• Get Started
    • Get Started on Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Kit Unlock Codes
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Top Wheel-On Trainers
      • Top Direct-Drive <$900
      • Top Direct-Drive >$900
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List of Routes
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Rebel Routes
    • Speed Tests
  • News
    • Events
    • Game Updates
  • Shop
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Get Started
    • Get Started on Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Kit Unlock Codes
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Top Wheel-On Trainers
      • Top Direct-Drive <$900
      • Top Direct-Drive >$900
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List of Routes
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Rebel Routes
    • Speed Tests
  • News
    • Events
    • Game Updates
  • Shop
More
    Sign in
    Welcome! Log into your account
    Forgot your password? Get help
    Privacy Policy
    Password recovery
    Recover your password
    A password will be e-mailed to you.
    Tips & TricksRacing

    Lucianotes: PowerDowns

    Luciano Pollastri
    By Luciano Pollastri
    January 25, 2022
    48

    What if in parallel to PowerUps, our worst nightmares came true and there were PowerDowns in Zwift? 

    The closest thing to a PowerDown we currently have in the game is if you misuse the Anvil powerup in a climb, making you 50kg heavier for 30 eternal seconds. If you don’t believe me you can ask Edu, my former Jerbos teammate, who is still having nightmares about the day he mistakenly activated the Anvil at 9% gradient in Box Hill while he was Top 10 in a ZRL race. Dropped to 25th in a few seconds:

    Imagine PowerDowns are randomly assigned and triggered during a race. I have already seen some violent spontaneous reactions when not assigned the optimal powerup. Imagine if you were assigned the worst PowerDown?

    Can you imagine the riders next to you accelerating when they see you have been cursed with a PowerDown? How cruel would that be?

    Here is my list of 11 nasty imaginary PowerDowns (plus one bonus extra).

    #1: No Pedal

    Your clip-in pedals disappear, you cannot push on them as you normally would, 25% less power for 10 seconds.

    The irony, of course, is that none of our in-game bikes have ever had pedals…

    #2: Inflation

    Additional 5% gradient for 15 seconds.

    It could bring you up to 23% on NYC KOM.  Too bad if you are a heavy rider. Have fun!

    #3: Wind Blower

    Within the pack or not, your draft disappears and you have a 60km/h headwind for 15 seconds. 

    Don’t complain, your Zwift avatar is just experiencing the feel of the four massive fans you have in your indoor setup.

    #4: Quicksand

    Rolling resistance x4 for 30 seconds.

    By chance you are on a gravel bike? Then you are safe. If not, you are going to be swallowed and digested by the dirty road faster than Homer Simpson with a donut.

    #5: The Torque

    Your cadence is limited to 60 RPM for 30 seconds. 

    No matter if you spin faster, it does not take it into account. You’d better shift those gears to the highest development if you don’t want to be dropped. 

    #6: The Spinner

    The trainer difficulty is set at 20% for 30 seconds.

    Now you need to increase your cadence big time in order to produce the same amount of watts.  HR spike guaranteed! 

    #7: Cruise Control

    Speed limitation at 35km/h for 20 seconds.

    You are on a hill? No problem. (Unless you are racing with Pogacar the probability your competitors are above 35 km/h is minimal.)  You are riding Greatest London Flat? Say a prayer and prepare yourself to sprint to rejoin the pack.  

    #8: Autopilot

    ERG mode is blocked at whatever power you are for 15 seconds.

    It is really like flipping a coin. It can go utterly crazy. If you were in the middle of a huge effort you would need to burn tons of watts. If you were supertucking or at 90w, prepare yourself to be dropped. 

    #9: The Fall

    You lose 10 positions. 

    That would be quite OK if you are at the front or middle of a big pack. But if you were hiding yourself at back, tail gunning and trying to benefit from the draft to the most extent… you have a problem. You might just fall next to the guy who forgot to start and is still in the pen!

    #10 No friends

    This is kind of a reverse ghost power down. All other riders disappear for a minute. 

    You don’t know what is going on. Has someone attacked, has the pack accelerated? You have no friends, exactly like IRL. 

    #11: The Loop

    Double U-turn.  The notion of uselessness brought to the maximum level.

    As you do your double U-turn, you come back to the exact same place you were 5 seconds ago and the pack is gone. AAAARRRRGGGHHH!

    #12 Bonus Extra Nasty Power down: Stop & Go

    Like a Formula One pit stop, your avatar decelerates and stops. You need to start as if you were in the pen. 

    Do this to me in the middle of an intense effort and I might implode into a million pieces of frustration. There is nothing worse for me than stopping when I’m flowing! 

    Your Ideas

    Got ideas for painful PowerDowns? Share them below!

    Related Posts

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    ReddIt
      Luciano Pollastri
      Luciano Pollastri
      Luciano is a French-Argentinian living in Madrid, Spain. He landed by mistake on Zwift in March 2020, and, according to his wife, staying there because of some strange variant of the Stockholm Syndrom yet to be diagnosed. Passionate about all the little things making us feel alive and together when being part of a team.

      48 COMMENTS

      Subscribe
      Log in using
      Notify of
      guest
      Log in using
      guest
      48 Comments
      oldest
      newest most voted
      Inline Feedbacks
      View all comments
      Mick Such
      Mick Such
      3 months ago

      Absolutely brilliant idea for racers.
      But you forgot “The Dreaded Knock”. No power output for 5 seconds as you take a gell to recover.
      I would love to see these come into effect on Zwift.
      Imagine if you could pass it on to someone else randomly in the pack. Ouch. 😮

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Mick Such

      Hahahah. You can throw power downs to others,
      !

      1
      Reply
      Guill666
      Guill666
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Mick Such

      It s zwift, not Mario kart 🙂

      -1
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Guill666

      I took out a part where I was mentioning Mario Kart! Banana slipping!

      0
      Reply
      Arend teRaa
      Arend teRaa
      3 months ago

      I’ve seen people using #11 doing donuts!

      How about “The Parachute” with a small drag chute opening up behind you

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Arend teRaa

      Nice! I would definitely send you a trash talking message through the chat to increase your frustration!

      0
      Reply
      Unicorn
      Unicorn
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Arend teRaa

      well that’s kinda the anvil effect

      0
      Reply
      Jimmy
      Jimmy
      3 months ago

      There’s an option to throw away the power-up, so negative powerups wouldn’t really impact anyone unless they didn’t realise and hit the button to activate.
      To have them randomly triggered would simply put people off racing and the backlash on Zwift would be big. Imagine being in the top pack and then one of these drops you out of the race. A fun idea in theory but not for competitive racing.

      0
      Reply
      Karl Slingo
      Karl Slingo
      3 months ago

      how would it be to be able to throw these power downs at other racers..? Think red shell in Mario Kart.

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Karl Slingo

      We all thought the same
      ! Banana!

      0
      Reply
      Charles Rogers
      Charles Rogers
      3 months ago

      Love it. You missed one, though – the flat tire. Costs you two full minutes.

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Charles Rogers

      1 minute if you are on rim brakes, two if you are on disc brakes hahahahahahaha. Wonderful!!!

      0
      Reply
      Robin
      Robin
      3 months ago

      Well…no ! Anything having as a result to make me loose all the precious efforts I gave would be a good reason to quit Zwift. No way I will ever enjoy a game where an arbitrary or random thing as those power downs could make me get dropped. I would not mind if it wasn’t too hard to get back into the pack after, say, a 5 sec gap, but most of the time it just needs for too much watts to come back into the peloton (especialy with double-draft activated).

      0
      Reply
      Fabrice B.
      Fabrice B.
      3 months ago

      OMG!!! I laughed all article long… seriously, that has to remain a joke… would be awful 🤬🤬🤬

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Fabrice B.

      If one day Zwift creates those, I will need to hide in a bunker for the rest of my life.

      0
      Reply
      Derek
      Derek(@dpr4473)
      3 months ago

      Please … DO NOT GIVE ZWIFT ANY IDEAS!!! It’s hard enough holding the wheels of 60 yr-old zpower riders pulling everyone along at 6w/kg.

      0
      Reply
      Ian M
      Ian M
      3 months ago

      the “Sneaky Seat Grab” for 10 seconds you require no power output to maintain the same speed of one rider you are drafting. said rider loses 100 watts while you are holding their seat.

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Ian M

      Mouhahahahahaha! Utterly cruel but sooooooo goood. MOuhahahahahahah! Love it!!!!

      0
      Reply
      Ben
      Ben
      3 months ago

      What about “The Cardboard”
      Makes you,your entire team and one or two other random teams hit the tarmac and have to catch back on injured.

      Too soon?

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Ben

      Hahahahahaha. I would call it the Bernal then (ie yesterdays accident hitting a bus)

      0
      Reply
      Mike
      Mike
      3 months ago

      Nice one Luciano!!
      How about The Garmin……suddenly every record of your ride disappears for eternity…….

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Mike

      If Zwift touches any of my data there is a high likelihood I become violent. I mean really violent 😂

      0
      Reply
      Bendtsen
      Bendtsen
      3 months ago

      How about a “Bjarne Riis”. Your bike is thrown in a ditch.

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Bendtsen

      😂😂😂

      0
      Reply
      Gary C
      Gary C
      3 months ago

      Stop and Go should just be renamed ‘Puncture!’
      Should have a Pile Up Power Down – which makes you and nearest riders around you Stop for 10 seconds too! How evil hahaha

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Gary C

      Hahahahaha. A burrito power down on the power. Interesting

      0
      Reply
      Eric Schlange
      Admin
      Top Member
      Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
      3 months ago

      I love the idea of a PowerDown race (but let’s keep it short) where EVERYONE gets a random PowerDown at some point. I wouldn’t race it all the time, but it would be fun. Sure would make the live stream interesting…

      0
      Reply
      ShermanO
      ShermanO
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Eric Schlange

      I would race that. Make the last several kilometers off limits so everyone has the chance to recover for the finish, but you have to be ready to react at any time before that.

      Last edited 3 months ago by ShermanO
      0
      Reply
      Jeff
      Jeff
      3 months ago

      The Inverse – your gradient is inverted. A 5% climb is now a 5% downhill or vice versa until there is a +/-2% change. Use on a flat at your own risk!

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Jeff

      Nervous Breakdown guaranteed!!!

      0
      Reply
      CouchTo1200K
      CouchTo1200K
      3 months ago

      How about The Signal Drop, The Swerving Rider(s), and The Flickering Peloton?

      Oh wait…

      0
      Reply
      Ilari K
      Ilari K(@ilari-koivusalo)
      3 months ago

      Power transfer = 20% of power you produce will be transfered to five nearest competitors or team mates for 15 sec.
      Here is also tactical element for teams to use.

      Last edited 3 months ago by Ilari.koivusalo
      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Ilari K

      Follow the right guy!

      0
      Reply
      Unicorn
      Unicorn
      3 months ago

      Funny you should mention the Anvil. Seems like multiple timezones in zrl had that experience on Box hill. First time I encountered the Anvil., luckily racing in front group of 5, last rider sitting on the wheel. and then the mistake to overwrite them all. 6. rider used the anvil- and we left her in the dust. Awesome race 😉 lol – Happy to learn from others mistakes

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Unicorn

      The mistakes of others are always the funniest way to learn. !!!

      0
      Reply
      Mark Napier
      Mark Napier
      3 months ago

      There are some more realistic IRL power downs — flat, missed shift/dropped chain, stuck brakes….
      We could have another burrito… Bad burrito … food poisoning reduces your power by 50%.

      0
      Reply
      bolanbiker
      bolanbiker(@bolanbiker)
      3 months ago

      Dropped chain. Unfortunately, got that power down without Zwift’s assistance a few times. 🙁

      0
      Reply
      M. d. s. Günther
      M. d. s. Günther
      3 months ago

      The Dumoulin! Your character will jump off the bike for a number 2!

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  M. d. s. Günther

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Difficult to implement thouh.

      0
      Reply
      EndUser
      EndUser
      3 months ago

      What no banana…na…na…na…

      Or

      The 1 in a million end of the world … Snap half the race participants get dropped Xanos approves

      0
      Reply
      Jordi AB
      Jordi AB
      3 months ago
      Maybe zwift could design some signs to comunicate other people (partners) keywords like: try to escape from the group, let's stick together, we are going to catch the ones in front, I'm tired,  I can not anymore ...
      
      0
      Reply
      DTH
      DTH
      3 months ago

      How about “The Lance”, allows you to cheat during a race and apparently win, only to be stripped of your ill gotten glory even after years of lying about it.

      0
      Reply
      Matt 3595
      Super Member
      Matt 3595(@straightlineboy)
      3 months ago

      I think rather than them being randomly triggered which would make racing too much of a lottery it could work if you were given a short time, maybe only 2-3 minutes to activate them so you’d have the opportunity to minimise the damage that they would inflict and if the timer runs out then they are automatically deployed

      0
      Reply
      Luciano Pollastri
      Author
      Luciano Pollastri(@luciano-pollastri)
      3 months ago
      Reply to  Matt 3595

      I like it! So you need to tactivcally manage the PowerDown. So the same way we look for PU optimization, we would look for PD mitigation… that’s really a good idea

      0
      Reply
      Stefano Deriu
      Stefano Deriu
      3 months ago

      Hey missing one power down.. do not forget next time for Power Downs VOL 2 ! 🙂

      0
      Reply
      Mark Larson
      Mark Larson
      3 months ago

      Late to the party here…the overheat power up. Turns off all fans in the pain cave for 1 minute. Probably only works with the Wahoo Kick’R headwind.

      0
      Reply
      Andreas Reininger
      Andreas Reininger(@andir3x)
      3 months ago

      I need this ingame asap

      0
      Reply
      John O'Neill
      John O'Neill
      2 months ago

      Most would be buggers except The Torque as my cadence is under 60 rpm anyway – IRL and in the virtual world! They’ll probably have a high cadence penalty for me!

      0
      Reply
      wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

      Free Zwift Trial

      Create Account

      Newest Featured Posts

      adidas x Parley Run for the Oceans 2022 Announced

      Events

      Zwift Racing League Finals Guide: Sprinter’s Playground (Giant Tips)

      Racing

      Rebel Route: Dirty Temple KOM Loop

      Routes & Maps

      Support This Site

      Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. See how you can support Zwift Insider!

      This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs.

      This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts.

      Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy

      Privacy Policy

      [email protected]

      Latest articles

      adidas x Parley Run for the Oceans 2022 Announced

      Zwift Racing League Finals Guide: Sprinter’s Playground (Giant Tips)

      All About this Weekend’s “Ride Like King 14” WBR Benefit Events

      Popular Categories

      • Racing862
      • News693
      • Training & Nutrition558
      • Interviews429
      • Events356
      • Routes & Maps286
      48
      0
      Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
      ()
      x
      | Reply
      Comment Author Info
      :wpds_smile::wpds_grin::wpds_wink::wpds_mrgreen::wpds_neutral::wpds_twisted::wpds_arrow::wpds_shock::wpds_unamused::wpds_cool::wpds_evil::wpds_oops::wpds_razz::wpds_roll::wpds_cry::wpds_eek::wpds_lol::wpds_mad::wpds_sad::wpds_exclamation::wpds_question::wpds_idea::wpds_hmm::wpds_beg::wpds_whew::wpds_chuckle::wpds_silly::wpds_envy::wpds_shutmouth:
      You are going to send email to

      Move Comment


    • Related Posts