After their dominant performance in Stage 1 of the Tour de Zwift ProAm, could anyone dethrone DBR (Danish Bike Riders)? Sixteen other teams of women, including pro teams Twenty20 and Canyon//SRAM, stepped up to the challenge. Only team Turbo came close last time.
Stage 3 took racers to the reverse hilly route on Watopia for two laps. Riders earned points for their teams based on their position across the line at the two QOM (Queen of the Mountain) banners, the two sprint banners, and the finish. The team with the most points would win the glory.
The top 5 riders at the first sprint banner were all from different teams, setting up an exciting race. But DBR started to show their strength with Cecilia Hansen and Louise Houbak on the first climb…
See a full replay of the race below, including Nathan Guerra’s live commentary. Hosts OJ Borg and Raya Hubbell introduce the teams and some riders to watch, before Zwift Insider’s very own Eric Schlange takes us through the course!
Alongside the Tour de Zwift in 2020, Zwift is hosting a series of invitational Pro-Am races that feature both professional and amateur cyclists. These points-based races are live-streamed so you can follow the action. See the schedule here >
When it launched in 2014, Zwift grabbed cyclists’ attention because it enabled real-time interaction between riders: a social platform. And this is truer today more than ever: the interaction with other humans, the camaraderie developed over time, and the friendships built on the platform are motivating and valuable.
But sometimes, you may just want to ride or run solo, and there’s nothing wrong with that! We’ve had several Zwifters ask us how to do this easily – here are three ways.
Solution #1: Turn Off Your Internet Connection
Once you’ve logged in and started your Zwift activity, turn off the Internet connection on your Zwift device. This will remove all other Zwifters from view, and remove you from their view.
It is quite easy to turn the Internet connection off on most devices – a click or two on Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. It’s more of a hassle on AppleTV, but can be done there through the Settings menu or by simply unplugging your ethernet cable if you’re using a wired connection.
Here’s the important part: reconnect the Internet before you save your activity and exit Zwift! This will allow the activity data to sync up with your account at my.zwift.com as well as Strava or other third-party connected apps.
Gotchas
Turning off the Internet may be the simplest way to ride alone on Zwift, but it also means your Zwift device will be without an Internet connection during your activity, which may be an annoyance. Additionally, your fans won’t be able to give you a ride on during your activity. If either of these an issue, try this next approach…
Solution #2: Firewall
This solution is really only practical if you’re running Zwift on a Mac or PC. Both macOS and Windows have built-in software firewalls that allow you to easily create rules governing the data flowing in and out of your computer. The nice thing about the firewall approach is it lets you maintain an Internet connection on your device while riding solo on Zwift.
Simply put: if you turn off outbound traffic to certain UDP and TCP ports via a firewall, all riders on course will be hidden and you will be hidden from their screens.
You will need to set up and enable two different firewall rules – one for UDP traffic, the other for TCP.
Setting up your UDP firewall rule on Windows 10:
Open up the Windows Defender Firewall app
Click “Outbound” then click “New Rule”
Select “Port” from “What type of rule would you like to create?”
Select UDP, and enter 3022,3024 as the “Specific remote port”
Choose “Block the connection” (which is the default)
Let the rule apply to Domain, Private, and Public (which is the default)
Give it a name such as “Zwift Solo UDP” and click “Finish”
Done! The rule will automatically be enabled, but you can click to disable it and ride with others anytime you’d like.
Setting up your TCP firewall rule on Windows 10:
Open up the Windows Defender Firewall app
Click “Outbound” then click “New Rule”
Select “Port” from “What type of rule would you like to create?”
Select TCP, and enter 3023,3025 as the “Specific remote port”
Choose “Block the connection” (which is the default)
Let the rule apply to Domain, Private, and Public (which is the default)
Give it a name such as “Zwift Solo TCP” and click “Finish”
Done! The rule will automatically be enabled, but you can click to disable it and ride with others anytime you’d like.
We won’t include instructions for macOS or other Windows versions here, but the rules are pretty simple to create, and you can always delete the rule if you think you messed something up.
Gotchas
We use this firewall method for much of our Zwift Insider Labs speed tests, and occasionally we’ve had issues with Zwift crashing if we boot up Zwift with the firewall enabled and begin our activity. To avoid this, boot up Zwift with the firewall setting disabled, then only enable it after you’ve begun your activity.
With the advent of Pack Dynamics 3.0, we’ve found that if you start riding with your firewall rules not enabled, then turn them on, riders will still appear on screen. The only ways around this are:
Enable your firewall rules before you get into the game
After you enable the firewall rules from in the game, and you’re still seeing riders around you, try popping into a different world. You shouldn’t see any riders there. Then go back to the original world you were in – riders won’t show there either.
Solution #3: World Hack
This last solution doesn’t ensure you’ll be riding solo, but it will greatly reduce the number of riders on course. If you use the world tag hack to access a world that isn’t today’s scheduled guest world, the only Zwifters there will be other world hackers or those participating in an event – and chances are those event participants will be hidden from view.
World hacking, therefore, is a nice way to get yourself into a barely-populated map, if that’s what you’re looking for. Learn all about the world tag hack >
Questions or comments?
Do you like to ride alone on Zwift sometimes? How do you accomplish it? Share below!
Each brief lap included an ascent of Innsbruck’s “leg snapper,” a short but brutal hill that threatened to end some teams’ chances early.
Community teams went head-to-head with pro teams Canyon p/b Soreen, Hagens Berman Axeon, NTT, Ribble, SEG Racing Academy, and Vitus. They weren’t just aiming to cross the finish line first, but also each lap’s intermediate sprint banner. Riders earned points for their team based on their position in the sprints and at the finish.
Alongside the Tour de Zwift in 2020, Zwift is hosting a series of invitational Pro-Am races that feature both professional and amateur cyclists. These points-based races are live-streamed so you can follow the action. See the schedule here >
In 2020, alongside open Tour de Zwift group rides and races, Zwift is hosting a series of invitational Pro-Am races featuring both professional and amateur cyclists. These are held once every four days, before the start of the next Tour de Zwift stage. And they’re also live-streamed so you can follow the action! See the schedule >
In Stage 1, women from 12 teams raced two laps of the Classique course in London. In this points-based race, each team competed to earn the most points at two intermediate sprints and the final finish banner. Riders earned points based on their position through the banner at each of these times, with the first person across getting the largest amount.
The race’s short length guaranteed it would be intense. The sprints in the middle meant the women could not let their guard down. How did the community teams fare against the pros in Canyon//SRAM and Twenty20?
Mt. Everest: 29,029’ (8,848m) of awe-inspiring, difficult, adventurous, dangerous climbing… some people have looked at Everest and thought climbing it is necessary. Others call those people crazy!
Well, call me crazy but I did it. No, I didn’t fly to Nepal and climb the actual mountain. I’m not a former pro athlete or extraordinarily gifted human, nor am I an adventure/adrenaline junky looking for a fix. I’m just a 50-year-old son of God who has a family, a job, a dog, a bicycle, and I landed myself in the Everesting Hall of Fame. And you can too!
The Backstory
Why would I do such a thing? Well, a friend of mine from work invited a bunch of work friends to ride from one side of the USA to the other in an effort to raise money for cancer research. I was excited to be invited by him to do it, only I hadn’t ridden a bike in years. When I was a Boy Scout our troop had ridden from Chico, California up to the north shore of Lake Tahoe (roughly 100 miles). It took us 2 days to ride up but only one day to ride down. I thought I would never do anything that extreme again.
In 2016 I bought my first road bike, a Razik Vortex. It’s a custom frame that I’ll bet you have never seen in person. (My friend Ryun is one of the co-founders of the company and I’m proud to own one of his bikes.) In 2017 I got a new job in Dallas, Texas and moved my family to where the wind never stops and temperatures reach 70 degrees in January. I joined the Shawnee Trails Cycling Club (2018 Bicycle Club of the Year) and learned how to ride in a group.
Then in 2018 I did finally participate in the company bike ride, Boise ID to Salt Lake City UT. We went on to raise over $1 million dollars for The V Foundation that year!
2019 was when cycling really took off for me. I averaged 5 rides and 100 miles per week. My uncle had shown me his Wahoo Kickr and Climb setup, and introduced me to Zwift. As a video game junkie growing up, I couldn’t wait to get set up, so I begged my wife for an early anniversary/birthday/Christmas present and bought myself a Kickr.
On January 2, 2019, I took my first Zwift ride. 356 days later, I rode my bike up the height of Mt Everest.
Everesting is described as fiendishly simple, yet brutally hard. Ride hill repeats on any hill anywhere in the world (or on Zwift) in a single activity until you climb the equivalent height of Mt. Everest. The concept was created by Hells 500, who also control the induction into the Hall of Fame. Everesting.cc contains the rules to follow. Once you are inducted you are worthy to wear the Grey Stripe kit. I can’t wait to get mine.
I don’t know how many have tried and failed, but just over 4,500 Everesters have succeeded and only 360 have been done on Zwift. I chose to do my first vEveresting (virtual Everesting) on Zwift versus IRL to test my stamina, feed and hydration strategies, and my resolve to actually complete the challenge. I didn’t raise money for any charity, but many do, and I wish I would have. I will next time!
Warwick Petschack, a friend of mine in Australia, inspired me while I rode with him as his sherpa on the Alpe du Zwift (ADZ) in Watopia while he completed his vEveresting. After he completed it and was inducted into the Hall of Fame he actually followed up with me and offered to share his planning spreadsheet with me so I could plan my own attempt. He was relentless in his help, encouragement, and patience with me as I peppered him with questions. Without him I don’t know if I would have done it. Thanks, Wazza.
Ready to go
My Ride
Christmas Eve Eve, the day before the ride I collected all my food/hydration items, charged all of my batteries, stripped down and weighed myself and then calibrated my trainer. The weigh in: 195lbs (88.5kg). My height, static for the last 30 years: 6’5” (196 cm). Yes, I’m tall and thin… but not too thin because I love ice cream and it was Christmas Eve for heaven’s sake so I was enjoying my wife’s wonderful cooking. At 6:30 pm I told my family I was headed to bed, I turned on a couple of fans for white noise and set my alarm for 12:30am.
The journey begins!
Christmas Eve morning, the alarm went off and I went to the kitchen, ate a bowl of oatmeal and headed upstairs to change into my first kit. 12:57am I started riding the Road to Sky route on Watopia. I stayed in Zone 2 with an average heart rate of 120 and max of 135. I averaged 175-200 watts on the climbs and just under 17 hours total time with 8.5 times up the ADZ, and a little more for luck.
I took this virtual selfie at Dutch Corner #7 with just over 9000m of climbing. I had vEverested!
But that makes it sound so easy. It wasn’t!
What a ride. 134 miles in 15:17:34 of actual ride time, that means my butt was on the seat (or I was standing) for a long, long, long time. A normal butt isn’t used to that, and since my wife tells me that I have no butt, it seemed impossible.
Strategy 1: get off the bike while descending ADZ Strategy 2: change kits after each third ascent. Strategy 3: chamois cream!
I chose to start in
the dark so I could hopefully have family support at the finish. This meant
that the first 4 ascents I was on my own with no pit crew for support. I turned on my favorite playlist and hit the
hill with a measured effort that I could sustain for hours. I planned a bidon
of water for each ascent as well as 30-50 carbs per hour. Real foods early in
the ride and gels and sugary drinks for later in the ride.
vEveresters add the tag “vEveresting” to their Zwift profile name which means anyone that sees it knows you are vEveresting and many will ride with you, congratulate you, give you ride ons, or just encourage you to keep going. These wonderful sherpas made it a much more enjoyable experience, especially during the 6th and 7th ascents when it was difficult to want to keep riding and my butt was telling me that I was crazy to push on. A quick shower and kit change between ascents 6 and 7, another application of chamois cream, and I was ready to continue.
Christmas Eve was wearing on and my family was missing me, so I asked my wife to record video of my Zwift arrival at 8848m to which my exclamation of “YESSSSSS!” was well received. I didn’t stop there though. I knew that I needed to ride some more to ensure that I had enough climbing to get me into the Hall of Fame, so I rode on to 9006m and then stopped. I then went downstairs and we watched White Christmas as a family while eating chicken wings and drinking egg nog. Merry Christmas to me!
Fuel for the fight
In total, I ate 2 Clif Bars, 5 granola bars, 3 mandarin oranges, 3 bananas, 1 omelet (thanks dear), 1 Clif Bloks, 1 Gu Chews, 2 Powerade Zeros, 2 Powerade regulars, 2 Muscle Milks and 3 Bob’s Pickle Pops (when my legs started to cramp).
Activity screenshot
Everesting Support
If you are interested in knowing more about Everesting, there are a couple of great FaceBook groups to help you plan. Hells 500 hosts the Official Everesting Discussion Group which includes many helpful posts. The Zwift vEveresting Planning, Tips & Coordination group, created by Howie Snyder, has great info and their group is vEveresting up the ADZ on Leap Day 2/29/2020. There is also a definitive guide to Everesting posted by Sir Guy Litespeed which is very helpful for either indoors or IRL.
If you are interested, there are other individuals and groups planning their vEverestings and Everestings and I encourage you to join them or choose your own crazy goal for 2020. Make it spectacular, worth working hard for, and go do it!
Future Plans
As for me, I’m planning my first IRL Everesting for this summer in Utah, USA, where there are some of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. I will be raising money for The V Foundation and cancer research.
Editor’s note: Monica is undertaking the “Couch to Route Hero” challenge of riding all 67 “free-ridable” Zwift routes (and getting all the badges) in 11 weeks. Each week she shares her story of the previous week’s struggles and accomplishments. Follow along on her journey, take the challenge yourself, and be sure to give her a Ride On if you see her on course!
Looking at the schedule for this week was daunting. But I took it one day at a time. As each difficult ride ended I realized more and more that I’m the most amazing cyclist in the world!
The difficulty of this plan ramped up very quickly. Last week included four days of mild riding, with one day that had a 3 bidon route in it. THIS week was a 3 bidon, a mild ride, a 3 bidon, a mild ride, and then my first 4 bidon! My legs and my heart can’t understand what’s happening to them right now.
How the Week Played Out
I added 7 more badges to my stash! 23 down, 44 to go. I’m getting there!
This week I rode 98.12 miles, climbed 8,360 feet, with 7 hours and 52 minutes in the saddle. In about 12 weeks this quest ends with the PRL Full route. Oddly enough, this week’s entire effort looks similar to that one final PRL Full ride. Lord, have mercy!
Lutscher has got to be some cruel joke someone at Zwift HQ is playing on all of us. The lead-in to the segment is a climb to the top of the ~1400′ Innsbruck KOM. which means to finish the route you end up climbing the KOM a second time! “We get it ZHQ! You have all the power!”
The ride started out painful enough… climb, climb, climb. I hoped to entertain myself and maybe others too so sent a message to those on the mountain with me. “Anyone else feel like it’s going to be your resolve that gets you up this mountain more than your legs?” Two guys agreed. And from there it was a conversation of encouraging each other up the climb. Or distracting each other. Either way, it worked! What a way to start the week!
I DID get Ride Ons!
Is there anybody out there?
For my four bidon route I decided Watopia’s Three Sisters would do. About 3 miles into my ride I realized I hadn’t received a single Ride On. Strange! I did some poking around to make sure nothing was wrong on my end of things. And then I remembered… I’d noticed this had happened once the week before. My Ride Ons didn’t show up until the end of my ride.
I didn’t really know how much I enjoyed giving AND receiving them until it was a big fat zero. Especially on a long ride! This may seem silly, but oftentimes I’ll say the name of the person who gave me the ride on, and/or will salute and then push myself just a bit more. So riding without them was sad. AND I wasn’t getting extra Drops from them either! “Add this to the list of changes that need to be made, ZHQ. Remove lead-in for Lutscher, and let Monica see her Ride Ons during her rides. kthxbye.”
As I rode up the Epic KOM in Watopia another rider reached out asking what route badge I had picked for the day. He was doing the same one! It was fun to keep in contact. At times I’d even watch his ride as he was much faster than I. It was entertaining!
When my ride was over I checked the saved activity in the Companion app. I had received over 200 Ride Ons!!! I knew I was well-loved!
How about you?
Which routes did you do? Did you make any new friends during them? Did you find out you’re ALSO the most amazing cyclist in the world? I know I’m not the only one standing at the top of this, the world’s largest podium!
How the Race Was Lost: the Dreaded ANT+ Drop (TDZ Stage 5)
Continuing my theme of racing each stage of Tour de Zwift, this morning I tackled stage 5: 2 laps of New York’s Gotham Grind.
According to ZwiftPower, this was my 300th Zwift race. Thinking back, I’ve found many ways to lose races over the years: lack of course knowledge, poor fitness, strategic mistakes, getting dropped on climbs. It’s fair to say the vast majority of my losses can be pinned on myself!
Today’s loss, though, was of a different sort. A bit like suffering a mechanical in an outdoor race. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
The Warmup
The race began at 6:11am, so I set my alarm for 5:10. Rolled out of bed, grabbed my kit, then headed upstairs for my typical pre-race ritual: a piece of caffeine gum and some PR lotion on the legs. Hopped on early and got a nice 30-minute, ~10-mile warmup in on Tempus Fugit.
My buddy Alan Dempsey (a pro triathlete and coach from Canada) dropped in and rode with me a bit. He was beginning a 3-hour effort at 55% of FTP. I was about to do an 11-mile race! Two very different training plans.
The Start
The race started hard and fast, and I averaged 340 watts for the first 2 minutes to stay with the front group. There were definitely some strong riders pushing the pace! We flew around Central Park, barely slowing up the rises. And there are lots of rises on this course. Gotham Grind has no long or steep climbs, but it’s full of 1-3% ups and downs. This makes for a tough race, since you’re never able to rest for any significant amount of time.
Holding on for the fast start
I knew at this pace no breakaway was going to get away early and stick, so I just sat in the draft and made sure no gaps opened up ahead when the group strung out up the inclines. The effort was hard, but doable: I knew I could hang with the front until the finish. But I still had to do the work to get there.
The Middle
After the first lap, our starting group of 84 was down to 36. And while there were definitely a few sandbaggers in the mix who were pushing the group’s speeds a bit, it wasn’t anything like stage 1 where I couldn’t even hold on to the “Super B” efforts of the Zinners.
The Dreaded Drop
With 3.2 miles to go, we were pinning it up a 3% drag on the back half of the main loop. I was already rehearsing in my head how I was going to work the finish without a powerup. Then disaster struck!
Here’s a screenshot from the precise moment I realized my race was over:
Coasting to a stop
The wireless ANT+ connection to my power source (Garmin Vector pedals) had dropped, and it wasn’t just a quick blip: it was gone for several seconds. My rider stopped pedaling and coasted to a stop. By the time the connection returned, the front of the race was 30 seconds up the road.
I’m not sure there’s anything more mentally debilitating than a connection drop in a Zwift race. I’ve only had this happen in one other race, as far as I can recall. And it’s just so hard to keep pushing when you know your race is lost and your connection may very well drop again.
The next group was a minute back, and I thought perhaps I’d be able to stay ahead of them to the finish. So I buckled down and tried to push, but now the same wattage I’d been holding in the front group seemed impossibly high! Isn’t the brain and its connection to our body such a crazy thing?
The Finish
The group behind caught me with .7 miles left, and I grabbed onto their wheels. 63rd place! I hoped I could just hang with the group, maybe get a decent powerup through the sprint banner just up the road, then gain a few places in the final sprint.
Unfortunately, the anger of the Zwift gods hadn’t been satiated by my power drop. Once again I received an XP bonus through the arch – that’s all I’d received this entire race! Then as we turned right onto the road which connects us to the other side of the loop, I saw something really strange – a finish line, in the wrong place!
Did someone lose a finish banner? It didn’t belong to this race!
We flew through this banner and kept charging toward the real finish. I couldn’t even hold onto the group with my paltry weak-willed wattage, finishing 61st overall, 44th on ZwiftPower.
Magnus B is a German rider with the Kirchmair e-Cycling team. He was in my race and recorded the whole event, including his win in the final sprint! If you’re curious what it takes to come out on top in a race of this sort, watch his stream below. You’ll even see my power drop at 20:20:
Takeaways
My only takeaway from this race is that I need to get this ANT+ issue sorted. I hate the idea of going into a race unsure of whether my power will drop at some random point.
You would think, of all people, the guy who runs Zwift Insider should be able to get his Zwift setup sorted. But nope! Ever since we moved house in late summer, I’ve had ANT+ issues here and there. Some have been my own doing, like my ANT+ drop during the Le Col metric century caused by having two ANT+ dongles plugged in. But mostly, what happens is I’ll get a complete ANT+ signal drop for a few seconds, as shown by uploading my log file to Zwiftalizer. Here’s what today’s drop looks like:
My current theory is 2.4gHz wifi interference from neighbors, so I’m going to give Bluetooth connections a go and see how that works. I’m also in the market for a new set of power pedals, as I think my Garmin’s are perhaps on their way out.
How the Race Was Lost: Power to Weight (Bologna, TdZ Stage 4)
Since I’ve set a goal of racing each stage of Tour de Zwift 2020, I knew the Bologna TT route was looming. And I wasn’t happy about it.
Bologna, if you aren’t familiar, is a short course with a painful ending. The first 6km is flat, the final 2km is a steep climb (9.6% average). As a bigger rider who can hold decent wattage, I knew the flat part would be a breeze. The climb? Not so much. I’ve raced here before, and I was under no illusions as to what the final result would be. (Spoiler alert: it certainly wouldn’t include me anywhere near the podium.)
Despite this, I was looking forward to another chance to push myself to the limit and see where I landed in the rankings. My goal, based entirely on rough guesswork: finish in the top 50%. Let’s go!
Standing water in the closet. Never a good sign.
Waking to Drama
I rolled out of bed at 5am, wanting to give myself plenty of time for a warmup before the race at 6:10am. Using my iPhone flashlight I walked into the closet where I’ve been storing my cycling kits since we moved to our new house. But when I stepped in to grab a pair of bibs, I was greeted by an unwelcome sensation: cold water on my bare feet.
What the… !?
There was standing water on the bare plywood of the closet. (This closet is in our unused master bedroom, the last portion of our house that is officially still under construction)
I quickly did the math in my head. How bad of a man would I be if I grabbed my kit and went upstairs anyway? The answer came back: a very bad man. A very, very bad man.
So I got to work (wearing only briefs, mind you) moving all the clothes and banjos out of the closet for safekeeping. Then I toweled off the floor and turned on an extra Zwifting fan to get air moving so things would dry out. Once that was done it was time to get dressed and starting looking around for the water source: outside, inside, under the sink… where was it coming from?
I couldn’t find the source. And water wasn’t pouring out from anywhere. It could wait another 60-90 minutes. Let’s race!
Warmup
I’d have to hustle to get a warmup in, so I went through my typical pre-race ritual quickly: a piece of caffeine gum and some PR lotion on the legs. Actually, scratch that: I went with two pieces of caffeine gum. Because this was already starting to feel like a long day. I got in a 20-minute, ~7-mile warmup on Tempus Fugit before heading to the start pens.
Bike Choice
Many Zwifters have asked what the best bike frame and wheel setup is for the Bologna TT course. It’s an interesting question without an obvious answer, thanks to the way the course lays out.
If you’re talking about an actual time trial (no drafting), the most aero TT bike and wheelsets are your best choice, because the gains made over the first 6km are more than the seconds lost to a lighter bike up the 2km climb. Additionally, many races on this course are two laps – up to the top of the climb, down to the start, then back up to the top of the climb. In this scenario, aero wins much more so, since you have a steep descent (where aero performs better) and even more flat ground between the two climbs.
The climbing rig
But what if you’re in a drafting race? That’s where things aren’t as clear. Because if you’re sitting in with the pack and staying out of the wind, the gains from having a slightly more aero setup are reduced. But when everything splits apart on the climb, you’ll want the lightest possible setup.
So I went with the Specialized Tarmac Pro frame and Lightweight Meilenstein wheels. It’s the best climbing setup currently on Zwift, and the same setup that posts the best time up the Alpe.
Of course, even with the best climbing bike on Zwift, I wouldn’t be able to hide. This race would come down to watts per kilo and my butt would surely be handed to me on a silver platter. But I still wanted any advantage I could get up that tough climb!
The Start
The start was quite tame – perhaps the easiest Zwift race kickoff I’ve experienced in recent memory. Everyone was conserving for the climb. I only averaged 306 watts in the first minute, and 282 watts over the entire flat portion before the climb began.
In the front group heading into the first climb
The starting pack of 65 was quickly reduced to 35 by the time we hit the first climb. So I’d made it to the climb in the front group–but how many riders were going to catch me from behind? I was about to find out.
First Climb
The Bologna climb breaks up into three sections for me. First you’ve got the beginning stretch which is fairly steady and steep, ending as you turn left through the brick archway. Then there’s a crazy and steep hairpin which places you on a long, steep straightaway–the steepest part of the climb. Then it’s through another arch to the right and the road gets less steep for the final portion.
I quickly slid to the back of the front group as the climb began, then watched as the chasing group closed the gap behind. Finishing in the top 50% was beginning to feel like an impossible dream – but I kept pushing.
This is no time, to chat, Mr. Doucett
I was able to hold my position around 30th place all the way to the top, averaging 310 watts. Not a great average – perhaps my legs were a bit tired, or I was distracted by my wet closet. Regardless, once the climb was done it was time to supertuck to the bottom.
On some descents, pedaling will get you going faster than the supertuck. But steady, steep descents like Bologna are perfect for the aero tuck, and my legs were happy for the short break.
Wheeee!!!
The Middle
When I got to the bottom there were two riders ~15 seconds ahead, and several just 5 seconds behind. I eased up so I could join the riders behind, knowing they would be catching me soon enough, and we would probably have the firepower to catch the riders up the road.
My strategy at this point was to conserve energy for the final climb. Pushing big watts to tow my group up to the next pack on the flats wouldn’t gain me nearly as much time as those watts would up the climb (read “How to Pace Your Best Bologna TT Race” for more on this). So I sat in with my group, and we gobbled up a few riders as we completed the trip back to the start line, turned around, and rode back to the base of the climb.
I only averaged 231 watts on this flat section, making it barely even a zone 3 effort. But that was fine, because we were gaining places, I was recovering, and now it was time for that final climb!
Starting the second climb
Second Climb (and Finish)
The front of my small group of five riders was 28th place going into the final climb. I needed to finish 32nd or better if I wanted to hit my goal of a top 50% ranking. On top of that, a few riders from the group 15 seconds back were pouring on the watts per kilo as we hit the climb. I knew this would be a fight to the finish!
I tried to keep my breathing even, alternating sitting and standing efforts. (I love the muscle and saddle relief from standing, but it also elevates my heart rate a bit.) When the road turned especially steep on the hairpin heading into the second section I stood and hammered extra hard, because it’s through these steepest portions where extra watts matter most.
In the end, I finished solo, with riders a few seconds ahead and behind. Zwift’s results show me at 31st place–just barely making it under the 50% line. My second climb’s power was just slightly lower than the first climb, 306 watts vs 310.
Also, ZwiftPower, where I usually finish higher in the results than what Zwift shows, bit me in the butt this time around. Out of 36 finishers, I was 20th. So much for 50%!
This race is a perfect example of rider weight affecting speed in cycling. I’m on the larger side when compared to the population of serious cyclists (84kg), so climbs are where I struggle. I’ve got the muscle to hang with pretty strong riders on flat roads, but when the tarmac tilts up, physics kick in. Power to weight ratio becomes more important the steeper the climb gets, so on a steep KOM like Bologna, my ability to hold 3.7w/kg (like I did in the first climb) is going to lose handily to a B rider who can hold 4w/kg or more.
Lightweight bike is definitely the way to go: I think my bike choice was perfect. A more aero bike wouldn’t have moved me any further up the rankings on the flats, and it would have slowed me down on the climb.
Fewer cookies: if I want to be competitive in any sort of hilly races, I need to increase my power to weight ratio. I can maybe do that by training more (building power), but that’s been a real challenge in the past. The easier solution, I think, is dropping some excess weight. It’s definitely time to shed ~10 pounds.
Finish the job: if I’d finished moving the clothes out of the closet before the ride, I would have seen that the leak was coming from behind the wall. Pinhole leak in the copper pipe. Plumber friend fixed it a couple of hours later.
What About You?
Did you race TdZ stage 4? What bike setup did you use, and how did it go? Share below!
Zwift has just released the schedule of events for February’s big fondo. With thousands of riders turning out, these “fun races” are always popular as we push ourselves to complete long courses together. Plus, you unlock a jersey when you complete the ride!
Officially, no. For some riders, just completing the ride is accomplishment enough. But many riders will treat the event as a race, and only the strongest riders will be able to stay near the front of each event.
As Zwift says, in the end “It’s all about doing your best and trying to finish the toughest routes in Watopia.”
Routes
Zwift Fondo events have three categories (A, B, and C) which are open to all riders. These categories don’t refer to rider strength or speed–they refer to route length. Pick the category corresponding to the length of route you’d like to ride.
For February, the group and routes are (click for route details):
A: Gran Fondo - 97.2km (60.4 miles), 1148m (3766′)
B: Medio Fondo - 72.6km (45.1 miles), 981m (3219′)
C: Bambino Fondo - 52.1km (32.4 miles), 553m (1814′)
Kit Unlocks
This is a 3-month series, and each month’s fondo has its own unique kit unlock. These kits are exclusive, meaning they will never be available anywhere else in game. A true badge of honor! Here’s a shot of February’s kit:
Is this a Race?
Officially, no. For some riders, just completing the ride is accomplishment enough. But many riders will treat the event as a race, and only the strongest riders will be able to stay near the front of each event.
As Zwift says, in the end “It’s all about doing your best and trying to finish the toughest routes in Watopia.”
Andre Greipel on Sprinting and Managing Nerves (Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast #43)
Matt, Kristin, and Kev reconvene for the first podcast of 2020, featuring a chat between Greg and 22x Grand Tour Stage Winner Andre Greipel! Sprinting is of course discussed, plus the chat turns to managing your nerves and the usual talk around the latest goings-on in the world of cycling and Zwift!
