How the Race Was Lost: Dropped By An Invisible Peloton (ZRL Race 1)

The first race of Zwift Racing League Round 2 happened this week in London. Having literally written the ZI race guide for this course, I knew exactly what was in store: we were racing two laps of London Loop Reverse, and all that mattered was Fox Hill.

I didn’t think I’d survive in the front pack up two reps of Fox Hill, but I hoped to finish somewhere near the front of mid-pack. Little did I know, the fates were conspiring against me even before I kitted up for the big race…

The Warmup

The race began at 9:30am, so I ate a carby breakfast early (Malto-O-Meal!), chewed some caffeine gum (300mg of go-go juice), and applied PR lotion to my legs before kitting up and getting on the bike around 9am.

I had seen a Mediacom Cable van drive by around 8:30, slowing in front of my house. I figured it was a service tech out to boost the power to my Internet line, which had just been repaired the week before. (The line had been fully replaced, and the previous tech had said it still was showing low power, so he’d have another guy come out and boost it.) Me, Mr. Optimistic, thought, “Great, I’ll have an even better Internet connection for the race!” Little did I know…

I swapped to my favorite virtual all-arounder rig, the Scott Addict RC with ENVE 7.8 wheels, in hopes that it might help me ascend just a bit faster. Then I warmed up for ~20 minutes, putting in a few digs to get my heart rate up while I signed onto Discord and chatted with teammates.

(We had two regular Kraken riders who couldn’t make it this week, so DIRT teammates Peter Horning and Chris Nicholson stepped in. I hadn’t raced with Peter or Chris, but I certainly admire their willingness to hop in and lend a hand to help us get a few more points.)

Soon enough, it was time to join the London pens (again, because I had already saved my spot).

Lap One

The B peloton jumped out of the pens when the clock hit zero, but there was a palpable lack of urgency in the pack. Everyone knew Fox Hill was where things were going to explode.

I sat in, easily holding a spot a few bike lengths from the front. We rode down into the Underground and exited into the sunlight.

Then disaster struck.

All the other riders disappeared from my screen. “Connect Disconnected” appeared along the top. My Internet connection wasn’t working!

I didn’t even say anything on Discord, because I didn’t want to distract or discourage my teammates. There was nothing they could do to help me anyway. Instead, I bumped my power up, hoping my Internet would come back online quickly and I’d still be with the front pack.

You may not know this, but when your Internet connection drops during a Zwift race, your race isn’t necessarily over. If it comes back soon enough, you may still have a chance! All that’s happened is you’ve lost the draft from other riders, and you can’t see where they are on screen. Keep pedaling, and once your Internet connection is restored, you may find yourself off the back, right in the pack, or off the front, depending on how hard you pushed while riding solo and how hard the pack was pushing.

My connection came back 2 minutes later, and the pack reappeared 8 seconds up the road. I was in 64th place out of 67, but the peloton seemed so close! I upped my watts and tried to chase on, but the pack wasn’t exactly out for a Sunday ride.

By the time we reached the KOM banner I was in a small group comprising 47-51st place, with the front pack 18s ahead. I messaged my group to try to take pulls with the supertuck + anvil, but my message never showed up on screen. The larger/stronger groups up the road were pulling away.

“Don’t have any of us in the front group,” one teammate said on Discord. Crap. This was going to be ugly.

The rest of the lap was fairly uneventful for me. My pack grew to eleven riders, and I was happy to hear on Discord that the chasing group had caught the front, meaning we had three Krakens in the front pack, myself and Wojtek in the chase group a minute behind, and Chris behind us. Perhaps we could salvage a decent result after all.

Lap 2

We all knew what would happen the second time up Fox Hill: all hell would break loose. The first time up was just a primer. The second time, the W/kg beasts would be out for blood.

While our front three were being dropped from the fast-climbing front of the race, I was just doing my best to hang with my pack of eleven. I figured we might catch a few riders from the front, but overall it didn’t make sense to turn myself out beating my group over the top only to lose their draft and get reeled by them again on the flats.

I saved my feather for the final push up Fox Hill, got in the wheels of my group, then began the Box Hill descent. Wojtek, racing his second ZRL race of the day, had dropped from my group up Fox Hill. But we had caught teammate Peter Horning, so overall it was a solid DIRT trade!

Up the road the race was shattered into small groups, but the closest rider was still 57 seconds ahead. I saw no reason to chase, so I just sat in the wheels. Our group now comprised places 40-47.

With less than 1km to go, the fun began. One rider attacked, then another. I tried to be patient, holding onto my anvil for the final downsloping 300m. We hit that section, I activated the anvil, and went all in with whatever measly watts my knackered legs could muster.

42nd place. Ouch.

See results on ZwiftPower >
See activity on Strava >

Watch Race Video

Team Result

With our best-placed rider (Daz) only placing 25th, we knew it was going to be ugly. But we didn’t expect it to be quite this bad:

Yikes. Chances are, this result takes us out of the running for the season. Not that it will stop us from trying, of course. On the plus side… we can only improve from here!

Takeaways

I’m not sure I’ve ever had an Internet dropout cost me a race… typically my Internet is very stable. Apart from that mishap, could I have ridden the race better?

I don’t think so. I set a new 10-minute power PR in the first 10 minutes of the race, thanks to my effort chasing back on. Set a new Fox Hill PR, too! Even if I’d known the Internet connection would return after two minutes, I’m not sure I could have pushed harder while alone.

That said, I’ll admit it’s really tough to turn yourself inside out with nobody else on screen and no idea if anyone will ever show up. So I there’s still that nagging question in my mind, wondering if I could have stayed in touch with the front on that first climb.

But even then, would it have made a difference overall? Probably not. We needed another 29 points to move up just into 8th place, and I highly doubt I would have finished 29 spots higher even if I came over the top of the first Fox Hill in touch with the front group.

As much as I’d like to blame the Internet drop, the truth is this was just not my ideal course, and we’re facing some stiff competition in our division. But that’s ZRL life.

Your Thoughts

How did Fox Hill treat your team? Did you save your anvil for the finish? Share below!

The second race of Zwift Racing League 2023/24 Round 2 happens Tuesday, November 21, and we’re in Scotland for a short, sharp points race on Glasgow Crit Circuit.

With two intermediates per lap, including one just seconds after the race starts, there’s much to discuss along with our usual topics of bike choice, strategic options, and crucial segments. Let’s go!

Looking at the Route: Glasgow Crit Circuit

All categories are racing five laps of the Glasgow Crit Circuit route for a total race length of 15.3km with 166 meters of elevation. We aren’t sure why WTRL made this race so short (it’ll be over in less than 25 minutes for many), but one thing is for sure: with the race so short, and two intermediates to contest each lap, it’s going to be hectic.

Here’s a 3D view of the route:

The key section each lap is The Clyde Kicker: a short (300-meter) two-stage climb with a flat bit in the middle. Punch, rest, then punch again. If you have a feather powerup, use it here before you cross the start line, since the powerup lasts long enough to get you through to the finish.

The Champion’s Sprint is the other intermediate on course, and it will actually be contested five times since it’s included in the lead-in before the first lap even begins, but the final time through won’t count for segment points (see late-breaking news from WTRL). Because of this, expect a very fast start – you’ll need to be sprinting (or close to it) for the first 40 seconds in order to stay with the group through the lap banner which marks the end of your first Champion’s Sprint effort.

FAL points will be grabbed on that lead-in, but expect the FTS points to be earned on later efforts, as riders will have powerups in hand, trimming valuable time off their sprint segments.

The Champion’s Sprint is only 200 meters long, but expect the pace to pick up before that each lap as the group turns left and hits the sprint’s straightaway. Use your aero or draft boost powerups here for maximum effect.

The final time through the sprint will take us through the race’s finish line, but again, it isn’t giving out FTS or FAL points the last time through. Just those crucial finishing points!

Read more about the Glasgow Crit Circuit route >

PowerUp Notes

Three types of powerups will be awarded during this race: the feather, van, and helmet. Powerups are weighted equally in terms of probability. As long as you’ve used your powerup before crossing the Clyde Kicker arch or Champion’s Sprint arch, you will receive a new one, for a total of 10 powerups given during the race.

Lightweight (feather) (33%): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on The Clyde Kicker, which is the route’s longest climb plus a hotly-contested points segment.

Draft Boost (van) (33%): increases the draft effect you are experiencing for 40 seconds. Use at higher speeds (flats and descents) when you are already drafting off another rider (since this powerup only helps when you are drafting.) Great for recovery, and also effective in trimming time off your Champion’s Sprint (or even Clyde Kicker) segment!

Aero Boost (helmet) (34%): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds. Use at higher speeds (flats and descents), especially when no draft is available (although it is still useful when drafting.) You’ll want this if you’re going for points on the Champion’s Sprint, and you’ll also want it for the end of the final lap.

Bike Frame + Wheel Choice

An aero bike is the way to go on the Glasgow Crit Course, because the only climb (The Clyde Kicker) is so short and fast that a lighter bike won’t make much difference. So we recommend the Venge S-Works or Felt AR frames with the DT Swiss Disc wheels.

The Tron bike isn’t a terrible choice here, but you’ll lose a bit of speed in that crucial final sprint.

See Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot) for more nerd-level detail on frame and wheel performance.

More Route Recons

Many recon rides are held each week on the upcoming ZRL route, and they even give you double XP! If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and do some recon.

Si Bradeley

Strategic Options

Points Distribution, Glasgow Crit Circuit (5 Laps)

This chart shows the maximum points a team of 6 could earn in the race.

How will the race unfold, and what strategies will riders employ in the first points race of round 2? Here’s what we predict:

• Early FAL: as mentioned above, the first 40 seconds of the race will be hectic, as some riders will go all-out to grab FAL points through the first Champion’s Sprint.
• PowerUp-Based Efforts: riders may let their powerups decide when they attempt to grab segment points. Got a feather? Go after the Clyde Kicker. Got an aero? Go after the sprint.
• Strength-Based Efforts: many riders will contest just one of the intermediates (the climb or the sprint) based on their strengths. Got lots of W/kg? Go with the Clyde Kicker. Got pure watts? Go with the sprint. This is where a team with balanced strengths is a huge benefit. The trick for every rider employing this strategy is to conserve energy by sitting in on the segments you aren’t contesting, without getting dropped!
• Pure Survival: some riders will simply try to survive in the front group to the finish. But be warned: intermediate points make up over 3/4 of the race’s points, so if your team isn’t chasing intermediates, you will lose.
• Breakaway Glory: the Glasgow Crit Circuit is suited nicely to breakaways, and Pack Dynamics 4.1.1 has slowed the groups down a bit. Could a rider (or a team) attack on one segment, then stay away through the end of the next? Or longer? It wouldn’t be easy, but it sure would be glorious!
• Spin and Sprint: if you can’t hang with the front of the race, but have decent sprint power, you might allow yourself to get dropped, then grab the wheels of the group as they lap you, using their draft and a powerup to sprint fast and grab FTS points on either of the segments. (Some riders did this in the ZRL Semi-Finals last March, but you have fewer chances this time around since the race is only 5 laps long.)

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!