I wouldn’t even consider beginning a hard workout or lining up in the pen without a thorough warmup. I can’t quite put my hand on it, aside from reciting the copious scientific research and conflicting evidence, but there is just something about my body that tells me I need that time to stoke the furnace and prime the pump.
It just feels right, and the older I get the more important it seems to have become. There is theoretical evidence that the same can be said for pre-ride warmup of specific muscle groups. The concept of Muscle Activation, otherwise known as pre-activation or corrective warm-up, is the act of isolating a target muscle through active exercise prior to the main activity.
What is Muscle Activation?
Our predominantly seated lifestyle causes the gluteals and deep core muscles to shut down due to improper posture and biomechanics. The inactivity of these muscles and the emphasis upon the quads, hip flexors, and hamstrings creates poor movement patterns and the potential for injury.
This muscle imbalance also limits performance and inhibits training progress. Through Muscle Activation athletes provide a stimulus to inactive muscle groups prior to the activity, facilitating their efficient function.
Why is Muscle Activation Important for Cyclists?
The gluteus maximus is one of the largest muscle groups in the body, and when aided by the smaller medius and minimus, provides hip stability and crucial power production during the pedal stroke. Unfortunately, positioning on and off the bike causes this vital muscle group to underperform. The lower back and core muscle also fit into this category.
When other muscles compensate, such as the quads and hamstrings, the weak muscles continue to get weaker.
Strengthening the Mind-Body Connection
Muscle Activation is, in theory, ‘brain training’: strengthening the brain-muscle connection to optimize the brain-body relationship. By focusing on a muscle and visualizing it to contract, the strength of contraction improves through enhanced fiber recruitment. Performing slow, controlled movements while really focusing your mind on the muscles you’re using maximizes activation.
How Are Muscle Activation Programs Performed?
Activation exercises are basic motions meant to isolate and engage a specific muscle. Muscle activation movements should target a singular muscle to facilitate a maximal contraction and feel its engagement. The key with pre-activation is to warm up and engage the proper muscles without pre-fatiguing them (which would make them less active).
Take it slow and controlled, making each repetition deliberate for a maximal contraction through a full range of motion.
Focus upon really thinking about the muscles you’re trying to activate.
Perform 8-12 repetitions and two sets with very little to no resistance.
Stay tuned, as in the next edition of this series I will introduce the theory behind the benefits of plyometric training and how performing plyometric exercise can improve your cycling performance.
Let Us Know!
Is your warmup routine unique or interesting in any way? How important is a warmup to you? Do you feel like you need to warm up your brain as much as you do your legs? Let your fellow Zwifters know in the comments below!
Matt and Sarah bring in one of the hottest names in triathlon, Paula Findlay! She joins to chat about everything she’s been up to lately (hint: it’s a lot). Fresh off of a win at the PTO Championship in Daytona, Paula talks about how her prep for this race was different than most, and what lessons she learned that she’ll apply to future races. We also get first dibs on talking about her new bike sponsor, Specialized!
About the Podcast:
The Zwift PowerUp Tri Podcast is hosted by former pro triathlete Matt Lieto and Zwift Academy Tri mentor Sarah True. Both are passionate about lending their in-depth knowledge of the multisport to the Zwift Tri audience.
For a year I have been obsessed with the weekly WTRL Team Time Trial, so I asked Eric if I could share my obsession with you all, in weekly doses.
Each week I will give you a profile of the upcoming route, guidance on bike choice, and some target times if you want to aim for the Premiere League (top-10 in each coffee class get to be in a special race live-streamed on YouTube).
If you can’t ride, or even if you can ride, but want more action, don’t forget to tune in to the live show on Zwift Community Live’s YouTube Channel at 6:15 (UK time).
Review of Watopia Hilly Reverse
I think I have been pretty clear about how much I love Hilly Reverse as a TTT course… it’s technical enough to be a challenge, but not so much that everyone blobs up desperate to survive. I rode with the Rowe & King Vixens having lost my Hyenas captain spot to arch-rival POD. Vixens had a storming ride, ending up 43rd in Latte. I held my own until the last ascent of the KOM where I took lead up the steep bit then my legs fell off… still I finished only 36 seconds behind them.
From Captain Trigg’s brilliant ride report: “On the final climb they paused for a few seconds to regroup before descending to the finish. Sherpa had pulled up lame in the final furlong and I thought of sending a man out there with a gun, but the thought of it brought a lump to my throat as I remembered his heroics last week.” I got a lap PR first time around, 2nd PR on lap 2, and 4th best personal time on lap 3… so with that and not being shot on the field I’m pretty happy!
It looks like everyone had as good a time as the Vixens, with course records set in Espresso, Latte, and Mocha in both mixed and Vienna. Only the Frappes (mixed and Vienna) could not equal their efforts from September, and regardless, the PL spot time is faster across the board (see table).
Our friends at WTRL WW HQ didn’t have such a great night though! Once more Zwiftpower melted down, meaning another overnight shift to manually process. Well done holding it together chaps!
Here is a chart of the PL cutoff for Watopia Hilly Reverse (I have simply used the 11th fastest team in each category).
Category
July ‘20
September ‘20
February ‘21
Vienna
42:15
42:55
42:09
Doppio
36:28
37:27
36:13
Espresso
38:11
37:36
37:30
Frappe
39:05
38:51
38:15
Latte
42:26
42:12
41:30
Mocha
50:38
48:43
46:00
Greater London Flat
This week is a two-lap race with a long lead-in. Greater London Flat was last ridden in a TTT in December, and before that in July and April. In April I was with the Paris-based CICC-B team but had a mechanical, in July and December I was with R&K’s Latte team, the Hyenas. This week I will be an honorary lady, with the R&K Vixens.
The ride starts with the usual London lead-in from the Tower along the Thames before taking the sharp right turn up the hill to Trafalgar Square. Then it’s a quick up and back along The Strand before heading on to The Mall for the start/finish gate to start lap 1.
Each lap is pretty straightforward. Up and down Constitution Hill (not very hilly), and along Birdcage Walk. Don’t bother looking for the birds in cages as they disappeared once James the 1st popped his clogs. Onto Millbank, running alongside the Thames again, which turns into Grosvenor Rd, then turn right onto Chelsea Bridge Rd. You are now 12km into the ride.
1km later there is a very slight bump up as you head around Sloane Square and on to Sloane Street. From here there’s a false flat (2%) until you hit Brompton Road at 14km. You will pick up speed as you head into the Hyde Park Corner underpass, then lose it again as you head up Piccadilly. The Piccadilly ramp is the most arduous aspect of the lap – 1km at around 3% – ending when you make the sharp turn onto St James Street. After that, it is 1700m downhill or flat all the way to the start/finish gate.
Being so popular, this route has plenty of resources. There is Zwift official race recce that breaks the race down well. As always the recce is an analysis of a scratch race rather than a TTT, but good reading all the same. It highlights the two main areas to be aware of – Northumberland Ave (from the Thames to Trafalgar Square) and the Piccadilly rise.
This is one of the flatter routes in Zwift and as such aero rules. I will be on the S-Works Venge with the fabulous and pretty 858/Super9 wheels. On this course, this setup beats the Tron handily.
S-Works Venge + 858/Super9 wheels
Here are some recommendations on equipment at various levels:
Level 45 get those 858/Super 9 wheels and pair them with the S-Works Venge
I know I say it every week… get the Tron! It may not be the fastest on this route, but only one other bike/wheel combo beats it… and you need to be Level 45 to get that combo!
Route Recon Rides
This is a hugely popular route for races and group rides. Plenty of places to get in a recon ride or two. Check out the event listing on zwifthacks.com to see for yourselves.
Target times
This route has been ridden four times in 2020. December smashed the previous times… I don’t know how much more performance you can all squeeze this week for a PL spot.
Category
April 30th #54
July 16th #65
December 10th #86
My prediction
Vienna
42:47
42:41
41:40
41:00
Doppio
37:05
36:40
Espresso
37:09
37:10
37:39
37:20
Frappe
39:06
39:17
38:51
38:15
Latte
42:09
42:08
41:35
41:15
Mocha
47:38
47:22
46:48
46:00
Wrap up
This week is another chance to work on formation and communication. Keep everyone together and pulling turns to win! There are no significant hills to break up the team, so push the power at the tip of the spear, and go hard from start to end.
This week Zwift Racing League saw teams hit the pavement of Yorkshire in what is probably the most honest of Zwift courses. There is truly no place to hide with constant ups and downs!
There were few tactics that really seemed to play out with the teams – it was just basically a full slog up the K/QOM, a reduced sprint at the intermediary, then a painfully drawn out sprint to finish. But then I saw something cool happen: a solo breakaway that actually stuck.
Check out the video:
Why would this happen?
Dominant teams now only care about each other
In the video I analysed, it’s Beastmode v dPac-Elite, in my racing league it’s Saris+TPC v Finesse Rockets, in others it’s AERO v ZSUN. Most leagues now are getting 2 teams battling it out on the top. Serious spreadsheeting is being done on what points are exactly needed to stay ahead, research on specific riders to target on certain parts of the course.
This is all making for awesome battle royales between dominant teams. You know the kits of your competition and you mark them like crazy.
The emergence of the rogue solo rider
This raises great opportunities for stronger riders in less dominant teams to take advantage of being somewhat invisible in the lead pack. The video shows Hashimoto attacking on a short climb about 1km from the end. This type of a move would very rarely work (see my video here on how to make a solo breakaway stick) so close to the end on a predictable attacking terrain, and with a group of 12+ riders.
But this time it did work. The gap to Hashimoto never got larger than 4 seconds, yet he carried it all the way to the line… how? The dominant teams looked around, waited, had other teams try and bridge the gap, and by the time they realised it was a danger-move it was too late!
Will this always work?
Definitely not. You have to read the bunch well, which even in a virtual world is possible. You get a feel during the race which moves are being chased down and which aren’t. Hashimoto put in a few little digs into the orange numbers (while still in the pack) before this move and no one took the bait. If you are sitting in small bunch (<20) and you’re the only one from your team surrounded by dominant teams in the league, give it a try! Often the other teams are going for total points rather than finish line glory.
What About You?
If your team has pulled off something amazing in a race, or you’ve seen something tactically great, shoot me a message and I’ll do some analysis on why and how it worked.
The 2020 Tour de France provided an incredible spectacle with Slovenian Tadej Pogačar outclimbing fellow compatriot Primoz Roglic to win on the final stage. And it was another Slovenian, Mitja Kovacic, who provided me with yet another amazing cycling memory.
On Sunday 31st January 10am CET, Mitja successfully completed his 24 hour cycling challenge on Zwift, raising awareness for Motor Neuron Disease and the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. He also raised funds for the charity via his Just Giving page.
Mitja did not just cycle for 24 hours, he cycled for a net 24 hours, meaning that when he stopped to change jerseys and shorts, so did the clock! This means he was actually undertaking the monumental task for 26 hours. Mitja did not just achieve his goal but inspired others to reach new personal targets along the way. An inspirational ride by an inspirational person!
The Race3R Group Ride
The start
To kick off the epic event, Mitja led an 8:30am (CET) Race3R group ride on the Tempus Fugit course which consisted of nearly 400 riders. It was here that I joined him for the start of his challenge. Mitja took the opportunity to raise awareness of the disease and his 24-hour challenge to the group, which led to instant applause. The event was well attended, but sadly I could not stay for the duration. I checked back in with Mitja after he had just finished the event, his first 5 hours and 200km, and he was feeling strong. He explained that out of the 373 riders that had started, 40 had stayed with him to complete the 200km. In the first 5 hours he had raised £419, a little short of £100 an hour, which was fantastic.
Mitja had just changed into fresh cycling kit and had taken on some food in the form of rice, and was back into his rhythm after his short pit stop.
We discussed how the first quarter of the challenge had gone and he explained that during his group ride, he did have a “small technical issue” but it did not slow him down. The “small technical” issue which Mitja referred to was actually a power outage, but fortunately Mitja was using his laptop and his battery-powered Tacx Neo 2, and was able to continue uninterrupted. The only issue was that he lost sight of the group due to his router disconnecting and when connectivity was restored, he was 1 minute behind the group. Fortunately, the “Sweepers” were on hand to help pull him back.
It’s at this point that Mitja, selfless as ever, praised the excellent work of the “Sweepers” on his ride. He explained that it’s an extremely difficult role because they basically are doing intervals for the entire group ride. They slow to wait for the dropped riders, then have to put usually double the power of the group to pull the dropped rider(s) back into the main pack. This could be anything up to 6 watts per kilo depending on the speed of the bunch!
Mitja was impressed with the support provided during the group ride especially as the group stayed together throughout, with Mitja fully aware of the need to pace himself. At the 5 hour point, Mitja explained he was averaging around 2.5 watts per kilo, but was anticipating this would decline to around 2.2-2.3 watts, with the critical time being around 16-18 hours into the challenge.
Talking of challenges, one Zwifter got more than he bargained for on the group ride as Mitja explained. “One rider was going to leave after 100km, but we were talking about the 100 mile badge. So, we convinced him to ride with us and get the badge, but at 159km, he decided to stay on and finish the ride, completing his longest ride on Zwift at 200km.” He would not be the only person to reach new personal heights alongside Mitja over the weekend.
Although we have focused on Mitja, he highlighted that he wasn’t doing this alone. He was joined by fellow Race3R rider Ross Duncan, and as Mitja explains, the two of them “just want to cycle” – something which I think we can all relate to.
Discussing the upcoming few hours, Mitja explained he had a detailed fueling strategy to help him reach his target, broken down into what is required hour by hour. The first 3 hours were all about fluid intake in terms of smoothies, with pasta later in the day and even toast during the evening, with the ever-important energy drink being consumed every hour. He admitted, “I am on course with the fluid, but am struggling to eat, but know I need to eat. I will rely on energy bars and gels at the end.”
Mitja admitted he needed to “listen to his body and will not overdo it” and had scheduled stops to stretch and refresh himself.
A quarter of the way in, Mitja was looking the embodiment of a man in control. I only wish I looked as composed after 5 hours of cycling. Talking of being composed, one of the key things Mitja explained was cooling and that key to his Zwift setup was having good fans to prevent overheating.
10 hours in
10 hours in
Team Slovenia
Later that evening, I rejoined Mitja to assist him in his ride. At 8 hours he had his first change of clothing and refreshed himself and after 9 hours and 20 minutes, he had clocked up an impressive 370km and was on his 9th or 10th bottle of energy drink supplied by High Five. His fueling strategy was working, although he admitted that he was still struggling to eat.
He explained that many riders had been cycling with him and supporting him. He was in a good rhythm, averaging 200 watts with his heart rate around 125 beats per minute, a drop from 150 earlier whilst conducting the group ride. I’ll admit, I had to concentrate and work to keep up with Mitja because his tempo was very consistent and steady and I will agree that he was well-supported, I had never seen so many Slovenian cyclists as they formed a tight group around their star man. After 40kms I left Mitja, promising I would rejoin early in the morning.
23 hours in
Before jumping back on the bike at 7:30am, I logged on to his live streaming channel to see how he had survived through the night. I was relieved to see him still sat on his bike, although a bit sleepy. He had cycled an amazing 793km but the clock only read 21.23hrs. It was at this point I realised that Mitja’s 24 hour challenge was actually 24 hours net. This meant despite being 24 hours physically awake, he still had a bit more time to go on the bike!
This was incredible to say the least.
I called Mitja, anxious to see how he was and to encourage him. I wanted to tell him “grab my wheel and well we’ll just cycle the last bit nice and steady.” To my surprise, as soon as I started talking, Mitja was back to life. He started telling me in great detail the events of the last few hours, and I scribbled notes as fast as I could whilst pedaling away. What he told me was epic and a sheer test of endurance.
Mitja explained that he started struggling from around 14 hours into the challenge. He became really ill. Despite his detailed fueling plan, it was evident to him that he had not eaten enough and by around 2am, he was literally “dead to the world”. At 2:30am, he explained that he listened to his body and took time to try and eat and rest a little. He drank some water, which made him vomit. His body started shaking. He took a bit of bread and went back down to the “Pain Cave” and started riding at 1.2 wkg.
His darkest moment was in the screenshot showing him joking, “I could eat chicken wings right now” – it’s a joke as he is a strict vegetarian!
Mitja in his lowest hour
He admitted that this was the only time during the entire ride that he was on his own, his total kilometres up to that point was 690 and his only goal was to get to 700km “the whole 24 hour thing was forgotten about and I just ate my toast, slowly spinning my legs.” Then a fellow SloZL team member, Darja Vavpetic, a strong rider who is Captain of TTT Team SloZL Pink, popped up and said “Hello.” Mitja explained, “My goal here was to get to 700km and then call it a fail. Darja then joined me, 17h and 55 minutes into the ride, after she woke up in the middle of the night, to see me with my head down and suffering. At approximately 3.30 am, after a few minutes of chatting with her, I could see the light and get myself to at least 700km. It was a game-changer but still nowhere close to getting out of the woods.”
Then his fellow Slovenian friend Uros Huzjak came online at 699km and then things got better. “Uros joined us at 699km. At that moment I wrote to Darja “1 more km” (to get to 700km) then Uros said “Good morning.” Perfect timing. My mind was clear again and I wasn’t sleepy anymore. Then I explained the situation to him and he proposed to go for another hour and later to 750km. Without a doubt, Darja and Uros were crucial at that moment to keep me going and my body had time to recover. Not that it was easy from there on but at least I could see myself doing 24 hours”.
Mitja explained further that the whole day he had amazing support and so “I would not quit” with even Darja threatening to “kick me if I stopped before 24 hours.” He describes the few hours being the “darkest and hardest hours ever on a bike” explaining how he went from pedaling 2.3 watts per kilo to 1.6.
We talked about that period around 2am when Mitja was fighting his body’s natural rhythm to rest. The body produces a chemical called melatonin, which helps us ‘switch off’ at night. Melatonin usually starts to be produced at around 8-9pm and peaks at 2-3am, which is when Mitja was extremely tired. Fortunately, he had fought through the most difficult period.
Uros stayed with his friend Mitja just when Mitja needed that extra bit of support and was with him until the end of the challenge, resulting in Uros’ longest ride on Zwift at 185km and 5:30hrs. Uros explained that he and Mitja had become friends whilst creating the Slovenian Racing League and have never actually got round to meeting, despite riding every week together on Zwift.
Mitja went on to say that from hour 14 onwards and before things got really difficult, “it was a bit of a roller coaster. Some hours good, some not so good but my family have been really supportive”.
The final hour
To keep Mitja engaged and not thinking about the last hour of his challenge, I asked about the bike selection he had chosen. He had opted for the Specialized S-Works Venge with Zipp disc wheels. It was during this conversation that we crossed the 24 hour time. It was 8.30am (CET) and Mitja had done approximately 827km and the net time he had been on the bike was 22 hours, 22 minutes and 20 seconds.
For the final hour, Mitja was joined by more and more friends and soon a small peloton was around him. The Discord chat channel was full of voices chatting to Mitja in English and Slovenian, with one person asking “How much pain are you in?” – Mitja’s response “I eat pain for breakfast.” Even after his self-described darkest hours on a bike, he was still able to crack a joke. A testament to the character of the man.
Mission accomplished
After a net 24 hours of cycling, Mitja approached the final minutes and we counted every minute with him. At exactly net 24 hours, he had cycled 885km. Mission accomplished. But Mitja didn’t stop there, he wanted to make it an even number so pedaled on for an extra 7 minutes totaling 888.8km.
His stats for the ride are epic, 173 watts average, 888.8km, 24 hours and 7 minutes, 849 Ride Ons and most importantly raising £817 for charity.
I’ll leave the last words to Mitja, “This was epic. I had an amazing support from SloZL riders, 3R riders, random Watopia riders joining me, YouTube chat, Facebook chat, Discord, Messenger, it was mind blowing.”
We wanted to share a quick update with Zwifters regarding Strava segments.
As you may already know, on January 27, 2021 Strava made some major changes to Zwift segments: they marked everyone’s segments as private (so only the creator can see them) except for those created by Zwift Insider’s account. They also removed “(Zwift Insider verified)” from all of our segments, since that wasn’t really needed anymore because only our segments were visible!
Since then, we’ve received a ton of feedback from Zwifters requesting new segments. Others have questioned Strava’s decision (which we were not involved in).
Long-Term Plan?
Give Strava’s poor ability to determine which segments to hide or show (I’ve written about this before), we think Zwift and Zwifters would be best-served by Zwift taking control of the list of segments available in-game. It’s a core part of Zwift’s product experience, after all.
This would only work, though, if Zwift is able to quickly create segments for new roads, and respond well to community input when it comes to creating “extra” segments (for long climbs without leaderboards, for instance).
We’re talking to ZwiftHQ about what this may look like, but there’s nothing close to a firm plan yet. Until a better solution arrives, we’ll do our best to create needed segments beyond the 400+ we’ve already created.
New Segments
Since Strava’s big shakeup we’ve been hard at work creating a pile of segments that don’t correspond to known routes or leaderboards in game. This includes segments like KOM descents, or key climbs with no leaderboards. Here is the complete list of what we’ve created after everyone’s segments were privatized:
There are a lot of segments that still need to be created. This includes running route segments, misc France and Paris segments, and plenty of misc segments in Watopia and elsewhere. Please be patient, and we’ll try to get them created ASAP.
Matching New Segments to Old Rides
One question that has popped up a lot recently is how to get your old Zwift rides to match new Strava segments. The answer to this is a bit weird.
It used to be that newly-created Zwift Strava segments wouldn’t match up with older efforts unless you did the “Activity Type Hack” explained below. But we’re finding that our new segments are in fact being matched to old activities… but it doesn’t seem consistent.
Example: I created the new Watopia Figure 8 Reverse segment on 1/28/2021. It is now showing activities from back in 2017, but has yet to match a single personal activity of mine.
The only reliable, quick way we’ve found to get Strava to match new segments to your old activity is the “Activity Type Hack” which can by done in the mobile app or via a web browser. It’s an easy process, but you have to do it for every activity you want new segments on, so that’s the pain.
Edit your activity, changing it to any other type of activity besides Virtual Cycling
Save the change
Go in and change it back to Virtual Cycling. All done!
Here’s a video walk-through:
(If you use Strava in your web browser it’s even easier, as it says it’s changing the activity type, but it never actually does! So it attemps to change the activity type, and in doing so picks up new segments – but you don’t have to go back in and change it back to Virtual Cycling because the change doesn’t stick.)
Segment Length Requirement
Many Zwifters have requested the creation of segments that are too short. This includes some of the newer sprint sections that launched after Strava put this limit in place.
Strava’s limit seems to be 300m, which is ludicrous given their length limit doesn’t take gradient into account. Certain Alpe du Zwift turn-to-turn segments can’t be created due to the limit, and we all know those sections aren’t short!
We’ve reached out to Zwift and Strava about the possibility of lifting that limit for the Zwift Insider account, but haven’t heard anything back. Our guess is it’s a hard-coded limit that is system-wide, and they can’t easily fix it just for us.
Open to Suggestions
We asked people for segment ideas on the original Strava update post, and so far there are 228 comments! Please post your segment suggestions there so we have them all in one place.
Feel free to comment below if you have specific questions or ideas other than segment suggestions.
In this week’s Top 5 Zwift Videos you’ll find some tips on easing pain on the trainer and changing your Zwift bike quickly. Other videos focus on racing, whether it’s finding your role in the Zwift Racing League, using your team’s numbers advantage in a breakaway, or pushing through when you want to quit!
Why you experience pain while on the trainer and how to fix it. Zwift tips
TacomaCyclist shares some of his advice for reducing pain and discomfort while riding your bike on an indoor trainer. Get tips on your kit, your front wheel riser (and whether you should use one), and your bike fit with helpful demonstrations.
Fastest method to change bikes in Zwift?
If your next Zwift event includes both paved road and dirt, or a long climb followed by a fast descent, you might think about switching bikes. Michael Taber demonstrates his method of doing that as quickly as possible.
RUBBISH to WINNING | My 1st THREE League ZWIFT RACES
Mark Lewis reflects on his first three WTRL Zwift Racing League stages with humor. You might get some ideas for how you can help your team when you’re not at the front of the race!
Zwift Racing Tactics – Dropping someone from a pack when you have the numbers
When a team has multiple riders in a group, a rider without teammates might hang on in their draft without doing work at the front. What can the team do about that? Jeremy Hopwood was that rider in a recent race, and he gives a few answers based on his experience.
ZWIFT RACE – Did I quit?
How do you turn a bad race into a good ride? Watch as “Z-Cycling-A” does just that, with determination and a change in perspective.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
A new 4-stage series launches tomorrow on Zwift in partnership with Ryzon, a tri + cycling clothing label based in Cologne, Germany. Jan Frodeno and other Ryzon ambassadors will be participating in weekly social rides and time trials every Thursday, and the Zwift community is invited to join in the fun!
Series Schedule
Events happen one day per week for the next four weeks. Each week features a warm up ride as well as a TT race. Events are not categorized, so everyone rides together.
You’ll want to pick out the fastest in-game bike possible for each race – that means picking the best frame and wheelset for each week’s route!
Drafting is disabled for these events, but TT bikes are not being required. Still, you’ll want to pick a nice fast TT rig for most or all races. Do you swap to a light road bike for the big climbs? That’s a call you’ll have to make yourself!
Racing on the DIRT Hellhounds team in the Zwift Racing League EMEA E2 B1 division has been a blast, but from the beginning I’ve been careful to make sure my teammates know that I have no problem whatsoever being “subbed out” if the manager thinks another rider would do a better job on a given week.
My reasons for this are twofold:
I don’t want my teammates or manager to put me in just because I’m the Zwift Insider guy, or they think I’ll get publicly offended and throw them under the bus, etc
Most importantly: I want my team to do as well as it possibly can!
This week, team manager Snowy finally made the call, asking if I’d be OK to sit it out in Yorkshire. I breathed a sigh of relief (Yorkshire always kicks my butt) and said I’d be happy to do so. In the same breath I volunteered to be the “Team Car” (DS) for the race if needed.
And that’s how I found myself sitting at my desk yesterday, signing into Discord, opening Zwift, and pulling up various browser windows so I could be a helpful voice for my teammates as they put in the hard work over two laps of Yorkshire’s 2019 UCI Worlds Harrogate Circuit route.
Today’s post will discuss how the race unfolded for my team, but it will also talk about the job of DS in a Zwift race, and how Zwift could improve the experience for the DS. Let’s race!
Zwifting DS: a Job Description
To put it simply, my job was todo as much thinking and communicating as possible for my teammates, in order to maximize our team’s overall result.
Experienced Zwift racers know good results are about much more than just hammering out the watts. Especially in a series like the Zwift Racing League, with its competitive divisions and strategic points structures. There really is a lot to think about, but we all know it’s not easy to make complex decisions when you’re riding on the rivet mid-race.
To be more specific, here’s a partial list of what a DS should do for their team:
Deliver peloton reports. How big is the pack you’re in? Which teams are represented well, and which teams didn’t make the selection? Are there any noteworthy riders in the mix? Is the rider pushing hard off the front someone we need to mark, or can we let them go?
Let them know what’s coming up: knowing the course is crucial. How long is the climb just up the road… and what comes after it? Where are the intermediate point banners? How does the finish lay out?
Dictate efforts: should your riders be on the front of the group, pushing the pace? Or sitting in? What if you have riders in multiple groups?
Encouragement: this goes without saying. There really shouldn’t be any negativity from the DS – it’s about cheering on your team, calling out every good bit of work you see, and believing every team member is going to do everything they can to help the team win.
Climbing Otley Road
The Start
Yorkshire UCI course races always start hard since you’ve got the Otley Road climb right out of the gate. We knew this would be a tough section, and a selection would be made – but we also knew that the biggest efforts would be on the KOM down the road, and the group would be culled even further at that point.
With no intermediate points atop the Otley Climb, it made sense to simply maintain a good position near the front of the pack, conserving energy for the battle to come. After a bit of a snafu getting my Zwift viewer going, I was finally able to see the live race as the riders made their way over the top of Otley. I was happy to see the Hellhounds had hung in there, with all 6 teammates making the front group of 58!
KOM #1
We had a few riders targeting intermediate KOM points, and they killed it, with Neil coming in 2nd, Scott 8th, and Dan 9th. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to view the in-game leaderboards due to how viewing other riders works (more on that later). But as the riders descended from the KOM these three Hellhounds were in a small front group of 9 riders, perfectly positioned to take intermediate sprint points just up the road!
Snowy was in the group just behind, and I advised him not to push to close the gap to the front group. We had a solid chance at big sprint points from our three front group riders, and bringing in another pack of riders would just reduce those chances. Better for Snowy to sit in, conserve, and let other riders pull the group forward if they chose to do so.
Sprint #1
Neil was first across the line for the sprint (he’s got a crazy strong sprint) with Scott in 7th and Dan in 10th. Extra points!
To Chase, Or Not to Chase?
The groups came back together after the sprint, and I clicked around to see where things stood. We now had a front group of ~30 which included 4 Hellhounds (Neil, Scott, Dan, and Snowy). The other 2 teammates (Ian and Phil) were in the chase group about 20s back.
Now the question became: should the teammates in the chasing group push to rejoin the front group? I quickly made the call to not chase, based on a few factors:
We had good representation in that front group, with 4 team members
Bringing the groups back together probably wouldn’t get us any extra points, since a more tired Ian and Phil would surely get dropped on the second KOM like they did the first
The chance of pulling the smaller chase group back to the larger, stronger front group was pretty slim
Conserving as much as possible would leave fresher legs for the finish, where Ian and Phil could hopefully sprint well and earn max finishing points from the chase group
The front pack supertucking down the Pot Bank descent
Team Survey
As we finished off the first lap, I started clicking around to see how each team was represented in the front and chase groups. (I could really only do this by counting jerseys, but fortunately everyone was wearing their unique team kit!)
Knowing the mix of riders in the front group is crucial, because it helps us see which teams will be in contention for the overall points win. If one team has 1-2 riders in the front group of 30, while another team has 4 riders, chances are good that the 4-rider team will be finishing with more points in the end.
This even lets us decide which attacks to follow and which to let go. If a team only has 1-2 riders in the front and they attack over the KOM, it’s not a huge deal to let them go, because they aren’t going to win the overall points competition. But if it’s a well-represented team attacking off the front, you need to follow that if you want any chance at the overall win!
This also informs the chase group’s strategy. I told Ian and Phil (my teammates in the chase group) not to work on the front at all. Rather, let a team with lots of riders in the chase group (and few riders in the front group) do the work. SZ was such a team, with just one rider in front and three in the chase group.
KOM and Sprint #2
Going into the second KOM, we were targeting more intermediate points. Snowy put in a killer effort, making it first across the line. Neil was 5th, Scott 9th. The groups split up over the top, but we brought them back together in order to get Neil in contention for max sprint points. With 21 left in the front pack it would be a real battle for points on the 2nd sprint intermediate.
Snowy put in another massive effort on the sprint, coming in 3rd, with Neil 6th. The front pack came back together after the sprint. Time for those painful final Yorkshire meters!
The Finish
With 4 riders in the front group of ~20, we discussed our finish strategy in the final minute before all hell would break loose.
Do we send someone off the front for a long attack? None of the riders fancied that proposition. So we decided to just try to maximize each rider’s finishing position, sitting in then launching the sprint whenever each rider felt the timing was best.
Markus Pape (SOW) jumped hard and early, but we let him go – they weren’t a team we were marking, and I figured he launched too early anyway. As we hit the flatter portion of the finishing straight the aero powerups began to fly, and it was time to go all-in! Neil started his effort a bit late, but came in 6th – the top finisher from the Hellhounds.
And Pape? He stayed away, winning by 2.7s! Impressive. You don’t see many long sprints win in Yorkshire.
We were really pleased with our overall result in this race. The Hellhounds earned 231 points, good enough for 2nd place behind Kirchmair with 255. We remain in 2nd overall.
Zwift DS Feature Requests
The DS job is doable right now using a combination of Zwift, Discord, and whatever information sources you may need. But there are several things Zwift could do to really help the team cars do a better job! Here are a few ideas:
Make it easier to watch the race: having to join the E pen, then fan view a rider using Companion – it’s all too much. If there’s an active event in Zwift, I should be able to just open the game, click a link, and watch the event as it unfolds.
Let us see leaderboards: in a points event like ZRL, it’s really helpful to see leaderboards for the intermediates. It would be great to see these in game.
ZwiftPower Live data: it would be really nice if we could see ZwiftPower live race data again. I’m not sure if this is just an issue with our races, but we haven’t had accurate live data for any race of the ZRL series. Having access to live prime (intermediate) data would be a nice bonus!
Show teammates: it’s not at all easy to see which teammates are in a particular group from within the game, or to select a particular rider’s view. Having quicklinks I could click to go straight to each teammate’s game view… that would be awesome! I suppose I could just set up 6 computers…
Live points tally: how cool would this be? If all riders could see a live points tally as the race unfolds… wouldn’t that just up the level of competition, and help inform strategic choices?
Takeaways
While I’ve watched others DS, and raced on teams with a DS, I’ve done very little DSing myself. So this was a learning experience, to say the least!
One thing I should have done better was getting to know my teammates. Some of them I raced with last season, but others I haven’t raced with at all. It’s hard to direct a rider when you don’t know their strengths and weaknesses.
Team manager Snowy certainly knows the team well – and his call to have me sit this week out was obviously the right one. Our team results was probably the best we’ve ever had in a scratch race. Well done, sir.
Having a lot of Zwift racing experience and very strong knowledge of the course was a big help for me in my DS role. Without those two aces in the hole I would have been lost. Happily, my teammates seemed to appreciate my incessant babbling, so maybe I’ll get a chance to do it again soon. I had a blast!
Your Thoughts
Have you ever been a DS? Got tips to share with me and others? Comment below!
I am now three training weeks into my comeback from Covid-19, and I have managed to maintain consistency throughout this short period of time. It may sound cliche, but consistency is truly the key to building any type of fitness or recovering from any type of injury or illness.
That is not to say you need to train every day to achieve that consistency – it is important to factor in rest days for recovery, and to allow training adaptations to take place.
Over the last few weeks, I have factored in one complete rest day a week (where I have taken time off the bike completely, occasionally with some low-intensity active recovery such as a walk or stretching), and one easier day, which usually falls in between 2 × 2 day blocks. Most of my riding is still focused on zone two training, with the intensity coming naturally on Tuesdays and Saturdays with Zwift racing and training sessions. The general idea is to keep my hard days hard and my easier days steady to allow for recovery and adaptations to take place, whilst keeping my riding volume load high.
Last week I took part in the Team Time Trial round of the WTRL racing league with the Wahoo LeCol team, where we rode our best Team Time Trial performance of the series. I was allocated 45 second turns on the front at around 350 to 400 W (around 6.5wkg) and as you can imagine, this proved to be a great training session for me as I tried to stay with my teammates. It definitely spiced up the race for all of us.
Training wise, I had a slightly lower volume week this week, accumulating 663 TSS over 10.5 hours. On Thursday I selected a race in the steep streets of Bologna in order to test my fresh five-minute power. This was more for fun rather than anything else, but it would also prove to be very useful to compare against my previous best over a shorter duration that is much more anaerobic. It resulted in my second-best 5min power on Zwift (22w lower than my PB) and left me wondering just how that is even possible!
On Friday I topped off the week with a long outdoor ride that lasted three hours and on Saturday I tried my hand at a longer race in the morning, before attempting the #EdHeads organized training session in the evening. With only six hours of recovery in between the two sessions, it provided a handy way of upping the overall load without having to do it all in one lump. I am a particular fan of ‘double day sessions’ for this exact reason and have always found the fitness and power benefits significant.
I am a little biased, but I am really enjoying the sessions that I have created for the WTRL racing league. This session in particular really prepared us for the race last Tuesday where we finished on top of the big Innsbruck KOM. I set myself a target of a top 20 and rather surprisingly I almost got a top 10, climbing for 15 minutes at 350 W (5.7wkg). I gave it everything and following this race I realised that I would need to complete another FTP test (as did 700 others who are watching the live stream!).
I attempted me FTP test slap bang in the middle of a block, meaning that I was not too fresh, or too tired – this turned out to be an optimal day to complete the test. My results were 333 W FTP. So in the space of 22 days my FTP has regained 24 W.
