my 70s still doing
doing B rides in the real world still wiping the floor
with guys 20+ yrs younger
loads of different sports
have you tried underwater hockey 😁
In reality, even with matching FTP numbers me, being over 60 can not compete with a person under 30 years of age. Even 40 year old leave me behind.
It would be nice to see a veteran status on zwift for the over 60s. Not a separate cat for races, but just something to signify that I’ve reached the golden age bracket. Maybe a different colour name. And then show master or veterans on results pages as an extra column. 😁
I do sometimes look at the age of competitors in the results of races I’ve been in, more out of curiosity than anything. If you are interested then you can do so on the results pages on the ZwiftPower site, there’s a column for Age in all race results which has splits (if I remember correctly) as follows: Jnr->U23->Snr->Mas->Vet->50+
So that would be an “anomaly award” because of your age or a “participation award” for the same reason?
I’m 71, no thanks.
Virtual cycling no cars people round about horses people or traffic lights or puntures good for fitness and ego
virtual cycling is a piece of cake
give me real life roads any day
How about a participation ribbon?
This topic is no different than outdoor racing. You race is a Cat X and you will compete against older and younger riders. You race in an age group and you will compete against higher Cat riders. I agree it’s nice to know how you are doing within your peer group. And I’m impressed by the strength of riders 60+.
As a 70 year old who regularly takes part in time trials, I always look to see where I finish compared to other 70 plus riders but my overall finish place is more important. I would never want to enter a race against ONLY 70 plus riders. I get tremendous satisfaction by beating others who may be 10, 20 30 and even 40 years younger than me.
Same but not all the time last yr
did a TT age adjustment came out beating a guy who got a second place in the world champions!!!!
Having regularly seen myself beaten by people older than me, as well as younger, I’m not sure it’s a particularly good indicator of categorised “competitiveness”. I’d suggest that almost all races are more competitive and enjoyable overall without further separation by age and sex and rather sticking with pure “power number” or “results based” rankings. However the addition of Age/Gender Based breakdown of and leaderboards for multi-event Leagues should be a relatively easy thing to make possible for organisers to show via ZwiftPower…the major roadblock to making that kind of results splitting/reporting fair is actually Zwift’s ongoing insistance on NOT doing what almost every single racer wants them to do, namely: Customisable on-screen data! If racers in Zwift could choose to have different data displayed for fellow race competitors it’d allow them to have Age, Weight, Watts, 20min W/Kg etc. shown against other riders in the race allowing them to significantly more easily identify and “actively race” against those in, for instance, a similar age group if that was the leaderboard they were targetting in the league/series rather than the overall Points or Cat A-D lead etc.
It’s no surprise that competitor platforms to Zwift are already promising riders that custom layout as well as customisable fields are “on their way” since they recognise it as a major tick against their platforms which they know users of Zwift have been asking for in their droves for the best part of 5-YEARS already with no joy from Zwift, and they can clearly see for themselves how popular overlay data via Sauce for Zwift has become with racers who got fed up of waiting for Zwift to give them any kind of personalised positioning, fields, colours, etc.
It’s a shame that Zwift continues to fail to see the benefits of such a simple programming job which enhances the user experience and options for those who Race on Zwift, which we know from things like ZRL is a significant number of thousands of active Zwifters
I’m 71 and addicted to racing. I like racing by category but would love to see additional decades added to the rankings.
IRL, I love racing in the age groups (55-59) and having the ability to compete at top-level competitions for recognition in my AG. But in Zwift, I am not sure it makes much difference. I would bet that most of the other racers I compete against are 10 to 20 years younger than I am, and I can hold my own…but being good in Zwift isn’t the same as being good IRL.
Seen many 50+ or even 60+ y.o. pushing (almost) pro numbers on Zwift (that is to say, inaccurate setups) therefore I don’t care much about age categories. Any Zwifter may be a worthy opponent for my training purposes. Whether I am getting beaten is therefore of secondary importance.
Sono d’accordo nella partenza alle gare così come è impostata ad oggi. Però un ulteriore ordine di arrivo in base all’età non lo vedrei per niente male, oltretutto zwift, al momento dell’iscrizione, chiede l’età e quindi usiamola.
I only want to race against women my age who have trained the same number of hours I have and own the same equipment I do. Bonus if they have the same FTP and BMI I possess, and have the same tolerance for pain and discomfort. Any other way just isn’t fair.
Unfortunately, the folks who blew me away 30 yrs ago still blow me away. So much for aging gracefully! LOL
As stated previously and in the : “going nowhere fast podcast” many times, A is bizarrely populated with many 66 year old guys (in open). They rarely run dual recording. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any of course, over a population we know of individual differences, but if they’d run a better setup, population studies can predict there would be less. That’s all folks !
It’s easy to see in zwift power – how many 50 kg / 4+wpg 50+ year olds are there really? And pooling just Americans, I’m really one of the few guys over 80kg? I only weigh myself after night sweats and before my first coffee to claim 84kg and am referred to as skinny IRL…..
i think zwift should just offer a results “sort” by age. I would discount those who don’t weigh enough to ride in the front seat of a car. At nearly 50, my ftp curve is nearing the grade of a handicap ramp. I would like to be able to sort to see how I did against my age in snappy races where none of us can recover but a couple of 2 minute efforts are the difference. I’m ok finishing where I do overall because just like IRL, I’m just demonstrably slow.
that said, my 80yo father-in-law can ride me off his wheels IRL if the distance is long enough.
It’s a game. It’s not perfect. How many people are lying about their weight and height?
just the mentally-ill ones.
I would like to see Zwift list age groups under 50+ by age instead of senior (19-29 = senior?), master, veteran, and race altogether but acknowledge the age groups better in race results with an indication for 1,2,3… within the various age groups.
Rather than grouping why not handicap and then everyone can race against one another. Zwift has the data and power curve info to produce a handicapping system. Most other sports have a handicapping system, whilst not perfect, gives a more meaningful outcome.
The other day I raced in category C because that is what the system said. Only just in C which meant almost everyone else went off into the sunset and I did the ride mostly on my own. This is not a race in my mind. The existing groupings are too wide. I think handicapping would get a better outcome.
I believe the 55 to 64 is a huge difference
Recognizing that Zwift is a game, but also that we all want to compete fairly is key. The truth is that VO2 max decreases significantly after 50 years old. Consequently whilst 2 riders with the same Watts / kg may in theory be equal, but over the course of the race if one of them is 50+ it’s going to be hard for them to beat let along keep up with the other rider if they are in their athletic prime (late 20’s early 30’s). One way of sorting g this out is to add an age factor to the racing score that Zwift have created.
OH, so there could be categories based on both VO2 max and watts/kg ???
I think it depends on what you’re looking for on Zwift. I find it’s great at times to ride with people I can draft and ride along with rather than riding alone. This supports the idea of categories, like now, with power-watts/kg. Some people see group rides as open races so there’s a super speedy group of A/B racers at the front and sometimes no other groups; sometimes there are people I can draft and ride with but often not so? On the other hand with categories based on w/kg there are riders of my ability to draft. Where do categories based on age fit in to the picture ? Are there ancient aged speedy riders on Zwift? Those running the game can tell us? What is the profile of riders by speed in Zwift? Do mountains make a difference? How slow can one go without falling in Zwift? On a road bike in the real world it’s difficult to go really slow ?
I am 82 years old. When I was 65 and 66, I was the masters 65+ California/Nevada States climbing champion. At 80, I became the oldest person to do a Hells 500 virtual Everesting. Even so, at 80 I was a C rider with no hope of winning a race in that category but able to compete successfully in the then available age grouped races. I have since declined to D category where I am still noncompetitive with no prospects of getting stronger. I miss racing with a chance of placing and would greatly appreciate an age grouping of at least 70+.
Respect to you sir for still drilling it on the bike. I am 59 and hope to be able to do the same at 82
I’m Zwifting at 87 and would like to see how I compare with similarly aged zwifters.
There definitely should be age groupings as the main delimiter for all races. All this A – B – C – D break-out is silly. At 70, I can still ride with the high-C’s – but that feel less than fulfilling. No races IRL America or the world structure categories starts like Zwift does. Set up races by 5-year increments like USA Cycling does. Bring back legitiment competition!
Yep, at 66 love to race in an age category event. Racing isn’t part of my Zwift world excluding Zwift Academy. It could just be the demographic of the user base falls off rapidly over 50. May not be something Zwift sees as a value in the business model.
Yes age groups gives you more choice you can compare your ability
what about heart problem riders etc
How is it that you don’t see 60 or 70 in your de France because they cannot do it
but in a race for 60 or 70 usually with BP or heart problems is a good thing
by a 72 +
Zwift are considering age programs
old is old equals slower
unless you were a pro rider doing 100k plus a day in their time
I don’t take part in many Zwift races but when I’m riding a route, my old competitive nature comes out. I’d like to push for a jersey(sprint or KOM) but being in my late 60’s, there is faint hope of even challenging for a jersey. That’s where I’d like to see age categories.
I came to biking from competitive masters age group distance running. I liked racing with folks who were faced by the same declines in achievable fitness levels due to age. It seemed a fair test of fitness, training and competitive effort. I would welcome the idea of racing by age cohorts to see how I compare, and to give me a goal to strive for.
I think my tactics would be different if I raced only against riders in my age group. I also sympathize with the view of racing against riders of the same ability. Why not offer both options? Or do a pilot program to see which type of race riders choose if given the option? At least, offer badges (gold, silver, bronze) by age category. Might even attract more riders.
i joined zwift at about age 68 and my goal in non racing sprints and QOM timings to be in the top 1/3 to 1/2. Now, 10 years and at age 78, my goal is to not be in the bottom 10%. It is discouraging–doesn’t keep me from riding or trying, but it would be rewarding to have a “win” in a towards the top of the chart kind of way. NOT going to happen unless there are some age groupings. –at least sometimes.
Just started using Zwift a few weeks ago just finding my way around and it’s quite confusing
not very user friendly been writing computer prog when the only person who had a computer was James Bond!!!
any way in my 70s doing what I assume is scratch races against guys who range from 40 to 20 yrs younger so not doing that well
it would be useful to know how I stack up against my age group
seem to me it would be quite a simple task to get an age related value when doing competition
esp when paying for some thing
your not getting so come on Zwift
get you computer programmers out of wood work