Teamwork at Morning Grind Fondo Race #10

I’ve been racing the Morning Grind Fondo series for several weeks, and I certainly can’t quit now since I’m leading the B category overall. I’m not a particularly strong racer, but I have shown up regularly and finished with the front group consistently, and with a longer series that’s often all it takes to win.

Today’s race story is particularly worth sharing because of the teamwork aspect. I hope you enjoy it! 

Having been on vacation for two weeks, I went into this morning’s race with a lot of questions. Did my diet of fine French pastries fuel fitness gains? Was two rides in 16 days enough to keep my legs fresh? Would a dodgy sleeping schedule lend itself to race-ready freshness?

I feared the answer was “no.” And I wasn’t wrong.

The First Three Laps

Four laps of Watopia Hilly were going to hurt even on a good day, and towing four extra pounds of pastry fat up that cursed wall would only amplify the suffering. That said, the first time up wasn’t bad. “I can do this three more times,” I thought to myself. Hubris.

We dropped half the field of 31 on that first climb, leaving a front group with a strong DIRT presence of Tim Ellis, Andrew Wright, Joe Randall, Mark McDermott, and myself. Knowing no attack would get away in the early minutes, I focused on recovery for the non-KOM portion of each lap, staying in the draft and conserving.

The second KOM hurt, especially when I had to chase back on at the end. (The continuance through that banner always gets me, since I’m already on the rivet.) We completed it 5 seconds faster than the first, and I set a new record for 1-minute heart rate… 186! (My max HR is 189, which explains the nausea at this stage.)

The third KOM wasn’t quite as bad, and while I was happy to still be in the front group of ~10 riders, I feared the final KOM because I knew some racers would throw down their hardest efforts here. And that’s exactly what happened.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

I crossed the fourth and final KOM banner 2-3 seconds behind the main pack, with nothing left to chase back on and quads starting to cramp. After spitting out a breathless, “I’m off the back” on our team Discord, I was almost ready to ease up and TT it home when I spotted two teammates coming up from behind. Tim Ellis and Andrew Wright had waited for me, and now they moved ahead, taking turns to pull me back to the group. Studs!

At the same time, Joe Randall and other DIRT riders in the front pack eased up, forcing other riders to push the pace if they chose to do so. This slowed the front pack, allowing us to catch on with a quick ~20 second effort. Teamwork.

The Finish

The pace picked up on the final ramp into the Esses, and I was hanging with the pack but didn’t have much left. Hammered out the final sprint, cramping quads and all, but still finished in the back of the front pack.

6th overall… I’ll take it.

There are only two races left in this Morning Grind Fondo series, so I’ll be hitting those hard in hopes of keeping my top spot. Next week should be a good one for me since it’s on Richmond Flat. But the final race on Innsbruck Lutscher… that’s a terrible idea. I can’t wait.

See my race on Strava >

See results on ZwiftPower >

Share a Story

Teamwork isn’t always easy to pull off on Zwift, but it still happens regularly in racing. Got a good story? Post it in the comments below!

Does the Tour of Watopia Schedule Work for You?

The Tour of Watopia is now underway, and there has been some discussion in the Zwift Community about the scheduling of ToW events. Zwift initially scheduled a handful of ToW events per day, stating they wanted to avoid trampling over community events. But when Zwifters complained that the sparse schedule made it difficult to participate, Zwift added more ToW events.

See the current schedule of events on ZwiftHacks >

Does the current ToW schedule work for you? Answer our quick one-question survey below, and we’ll share the results with Zwift!

Got more feedback? Post a comment below.

Final Event of the Zwift Fondo Series this Weekend

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Zwift’s 6-month Fondo series ends this weekend with the April edition. Join a Fondo group, finish a ride, and unlock the April fondo kit!

Once again riders can choose from one of three custom Watopia fondo routes which were launched in January. Click a route below to learn all about it…

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Official description:

Take in the heart of Watopia with a flat warmup before tackling the original Watopia KOM. Then head over to the Mayan Ruins for a lap of the jungle – look out for the sloth! – before finishing up the Volcano Climb.

The Bambino Fondo is essentially these routes strung together:

• Flat Route
• Hilly Route
• Road to Ruins
• Volcano Climb

Distance: 52.2km (32.4 miles)
Elevation Gain: 580m (1902′)
Strava Segment (from start pier)

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Official description:

Warmup with a trip to Sequoia Circle before climbing the original Watopia KOM in the longer, gentler reverse direction. From there the climbing continues with a trip up the Volcano KOM, and tour of the Mayan Ruins jungle, and then finish off with a long climb up the Epic KOM (arch; not tower).

The Medio Fondo is essentially these routes strung together:

• Figure 8 (first half)
• Volcano Climb (reverse)
• Road to Ruins (reverse Jungle Circuit)
• Mountain Route (ending at KOM banner)

Distance: 72.9km (45.3 miles)
Elevation Gain: 1010m (3313′)

Strava won’t let us create one segment for this route, so we split it into three. We also created a Strava route which covers this full route. The GPS elevation data for the Strava route appears to be corrupt in parts, but the numbers above for distance and elevation are from ZwiftHQ and accurate.

Strava Segment Part 1 (from start pier) Strava Segment Part 2 (from jungle turn-off) Strava Segment Part 3 (epic KOM) Strava Route

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Official description:

This longest Fondo route takes you on a meandering – and ascending – tour of Watopia. Start out with the original KOM in the reverse direction before climbing the Volcano. From there, you’ll do a lap of the Mayan Ruins jungle and then take on the steeper – but shorter – original KOM in the forward direction. Mix in flat laps around downtown Watopia and the Volcano Circuit before finishing at the Epic KOM summit (arch; not tower).

The Gran Fondo is very similar to the Medio Fondo in terms of key climbs and overall elevation, but ~25km (15.5 miles) longer due to some meandering around Watopia proper between the “Road to Ruins” section and the “Mountain Route” ending. This route is essentially these routes strung together:

• Figure 8 (first half)
• Volcano Climb (reverse)
• Road to Ruins (reverse Jungle Circuit)
• Hilly Route
• Mountain Route (ending at KOM banner)

Distance: 97.8km (60.8 miles)
Elevation Gain: 1196m (3924′)

Strava won’t let us create one segment for this route, so we split it into three. We also created a Strava route which covers this full route. The GPS elevation data for the Strava route appears to be corrupt in parts, but the numbers above for distance and elevation are from ZwiftHQ and accurate.

Strava Segment Part 1 (from start pier) Strava Segment Part 2 (to start/finish) Strava Segment Part 3 (to epic KOM)
Strava Route

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UNLOCK THE FONDO KIT

All Zwifters who finish a Fondo route will unlock the official Zwift April Fondo kit. Each of the 6 Fondos from November to April had a unique kit to unlock.

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Fondo Schedule

See upcoming Fondo rides on ZwiftHacks >

Zwift National Championships Results Announced

Zwift Nationship Championships were held on February 24th, with hundreds of riders turning out for each nation’s race. The competition was fierce, with racers putting in massive efforts on two laps of Watopia’s Figure 8 route,. A huge congrats to all participants, and especially those who came out on top!

Zwift took some time finalizing results, employing their new ZADA team to verify performances. and now the winners have been announced. Each national champion will have a special in-game jersey to wear for the next 12 months.

Final Results:

Belgium

• Men: Lionel Vujasin
• Women: Terry Fremineur
• ZwiftPower results

Canada

• Men: Warren Muir
• Women: Stephanie Ossenbrink
• ZwiftPower results

Denmark

• Men: Aleksej Calmann
• Women: Louise Houbak (2x National Champion)
• ZwiftPower results

France

• Men: Maxime Gentet
• Women: Audrey Landier (2x National Champion)
• ZwiftPower results

Germany

• Men: Nico Hesslich
• Women: Eva Buchholz (2x National Champion)
• ZwiftPower results

Japan

• Men: Tomoaki Takasugi
• Women: Kiriko Fuchigami (2x National Champion)
• ZwiftPower results

Korea

• Men: Kim Hyeonseung
• Women: none (Zwift says, “All riders were unable to provide a valid racing license from the national cycling federation for their respective country. This requirement was set forth in the rules for this year’s Zwift National Championships.”)
• ZwiftPower results

Netherlands

• Men: Mick Kemper
• Women: Anneleen Bosma
• ZwiftPower results

Norway

• Men: Vidar Mehl
• Women: Kristin Falck (2x National Champion)
• ZwiftPower results

Poland

• Men: none (Zwift says, “All riders were unable to provide a valid racing license from the national cycling federation for their respective country. This requirement was set forth in the rules for this year’s Zwift National Championships.”)
• Women: none (Zwift says, “All riders were unable to provide a valid racing license from the national cycling federation for their respective country. This requirement was set forth in the rules for this year’s Zwift National Championships.”)
• ZwiftPower results

Sweden

• Men: Martin Selin
• Women: Cecilia Hansen (2x National Champion)
• ZwiftPower results

Switzerland

• Men: Francois Coppex
• Women: Melanie Maurer
• ZwiftPower results

United States

• Men: Holden Comeau
• Women: Angela Pitzer
• ZwiftPower results

Missed the Racing? Here is the broadcast for the USA race, which had the largest field of any country: