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KISS EU – Summit battle on the Half-Pretzel

Quentin Lafaye
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KISS EU – Summit battle on the Half-Pretzel

KISS EU – Summit battle on the Half-Pretzel

For the first time this winter, the KISS EU race took place on the Half-Pretzel route. Surprisingly enough, the climb to the tower wasn’t the decisive point of the A race, which David Allonby (Vision) won over Tim Cartwright (KissRT) and Justin Purificati (Team ODZ).

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The leading quartet.

Right from the start of the climb, the main teams were up front: Team X, KissRT, Vision, ODZ… at the KoM banner, Allonby (Vision), Cartwright (KissRT), Purificati (ODZ) and Paterson were leading with a reasonable gap over the first chase group led by Pluijmers and Little (Team X). “I couldn’t have a decent warmup,” says Allonby, “so I had a pretty hard time at the beginning of the climb. I bridged a 5-second gap to get back to the lead group, and I knew I had to stay up there until the summit if I wanted to have a shot.” At the tower, the same leaders were opening the road, as Cartwright chose this moment to change bike.

Time to duel

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Allonby’s final move.

For Allonby (Vision), the fast descent from the tower was the chosen place to attack and create a gap. “I noticed Tim dropped off to change bike, I knew it was time to use the aero-hat to make the most of it. I pushed hard in the descent, and Tim was the only one to come back,” explains the Vision rider. As Cartwright came to the bottom of the descent, Allonby was still on his wheel, and with the TT bike on, there was no drafting for the KRT rider. “I did my best to hold on to his wheel in the descent, and then I attacked on the hill,” says Allonby, who ultimately kept his advantage and went on to take the win.

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Stevens wins the B race.

In the B category, the race came down to a sprint where Robin Stevens (TK.be) took the win over Sebastian Kühn (Vision) and Bryan Greatrick (TRCC). Darren Dunn took the win in the C category, with Marco W (Kettenhunde) coming 2nd, and Peter Reynolds 3rd. Finally, in the D category, Alexander Molodkin won at the upgrade limit. Thomas Coates took the second place, and Brian Handley the third.

 

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Dec 6th / Provisional results:
A Category:
1- D.Allonby (GBR-Vision)
2- T.Cartwright (GBR-KissRT)
3- J.Purificati (CAN-ODZ)
B Category:
1- R.Stevens (BEL-TK.be)
2- S.Kühn (GER-Vision)
3- B.Greatrick (GBR-TRCC)
C Category:
1- D.Dunn (GBR-U/A)
2- M.W (GER-Kettenhunde)
3- P.Reynolds (AUS-U/A)
D Category:
1- A.Molodkin (RUS-U/A)
2- T.Coates (GBR-U/A)
3- B.Handley (GBR-U/A)

-the q/l Report-

Zwift update version 1.0.15376 released, iOS release and new routes this month

Eric Schlange
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Zwift update version 1.0.15376 released, iOS release and new routes this month

Zwift update version 1.0.15376 released, iOS release and new routes this month

Zwift HQ released an update Saturday to add support for the WBR Zwiftathon and enable the December Triple-Play Mission.

But most exciting is the note Jon Mayfield added to the update summary:

On the horizon for the rest of December – we’ll soon have our official iOS release in the App Store, and shortly after a new road is coming to Watopia.  It’s going to be a good month on Zwift.

Since the update some Zwifters have noted a new volcanic island visible when crossing the JWB Bridge and heading into the Esses (see below). Perhaps a sign of a new course?

new-watopia-volcano

Whatever you’ve got up your sleeves, we’re looking forward to it! Keep up the great work, Zwift HQ.

See the update notes here >

Zwift Specialized Triple-Play Mission announced

Eric Schlange
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Zwift Specialized Triple-Play Mission announced

Zwift Specialized Triple-Play Mission announced

triple-play-logoZwift HQ has announced the new “Specialized Triple-Play Mission” which will be active for the month of December 2016. To enter, choose the mission when starting Zwift, then ride 50km (~31 miles). You may enter up to three times–once for each Zwift world (Watopia, Richmond, and London).

While riding the mission you’ll be placed on a virtual Roubaix, but once the mission is complete you don’t get to keep it!

Here’s how Zwift HQ explains it:

The more comfortable you are, the faster you’ll go. The Specialized Triple-Play Mission is your chance to get a taste of the versatility of the new Specialized Ruby and Roubaix Pro machines. As you power your virtual Ruby or Roubaix Pro across 50 km of whatever digital terrain you choose to tackle, you’ll be entered to win a Ruby or Roubaix Pro in the size of your choice.

 

Completing the 50 km Mission earns 1 entry. Participants may complete 1 mission per course – Watopia, Richmond and London – for a total of 3 entries.

roubaix

I’ve ridden my Roubaix Expert SL4 for two seasons now and love the comfort and performance it delivers. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the new Roubaix, although I haven’t had a chance to ride one yet. What about you?

Learn more about the new Roubaix here >

 

ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 23

Ian Murray
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ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 23

ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 23

odz-logoAs usual, we started our ride with a few minutes of warm-up at an easier pace. I was riding the big wheel with the beacon, so most people were able to stay behind or only slightly in front of my avatar. The 1.5 – 1.8 w/kg pace always seems stiff enough to keep everyone pedaling but not so hard that people get easily dropped.

Once we made the turn toward the first sprint banner, I laid out the plan for the first break-chasing exercise. Out of our group of 50, 3 riders would attack for 30 seconds at 3.0 w/kg. Then they would reduce to 2.0 w/kg, working together by taking pulls. The first iteration did not go as planned. Instead of a break of 3 riders, more like 15 went up the road, and they didn’t exactly stick to our effort limits. That’s the price we pay for not all being on Discord and listening to the instructions, as some seemingly did not see the typed messages either.

Despite the snafu, the first attempt provided a learning point. The group of 15 worked very well together, and even when they reduced the effort, our slightly larger group was unable to pull them back. We didn’t work quite as well together, having a strung-out bunch that could not benefit as much from the draft. We regrouped after exiting Richmond proper, heading out of town for our first climb.

Leading into the climb, we discussed the importance of positioning at the base of a climb. Just like IRL racing, where in the group you start the climb can have a significant impact on where you finish the climb. Heading into Box Hill, we talked about heavier riders or those who struggle on the climbs trying to position themselves towards the front of the group. That way, they can still benefit from the group while drifting back through it during the climb. Ideally, they would end up at the back of the group but still in it at the top of the climb. If they do get gapped, it is a significantly smaller gap than if they started at the back of the group. Likewise, for riders looking to attack or place high in the race, they need to be at the front to ensure that they do not miss any critical moves or can attempt to get a gap without having to ride through a large number of riders. It’s generally a bad tactic to burn a few matches moving from the back to the front of the group, as it means that you will pretty much have to make an attack twice as long as it needed to be. Not the most efficient use of energy. As we made our way up the climb, all trying to ride as close to 2.5 w/kg as possible, the bigger riders drifted back through the lighter riders, and we more or less ended up together.

Approaching our shorter, steeper climb, we talked about how to approach the different types of climbs. On the longer shallower climb, we discussed trading space for time by limiting the gap over the duration of the climb. The shorter, steeper ones, though, require riders to be much more attentive and willing to go to “the dark place” to maintain contact. Yes, losing time or contact on any climb is bad, but staying within yourself on a long climb can keep you from losing huge chunks of time due to an implosion halfway up. However, the punchier climbs aren’t long enough to really cause a massive implosion of the legs if riders have developed a fair ability to suffer. The 23rd Street hill on the Richmond course is a good example of this. Riders who can sustain a higher output for 60 seconds can survive that climb, even if they are bigger riders, whereas Box Hill would destroy them at that same output due to the much longer duration of the climb. This became painfully clear to those who attempted to climb 23rd Street at less than a 3.0 w/kg rate. Huge splits opened up in a very short time. In a race situation, it would be very unlikely that a rider could overcome that gap were the split to happen on the last lap.

On lap two, we went back to our exercises on chasing the break. This time around, we had two very successful iterations. The gaps went out to about 20 seconds, and the pack began the chase. Everyone worked together fairly well, and the breaks were pulled back in short order. In fact, the chase group stayed so tight that we pulled the breaks back much quicker than anticipated. This allowed more time to recover and prepare for a go at our climbs.

For our last time up Box Hill, we limited the duration and frequency of attacks/hard efforts. We did this to show the effect of burning matches on the climb vs riding steady up the climb. Every time a rider exceeded our set level, it could be done for no more than 15 seconds, representing the short attacks that often happen on this type of climb. After the attack, the riders had to ride at a much easier effort for 20 seconds to recover. The recovery was set at a level below our designated steady pace. After the 20 seconds, riders could return to steady pace or attack again. Due to the restricted efforts, some people were able to attack continuously, but we showed that the steady climbers with relatively few attacks were right up there with the constant attackers but with an easier ride.

The last climb was an all-out hammer. However, I put some stipulations on it. As long as the rider could maintain within 1 w/kg of the max effort that he/she hit, they could keep going. The minute the rider fell more than 1 w/kg off of the pace, he/she had to sit up and ride at 2.0 for the remainder of the climb. That simulated what happens when a rider blows up, demonstrating how much time can be lost due to a mis-timed surge or pour dosing of energy. Some were able to hold a hard pace the whole time, while others went out too hard, paying the price.

Overall, it was a good session, and everyone seemed to pick up the key tenets of the class. Look forward to returning to Watopia next week for some Crack the Whip.

Here’s the full ride video:

TFC Autumn Series- Climbers’ delight

Quentin Lafaye
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TFC Autumn Series- Climbers’ delight

TFC Autumn Series- Climbers’ delight

The TFC Autumn Race of Dec 2nd took place over 3 laps of the London loop. Jokim Pluijmers (Team X) took the win over Brett Boniface (PTz) and Johan Nossen (FSK). Jernst “JT” Teampelaar (Team WBR) made his return to Zwift racing and took 5th.

tfc_161202_1
Boniface (PTz) on the move.

The first climb of Box Hill was disrupted by the ever-changing Evers, and even though Boniface came out leading the race on top of the hill, he sat down and waited for the chase. At the end of the first lap, there were 8 riders opening the road: Weitzner, Duffy (BRTeam), Schumm (Team X), Appleby (Team TFC), Nossen (FSK), Tempelaar (Team WBR), Pluijmers (Team X) and Boniface (PTz). “I didn’t realize the guy wasn’t legit until they talked about his HR on stream,” says Boniface. “In the climb, I was riding cross-eyed and it wasn’t fair to keep riding on front with a rider who wasn’t obviously legit. I have tremendous respect for the guys who race weekly, and I wish Zwift would build something for organizers to do something about troublemakers before the end of the race.”

tfc_161202_4
Pluijmers takes the win.

On top of the second climb, the winning trio came with almost 30″ over the chase. Pluijmers, Boniface and Nossen collaborated until the approach of the ultimate Box Hill climb. The Dutch rider made his move on the bridge before going into the subway, and got 5 seconds over Boniface and Nossen before heading to the climb. The PTz rider managed to bridge to Pluijmers, but the Team X rider had kept some watts up his sleeve and went on to take the win. Ultimately, Jokim Pluijmers (Team X) took the win in the A race, with Brett Boniface (PTz) coming in 2nd and Johan Nossen (FSK) coming in 3rd.

Team Poland goes 1-2 in Bs

“On the last lap, the strategy was to go hard to get some distance with the chase,” says Boniface. “The initial strategy was to go for intense 6-minute efforts and see what happens. After racing 100km with Jokim last Saturday, I wanted him to get a good result as we did a lot of work together so if it wasn’t me that won, I wanted it to be him. On the last lap, when he jumped, I let him go and was rooting for him to stick it. I sat on Nossen and then tried to go across when we started the final climb. But when I made the gap, Jokim went a couple of times and while I did my best, the better rider won and that’s what matters to me, so I was quite happy.”

tfc_161202_2
Zaranko takes 2nd place in the Bs.

In the B race, Andree Wierus (Team Poland) outsprinted his teammate Grzegorz Zaranko for the win, and William Ondracka completed the podium two minutes later. The C category saw Justin Millot out of Canada take his first win for his first race. Ronald Termaat (DAFC) took 2nd and Rune Tellefsen (§rytteme) 3rd. Finally, for the Ds, David Sri took the win a minute ahead Sjoerd Wildshut and Damien Toomer.

 

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

TFC Autumn Series – Dec 2nd / Provisional results :
A Category:
1- J.Pluijmers (NED-Team X)
2- B.Boniface (CAN-PTz)
3- J.Nossen (NOR-FSK)

B Category:
1- A.Wierus (POL-Team Poland)
2- G.Zaranko (POL-Team Poland)
3- W.Ondracka (USA-U/A)

C Category:
1- J.Millot (CAN-U/A)
2- R.Termaat (NED-DAFC)
3- R.Tellefsen (NOR-§rytteme)

D Category:
1- D.Sri (CAM-U/A)
2- S.Wildshut (NED-U/A)
3- D.Toomer (GBR-U/A)

-the q/l Report-

December 2016 Zwift course schedule

Eric Schlange
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December 2016 Zwift course schedule

December 2016 Zwift course schedule

December’s course schedule is now available. This schedule is similar to November’s, with Watopia generally featured Sunday-Wednesday and London Thursday-Saturday, the exceptions being two Richmond days and a couple Watopia Saturdays (plus an odd Watopia Friday on December 9th–I wonder why that is?)

Keep in mind the course changeover happens at 21:00 Los Angeles time (PST) or UTC-8 hrs.

december-schedule

KISS EU – Experimental race, Experimental wins

Quentin Lafaye
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KISS EU – Experimental race, Experimental wins

KISS EU – Experimental race, Experimental wins

The KISS EU race of Nov 29th was the chosen set for the new broadcast feature “Zwift on Board.” The A race came to a sprint finish with Casey Schumm (Team X) crossing the line first. Tim Cartwright (KissRT) and Alexandre Gagnon (ODZ) completed the podium.

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Justin Purificati on the attack.

The first three laps of the A race, on the hilly course, were mostly animated by Canadian rider Justin Purificati (ODZ). Attacking on every climb, the ODZ racer had the 15-man pack chase for him every lap, giving the riders something to work for. But with a lot of strong riders in the pack, his efforts didn’t pay off the way he might have expected. Ultimately, he went on to take 7th place. This race was also the first to feature live feed from racers themselves: David Allonby (Vision), Dafydd Williams (KissRT), Mark Macintosh (Team X), Sebastian Kühn (Vision) and Casey Schumm (Team X). “Knowing that people are watching you live gives a bit of additional motivation” commented Schumm.

“The longest sprint ever”

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Schumm’s winning sprint.

There were 9 riders going into the last Esses in the lead group: Cartwright (KissRT), Gagnon (ODZ), Purifiati (ODZ), Allonby (Vision), Schumm (Team X), Sheret, Bokerod, Tarack (Team Poland) and Paterson. Launching the sprint from far off, Cartwright and Allonby saw Casey Schumm (Team X) flying by and take the win in a close finish. “It was the longest, hardest sprint I’ve ever done,” said Schumm. “This feels really good and hurts so bad at the same time. The tactic was to rest as much as I could, for that finish. We got dropped a little bit up the climb, with Allonby, but we managed to come back with some RNG help. When crossing the line, I wasn’t sure about the result, so Daniel (Schmidheiny), who was in the team car, checked ZwiftPower and that’s when I really knew I’d won.”

In the B category, Werner Otto (KissRT) took his first win since July, crossing the line a few seconds before Sebastien Sternefalk and Morten Austestad. Rick Hanna (BRTeam) outsprinted Skyler Street (KissRT) and Karl Knight for the C win. Finally, in the D category, Lindy Gray took the win a couple of seconds ahead of “J.A” and Roel Crollet. This said, the many upgrades shown in the live results might change these podium a bit in the next few hours.

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 29th / Provisional results:
A Category:
1- C.Schumm (USA-Team X)
2- T.Cartwright (GBR-KissRT)
3- A.Gagnon (CAN-ODZ)
B Category:
1- W.Otto (GBR-KissRT)
2- S.Sternefalk (NOR-U/A)
3- M.Austestad (NOR-U/A)
C Category:
1- R.Hanna (GBR-BRT)
2- S.Street (GBR-KissRT)
3- K.Knight (GBR-U/A)
D Category:
1- L.Gray (GBR-U/A)
2- J.A (GBR-U/A)
3- R.Crollet (BEL-U/A)

-the q/l Report-

ZwiftCon UK December 3-4, 2016 in Staffordshire, UK

Eric Schlange
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ZwiftCon UK December 3-4, 2016 in Staffordshire, UK

ZwiftCon UK December 3-4, 2016 in Staffordshire, UK

ZwiftCon is happening this weekend at Run & Ride, Hednesford, Staffordshire, UK. This is the first-ever fan-organized real-world Zwift conference, and it sounds like it will be a blast!

Organizers include James Gill (creator of the TitaniumGeek User Manual for Zwift) and David Owen. Here are some details about the event:

  • Entrance is free
  • 10 Zwift rigs will be set up using a range of top-notch smart trainers (including the new Cyclops Hammer), so attendees can test Zwift for the first time, ride KOM attempts, and contribute miles to the World Bicycle Relief event
  • Saturday is World Bike Relief Day. Zwift set ups will be there and folks are putting the miles in for WBR.
  • Sunday will begin at 10am with a “soft opening”, with scheduled events beginning at noon with an address from event MC and cycling pro Chris Pritchard. Racing will follow then a talk from Dr. Garry Palmer. More racing after that, followed by a talk by Tim Lawson on nutrition. Racing and testing to follow, then Q&A with the Titanium Geek followed by final races.
  • Scottie the Squirrel may even make an appearance!

Learn more at the ZwiftCon Facebook group >

zwiftcon

Zwiftcast Episode 15

Simon Schofield
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Zwiftcast Episode 15

Zwiftcast Episode 15

Episode 15 of Zwiftcast has been released. Here’s the full episode description:

Simon and Nathan are together, and Shane’s calling in from Long Beach, California, the home of ZHQ, for the latest edition of the podcast for Zwifters.

It’s another busy episode  with lots to talk about – as always seems to be the case in Zwift.

This edition starts with a good look at World Bicycle Relief day, arguably the biggest event in the Zwift calendar. Thousands of Zwifters will ride to help get people on bikes in Africa. Katie Bolling, the development director of WBR, is on the line to explain exactly what WBR does (it’s all good) and exactly how Zwifters can help the charity make an even bigger difference.

Simon, Shane and Nathan talk about the recent Team Worlds event, organised by Tam Burns, and speculate whether Zwift’s prompt response when a bug caught out a few riders is a sign of a different approach to glitches – and ask whether this prompt action tempered the response of those who got caught.

Nathan Stolzner has an inspiring story. Hitting the scales at almost 300lbs, Nathan is determined to get a bit lighter and fitter. But right now, it’s a battle, especially going up Box Hill on the London course. Whereas many Zwifters would gallop up in ten minutes, Nathan takes over 40. Should be change his weight to make life a little easier? The notion prompted a lively debate and Nathan S. tells us how he resolved the dilemma.

The geeks will love the feature on the seemingly baffling decision by Kurt Kinetic, makes of the much-loved Rock and Roll trainer, to make their new generation trainers Bluetooth-only. Zwifters John Hampton and Duane Gran bring real insight and analysis to the area.

And Glen Knight, one of the architects of the KISS Race series tells listeners about the team’s latest innovation – the very exciting Zwift OnBoard. “Think F1 for Zwft races,” says Glen. We hear from Glen,  and Simon and Nathan discuss whether this could be transformative.

Titanium Geek James Gill is on to big up his in real life meet up for Zwifters, ZwiftCon and Simon and Shane round things up with a discussion on Nathan’s very successful live, coached rides. These use voice prominently and it could be a glimpse of the future when Zwift unveils its Voice Feature in coming weeks.

KISS EU – A Dutchman in London

Quentin Lafaye
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KISS EU – A Dutchman in London

KISS EU – A Dutchman in London

The London 8 course was on the menu for KISS EU racers on this American Thanksgiving day. The A category saw a huge upset with Jokim Pluijmers (Team X) taking the win over Tim Cartwright (KissRT) and David Allonby (Vision).

kisseu_161124_4As usual on this route, the pack waited until Box Hill to explode into small groups. In the As, Cartwright (KissRT), Williams (KissRT) and Allonby (Vision) tried to anticipate the climb by attacking on the flat inner-city streets. But the trio got caught before heading to the subway station. At the top of the first climb, there were 7 riders in the lead group: Cartwright (KissRT), Portalino, Allonby (Vision), Pluijmers (Team X), Balbi, Barroso (PTz) and Mehl (KissRT).

kisseu_161124_2
Allonby, Cartwright and Pluijmers.

On the second lap, there were only 6 riders heading to the climb as Balbi got dropped on the flatter sections. Jokim Pluijmers, the Dutch climber from Team X attacked on the climb and only a few were able to follow. Vidar Mehl (KissRT) was the last one to get dropped as the winning trio got to the top of the KoM. Allonby (Vision) attacked in the descent, throwing down his aero powerup, but Cartwright (KissRT) and Pluijmers (Team X) brought him back at the subway entrance. The last climb up the stairs wasn’t enough to break the trio apart, so it came down to a 3-man sprint. After a bit of “track games” to see who would launch first, Pluijmers (Team X) surprised the two favorites and took the win over Cartwright (KissRT) and Allonby (Vision).

Alien Landing in London

kisseu_161124_1Being used to competing in longer races, the Dutchman from Amsterdam was a logical outsider on the London 8 course, as it’s the preferred one for Sunday’s KISS100. Nevertheless, the upset was real as he was the first one to beat the Englishmen in a long time. “This is amazing,” says Pluijmers. “I was feeling really good today. I tried to go in the climb, but I kept some in the tank. The tactic paid of, I’m glad I improved on that last part of the race.” In the B category, Sebastian Sternefalk took the win over “PK” and Steven Melia (BRT).

For his last race in the C category, Timothy Termont (BRT) took his second win within two days. “I love it when the races don’t end in bunch sprint,” says Termont. “I wasn’t expecting to win tonight, but it’s a great way to leave the C category before the upgrade.” A few seconds later, Martin Elzingre took second place, and Karl Knight third. In the D category, Jack Butterfiel took the win over Matt Baker (AlbaRosa CC) and Paul McCombes.

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 22th / provisional results:
A Category:
1- J.Pluijmers (NED-Team X)
2- T.Cartwright (GBR-KissRT)
3- D.Allonby (GBR-Vision)
B Category:
1- S.Stefernalk (NOR-U/A)
2- PK (GBR-U/A)
3- S.Melia (IRL-BRT)
C Category:
1- T.Termont (BEL-BRT)
2- M.Elzingre (USA-U/A)
3- K.Knight (GBR-Team TFC)
D Category:
1- J.Butterfield (GBR-U/A)
2- M.Baker (GBR-ARCC)
3- P.McCombes (GBR-U/A)

See full race results for As including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >
See full race results for Bs, Cs and Ds including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >

-the q/l report-

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