In this wide-ranging interview, Zwift creator Jon Mayfield makes a number of interesting revelations. Did you know Zwift is full of hidden features, yet to be activated? Which driving game does Jon feel has close parallels with Zwift? When is rowing coming? Will Zwift Run succeed? Are we going to see wholesale changes to Zwift’s UI?
All these questions and a good many more are answered in this episode. I hope you enjoy listening.
If you recall, last month’s training was a bit stifled, due especially to a 2-week family vacation where very little cycling happened. This knocked my Chronic Training Load (CTL) down from 74 on March 23rd to 50 on April 8th:
CTL is a key metric of fitness, and is computed as a rolling 42-day (6-week) average of your daily TSS. This is an exponentially-weighted average, meaning the workout you did 15 days ago will impact your CTL more than the workout you did 30 days ago. So you can see how two weeks of zero TSS will drop CTL quite quickly!
This drop represents what coaches call “detraining,” and you can see it in my monthly numbers for April:
Here is a chart from WK04 showing how my modeled FTP dropped from 295 to 275 between March and April:
In the past I’ve never paid much attention to detraining–I would go on vacation for a week or two, then come back and start riding again. Sure, I felt a little wimpy for the first week or two, but eventually I would be back to full strength.
This time around it was interesting to see the hard numbers and hear from coach Shayne how he goes about rebuilding after a significant stretch of poor training. Here’s what he told me:
After some time of poor training due to vacation, illness, other reasons it’s best to reevaluate first, then come up with a plan to rebuild the fitness lost. The biggest mistake I see athletes make is jumping right back into what they were doing before their break which can result in an injury and/or be very demotivating due to being unable to hit the numbers they could before. So, it’s best to scale things back and rebuild things in a slower and more methodical way…
I wanted to jump right back into it, but of course I went with Shayne’s plan, because he’s proven to me that he knows his stuff.
Here’s what the week-by week numbers looked like for my month of rebuilding, beginning with the week before my vacation:
3/18 week (pre vacation)
TSS Goal = 700
4/8 week (Week 1 of rebuild)
TSS Goal = 530
4/15 week (Week 2 of rebuild)
TSS Goal = 590
4/22 week (Week 3 of rebuild)
TSS Goal = 650
4/29 week (Week 4 of rebuild – regeneration week)
TSS Goal = 470
I was a little overzealous in putting in some extra work during my regeneration week, which is why fatigue stayed quite high. But you can still see Shayne’s approach of reducing goal TSS, and methodically rebuilding it to pre-vacation levels. Shayne told me:
I aimed for a ramp rate of 5 per week which we hit perfectly. 5 per week is aggressive, but with your history, I was confident you could tolerate it.
Coach Shayne typically slots in a regeneration week every 4th week, and I find these very helpful. While day to do recovery is key (I find alternating every other day between hard and easy workouts works well for me), after three weeks of hard training an easy week is just what my body and mind need in order to rebuild, reorient, and be ready to rock for the next training block.
If you’re finding yourself physically or mentally fatigued after weeks of training, considering taking an easy week. Still ride the bike, but don’t push it too hard–remind yourself why you enjoy it so much! I think you’ll be happy you did.
As you can see, I was feeling good by the end of the rebuild and felt both mentally and physically ready to take on the next month’s training block. So once again, coach Shayne’s plan worked perfectly.
Watch for my next post as I tackle the next training block and work to push to new heights!
Zwift has announced a new set of one-day races dubbed the “Zwift Classics”. One race held each month women, and one for men, for July, August, and September. The first race is for the ladies and kicks of July 3rd at 7pm BST.
These are simple one-day races, with no series or team points awarded. Whoever crosses the line first wins, and that’s going to make for some full-gas efforts!
Like the KISS Super League, the Zwift Classics races are not open to all Zwifters. Only invited pro and community teams will take part. From the looks of it, most of the teams will be community-based, probably because pro teams are quite busy this time of year with a full outdoor racing schedule.
Teams are limited to five riders, and teams will vary between races (remember, this is not a series).
Confirmed teams for the Women’s London International race on July 3rd:
Six races have been scheduled–three for women, three for men. One each month for July, August, and September. Zwift’s press release says there are “more likely to be announced in the coming months.”
London International (Women’s)
Wednesday, 3 July, 7pm BST
World: London
Route: Classique
Distance: 5.4km // 3.3mi
Elevation: 19m // 62ft
Laps: 6
The Apple Lap (Men’s)
Wednesday, 10 July, 6pm BST
World: New York
Route: Park Perimeter
Distance: 9.7km // 6.1mi
Elevation: 120m // 393ft
Lap: 4
Richmond Challenge (Women’s)
Wednesday, 7 August, 7pm BST
World: Richmond
Route: UCI Worlds
Distance: 16.3km // 10.1mi
Elevation: 142m // 467ft
Laps: 2
Trofeo Bologna (Men’s)
Wednesday, 14 August, 7pm BST
World: Italy
Route: Bologna TT
Distance: 8.2km // 5.1mi
Elevation: 233m // 764km
Laps: 3
Rund um Innsbruck (Women’s)
Wednesday, 4 September, 7pm BST
World: Innsbruck
Route: Innsbruckring
Distance: 8.8km // 5.5mi
Elevation: 72m // 237ft
Laps: 4
Watopia Cup (Men’s)
Thursday, 5 September, 7pm BST
World: Watopia
Route: Watopia Flat
Distance: 10.3km // 6.4km
Elevation: 54m // 177km
Laps: 3
Craig Edmondson, CEO of Zwift Esports, says, “The focus for the Zwift Classics will be on streaming; we want to deliver the best experience for the viewer at home.”
Hopefully, this means we’ll see some big improvements in race streams. As we wrote back in February, there are so many possibilities when it comes to improving the experience of watching Zwift races.
Nicola Cranmer, General Manager Sho-Air TWENTY20 pro team that rode so well in the KISS Super League series, clearly sees the potential eRacing holds in terms of attracting eyeballs (and thus sponsors) for pro teams:
“It’s still early days, but I feel strongly that a robust eRacing program can be pivotal for Women’s cycling, helping attract in new partnerships. The entertainment value is high, the media impressions are tangible, and there is a new fan base to be cultivated.”
All races will be streamed live at www.facebook.com/gozwiftlive and (presumably) Zwift’s YouTube channel.
At 29 years old, Jolien D’Hoore has racked up an impressive number of achievements. Olympic medalist. World and European Champ. Belgian National Champion, 33 times over. She stops by in Episode 31 to chat with the crew about balancing her life as a pro while pursuing a university degree, as well as her favorite course on Zwift.
The Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast features host Matt Rowe (Rowe & King), with regular co-hosts Greg Henderson (Coach Hendy) and Kev Poulton (Powerhouse Cycling). The hosts share tips on how road races can get faster in-game and outdoors.
Nathan Guerra is back with his Zwift Community Live weekly wind up, this time joined by eRacing professor Greg Leo and Nicola Cranmer, GM of the Sho-Air Twenty20 women’s pro team.
The hosts discuss the latest Zwift release, which includes two new powerups and time trial mode. There is also much discussion of Zwift eRacing’s evolution as a cycling discipline, as well as how pro teams such as Sho-Air Twenty20 use the platform.
Zwift released a game update last Thursday night which includes three notable changes. Here are the details…
An entirely new event type, time trial mode includes staggered starts, HUD changes, checkpoints and more. Read more here >
We talked about this feature when it was being tested almost three months ago. Zwift has updated the feature and will be testing it with community group ride leaders.
This is an optional feature for ride leaders, and must be specifically requested before it is enabled for a group ride.
Here’s what riders see when they get close to the fence:
If you ride through the fence you will get an alert with a countdown. Stay ahead of the fence for 60 seconds and you are booted from the event.
Group ride leaders can configure how far ahead of the leader the fence is located, or turn it off completely. They also see a count of how many flyers are ahead of the fence, and how many have been removed–but they do not see a list of flyers or booted riders.
Other ride participants don’t see any details about the fence, or interact with the fence at all, unless they ride too far ahead.
The new invisibility (Ghost) powerup makes you invisible to other riders for 10 seconds.
It looks like this powerup may be disabled in the final 200 meters of races, which seems like a good move.
The burrito powerup makes you undraftable for 10 seconds.
See the release notes post from Jon Mayfield >
Zwift has released its first codified, exhaustive ruleset for governing official Zwift eRacing events.
View Zwift eRacing Ruleset PDF >
Here are some notes and thoughts about key portions of the ruleset.
These rules are intended to govern official Zwift-organized races designated as Zwift eRacing events or series. Section 1.8.2 explicitly states that these rules are not intended to govern the community-organized races which comprise most of our current race calendar:
1.8.2: The ruleset does not govern, nor is it intended to influence the governance of events or series held on the Zwift platform that are not organized by Zwift or designated as Zwift eRacing events.
While this clause allows race organizers to define their own rules, it is also logical to expect that these rules will begin to influence community-organized races.
Section 6.1 states:
6.1. All riders must register with Zwift Power in advance of participating in any Zwift eRacing races.
As a community-developed (but Zwift-supported) resource, Zwift Power has long been the place where racers go to view the “real results” of their races, after rules are applied and event organizers finalize results. It’s good to see Zwift acknowledging the importance of Zwift Power’s role in fair eRacing.
With Zwift’s increased focus on eRacing, one can’t help but speculate that Zwift Power or comparable functionality will be moved “in-house” soon.
As they most important “input metric” for Zwift racing, your power numbers largely determine your racing results. Because of this, the eRacing ruleset has quite a few rules governing power meters. Here are a few worth mentioning:
8.1. In addition to the power data recorded by Zwift, each rider is strongly encouraged to record a second source of power data.
While not a requirement, riders are strongly encouraged to record power data from a second power source in order to verify accuracy.
12.3.2. zPower and virtual power users as well as those using a trainer or power meter appearing on the exclusion list are not eligible to compete and will be removed from the final standings.
While Zwift’s virtual power algorithms allow people to use the game with very affordable “dumb trainers”, their power accuracy can never be consistent enough to use in high-level racing.
The “exclusion list” mentioned is in section 12.4, which currently lists just two items: all wheel-on smart trainers, and the Elite Turbo Muin. It is important to note (and the rules do) that wheel-on smart trainers can be used in-game, they just can’t be used as your power source. A separate power meter would be required.
While this may not be well-received by some riders, it is a necessary rule since wheel-on trainers are so susceptible to accuracy fluctuations when tire pressures change.
Section 13 thoroughly details the rules against all forms of eRacing doping/cheating, including miscalibrated equipment, inaccurate weight/height, bots, hacking, collusion, and more.
Section 18 details the role, structure, and procedures of the “Performance Verification Board”, which appears to be the new name of ZADA. (If you recall, ZADA relaunched back in March and we covered it with a thorough post at that time.)
Reading through this section makes it clear that Zwift is taking the verification of results seriously.
A codified set of rules is necessary to ensure fair play in any sport, so this ruleset is a welcome announcement and a sign of Zwift racing’s maturation as a cycling discipline. And while these rules will surely evolve over time, Zwift has done solid work here in laying out the key rules which will govern Zwift eRacing moving forward.
Check out the ruleset and let us know what you think below!
Matt, Greg, and Kev go over the highs and lows of the year’s first grand tour. From crashes and missing team cars to Marco Haller and Miguel Angel Lopez getting into it with fans, there were a lot of standout moments from this year’s Giro.
The crew also discuss Zwift and eSports getting in on the Giro action and how technology helps the sport improve. Plus, predictions for the 2019 Tour de France and the usual Q&A.
The Zwift PowerUp Cycling Podcast features host Matt Rowe (Rowe & King), with regular co-hosts Greg Henderson (Coach Hendy) and Kev Poulton (Powerhouse Cycling). The hosts share tips on how road races can get faster in-game and outdoors.
Time trials, the “race of truth,” have been held on Zwift since early days. Without drafting enabled these races allowed riders to set their own pace and ride against the clock–the very essence of time trialing. But there was always something missing… it didn’t feel quite like a time trial.
All of that is about to radically change, thanks to an update released last night.
Most outdoor time trials release racers at predefined intervals (e.g. 30 seconds apart). In the past, Zwift TT races released all riders at the same time, so even though you weren’t drafting, you were still leaving the pens in a large group of riders.
The new TT mode uses a conveyor belt system to automatically move riders up to the start line and release them individually:
The front row of riders (across all conveyor belts) is released 1 second apart, but the length of time between each row of riders (front to back) varies based on the event.
As the timer counts down, the red holo fence will appear for the first starters. When it drops, it’s go time!
The yellow arrow pad in front of the holo gate acts like the ramp in an outdoor TT event, speeding you up to 20mph instantly. This should help racers avoid the mistake of sprinting out of the gate.
These time trial features are only available in designated TT events. Joining a time trial event works like any other Zwift event, except that after signing up, you’ll be given a start time within 30 minutes of the advertised start time. Just like an outdoor TT!
Zwift Companion allows you to filter events to only show TT’s. It also displays your start time once you sign up. The start time is also visible in-game if you join the event then begin riding.
When racing in TT mode, the on-screen elements are now optimized for time trial efforts:
The main display at the top-center now focuses on your cadence, wattage, and heart rate. On the left, a list of checkpoints shows your split times, and you will see leaderboards for those splits with placement by age group and gender.
The minimaps on the right have also been modified to show course checkpoint locations and the standard elevation map.
For now, TT races are only available on the Bologna TT course and Fuego Flats, but there are plans to expand this in the future.
Now! Just filter the events list in Zwift Companion, checking the box for “Time Trial”.
Here’s a list of upcoming TT events from ZwiftHacks >
The new TT features bring an entirely new “event mode” to Zwift. We already have several event types: group workouts, social rides, races, and fondos… but now time trials can be added to this list.
If we look at recent game updates, it’s clear Zwift sees value in focusing on TT racing. In addition to the new features discussed above, Zwift’s latest Watopia route (Fuego Flats) and newest world release (Bologna) are both TT-focused, plus they have released a pile of TT frames in the Drop Shop. These developments should excite TT specialists and triathletes!
Give the new TT features a go, then share your thoughts in the comments below! You can also share your comments on the official Zwift Support Forum thread.
One of the reasons long-distance triathlon is so beloved is its all-ages appeal. Young. Old. It doesn’t matter. If you have the drive to go the distance, you can be a triathlete.
Over the years, there’s been frequent debate on what the “ideal” age is for top performances. Traditionally, “older” (30–40) has been seen as better, with experience and knowledge helping tri veterans make it to the podium.
Lucy Charles-Barclay is pushing back.
Only 25 years old, she’s already racked up a number of Ironman wins as well as three World Championship podiums. She joins the crew in Episode 9 to explain how younger athletes can approach races similar to older competitors, and how age is just a number when it comes to experience and tri knowledge.
We also talk about Allied’s successful gravel bike launch in Kansas as well as other recent happenings in the tri scene.
The Zwift PowerUp Tri Podcast is hosted by former pro triathletes Matt Lieto and Jordan Rapp, lending their in-depth knowledge of the multisport to the Zwift Tri audience.
