Our favorite Aussie Lama, Shane Miller, has just dropped a quick video with five workout tips using Zwift’s Companion app. Check it out below!
Tip #1: Show or Hide Workout Graph in Companion
Tape the title bar in Companion app which shows the workout title, number of sections completed, and “Finish in” time. This will show (or hide) a workout graph bar just below this title bar.
Tip #2: Skipping Intervals
Swipe right on the current interval in Companion to skip that interval and move onto the next. (On Mac and PC, use the tab key on the keyboard to skip ahead. You can also skip via the action bar at the bottom-middle of the screen.)
Note: you can’t skip intervals in group workouts.
Tip #3: An Accurate Progress Bar
The in-game interval progress bar is designed in such a way that it looks like you’ve completed a larger percentage of your interval than you really have. The progress bar in Companion gives an accurate representation.
Tip #4: Turning/Route Changing
While Erg mode controls your wattage for you, it can still feel weird to be forced to put out big watts on a descent. Swap over to the map view in Companion and you can select turns there, putting you on the roads you’d prefer.
(Of course, you can use your mouse or arrow keys on Mac or PC to select turns as they pop up.)
Tip #5: FTP Bias Setting Adjustment
Tap the bias setting in Companion to increase or decrease your FTP bias by 10%. This is handy if you’re having an especially tough day, or for those rare “I can do anything” great leg days.
(You can use your mouse on Mac or PC to click the arrows on screen to adjust this setting.)
Cory Greenberg talks about his involvement with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and how he lives and trains as a pro cyclist with ulcerative colitis.
The Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast features training tips from host Matt Rowe (Rowe & King), with regular co-hosts Greg Henderson, Rahsaan Bahati, Dani Rowe, and Kristin Armstrong.
Zwift Academy Road 2021 has been particularly good. The structured training sessions have been tough and sometimes painful to complete, but they’ve left me with a sense of accomplishment. It has also made me realise that I don’t do enough structured workouts, which really stretch me. So I decided to build a structured training session into my weekly riding, and this is where I discovered Le Col Workout Sessions with Chris Opie.
A Bit Special
The first session that I joined was called Le Col Workout Sessions Weekend Tune Up Ramps and was on a Friday at 8:10AM CEST. Having completed the Zwift Academy structured training sessions, I was expecting much the same, simply another automated session. However, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to see that this was not a “copy and paste” of that format. Yes, there was the structured timed sections of the ride, controlling your power, but this ride was actually being led by Chris Opie, an ex-professional cyclist and former presenter with Global Cycling Network (GCN). Chris spent the entire session coaching and genuinely engaging with people.
This was new to me and different. The closest similar experience I’ve had was in June when the Olympic Virtual Series training sessions were hosted and Sir Chris Hoy led one. That wasn’t really coaching, more a training session with Sir Chris Hoy where people asked him questions about his Olympic glories.
However, this session with Chris Opie was planned coaching and it became clear very early on through the onscreen chat that a training community was established and Chris was leading familiar Zwifters through a well-structured and fun session. I joined in and by the end, I was asking Chris if he would care to catch up on the roads of Watopia and chat more about what he and Le Col are doing.
About Chris Opie
For those of you that are not familiar with Chris, he is a British ex-professional cyclist who recently retired from the Saint Piran Pro Cycling Team, who are a British UCI Continental cycling team based in the region of Cornwall in southwest England. Chris had to retire suddenly from the sport in May 2018 following the bankruptcy of one of the team sponsors which led to a halving of riders’ salaries. This resulted in Chris working for Global Cycling Network (GCN) which as you probably know is a hugely popular cycling-related YouTube channel that was launched in 2013.
The desire to race still pulled at Chris, and he still had good legs (as proved to him whilst undertaking a racing challenge on Zwift for GCN) so he decided to return to racing with Saint Piran. Sadly, his racing schedule was compromised by the global pandemic and only as recently as July, Chris has decided to retire from racing. He now dedicates more time to enjoying training towards events and putting his energy into family life, working for Le Col (more on them later), and not hurting himself too much on the bike!
Interestingly, in preparation for catching up with Chris, I asked the Zwift community what questions I could ask him and the first question was “Would you attempt another World Record on the Penny Farthing?” For those of you that don’t know, Chris holds the World Hour Record on a Penny Farthing. His response was “Only if someone breaks the record – it’s so scary and so painful!”
Who are Le Col?
Le Col is a premium cycling clothing brand that was created by Yanto Barker, a British former professional cyclist, in 2011 Their stated mission is to “Make the best performance kit to help you ride faster and further on every ride.”
Their products are worn in the pro peloton and Le Col previously sponsored the Bahrain McLaren Team. They had their own cycling team, Team Wiggins Le Col, in 2019 and their roster included Tom Pidcock, who went on to become the mountain bike Olympic Champion in Tokyo. They now even have their own esports team called The Wahoo Le Col E-Racing Team.
Le Col state that they have “one of the most sophisticated testing networks in cycling, thanks to the constant feedback and testing the Pro Teams provide, pushing the kit as fast and far as any cyclist can go.”
They are able to make enhancements to their clothing designs very quickly because they manufacture the clothing themselves, having purchased a factory in Italy, which allows them to control the end-to-end design and production of their products.
Cycling legend Sir Bradly Wiggins even has his own line of products by Le Col. He noted “I wanted to create a range of cycling kit that captured my cycling world, so I partnered with Le Col, who make the best technical kit on the market, and then added my personal style.”
They offer a range of products. The three signature collections include:
The Hors Categorie Collection delivers comfort and performance due to breathable and luxurious fabrics and feature-filled assembly
The Pro Collection is designed with speed in mind and is form-fitting, aero-dynamic and designed let you breathe as the intensity of your effort increases
The Sport Collection combines function with comfort and is ideal for intense training and dedicated club rides.
In addition to these lines of clothing, Le Col developed clothing specifically for indoor cycling in partnership with Wahoo. With Wahoo’s market knowledge and access to levels of data, Wahoo were able to create kit that has been refined for riding, racing, and training indoors. (Unfortunately, it appears this line is out of stuck currently.)
Le Col are a progressive company, and their foresight with establishing a brand presence on Zwift, including having their own esports racing team, is to be admired. They’re moving from justbeing a clothing manufacturer to creating a cycling community of their own within Zwift.
Le Col’s Training Sessions and Zwift
Chris’ role is a Community Coach and he has the responsibility of organising and hosting all of the Le Col training sessions on Zwift. He has been in this role since February and has watched as the community has grown. He explained to me that each event has a purpose and each is specifically tailored. There are three key weekly events…
Le Col Social Recovery Sessions are hosted on a Monday evenings at 7:10PM CEST. This is a socially paced group ride, with a pace of 1-2 W/KG. The objective is to stay below 2.5 W/KG as this is a recovery ride. Chris noted that it’s “important to ride slow to recover” – which is something I am trying to learn to do.
Chris explained that he has developed all the material that can be read on Zwift about the sessions and to use his own words to explain the Monday session, “Think of this as the ultimate virtual bike ride, where you can ride along, pop your questions on screen, have them answered via our livestream, and listen to the same playlist as everyone else.”
Le Col Workout Sessions Wednesday Kickstart are early morning sessions hosted at 8:10AM CEST and a cross between a spin class and your more traditional cycling interval session. During the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, this event reverts to an evening timeslot.
The purpose is to keep the event dynamic, ensuring there is group interaction between sets. Chris explained that this session “blurs the lines between the entertainment of a spin class and the fitness of cycle training.” The purpose of these sessions is to break up the intensity and the sessions are more VO2 focussed. Chris encourages people to change the intensity of the trainer via the Companion app to tailor it to their needs, appreciating that some days we simply feel better than others. He noted that often people can get caught up and push each other.
These sessions are planned well in advance, and Chris explained that they can take easily half a day’s worth of work to design and get uploaded into Zwift’s system with the correct prompts and timings. This is something that the user community doesn’t get to see. The events often mimic major cycling events that may be going on at the time. For example in April, to mirror explosive Spring Classics races, short, hard intervals were built into the sessions to replicate the efforts of the professional cyclists.
Le Col Workout Sessions Weekend Tune Up Ramps are another early morning session each Friday at 8:10AM CEST. This is designed to activate the legs for an event you may be undertaking at the weekend. It’s not a maximum effort interval session, but if you adjust the difficulty settings on the Companion app, you can have a solid workout. As this is not a maximum effort, it provides Chris an opportunity to talk through the mechanics of training and field any questions that you may have, making this event ideal for newcomers. With a lifetime of cycling and racing experience, Chris is a very helpful host. He said, “We are here to train with you and we have a way of coaching people and highlighting that exercise is enjoyable.”
The training events are all livestreamed on Le Col’s YouTube channel so you can watch Chris live whilst simultaneously cycling along with him. Chris’ sessions are actually unique in the sense that they are all undertaken in a specific studio that has been designed and fully kicked-out with technology to stream these sessions live, including a beautiful KICKR Bike for Chris.
The rides have developed a core following and therefore buck the trend of many events seeing fewer attendees during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Sometimes substitute ride leaders step in, as when Chris took a much-needed vacation, in August. During that time, Jon Warner and Stephen Fisher led the sessions with such professionalism that John was given the nickname “Jon BOT”.
It’s this community that Chris has fostered over the last 9 months that he is really proud of. He told me, “leading rides is the most positive thing, it’s a positive way of sharing your time with people and it’s a healthy way too.”
Like their clothing line, Le Col are always looking to raise the standard. Chris was able to give me a bit of insider information with a tease that there is a big event planned for the start of November which will span two weeks. Watch Zwift Insider for more info on this once it’s available!
Summing Up
If you are interested in joining a developing community that sees regular riders return week-on-week, and would like some structured coaching, then it certainly is worth attending these sessions. If you complete just one event, you unlock a really nice Le Col jersey that you can wear with pride in Watopia and that alone is worth coming and completing a session!
Preview Each Week’s ZRL Course with the Team Electric Spirit Co. Aperitivi Race Series
Want to preview each week’s Zwift Racing League course – or just enjoy a fun weekend race? Join Team Electric Spirit Co. for a fast and furious race series every Saturday!
Each week racers will take on a shortened (where possible) version of that week’s Zwift Racing League course, making it the perfect chance for a little aperitivo for those racing on Tuesday. Whether you want to race for prizes, group ride with your club mates, or hang back at the start and use it as a chance to practice your TTT with your team, all are welcome.
Things are kept simple, with all categories starting together. First past the post wins and all powerups enabled. Best 5 from 8 results will count in the overall series with points allocated based on finishing position with a small number of bonus points allocated for first past the post and fastest through each segment on the course.
The Races
Race are held at 4pm UK time (8am PDT/11am EDT) every Saturday. The courses mirror the ZRL schedule, as will any primes available in each round.
Courtesy of Electric Spirit Co. prizes will be given away to overall and individual race winners. As the sponsor is an alcohol brand, prizes will only be given to over 18s with UK shipping only, you may be asked to verify your age before we send your prize.
Winners will be announced on the Facebook page shortly after the race, please get in touch with Electric Spirit Co. via Facebook to get your prize.
Series points will be allocated based on finishing positions, along with a small number of bonus points for the top 5 fastest through segment (FTS) and first across the line (FAL) on each lap – these segments will exactly match that week’s segments for the Zwift Racing League event.
Your best 5 finishes will count for series points.
Top points scorer overall (all categories combined): 50% off a bottle of gin at www.electricspirit.co and a free Team Electric Spirit cap.
Top points scorer per category (A-D, women & men, excluding overall winner): 50% off voucher for a bottle of Electric Spirit gin.
To keep things interesting we’ll also have some wildcard prizes up for grabs in some of the races, more details before each race!
Rules
Race organizers are trying to keep things as simple as possible but also “very strongly believe in fair racing and will stand for no silly stuff.” Everything will be run as per standard Zwiftpower rules for category limits etc. so please make sure you are familiar with them.
You should enter your usual mixed category. All pens will start together, first past the post wins and all powerups will be enabled.
Final results will be posted in Zwiftpower, so you must have an account to be counted in results and series standing. Race organizers may name and shame riders in the wrong category on their Facebook page.
Zpower riders are welcome to join but will not count in the official results.
All A category riders must have a HRM to count in official results, B&C cat riders will require one for a podium place.
If you enter in the right category, with accurate equipment and race fairly then you will have a great time, if you want more details on exact rules and requirements then please refer to the race details on Zwiftpower, or just ask.
Matt Rowe takes a look at the fifth workout of the Zwift Academy Road program and offers his advice on how to tackle it.
About the Podcast
The Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast features training tips from host Matt Rowe (Rowe & King), with regular co-hosts Greg Henderson, Rahsaan Bahati, Dani Rowe, and Kristin Armstrong.
This weekend’s picks are a rather eclectic mix: two Zwift Academy events, a fundraiser/cause, and a very unique race competition. Dive in!
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Ride
We have already reported about this event in detail (see Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Rides Announced) and it’s certainly worthy event to attend and raise awareness and funds towards finding a cure for these painful and devastating diseases.
There are three events to try, starting on Friday. But the two for the weekend are as follows:
Ride #2: 2 October at 10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST/7pm CEST
A: 1 Lap of France Petit Boucle (61.8/38.4 miles, 483m/1585′)
B: 1 Lap of France R.G.V. (24.9km/15.5 miles, 133m/436′)
ZA Road Workout Workout #5 – Upper Threshold Blocks
This session is going to be a tough one. I’ve been saving this for the weekend because the daunting description means once undertaken you certainly won’t be on top form for racing and a recovery day will be needed.
“This session has you performing 30min of work near your FTP. Starting the first set at a higher intensity means lactate levels will increase slightly at the beginning without time to fully clear. Conversely, starting easy in the last set before building the intensity towards the end means you’ll have to generate hard efforts after nearly 50min of work and cumulative fatigue. Tiring, we know. But totally worth it.”
For those who have completed Zwift Academy Road by undertaking the training independently, now is your chance to see how you have progressed by undertaking a Finish Line Ride. Alternatively, given that some riders may have multiple workouts to complete and still plenty of time to train, this could actually be used as a checkpoint before embarking on the final weeks of intensive training before attempting a “final” Finish Line Ride.
The new routes are particularly good, especially the Climber’s Gambit. It’s a nice change to have a mountaintop finish.
I came across this event by pure chance, and I think this would a great challenge to undertake. Despite the event starting last weekend, there is still a chance to join in and catch up! The Invictus Games Foundation is coordinating a new virtual challenge following the route of the world’s most iconic cycle race – Tour de France. From 1200 (BST) Sunday 26th September to 1200 (BST) Sunday 17th October 2021, teams of 8 will have just three weeks to cover the 2124 miles / 3418 km route.
Participants have the choice of forming their own team of 8 cyclists or joining a Team Unconquered which are randomly selected teams with mixed nationalities, experience, and riding styles (upright/recumbent/hand/tricycle).
I appreciate you have missed a week, but consider it an extra challenge and one reminiscent of the old Tour de France where they cycled through the night, with spare tires on their backs!
This week in our Top 5 Zwift Videos, there’s a preview of WTRL Zwift Racing League Season 4 (or is it Season 1?). As you consider your race category, check out one Zwifter’s reasoning for racing above his category. Finally, there’s a trio of videos about Zwift Academy Road, including explanations of the new baseline rides and how to do workouts on your own.
WTRL Zwift Racing League Season 4 // All you need to know
Si Bradeley is back with details about season 4 of the Zwift Racing League! Learn what’s new this season and get a stage-by-stage preview of the races.
My last EVER C CAT SPRINT on ZWIFT
Have you ever tried racing above your category? Mark Lewis explains why he’ll be doing this in short “sprint” races.
ZWIFT Academy 2021 – Baseline Ride (Advanced)
Tilly Field (Tilly on a bike) explains the Zwift Academy Road 2021 baseline rides and guides you through the advanced route that pro contenders must use.
ZWIFT ACADEMY ROAD Baseline and Finish Line rides – You’re doing them WRONG
Want to learn more about the Zwift Academy baseline ride and prepare for your finish line ride? Sarah LaRoque (Everything Is Photogenic) breaks down the purpose of the rides, the routes, what NOT to do, and how to get the best out of yourself.
START THE NEXT WORKOUT – Zwift Academy Road
More Zwift Academy content from Sarah LaRoque (Everything Is Photogenic)! This time, learn how to do the next workout on your own if you can’t find it in the group workout schedule.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
It’s been 133 days since the last ZRL points race at the end of season 3, and riders have been itching to get back on the horse. The day has finally arrived: the first points race of Zwift Racing League 2021/22 Season 1 happens Tuesday, October 5th!
Held on what is historically a very popular race route on Zwift (Watopia’s Figure 8 Reverse), each race promises to be full of fireworks with two different sprints, two different KOMs, and lots of twists and turns in between.
Let’s dig into the course, including tips for bike choice and strategic options.
Looking at the Route: Watopia’s Figure 8 Reverse
All categories will be covering 1 lap of the course, which totals 29.7km (18.5 miles) with 254m (833′) of climbing:
Figure 8 Reverse covers all the roads of Watopia’s Hilly and Flat routes, in both directions. It begins with a short climb into the Esses, so you’ll be pushing watts extra hard from the start. Then we wind through the Esses, hit a short kicker, and descend to the first sprint of the race, Watopia’s Sprint Reverse.
This is a short sprint (10 seconds or so), but the pack will be strung out heading into the sprint and continue to string out over the cobbles of the Italian Villas and the rollers which follow. There may be a bit of recovery available after climbing the rollers, before the KOM reverse begins. Catch your breath. You’ll need it.
The KOM Reverse is where the biggest splits of the race will happen, dividing those who will remain in contention for the win from those who will chase the leftovers. The first part of the KOM Reverse is the steepest, so be prepared to go extra hard until the road levels out for a bit. After the road levels out, this is a very draftable climb – sit in the wheels and work to maintain a good position.
Then you get another powerup and the recovery section begins. You get a descent down towards downtown before a right turn onto Ocean Boulevard. This is a good place to grab some rest, as the road is mostly flat and other riders probably won’t push the pace, either.
The effort will pick back up as you climb up and out of the ocean tunnel and hit the dirt patches. Maintain your position or attack if you’re feeling cheeky, but you’ve still got the winding slack climb up from the Fishing Village before hitting the long forward sprint. Don’t sap your legs before this sprint, because immediately following it you’ve got a kicker climb into the Esses, and riders may push hard here to create gaps.
Through the Esses and descend to the start/finish banner in downtown. It’s time for the final timed segment – the KOM Forward! This is a shorter climb – under 2 minutes for many A and B riders. It’s also steeper on average than the reverse KOM. Another major selection will happen here, and it’s possible that a small group of punchy climbers will get away for good on this climb. (It’s also possible that such a group will be pulled back on the descent and flat to follow.)
The descent and flat offer a final chance at a bit of recovery, if you’re not tasked with chasing riders ahead. But even in the front group, the pack will be nervous. This is a tricky finish.
The finish really begins at the 28.1km mark as the road ramps up and out of Ocean Boulevard. You’ve got around 1500 meters to go, but don’t expect the effort level to drop much from here on out. Riders will attack on the climb and attempt to go long – a strategy which rarely works, but inevitably does string out the pack and force a chase.
Typically the winner comes from the pack of riders who chases the long attackers, bunches up a bit, then goes hard in the final ~200 meters. An aero powerup is a huge help here.
Riders will be awarded powerups through the start/finish banner as well as the sprint and KOM banners, meaning we’ll get 6 total powerups during the race. Three powerups will be given out at each banner:
Aero Boost (helmet): makes you more aerodynamic (reduces your CdA by 25%) for 15 seconds. Use this to grab segment points on the sprints, to help you get away when attacking hard off the front, and to help you finish fast in the final meters.
Burrito: turns off draft effect for riders within a 2.5m radius for 10 seconds. Use when attacking off the front so opponents have to work harder to follow you, or use do what most people do and use it on flatter ground when the group is really pushing, to make those around you work harder for a bit. Just don’t commit suicide by burrito.
Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 15 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. Definitely most useful on the two KOMs of this route (hint: use it early on both, where it’s steepest). Also useful on the short climb into the Esses after the forward sprint, or the little kicker climb out of the ocean tunnel heading into the finish, especially if you’re doing a long attack.
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
Help your weakness: Zwift Concept 1 (Tron) bike
This route isn’t flat, but it doesn’t contain major climbs, either. It hurts the pure climbers because they can’t gain enough time on the peloton to stay away during the flat sections, and it hurts the sprinters because they get dropped on the climbs. Puncheurs with high 2-minute power and a solid sprint often win the day.
So what’s the best bike for this course? Not an easy question to answer. What are your strengths and weaknesses? We advise you to pick a bike that will save watts when you’re working the hardest. For many riders, that means you want a climbing-friendly bike for the climbs.
Here are current in-game timings of a couple of frame+wheel combinations:
If you just look at timings for the overall route, the Cervelo S5 2020 + DT Swiss Disc will win the day. But this isn’t a TT. It may be smarter to go with something like the Tron or Specialized Aethos S-Works + ENVE 7.8 combination which won’t be quite as fast on flats and descents, but will save you valuable watts on the climbs.
The Pinarello Dogma F, Specialized Tarmac SL7, and Canyon Aeroad 2021 all received an upgrade to the new in-game Dura-Ace 9200 groupset with Zwift’s last update. Great, right? Well… sort of. Here’s the problem: the upgrade is buggy, and it added weight to these frames, making them 19s slower on our ~50 minute Alpe du Zwift climbing tests.
Because of this bug, we’re hesitant to recommend any of these frames for this race at this time. But their timings above aren’t too far off, either, so if you’re a lower-level Zwifter who only has access to, say, the Canyon Aeroad 2021, it may be worth considering.
More Route Recon Videos
Zwift’s vibrant race community continues to up their game when it comes to course knowledge and recon videos. Here are our two favorites for this week’s race:
Sherpa Dave
Si Bradeley
Strategic Options
This is a team points race, and Figure 8 Reverse offers a range of strategic opportunities for smart racers. Here are a few predictions about what we’ll see in this race:
Attacking hard on the first KOM: if you’ve got the power to do it, pushing the pace up the KOM Reverse will inevitably shell riders off the back. This is the most predictable strategy implemented on this route, and it may have the added bonus of earning you KOM points this week.
Focusing on intermediates: with 4 separate intermediates in this race, a rider could certainly earn more points via intermediates than via finish position (see WTRL’s scoring scheme). 1st place in the race earns you 30 points. 3rd place earns you 30 points. But setting the FAL and FTS on one single intermediate earns you 30 points as well! Some riders will go all-in for points on the two sprints (or perhaps the two KOMs) then limp it home for the best finish position they can muster.
Attacking on the first sprint, then continuing to push: especially useful if you’ve got a strong sprinter who thinks they won’t survive the KOM Reverse. Send them hard on the first sprint to grab points, then let them keep pushing the pace to put the hurt on climbers heading into the KOM.
Attacking hard on the second KOM: again, a predictable choice. This strategy is tailor-made for those with high 1-2 minute w/kg, as the steeper forward KOM suits them. Go hard, grab the points, then see if you can stay away from the strung out pack behind for a thrilling finish!
Finish Long, Finish Short: some riders will try to attack from way out on the finish, as the road ramps out of the ocean tunnel. Others will try to conserve and chance it in the short sprint. Both valid approaches, but the long approach works best with a team leadout train featuring one strong sprinter.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on the big race? Share below!
Simon, Shane, and Nathan celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast which has tracked the progress of Zwift, our favourite virtual cycling platform, from the very earliest days.
As a new indoor season dawns, the podcasters are in reflective mood, analysing what Zwift has got right, how sentiment in the community has ebbed and flowed over the past six years and how real friendships, including amongst the three podcasters, have been formed as we sweat over our trainers and talk turkey about riding a bike indoors.
Last week I was asking if someone would be crazy enough to adopt me for the next ZRL season. I have eventually landed in The Coalition, which is Canyon’s community club open to all.
I am already having a lot of fun… though not always. Let me do a quick recap of the week.
The welcome pack started with a Discord chat about the need to combine the colour of your hair with the fur of your pet (no joke), in which I could not participate since I am lacking one of the two ingredients: hair. Thank God having hair is not a prerequisite to be part of the team. Strike 1.
As you discover new teammates and members of the community, you also discover they own new gadgets. Five milliseconds after someone mentioned he owned a “Blowmaster 2000” I knew I could not live without it. I did not even know what it was, I JUST NEEDED one. The following day my Blowmaster 2000 was delivered to me. Strike 2.
Strike 3 of the welcome pack: I was genuinely invited to a Meetup on Saturday morning 10AM CET. The Meetup title was “Officially unofficial Group FTP Ramp Test”. The description said you need to join the Meetup, and select the ramp test workout before the Meetup starts.
It looked suspicious, and I had the perfect excuse not to go since I had already committed to join a friend to ride IRL. But fate is fate and weather conditions made the IRL ride unfeasible. That’s how I ended up going to the “Officially unofficial FTP Group Ramp Test”.
For those who never had the “immense pleasure” of performing a ramp test on Zwift, let me summarize it in a few words: pedal until you die.
The ramp test is a proxy to calculate your FTP, increasing the resistance of your smart trainer by 20W every minute. The beauty of it is that at the beginning of the test it is explained very clearly that the calculation of your FTP is made on your best minute, meaning your last minute, so you should go and go until exhaustion. Pedal until your last drop of blood.
The concept is by definition everything but attractive. “Come and die. There is no other outcome than dying. Be happy about it.”
Therefore, going to a Group Ramp Test is more or less like signing up for collective suicide.
If you have ever watched a documentary showing a herd of wildebeest (gnu) crossing a river infested by crocodiles… well, I felt like I was one of 16 wildebeest (yes, 15 other nutjobs enrolled in the slaughter) waiting for my turn to cross the river.
The beauty of the Group Ramp Test concept is that the collective pressure and emulation has only one effect: you die later, which means you suffer longer for the same outcome.
If you think we are crazy, wait for the next detail: you don’t get your motivation out of positive reinforcement practices, tending to gently push you to overcome your fears and pains by finding your inner you and reaching a higher level of meditative consciousness. For the lovers of mindfulness, this is not the right place.
The way to help you push your limits is to have a bunch of ladies and guys shouting at you permanently through the Discord channel. Some of them would have Sergeant Hartman (from the Full Metal Jacket movie) downgraded to the level of a girl scout gently knocking at your door to sell you strawberry cupcakes.
Your only focus is sticking to the rear wheel of the rider before you as long as you can. And at the exact moment you are absolutely convinced that there is not even an additional milliwatt in you, a cavernous death metal voice shouts “KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP GOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIINNNGGG!!!!”. shaking every single cell of your body and urging you to unconsciously pedal another ten seconds… and another ten seconds… and another ten seconds…
In the end, many of us improved our FTP because of the extra 20-30 seconds squeezed out of ourselves thanks to others cheering and encouraging our effort.
In my opinion, this is as close as you can get to the definition of a team: making each other better simply by working together.
Now, let’s be clear. It has now been half an hour since I finished the Officially Unofficial Group FTP Ramp Test and I still don’t know if I should thank or insult the Meetup organizer. Andy Kempe, I’m not sure I want to have anything to do with you again!
Kudos to Andy, Nils, Lydia, Tom, Matthias, Andreas, Rhys, and many others for the warmest of welcomes to Team Coalition.
I have bad news for you though. I am planning to stick around for a while.
Questions or Comments
Have you ever tried a Ramp Test Meetup? Share below!
