Don’t Miss These Thanksgiving Day 2018 Rides from Zwift HQ
Put in some group miles before tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast! Zwift HQ has organized several official rides, all happening over three laps of the NYC Park Perimeter Loop route. This is a mostly rolling route with a little climb up Harlem Hill each lap, giving these rides a total distance of 29.1 km (18.3 miles) and elevation gain of 126 m (413 ft).
Eric Min’s 4th Annual Thanksgiving Day Ride
Join Zwift’s CEO in what has become a Thanksgiving tradition. If this ride is anything like past years’ there will be a big turnout, and Eric may even share some upcoming Zwift plans. This is not a race so please respect the 2.5-3 w/kg pace.
Four different ride times on Thursday, all the same route. Is this a race? Well… some will treat it as such. But many will not! There is no winner of the Tour de Turkey, so ride at your own pace. It’s all about getting on the bike, pushing yourself alongside other Zwifters and burning those calories.
UPDATE (March 1, 2019): after this post was written Zwift added a ramp test in-game which handles all the calculations with no need for custom FTP settings or number-crunching. Read all about it here>
The step test (aka the “MAP test” or “ramp test”) is a way to estimate your FTP without the stress of a full 20-minute FTP test. This test can be done in Zwift using the custom workout below and the instructions which follow.
Who Should Perform This Test?
If you’ve never performed a 20 minute FTP test, the results of your step test can help you set your target wattage for the full 20 minute test.
Already performed a 20 minute test? Performing a step test can help confirm your numbers. You may also use this protocol to test your FTP more often without undergoing the stress of a full test.
A Note of Thanks
Thanks to Dr. Stephen Lane from HPTek.com.au for taking us through the step test procedure he’s put hundreds of athletes through over the years. Thanks also to Shane Miller, aka GPLama, for letting me adapt his original post on this topic. Be sure to subscribe to Shane’s YouTube channel for regular videos on all things indoor cycling.
Instructions for Performing a Step Test on Zwift:
1. Download this ZWIFT workout file. Right click and save it to your /Documents/Zwift/Workouts folder.
2. Open Zwift and go to SELECT WORKOUT (or press ‘E’ when in the program) and select this workout.
3. Set your FTP to 100W *IMPORTANT*
This can be done from the workout picker screen, or by editing your user profile.
4. Start the workout and proceed through the 25W steps until you pop.
5. Record the following information:
Final Completed Stage:___________
Uncompleted Stage:___________
Duration of Uncompleted Stage:___________
Example:
Final Completed Stage: 375W
Uncompleted Stage: 400W
Duration of Uncompleted Stage: 120 seconds
6. Calculate your MAP (maximal aerobic power) with the figures from #5
120 seconds completed / 150 seconds steps = 0.8
0.8 * 25W (increments) = 20W
Final completed stage + % of uncompleted = 375+20 = 395W
8. Calculate your estimated 20 minute FTP test target
Now you can calculate a target wattage for your next 20 minute FTP test. Keep in mind, your FTP value is 95% of what you can average over 20 minutes. So if we take our estimated FTP from the step test and divide by .95, we get our target wattage for the 20 minute test:
325.8 / .95 = 343W
343W is a good target to attempt to hold for your 20 minute FTP test. If that is your maximal effort, this confirms your FTP of 325.8.
Martin Lavrič of Slovenia Crowned Winner of the 2018 Zwift Academy
And then there was one.
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka has announced their choice of Martin Lavrič as the Zwift Academy finalist who will receive a 1-year pro contract for their U23 squad. Martin (who hails from Slovenia) was up against Alex West (New Zealand) and Ollie Peckover (Great Britain) in competition for the contract, and the three young men trained together last week in Cape Town, South Africa under the watchful eye of team management to decide who would ride with the team for 2019.
Martin will join his new team beginning January 2019.
Journey To a Contract
All three finalists had to complete a week of structured workouts, Zwift races and road drills with Dimension Data stars including Mark Cavendish, Bernie Eisel and Ben King. Each exercise was designed to make sure the winner has what it takes to make it as a professional cyclist. But this week was only the end of a much longer process.
In its second year, Zwift’s groundbreaking talent ID program saw a record 30,000 male riders enter for 2018 (3x the number of riders who entered in 2017!) While most joined as a means to improve fitness, U23 athletes seized the opportunity to compete for a professional contract with Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.
Martin joined hoping for a semi-finalist spot, but came away with much more:
“I entered Zwift Academy with an eye on a semi-final place, as I wanted to win an Elite smart trainer, but I walked away with a pro contract!”
To qualify for the semi-finals riders had to complete a structured program of group rides, races, and workouts in Zwift over an eight week period. The top 10 Academy graduates were then selected for the next round of tests by Zwift’s panel of expert coaches. Once those tests were completed the coaching panel worked to determine who would advance to the finals with a trip to a week-long team camp.
This year’s Men’s Academy was even more competitive than last year’s, and it showed as the coaching panel worked to narrow the field to semi-finalists then finalists. Elliot Lipski, Coach to Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka says:
“We’ve seen some really strong riders come through the Academy again this year. In fact, I think the pool of talent goes even deeper this year. It’s not just a numbers game, it’s also important to see how the riders react to different scenarios out on the road, how they communicate and how they fit in with the team.”
About the Team
You may know Dimension Data’s Edvald Boasson Hagen from watching World Tour racing, but did you realize he’s also a level 25 Zwifter? He says,
“Quite of few of us here at Dimension Data are big fans of Zwift, so the Academy is something great to be a part of.”
Dimension Data’s U23 team is based in Tuscany, and Edvald says it should work out well for Martin:
“A few of the senior riders live in Tuscany, where the U23 team are based and I’m sure they’ll keep a watchful eye on Martin.”
It looks like Martin is in good hands with Dimension Data. Coach Lipski says:
“… we’re really confident in Martin. He showed real instinct out on the road, and the other riders took to him well. He’s got a great program with us at Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka and a direct route into the World Tour if he proves himself. Now is just the beginning.”
Well done, Martin. The Zwift community can’t wait to see how your season unfolds!
About Qhubeka
Qhubeka’s mission is to move people forward with bicycles. “Qhubeka” is an Nguni word that means “to progress,” and, with a bicycle, a person can travel faster, and move further, and carry more, whether it’s to a job, a school, a clinic, or a place of clean water and abundant food. The bicycles we provide also have a crucial role in initial emergency response for disaster relief. Based in South Africa, but operating across the entire African continent, children and adults in rural communities earn our Buffalo Bikes through our Learn-To-Earn and Work-To-Earn programs, moving them forward towards a more secure and richer life.
About Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka is Africa’s first ever UCI World Tour team, starting its first season in 2016. After three successful years in the Pro Continental ranks, the team has enjoyed considerable success as a World Tour team, competing at the highest levels of the sport. Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka continues to operate a U23 Continental team as well, nurturing junior talent and developing the World Tour team’s future athletes. The Qhubeka project remains at the core of our setup and the very reason why our team exists. Team Dimension Data creates a platform for awareness about Qhubeka and garners international support for the project, so that Qhubeka may continue to mobilize the African people, giving the team a sense of purpose beyond competition. Team Dimension Data wholeheartedly believes in the #BicyclesChangeLives campaign and that it will remain a driving force behind our success.
Ride with Reason Week 3 Challenge: Burn 1,000 Calories for Team Ramsay
Every day, 619 children from across the UK arrive at Great Ormond Street Hospital. And every day their doctors and nurses battle the most complex illnesses, and the brightest minds come together to achieve pioneering medical breakthroughs. Every day is a chance for you to make a difference.
Join us as we support The Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation, which is partnered with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (Gordon is a level 12 Zwifter himself). Zwift will be donating $25,000 to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity to support families with critically ill children. When a child is critically ill, keeping families together is vital. This donation could pay for 80 families to stay for a week in nearby family accommodations so parents are close by while their child is in hospital.
Burn 1,000 Calories in Zwift over the week and unlock a set of Ride With Reason sunglasses for your avatar. If 25,000 Zwifters complete this challenge, we’ll unlock $25,000 to support Great Ormond Street Hospital.
About Ride with Reason
November has always been “charity month” in Zwift, with riders working together to complete challenges and raise funds for worthy causes. This year Zwift has broken November into four weekly challenges, with each week focusing on supporting a different cause. Read more at Zwift.com >
Kit Unlock
Completing each challenge unlocks a small portion of the Reason Zwift cycling kit. Complete all four challenge and receive the full kit!
It’s the final day for Alex, Martin and Ollie: our three Dimension Data Zwift Academy men’s finalists. Today they’re going on a group ride and a coffee stop with Bernie Eisel, one of the most respected pros in the peloton. They’ll also get an answer to the burning question: who will win the contract with Dimension Data’s U23 squad?
You’ll have to wait until Tuesday for the big announcement!
Ah, Strava. Your app has helped inspire me to push hard on so many outdoor rides, and it’s helped knit together our local cycling community.
But lately, you’ve made some changes that detract from the experience instead of adding to it. The most recent I noticed just the last week after a Zwift ride. When I went to my list of segments it showed this:
The same segment, listed three times (since I rode it three times).
But here’s the thing… I have starred segments that I rode on this ride, and they did not show up in my list. When I click “View All Results” I see:
It’s the penultimate day for our three Zwift Academy men’s finalists in Capetown, South Africa. Today begins with critical one on one interviews with team management followed by lead-out sprint training with Mark Cavendish.
Matt, Kev, and Greg share racing tips — positioning, course planning, gearing, and more — in this episode. They begin with tips from the pros gathered at the Innsbruck worlds, but eventually transition into Zwift racing tips with a focus on training for indoor races.
Episode 57 of Zwiftcast has been released, with a big focus on the new and upcoming Zwift features.
Simon, Shane and Nathan convene again for another hour of chat on all matters Zwifty.
The trio begin by getting the full story of Shane’s YouTube ban and how it affected him, before moving on to discuss another new extension to Watopia. “Mostly flat”, we’re told. The Zwiftcasters hope that really means rolling terrain.
And it’s definitely coming – world switching. We discuss whether Jon Mayfield’s solution is an elegant and clever thing, or a bit less than what Zwifters wanted.
Quite a lot is changing in the way Zwift could work, and the introduction of Double Draft or True Draft as the podcasters would prefer it to be called could end up as really significant. Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss the devil out of it, with input from racer and podcaster Greg Leo and aerodynamics expert Bert Blocken, an academic who’s modeled the draft effect in a big peloton.
The rivals to Zwift have been making some noise, with CVRCade the loudest. What does it all mean? The chaps chew it over.
After a quick catch up on trainer news, the Zwiftcasters round this one off with a discussion on Zwift Interval Art.
We’re still in Capetown, South Africa where our three Zwift Academy finalists are fighting to win a contract with Dimension Data’s U23 squad. Fatigue is starting to set in after a few days of hard riding…
Today the finalists will do an early morning climbing ride with Dimension Data’s Ben King, followed by a very special “bike handover” with Qhubeka in the afternoon. Qhubeka is on target to give away over 17,000 bikes this year, and the Zwift community is responsible for 10% of those!
