If you like to ride and run, our friends at WTRL have just the competition for you! Season 5 of the four-weekZwift Duathlon League bike-and-run race series is about to start. Registration is now open, and the season begins on June 8, 2022.
How the Races Work
The concept is simple: Zwifters will ride as far as they can in 35 minutes, then run as far as they can in 15 minutes, with a 10-minute transition from cycling to running.
The bike races are mass-start, with no drafting, so you will need to select your best Time Trial bike and be prepared to go full gas! (See below for help choosing your fastest TT setup.)
A transition time of 10 minutes allows you to change your shoes and power up the treadmill.
The run event is simple: just run as far as you can in 15 minutes.
In total your race lasts 60 minutes. A perfect 1-hour brick workout!
Individual, Age Group, and Club Competitions
There’s something for everyone with ZDL’s multi-league approach. Get a team of at least four athletes together and you can compete in the Club League. Or if you’re competing solo, there are separate individual and age group competitions.
You must create an account with WTRL in order to register for the series. Event details (private signup links) will be furnished via email.
Picking a TT Rig
The cycling routes for this series are flat enough that an aero TT rig is really what you’re looking for. That said, the new Felt IA 2.0 and Scott Plasma RC frames are your best option for any routes that include hills (races 2 and 4). And race 1 may be a place for a bike swap, if you’re strong enough to reach the Temple KOM within 35 minutes.
I have been fortunate enough to ride the two big mountains in Zwift: the Alpe du Zwift and Ven-Top. These of course based on the iconic Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux real-life climbs and despite being immensely challenging, they were memorable experiences for all the right reasons.
Therefore, when the opportunity arose to test my legs on the real-life Box Hill, I couldn’t pass it up. I was excited to compare the route to that found in Zwift.
But before talking about my experience on the climb, it’s worth explaining where it is geographically and how it has risen to fame.
About Box Hill
Box Hill IRLBox Hill on Zwift
Box Hill is situated in the Surrey Hills, south of London, UK, and is designated an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” (AONB). It is one of 46 nationally protected landscapes in the UK, and has equal landscape status and protection to a national park.
Its direct rail links from London Victoria and Waterloo make it a popular destination. Additionally, it was used during the 2012 Olympic Road Race, where during the Men’s event the climb was tackled nine times.
In terms of stats, it’s not a particularly impressive climb. In fact, if it was situated in the Alpes it would barely get a mention, being only 2.5km in length with an average gradient of 5%, maxing out at 8% with only 129 meters in elevation gain! However, it is its accessibility and proximity to London that gives it its fame.
According to the National Trust, the route has been tackled by 103,268 cyclists a total of 773,437 times. The fastest climb? 4min 37 seconds, at an average speed of 32.5kmh.
It is without doubt the 2012 Olympic Road Race that elevated Box Hill to another level with the event watched by 15,000 on site spectators and a global audience of two million. The route and its surrounding areas forever became associated with road cycling, and it was consolidated further when it was included in the Prudential RideLondon 100 route.
Memoires of Box Hill
In 2012, I watched the Men’s Olympic Road Race at the finish line on the Mall, alongside the wife of recently retired American pro cyclist Tejay van Garderen and the sister of Chris Horner, who were both competing for the US Team. I can recall watching as the British Team sat on the front of the peloton, trying to control the race to bring it home in a bunch for Mark Cavendish to finish off and win the sprint. It was a super strong team that consisted of Bradley Wiggins, who had just won the Tour de France, Chris Froome, who had finished second in service to Wiggins, Mark Cavendish who was the reigning World Champion and had just won the prestigious final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées, Ian Stannard and the Road Captain, David Millar.
My lasting memory of the day was seeing the British Team climbing Box Hill, and I looked forward to the day when I could do the same. Little did I realise that it would be 10 years before I would get the chance to fulfil that ambition.
Box Hill and Zwift
The Box Hill start on Zwift
Zwift launched their London map (including Box Hill) in July 2016, so when I started riding on Zwift and ventured out of Watopia, I was delighted to finally ride Box Hill. For the last few years I have been climbing and descending the famous Hill virtually, and consequentially it’s a climb I have come to know well. I’ve learned that no matter what pace you ride it, whether solo or in a group, it’s always a challenge and therefore I wanted to see how I faired when I tackled it in real life.
Box Hill In Real Life
I came with high expectations, perhaps unrealistic expectations. Ultimately, I think I have been spoilt by Zwift.
I was staying in a hotel close by and my plan was to take the bike and ride up Box Hill. However, the traffic and busy roads meant I was rethinking this strategy before even getting on my bike. This was not looking good.
After checking in at the hotel and getting my bike set up, I decided that perhaps it would be better to ascend the climb from the other side, figuring it would be less busy. From Zwift, I know this as “Fox Hill”, however, this does not directly map in the real world.
To get to the back of Box Hill, I had to navigate Pebble Hill Road. I started to get a feeling of being on Zwift, because there was a conga line of cyclists going up this small incline.
I felt unsafe. The road was narrow, there were oncoming cars and cars alongside me and riders I wanted to overtake. This wasn’t nice and made me realise how busy the British roads have become. At one point, as I was overtaking a cyclist, they realised that couldn’t make the hill so suddenly braked and unclipped, causing me to veer out of their way, nearly getting clipped by a car that was passing too close. I wasn’t enjoying this and was relieved to pull off and commence the climb to Box Hill. This is where I realised that “Fox Hill” from Zwift, does not mirror the descent from Box Hill in real life. In truth, the ascent up Box Hill from the back is pretty much a straight road, where you actually go through a small village called “Box Hill.”
Next, I passed a view point that was nice but full of people and I found myself slowing behind cars as they stopped for one last view. Due to the narrow road, I found myself unable to get by these cars and their descent was furthered hampered as they slowed for the many speed humps that were situated on the road. I had to slow to a stop as I rounded the corner to the Visitor’s Centre which marked the summit, as people walked across the road without looking and more cars joined the convoy for the descent.
This was chaos. This was unpleasant.
Given the lack of progress, I took the opportunity to stop and take photographs. I had to wait several minutes for the road to be clear so I could get a nice photograph that would show the climb in its splendour. As I was stopped, several motorbikes roared past me, along with cyclists on all different bikes. This was busy. Really busy.
I reached the base of the climb and turned around to ascend. I had to wait for one cyclist to start his ascent and two cars to pass, before I could get going.
The lower slope of the climb was straightforward and it was here I caught the cyclist who I had given the head start, and I passed them before the first bend. There was a short bit of road before the hairpin where I had to slow then stop as two cars navigated their way round. As I entered the straight section, more motorbikes sped by. Then it was on towards the final corners before the summit.
Without pushing, I did it in 8 minutes exactly.
As I waited to descend, the cyclists I passed had finished and commented “Well climbed!” which I took to be an equivalent to a “Ride On!”
I then decided to descend for another attempt, this time I would push it a bit more.
Ascent 2
As I descended, I was stuck behind a car and literally had to ride holding the breaks, I was caught by a mountain biker. I turned to him and commented, “It’s more fun on Zwift!” He agreed.
As I started my second climb, my day out nearly came to an early end as a Quad Bike decided to overtake the car that they had been following and came barrelling down at me so fast I didn’t even have time to ditch the bike in the hedge. He squeezed by me with a small gap to spare.
I was frightened and wasn’t hanging around, so I was up out of that saddle and in climbing mode. I wanted off this climb and quickly. I crested in 6 minutes 51 seconds. I continued on to the descent, the way I originally came up, where I was joined by another cyclist.
The cyclist overtook me, and they were a little larger than me in stature, so I sat behind them in the draft, classic Zwift style, but that plan came to an end pretty sharpish as the potholed road resulted in his bike being rattled so hard that his bidon dislodged and I had to manoeuvre to avoid hitting it, ala Geraint Thomas style (you may remember Geraint hit a wayward bidon in the 2020 Giro, causing him to crash and ending his Giro challenge). I sat up and let the rider go, another close call putting me into self-preservation mode.
This was not fun.
Summary
It certainly was an eventful few hours in the saddle, and when you compare Zwift’s version of Box Hill to that in real life, Zwift have accurately recreated the details that are painted on the road and the climb feels very similar, with my ascent times being a good measure of that.
Where Zwift I think has the advantage and why I prefer it, is because it’s simply safer. On Zwift I am not worrying about cars, the road surface, or other cyclists and can cycle at a nice rhythm. If you haven’t ever cycled Box Hill in real life, it pains me to say I don’t think you are missing much. There are plenty of nicer, quieter climbs and areas to cycle within the UK.
They say “never meet your heroes in real life”. Perhaps this should be expanded to “never ride virtual roads in real life” – however, to counter my own point, I can’t help but think how fantastic an experience Alpe d’Heuz and Mont Ventoux are. Hard to say, but one thing remains unchanged: I certainly appreciate riding on Zwift.
What About You?
Have you ridden IRL roads which you’ve also ridden in Zwift? How do they compare?
Today started like every other day. My wake-up routine is extremely precise and inalterable. Around 6AM Luna, my dog, starts hitting me with her paw because she wants food. I ignore her for about 15 minutes until I surrender.
6h15 AM: wake-up routine
Quick number one in the toilet. Luna gets her food, I turn on the automatic coffee machine (DeLonghi, one machine I could not live without), put the whole wheat bread in the toaster. I cut the ham and the tomato, open the door so Luna goes to the garden. I have my coffee done including the milk foam, sit down and open the iPad. I put the live news channel in french for five minutes to confirm the world is as horrible as I left it yesterday, and shift to l’Equipe (sport newspaper) for five minutes.
6h22 AM: the kraken is released.
Today it’s mainly about Nadal win over Djokovic at Roland Garros. Incredible game that kept me awake until 2 AM last night. Then I click on ZI link and…. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
My entire world is collapsing before my eyes!!!!!
I frantically refresh the page again and again, with the same unacceptable and torturing result: error 404.
After three minutes I have no choice but to acknowledge the awful reality: ZwiftInsider.com is down.
6h28 AM: The panic attack, the end of the world.
I start hyperventilating and immediately look for the asthma inhaler I only use in desperate situations.
Heart rate goes to zone 5, I am sweating and about to cry. Everything is blurry, and I barely manage to think properly.
The mere thought that Eric is now sleeping (6.29 AM Central European Time) and may not solve this for another 4+ hours places me somewhere between “totally freaking out” to “absolutely hysterical”.
What if EVERYTHING was lost? Forever?! The frames and wheels performance comparisons! The circuit details! The experiences and collective memories from all the Zwifters of the world evaporated! EVERYTHING!
How will we explain to future generations that we miserably failed in our most basic responsibility towards humankind? That we did not manage to keep the source of all knowledge safe? That our most valuable mission on earth had failed? What kind of legacy are we going to leave to our children?
6h30 AM: Find the responsible party.
I need to find a responsible party, someone or something guilty for this. Who would benefit from ZI going down?
I quickly dismiss the usual suspects. Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, The Joker, Thanos, Magneto… I just can’t picture any of them riding a smart trainer.
6h32 AM: the acknowledgment curve.
I build 10 different conspiracy theories in two minutes, each more absurd than the one before, only to eventually admit I have no clue and no influence on the situation. I will have to accept my fate like the rest of the universe and wait until the disaster is fixed, or not…
It cannot be, it is just a bad dream. In any case, I need some support. I have no choice but to wake up my wife so she can help me through this rough patch.
6h34 AM: getting help.
Me: Honey (I call my wife by a different nickname but it is way too ridiculous and intimate to be shared here), something awful happened…
Her: grmphh… mpffff .. mmmm….
Me: Honey (don’t insist, I am not going to tell you what I call her), something terrible happened.”
Her: wh…wh…whaaaat….. (and falls asleep again)
Me: I am not sure I am going to be able to handle this one, it goes way beyond my tolerance capacity. I mean I am a strong and resilient guy but we all have our limits.
Her: (suddenly waking up and nervous) WHAT HAPPENED?! ARE YOU OK?! ARE YOU INJURED? I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL WITH THE BIKE! ARE YOU OK?!
Me: well, physically I am ok, but something terrible happened, ZI is down.
Her: what do you mean ZI is down?? Wait… what are you serious?! All this drama because ZI is down?! It’s good news it is down! You will finally have another topic of conversation during dinner different from the speed comparison for the last frame that was launched. And I will not have to argue with you on that one-second difference being important or not!
6h36 AM: All by myself again.
She pushes me out of the room, closes the door. The dog looks at me with a mix of compassion and condolence.
I am left by myself. Nobody understands me.
There is a time/space black hole now. All I know is that it is 3PM and ZI is up and running again.
As I don’t trust anyone, I will spend my entire weekend making the inventory of ZI and checking that all the articles and posts are back. One by one.
Hopefully it will never happen again. Not sure I would survive it.
Mountain Massif – The Queen’s Jubilee Celebration Event Announced
The UK and the Commonwealth are celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee with a 2-day Bank Holiday on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd June. To celebrate, I am hosting a special event called the Mountain Massif – The Queen’s Jubilee Celebration Event.
What is the Queen’s Jubilee?
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022 celebrates the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service.
This is a historic occurrence, so to mark it people are uniting in 2 days of celebrations within the UK (and I believe throughout the Commonwealth).
Special Event
To commemorate the occasion, I am hosting a special one-off event called the “Mountain Massif – The Queen’s Jubilee Celebration Event” on Thursday 2nd June.
This event is both a race and a ride, designed so that people can come together and test themselves up the four mountains in Watopia on the “Four Horsemen” route. For those who want to race, the facility is there. For those that want to simply ride, find a group and enjoy the party!
This is a one-off event, starting at 8:00am BST / 9:00am CST. The ride finishes atop the Alpe du Zwift at a custom distance of 60.1km. To sign up, click here.
I have seen this one tearing teams apart. This is dogmatic on both sides, reaching levels of bad faith until now unknown to humankind. If you listen to disc brakes supporters, discs are the ultimate item you can use for anything. You can brake a bike with them for sure, but you can also use them to build a house, bake a pizza, write a book; with a disc brake you are the closest you can be to a superhero. On the contrary, according to rim brake supporters, disc brakes are living proof Lucifer’s influence over the world is greater than ever. Discs are nothing but extracts of the devil’s ribs. “Rim” and “Disc” should be terms banned from the Zwift community.
Zwift vs IRL
The first guy who made this comparison should be decapitated in a public place, like Game of Thrones. Why place the two in opposition? Of course it will never be the same as IRL! Zwift is a simulation trying to replicate IRL road riding in an entertaining way. And this is one of the only video games in existence that actually makes you physically experience something very close to its IRL counterpart. How many times have you actually bled when injured playing Call of Duty?
Should Tron be Forbidden In Races?
I insulted the first person who said that. I had the impression he was threatening one of my children. How dare you challenge the use of my beloved glowing Tron Bike?!?! (However, beyond the symbolic and emotional tie I have with my pink Tron, I get the point. I have experienced racing without a Tron for a few weeks and it is more entertaining in a way. It makes you think way more about the race and make risky choices.)
Do you have the Tron bike?
Staying on the Tron topic, it looks like there are two classes of citizens in Watopia. Those owning the Tron and those still under the threshold of poverty. Because let’s be clear, the Tron bike has a price: 50,000 meters of elevation. If you are up for a good fight, prepare your popcorn in advance and throw that question in any Discord channel. You will immediately create a conflict of apocalyptic magnitude.
What is the best bike for the next race?
I have seen both the smartest and the stupidest theories when explaining the strategy for choosing one virtual bike vs the other. And it becomes a matter of pride: even when your choice of bike was obviously the wrong one, nobody is ever going to admit it post-race. “It went exactly as planned, I made the best choice.”
However, let’s cut that one short all of you heretics: there is one and only one right answer to this question; the best bike is whatever Eric says in ZI.
Have you seen the Yeti in ADZ?
First of all, the Yeti does not exist, it’s bait to get you climbing ADZ again and again. Someone who climbed ADZ more than 60 times is talking here. Whoever tells you they had a long conversation with the Yeti about the meaning of life is lying. In case you didn’t notice, I am speaking from the depths of my frustration from not having seen the Yeti despite my regular visits to ADZ. Each time I see that warning sign “attention au Yeti ” I have the impression a knife is being slowly inserted between my shoulder blades. When the hell am I going to see the freaking thing!?
At what attempt did you get the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels?
I thought I was unlucky by getting them on the 14th climb. I was so so wrong. I have some Coalition colleagues thinking of making an IRL pilgrimage to Lourdes or the Vatican in order to ask for the Lightweight wheels you can get on top of ADZ through a “wheel of fortune” lottery. They have attempted the climb of ADZ so many times in order to get them that they just abandoned the idea. (The good part of this is that it creates perfect occasions to brag about my Lightweight wheels. Each time I ride with one of those guys I make sure I load them on my bike even if we are on the flattest of the circuits.)
Wahoo vs Tacx
The fanboy debate. IPhone or Android? Wahoo or Tacx? Let’s get ready to rumble! Amanda, my Wahoo Kickr v4 2018, is the most beautiful thing in the world. She is permanently in fear that I will be changing her for a younger Kickr v5 2020, or even worse for the sexier Kickr Bike. However, she knows Tacx Neo 2T is not my type and there is no risk I will cheat on her with a Tacx Bike. You just can’t explain it. That’s the way it is.
Smart Bike vs Smart Trainer
Smart bikes are inaccurate! You get watts for free!
What are you talking about, smart trainer sticky watter?
Why would you buy another static bike you can’t use for anything else, super expensive by the way…
Well, ask yourself that same question the next time you are struggling to get your bike out of the smart trainer and swearing because the thru-axle of your rear wheel bike is refusing to close…
Is it a curse of humankind that you enjoy your own toys only if you bash the toys of others?
Zwift is Just a Game
For me this one is a cause of secession from any team or group. Not just a game for me, full stop. Many times I have seen this used as a justification to cheat one way or another. “Why would you care if someone cheats? It’s just a game” or “Why do you put so much effort into it? It’s just a game.” Well, I have made so many friends, and leveraged on Zwift so much during the pandemic… during lockdown I would have gone crazier than I actually am.
How do we manage to get our own kit as a team?
As soon as the question is asked I have the Indiana Jones music theme resonating in my head.
Getting your own team kit on Zwift is both a matter of courage, patience, faith, and luck according to the ones who made it. The recipe is secret and you get to know it only when you make it to the end. Then you sign an NDA in which you commit not to reveal the path to anyone. This is the most challenging escape room in the world. Some say it is easier to reach nirvana than to get your own team kit on Zwift, so it’s quite probable that universal harmony will be reached before your team gets theirs. (It seems it has gotten easier lately though…)
Roglic or Pogacar? Wout Van Aert, MVDP or Alaphilippe? Is Remco Evenepoel a genius or a jerk?
Pogacar / Alaphilippe / Genius. Whoever has a different opinion on any of these three items is immediately excluded from my circle of friends. There are some basic non-negotiable pillars in any friendship. Those are mine.
Is the message off-topic or not?
In a Discord channel someone says something vaguely related to the channel topic and BOOM. You always have someone ready to trigger the “it’s off-topic” flat. Then you have 1,512,554 messages from those saying it is not off-topic and those saying it is off-topic, creating a whole “it is off-topic” off-topic thread in the channel. Oh my….
Who wants to be captain for ZRL?
2:21 PM…… Peter left the group
2:21 PM…… Chris left the group
2:23 PM…… Albert left the group
2:24 PM….. Jonas left the group
2:25 PM ….. Fred left the group
2:25 PM…. William left the group
David, you are the last one in the group, congrats you are team captain.
How the Race Was Lost: Teamwork with Non-Teammates in Crit City
In the past few weeks I’ve found myself racing the 7:30AM PDT Team DRAFT Thursday Race, which happens across 12 laps of Downtown Dolphin in Crit City. Two strong B racers (Oliver Chi and Derek Rush) have been there for the past few weeks, and the three of us have taken several podiums in the past three weeks.
So this week I decided I’d try to coordinate some teamwork with Oli and Derek, to make the race even more fun and interesting. We didn’t quite stick to our original plan, but the final result was good! Here’s the story…
The Warmup
Spinning the legs with Team Twenty24
Lately my Thursdays have started with the 6am Team Twenty24 “Road to Paris” ride – an easy, chatty hour with a couple hundred folks led by multiple world record holder Amanda Coker. Always a fun time, then I spin my legs for another 30 minutes before heading over to Crit City.
Just before heading to Crit City I saw Oli show up just behind me in Watopia. I already knew he and Derek Rush were signed up for the race, and I’d been thinking of asking if they wanted to work together this week to make it interesting. So I asked Oli. He was in. Another rider nearby “overheard” us – Michal Nowakowski from Race3R. He asked if he could join us – which of course is always a yes. The more the merrier!
Then I headed for the Crit City start pens, where I PMd Derek to see if he was in. He said yes, although his legs weren’t great today (or so he said).
I messaged all three riders while we sat in the pens. “Attack on the false flat just after the start banner on laps 4, 8, and 12”. Everyone was in. Let’s see what happens!
Attack #1 – A Bit Messy
The B category had 36 riders, and the race started like most cat-enforced B races in Crit City – a bit of a push for the first part of lap 1, then things settle down substantially with no sandbaggers to push the pace. My “team” just sat in, paying no attention to a solo rider or two going off the front. We had our plan.
As we started lap 4, Michal jumped hard off the front, initiating the attack. He was a bit early, jumping while we were still on flat ground, before the false flat section began. But I chased his wheel anyway, and the two of us got a 5s gap on the group. Oli missed the jump and tried to come across, but couldn’t grab our wheels, so he eased back into the pack. Derek was nowhere to be seen, having missed the move.
Chasing Michal’s big attack
So much for our first attack! The good news is, we could only improve from this point.
Attack #2 – Where To Attack?
As we recovered for a few laps, I decided to change the plan a bit and have us attack on the brick climb for lap 8, to see if it would work better.
Picking a time to attack is sort of an art form. Generally speaking, attacking on uphills is smart, because that’s where gaps form the quickest. Because that’s how physics work!
Think of it this way: if you bump up your wattage 200W above your competition for 30 seconds on a climb, you’ll create a bigger gap than if you’re 200W above on flat ground.
The problem with attacking on the hills is, everyone expects it. So they’re already bumping their power up, and watching for attacks. And that brings us to the other half of choosing when to attack – the element of surprise. I had chosen the false flat as our attack location because it wouldn’t be unexpected. But now I wanted to try the bricks, to see if we could put more hurt into the pack with a climbing attack.
Starting our attack – look at that formation!Check out the pack strung out behind
I messaged the other three riders so we all knew the plan. And this time, we executed it perfectly, jumping hard on the bricks and staying away until just after the start/finish banner. This attack did some real damage, whittling down the front pack from 25 riders to 10. Progress!
Attack #3 – Finishing Fireworks
Michal messaged asking if I wanted him to attack early on the last lap, forcing the pack to chase him while we sat in and waited to initiate a followup attack. Great idea!
I messaged the other three, letting them know the plan. Michal would be the sacrificial lamb early into the final lap, and if everything went well we would attack on the bricks, slingshotting past Michal and dropping other riders. Then it was just a question of whether we could stay away to the finish.
Attacking on the bricksCaught by chasers, time for a breather
Michal jumped hard, getting a gap of a few seconds on the pack. Another strong rider (Harrison) followed him, and I let him go, sitting in the wheels of the pack as they chased.
Then we hit the bricks and Derek, Oli, and I jumped hard. We flew past Michael and Harrison on the bricks, and I could tell we were moving fast (despite no powerups in the race to help us out).
There was just one problem: the other riders had anticipated the attack. Because there’s always a hard push on the bricks on the final lap of Crit City! As Michal messaged “gogogo!” I eased, knowing I didn’t have the legs to stay off the front to the finish. Our attack had dropped another 5 riders from the group, but we still had a pack of 10 sprinting to the finish.
I grabbed a quick breather before the final sprint, then it was time to go all in. Head down, I gave it all I had – but I didn’t have much. Looking up as I crossed the line I could see Derek crossing in 1st, Oli just behind me, and two riders ahead of me (Haslund and Harrison).
Then the results popped up, showing me in 3rd, with Harrison nowhere to be found. Odd.
When I pulled up the results in the Companion app, Harrison was listed in 2nd place, moving me to 4th and Oli to 5th. So the first bit of weirdness is that Harrison didn’t even show up in the results list on my screen, but did show up in the results list in Companion. Oli said he saw the same thing.
But the second bit of wackiness is that on ZwiftPower, Harrison was DQ because he’s classified as an A based on ZwiftPower’s standard categories.
Here’s the problem: this race used Category Enforcement. So if Harrison was allowed to race as a B based on Zwift’s new Category Enforcement setup… should he be DQ on ZwiftPower? Of course not.
Race Organizers – Change Your ZwiftPower Settings To Support Category Enforcement
The basic problem here is that the organizer of this race (presumably Team DRAFT) hasn’t changed the event’s ZwiftPower settings so it will play nicely with Zwift’s new Category Enforcement scheme. It’s an easy fix, though:
Race organizers: if your race uses Category Enforcement, you need to change the “Categories” option for the event to “No category enforcement”. This will ensure riders don’t get automatically removed from results when their ZwiftPower category is higher than the category they race (which is what happened to Harrison).
Takeaways
It was a lot of fun working with a small impromptu team to make the race interesting. Our team of four made a big impact on the race, and got a good result with Derek taking 1st and myself and Oli placing high as well (where we actually placed depends on where you look). Sure, I didn’t win – but that wasn’t really the point. With one of my “teammates” taking the win, I consider this a victory.
A group of four can make a big impact on a race of this size (36 starters) but when you get up to 100 starters or more, you need more riders in order to make a big impact, because your attacks have to be sustained long enough for the pack to really work to catch. It’s that working hard to catch that creates gaps and selections, putting hurt in the legs and reducing the size of the front group.
Next-level teamwork would be picking a protected rider (your strongest sprinter). They could sit in on the early attacks, just making sure they stay with the front pack as other riders work to chase back your team attacks. Then go with the team on the final attack, sitting in the wheels for a leadout and waiting to launch until the perfect time.
Could our final attack have been tweaked to be more effective? Perhaps. Attacking in the same place one lap earlier may have whittled down the pack just as much, but left us with more recovery time for the final sprint.
One final thought: having powerups in the race would allow for even more interesting team dynamics and tactics – in my opinion it’s a bummer this race doesn’t use them.
Feature Request: Group Messaging
Based on today’s experience, it would be really nice if Zwift could implement some group messaging functionality into Companion, for times like this. It sure would have been easier to communicate with my squad if I only had to send 1 message instead of 3 every time we needed to chat!
But that’s a pretty fringe feature request, I suppose. So I won’t hold my breath.
Your Thoughts
Have you ever seen teamwork produce a good result in Crit City? Have you ever created an impromptu team of non-teammates? Share your story below!
This week I am focussing on some of the different communities that host events on Zwift.
DIRT Dadurday Chase Race
A “Chase Race” on Casse-Pattes course, totaling 23.8km. I like events like this as it’s a different dynamic. Cat D head out first and have a 10-minute head start over Cat A.
During winter, I often found myself on a 3R Endurance ride. They were always so well paced and organised. If you fancy a long ride and are unable to get outside, then you won’t go far wrong that joining this one! Easily a good 3.5 hours ride here, hosted on the Neon Flats route on Makuri Islands.
The fourth race in the first-ever race series hosted by Zwift Insider! Full details can be read here.
Thanks to Zwift expanding their Club limits, Zwift Insider’s club has exploded to over 2600 members as of today. Join the Club for easy access to upcoming Zwift Insider events, giveaways, and more fun!
This weekend’s race is hosted on Watopia’s Three Little Sisters route. A challenging route that takes on the Hilly, Titans, and Volcano KOMs before finishing in downtown Watopia.
Zwift has grown significantly in popularity throughout the pandemic as the world’s largest indoor cycling platform and community. The competitive side of Zwift – where racers compete against each other in real-time events – is an important aspect of the platform, with ~20-30% of the user base competing in races (see this look at racing demographics).
Within this racing landscape, there are a number of event organizers, but none more popular than WTRL who, among other events, host the official Zwift Racing League (ZRL) (see here for an overview of the most popular events).
The 2021/22 Season 3 of the ZRL recently concluded, featuring 1,400+ teams competing from across the globe every week. This puts the ZRL miles ahead of any other competitive gaming/esports league and approaching the size of some of the largest amateur sports leagues in the world. A truly impressive feat for Martin and his small team that hosts the events every week.
So what has made this league so incredibly successful?
Team Structure & Communities
Over 60% of teams are part of larger regional and “mega” organizations that each recruit and coordinate 5+ individual teams of 5-10 racers; over 10 distinct organizations fielded 20+ teams last season across hundreds of riders each. DIRT (or “Dads Inside Riding Trainers”), the largest of these, fielded almost 80 teams, though much of the heavy lifting is done by regional sub-teams within the DIRT umbrella.
These organizations have been absolutely critical to the success of the ZRL. Larger organizations allow new riders to quickly find teams within specific timezones/categories, and fielding multiple teams allows significant flexibility for individual riders who might need to back out or become available to race at the last minute. They also provide a sense of community for the riders that keeps them coming back season after season.
These organizations are relatively well-distributed across regions and categories. For a view of which organizations compete where (and who has been most successful) see the below image (or high-resolution PDF).
Top “Mega” Organizations by number of teams in ZRL 2021/22 Season 3:
While the communities have been critical to the functioning of the ZRL, the inherent convenience for individuals of the whole setup likely accounts for much of its explosive growth. Races are at the same time every week across 18(!) different start time options, require racers to show up no more than a minute or two before the start time, and last less than an hour. In no other arena can such a massive athletic competition take up so little of an athlete’s time.
Lastly, ZRL enjoys a significant boost from the legitimacy bestowed upon it by Zwift. As the official racing league of the platform, it is the defacto battleground for teams despite a multitude of other community-hosted leagues. The live-streamed Zwift Premier League, hosted by Zwift and open to the top teams from the ZRL, also adds to its status as the top league.
Conclusion
The ZRL is an impressive organizational feat that attracts tens of thousands of riders who show up every season to compete. Just as Zwift is on the forefront of defining a new virtual-world paradigm, the ZRL is pushing the boundaries of what organized sports could look like in the next decade.
Much has been made of the recent acquisition of competitor RGT’s acquisition by Wahoo and the launch of more “competition-focused” Zwift competitors. But for those platforms to replace Zwift as the top competitive league, they have a steep and long hill to climb to replicate the above foundation of community, convenience, and legitimacy that ZRL has built. It is a climb that has nothing to do with physics or software, but is every bit as important to their future success.
Zwift+Giant have just announced a short, fun race series with a fresh format and new bikes!
The “Giant Gravel Crushers” series is four weeks long, with races happening on Wednesdays at multiple time slots. Each week features two short races, one right after the other.
All riders will be placed on new bikes in game – men will ride the Giant Revolt, while women will ride the Liv Devote. These bikes have not yet been seen in game and aren’t available in the Drop Shop (Zwift says they wont’ be available until June 8th).
Giant RevoltLiv Devote
Category Enforcement
This series uses Category Enforcement, so your minimum category is determined based on your Zwift power history. Category Enforcement makes it easy… no more tracking your FTP or wondering if you’re on the cusp of two categories. Just sign up for any category Zwift lets you sign up for!
There are “open” races (men and women are welcome) and women-only events.
ZwiftPower Results
Series results will be tracked on ZwiftPower, with riders earning points based on finishing position. Here are your league links:
Ready for a bit of climbing? Our newest Rebel Route is a longish one taking you up the Epic KOM in both directions, with some flats in between. The brainchild of James Bailey (a longtime Zwifter/event organizer who now works as an Event Operations Specialist at Zwift), this is a figure 8-ish route with a bit of creative lead-in. Let’s get to it!
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! They are included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
This route begins in downtown Watopia. If you pick “Mountain Route” the game will route you correctly for the first ~6km as you leave downtown, ride through the Ocean Boulevard tunnel, then begin the Epic KOM forward climb, traveling over the suspension bridge. Just after the bridge you’ll need to make your first manual turn: a right onto the cliffside Epic KOM Bypass road.
Interesting bit of trivia: there are no official Zwift routes covering the Epic KOM Bypass in this direction. So you’re definitely on the road less traveled!
Enjoy the scenic views of the bypass road, then hang a left to head up the Epic KOM Reverse. You’ll go up and over this climb (don’t turn to the Radio Tower “bonus climb”), descend all the way back to the Ocean Boulevard tunnel, then turn left at Sequoia Circle and another left at the windmills to head toward the Epic KOM Reverse.
Similar to how we started the route, you’ll climb the beginning of the Epic KOM Reverse, crossing the bridge before turning left onto the Epic KOM Bypass road. At the end of this road turn right to head up the Epic KOM in the forward direction.
Go up and over the KOM, don’t turn to the Radio Tower, then descend all the way down to the windmills and the Marina. Wind your way to the Italian Villas, but turn left onto the Dirty Sorpressa and head toward the Volcano.
Finish up our route by taking the long way around the Volcano, heading over the Glass Bridge and back to downtown to the start/finish banner.
Profile
This route is nicely symmetrical, as we climb the Epic KOM in both directions!
Getting Started + Lead-In
The easiest way to get started is to choose “Mountain Route” from your Watopia route options. This will properly route over the suspension bridge, before you’ll need to turn right onto the Epic KOM Bypass.
Turn by Turn
Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete the Cliffside Epic Double once you’ve begun by selecting Watopia’s “Mountain Route“:
